I’m halfway across the clubroom when my phone rings. I’m tempted to ignore it, especially when I seeUnknown Callerflash on the screen. Against my instincts, I accept the call.
“Freak? It’s Toni.”
I freeze. My first impulse is to shout at her, but my freak has had enough play today, and my intelligence wins out. “Where are you, Toni?” I actually have her location down to the street and house number.
The woman must be as stupid as shit, as she answers as if she doesn’t have a care in the world. “You asked me to tell you where I ended up. That’s why I’m calling. I’m in a small town called Turmoil, Nebraska. I answered an ad for a librarian position, and I got the job. So here’s where I’m going to stay.”
“This your new number?”
“Yes. I promised to give it to you. I know Ace doesn’t want to call me now, but could you save it, in case?”
There’s no fucking need. I can already access it courtesy of Pippa, but I play the game. “Hit me.”
After she reels off her digits – which of course I don’t need, I can already see them on my screen – I’ve got enough wits about me to not raise suspicions. Very soon, she’s going to have visitors from another chapter of Kings. “I hope it goes well for you.”
She draws in a breath as if surprised. “Thank you. Oh, and Freak?” I must make a sound that encourages her to continue. “I’m going to start therapy. I know what I did wasn’t normal. I think I need help.”
I struggle to respond and simply say lamely, hopefully disguising my words as they come out through gritted teeth, “Good for you.”
Then, I end the call. There’s no fucking therapy in the world that can help such a vengeful bitch. I’ve stomached enough from that traitor tonight. The thought that Tyrant is now planning how to take her and make her pay brings a tight smile to my face.
“You alright, Freak?”
I swing around. It’s Prez. He must have left the others to deal with the corpse. “I’m fuckin’ great,” I reply, meaning it. “You won’t believe who called me, giving her new numberand location.” When he raises an eyebrow, I continue, “Fuckin’ Toni.”
His head tilts, and he scrunches his brow. “Thought Tyrant would already have her.”
“She’s managed to get a job there. She was probably at work.”
Bullseye’s face goes grim. “Alongi was a piece of work. He very nearly killed Trixie. We almost didn’t find her in time. For that, I can’t let Tyrant leave her breathing.”
“She needs to die,” I say firmly. Trixie’s in a world of hurt, and it’s all down to Toni. I let her get away once. I won’t do it again. I may have to leave it to the Kings in Nebraska, but if she were here now, this time, I wouldn’t hesitate to pull the trigger.
CHAPTER FORTY-THREE
TRIXIE
Icouldn’t stand being in that medical room. It wasn’t just that the bed was functional rather than comfortable. It was more that the whole area had reminded me of things I’d rather forget – the time that I’d spent in the hospital in New York after Piero’s final attack. It makes me remember Irish. I still hate that he was taken too soon. What would he make of me now? An old lady. I like to think he’d be pleased for me.
Bronwyn had found me crutches, impressed that I’d immediately been proficient using them. I didn’t explain that it wasn’t the first time I’d had to resort to their use. Piero had once dislocated my knee. I’d hopped my way through the empty clubroom and remembered how to tackle stairs, with Ace hovering beside me, in case I’d lost my balance.
Exhausted, I was relieved when I finally hopped into Freak’s room.
“You want anything, Mom?”
“No, kid. I’m good.” I’d wanted to be alone, but Ace has taken it upon himself to keep me company, and I don’t have the heart to tell him to go.
He’d taken it hard when he’d seen what had happened to me. And he’s told me in no uncertain terms that when Freak’s not around, he’ll be my self-appointed protector. Until… Well, he didn’t finish that sentence, but we both share the same sentiment. While we know there’s no way Piero will be able to escape from the Kings, neither of us will be able to breathe easy until we get the confirmation that I’m a widow.
Freak’s taking longer than I expected, and I hope he’s using it wisely and is making Piero hurt. Does that make me a bad person to hope that my husband’s feeling every bit of the pain he’d doled out to me? A swift bullet would be far too easy.
Ace takes a book and settles down to read. I close my eyes and try to relax, but it’s hard when every bit of me is throbbing.I’m alive,I remind myself.Freak came for me.I’ve won, and Piero lost everything. I’m free to live my life without looking over my shoulder. Unless the Mafia comes after me to avenge Piero. I can’t think why they would. I was only of interest to him. I’m no threat to them. Like the club business often quoted in the club, the Mafia didn’t tell their women anything. I’m not even a loose end worth tying.
Suddenly, Ace shuts his book. Like me, he seems unable to keep still. “What’s on your mind?” I ask him.
“We won’t be able to go to Big Daddy’s rally next weekend. You won’t be fit to travel.”
I know how much he was looking forward to it. He hadn’t been before. And I, too, had been getting excited, going along with Freak as his old lady, and not as a whore. I’d been relishing the thought of arriving on the back of my man’s bike – Ace had been going to travel in the crash truck alongside one of the prospects.
