“Hey, Prez, what is going on over there with Incubus and that Italian dude? I thought our brother hated all the jagoffs associated with the Mob, Salvatore, and especially Tony. Ya know; because of what happened.”
I turn to look at him to see he’s intently watching the interaction between the two men. I think to myself,fuck it. Without a word I shoulder bump into Psycho, indicating I want him to follow me, and we make our way to Incubus. The men instantly shut up and look our way. I raise one eyebrow, which silently tells my brother to spill what the hell is going on. He drops his head forward for a split second, then leans over whispering—yeah, shit, whispers in the other dude’s ear. He nods and immediately walks away. Psycho can’t hold it in, which is normal for him, so I let him loose.
“Jesus, Incubus, what the fuck is that? Thought you hated all the Italians for, well, ya know why. You seemed pretty chummy with that particular one.”
I can tell Incubus is gettin’ pissed but at this point I don’t give a rat’s ass. Shit is going down all around our club and by no fault of ours, for a change. Julie is hiding in a bunker in my closet floor, while her brother Stash is underground in Incubus’s wet room in the clubhouse. Both places are comfortable, but I’m sure the siblings aren’t liking their accommodations at all. I lean back, cross my arms over my chest, and wait. My brother doesn’t make me hang there too long before he motions for us to step outside, so Psycho and I follow him. When we are standing next to the bench out in front, he immediately starts explaining.
“Fuck, Cobalt, not sure what to do. Ya know I hate all those motherfuckers, but Salvatore is the one whose head I want tophysically saw off and piss down his throat. Saying that, there’s a little tidbit I know about those two that many don’t know. Dino and I have gotten, well, we talk whenever we see each other. He hates the job he’s doin’; and he’s got a family on the way so I’ve been tryin’ to figure out a way to help the dude out. When he told me what he knew I put it away for a rainy day and, brothers, that day is now.”
He runs his hands through his hair then continues, and what he says next almost knocks me on my ass.
“Okay, well, Tony was warned by the powers that be that Salvatore was hands off. And it was explained that it didn’t matter what he ordered done to anyone, including Salvatore and his crew, Tony was not to touch him. Well, obviously the stubborn stupid bastard didn’t listen and I’m on the fence, not sure if I should make the phone call to the top guy or let shit fall where it will. If I don’t do that, we all know Tony is eventually gonna kill Salvatore. No matter how much that son of a bitch gets under my skin, I mean, Salvatore is my main goal. And anywhere and anytime I can piss Tony off is a better day for me. Cobalt, what should I do, brother? Need some guidance.”
Before I can even open my mouth, Psycho gives his two, well, more like eight cents.
“Damn it, Incubus, never thought you’d have a heart. After Salvatore and Tony’s betrayal, I, personally, whenever I’d get the chance, I’d burn their goddamn asses. Both of them jagoffs deserves to either be put to ground or for Salvatore especially, go into general pop so he can see what all of his actions feel like deeply. Though that’s my opinion, so take it for what it’s worth.”
I see a new respect in my enforcer’s eyes when he looks at our VP. Psycho doesn’t look away and, without a single word, the two brothers seem to come to a silent agreement. I watch Incubus pull his phone out and scroll, looking for a specific number. I can tell when he finds it because he hits the buttonthen puts the phone to his ear. His eyes get wide and he pulls the phone from his ear, and I can hear someone screaming in another language. Incubus waits until they are done then replies back at what, I’m assuming, is the same language. Both Psycho and I stare at our brother, shocked as all fuckin’ hell.When did this bastard learn Italian?is my thought, but hey, what Incubus does on his own time is his business, just like what I do is mine.
As I wait for him to finish his call, I’m startin’ to get antsy because I need to check on Tony, then move Julie and her brother Stash. So lost in my own thoughts my head jerks up when my brother calls my name.
“Shit, Incubus, my mind is going in about a hundred different directions. So what ya gonna do?”
“Good thing for our club, I seem to have an in with the main boss. Gino asked politely if we could make sure Salvatore is alive when he gets here. Turns out our boy Salvatore is married to one of Gino’s nieces. Get this, they have kids, a home in a gated community, and even two dogs and a goddamn cat. For our assistance with this situation, Gino will allow us to break free from the arrangement we have with the Mob, unless they need our particular skills here or there. I told him that conversation is above my club title and he’d have to have a conversation with you and Psycho. He is sending two teams to come out here so one can grab Salvatore and if any of his soldiers are alive. The second team will be handling the situation with Tony. Gino is going to pay the club five hundred thousand dollars to use the crematory for disposal purposes. If ya don’t want that, explain it to his teams when they get here. I gotta get my ass back in there and try to save fuckin’ Salvatore’s ass. That thought makes me want to puke. The shit I do for this club.”
With that Incubus moves like lightning and I’m left wondering if this kettle we are jumping into will be better than the pot we’re crawling out of?
FOURTEEN
JULIE
Never in a million years did I think, after my childhood, anyone would be able to get me to walk down freely into an underground to hideout. But once again, Cobalt has that way about him. Since we are being attacked and blown up, I didn’t have much of a choice because I know he couldn’t just stay and protect me when his clubhouse full of folks, who he feels responsible for, are being attacked. I’m surprised at how comfortable I’m at being underground in Cobalt’s “special room” as he called it. Man, a lot has happened in the last couple of days—so much that my life has done a complete turnaround. I remember our mom always saying don’t get too deep in your thoughts because life is ever-changing, and she was so frigging right. Just that quick thought has me missing her so much at this moment. We did everything together and I truly admired and looked up to her. She never let me down. Even when she was dying, she tried to keep things from me so I wouldn’t worry. That’s why, when I knew my brother was getting in too deep, I squirreled my way into that job for Salvatore. I knew once in there I’d be able to find something he was doing illegal. I mean, one, he’s the Mob, and two, he’s a horrible person who thinks only of himself. And man did I findsomething, but it was way worse and almost got both Jimmy and me killed.
Hearing something, I walk back to the entrance of the safe area and look up to see above it looks like the wall is opening. Not hearing either Cobalt or Incubus calling out to me, something inside of me tells me to keep my mouth shut and hide immediately. I move back quietly and look around for somewhere to find some cover. I could hurry into one of the bedrooms and hide under the bed, but that’s an easy as shit find. There’s nothing in the little family room or kitchenette to find a hidden place to be able to become invisible. I head toward the laundry room and see a huge shelving unit with shelves stacked with supplies. Behind me I hear footsteps coming down the stairs so, as quietly as possible, I first shut the door halfway then move some boxes on the bottom shelf so I can squeeze behind the entire unit. Reaching, I pull the boxes back on the shelf so they conceal me then I try to get situated. I’ve got plenty of room to sit or even curl up in the fetal position. I just don’t want whoever is coming down to be able to see any part of me. I grab the ponytail holder off my wrist and pull my hair back tightly, then put my hair in a ponytail and pull it through to make a messy bun at my nape. I’m wearing leggings and a Kings of Anarchy hoodie, which is mostly black, so that’s good. On my feet are a pair of gym shoes in a muted gray color. The footsteps are moving around now, and just by what I’m hearing, seems like someone is looking around, maybe even searching for something. The steps aren’t heavy so a smaller guy maybe. I hold my breath when the door swings open and the overhead light comes on. The voice I hear sends a shiver down my spine.
“All right, you numbers whore, where the hell ya hiding? I don’t have all goddamn day, got to grab you and get the fuck out of here without getting caught. Might as well come out, I’ll find you eventually. You ain’t the only one Cobalt has taken downhere. I mean we fucked on every piece of furniture down here. Quit wasting my damn time, bitch, move your ass now. If I got to look for ya it won’t be good just sayin’.”
Something holds me in place and after a minute or two the lights go off. I hear commotion right outside the door that sounds like two people are arguing. The sound of flesh hitting flesh has me curling into a smaller ball with my body. That sound brings back so many memories and none of them good. I hear Honey begging, but if the person says anything I can’t hear. Then I hear a muted boom and instantly it’s quiet. The door to the laundry/utilities opens and the light is flipped on. I’m breathing slowly and shallow so there is barely any noise coming from me. Expecting it to be anyone but Honey, I hear a raspy breath then once again her voice vibrates through the room.
“I’m giving you one last chance then I’m calling in my backup and just saying, Julie, you won’t like the way he is ’cause he couldn’t give a flying fuck if he hurts you or not. Are you coming out or what?”
My body is shaking like crazy as my head starts to pound. I have no idea what to do. I’m concentrating on weighing my options before making a decision when I feel a huge hand clasp on to my ankle, and I realize my time is up. I waited way too long. The hand grasping my foot is huge and whoever is the owner of it seems to have no problem hurting me. I hear a whisper and Honey replies just as quiet. While she is whisper-talking that hand on my ankle becomes like a steel vice, as the person starts dragging me out from behind the shelving, over all the supplies, and I can feel stuff digging in while other items either fall off the shelves, crack, and leak. I smell some kind of dishwasher soap, bleach, laundry detergent, and ammonia. The combination of smells is starting to gag me, so by the time I’m dragged out my cough is getting worse and worse. My arms are in front of my face so when I feel the first cuff snap on, I almostpee myself. Then the second, though the only thing good about it is that my hands are in front of my body instead of behind it. The problem is now I’m coughing even more. When I see a bandana coming toward me I start shaking my head back and forth, but whoever is there is plenty strong to not only place that thing over my mouth but also to tie it behind my head. The pressure is building in my head as I try to cough and the feeling of choking is getting worse. My last thought before I lose consciousness is that Cobalt won’t even know I’m gone, or who took me, until he finally comes back for me. And by then, it might just be too late. That brings such sadness to my heart, but I’m not able to do a damn thing about it. That thought hurts more than you would think, being that Cobalt and I were together for only two weeks or a bit longer.
* * *
A loud thud wakes me up. When I open my eyes, it looks to be that I’m in a nasty motel somewhere. I’m on a bed, which scares the ever-lovin’ shit outta me because I’ve watched theDatelineor20/20where they did that blacklight experiment. My hands are still in cuffs in front of me but I’m able to wipe the hair out of my eyes and push the bandana out of my mouth. And after one or two attempts, my body is able to work to get me into a sitting position. That is when I see that there are two beds in this room and there is a body sprawled across that other bed. One that has a Kings of Anarchy kutte on.Holy shit, please don’t be Cobalt,is my thought as I stumble to get off the bed and see who it is. When I walk around the bed my heart starts beating again because it isn’t Cobalt. I can’t believe what they’ve done to Holy Joe, the chaplain of the club. I barely recognize him. Both eyes are swollen shut and his nose looks to be broken. I immediatelymove closer to get a better look. My confidence is up since I helped Incubus with Rocket.
Moving Holy Joe so I can assess him better, my eyes take in his immediate injuries. Not sure how but it looks like one of his ears is injured, as there is blood slowly dripping from the inside of his ear. Also, his neck looks to have handprints on it, so that tells me someone either wanted him dead or this is a scare tactic. It doesn’t matter which it is because if he doesn’t get help and fast, the club will lose this brother and I can’t let that happen on my watch so I get busy with what I have. I find some ripped up towels, along with a half-filled first aid kit. First, I work hard at taking off his kutte and laying it across the rickety chair, like I’ve seen the other brothers do. Then as carefully as possible, I undress him to his boxers. I start to assess what I can see and categorize his injuries by severity. After the first two swipes with a warm facecloth, I start to clean up what is left of Holy Joe. He moans a few times but besides that he doesn’t even open his eyes. His breathing seems to be fine and from what I remember his pulse is somewhat acceptable. Feeling out of my comfort zone, I do my best, praying it’s enough until Cobalt gets here. I know he’ll tear this place down, inch by inch, because of whatever this thing is that’s going on between us. My body starts to shake again and I know I’m in shock, but right now not much else I can do except stay right at Holy Joe’s side ’cause he probably won’t wake up anytime soon. I stretch out next to him so my body heat will help keep him warm. I must have dozed off because someone pushed me to my back and is messing with the damn cuffs. Turning my head, I’m shocked to see Mammoth with what looks to be some kind of metal thingy he is sticking into the cuffs. Right when I’m about to tell him to quit trying and go help Holy Joe is when we hear footsteps coming toward the door of wherever we are being held. Wait a damn minute, what did Mammoth do, break into where I’m being held? Or did heknow where it was and came to finish the job? We all know if anyone can get the job done, it’s Mammoth, with his size and his amazing ability to blend in as huge as he is. When my eyes meet his all that negative bullshit instantly disappears because, for a split second, Mammoth shares with me his pain. The agony written all over his face hits me square in the chest. Looking at him, he’s not a member of the Kings of Anarchy Motorcycle Club but a man whose heart has been eviscerated, while his soul seems to have given up on its search to finding a mate. I need to find him an ol’ lady, and I’m going to be putting it on my to-do list if we get out of this shitty nightmare. Mammoth’s eyes look beyond me to see Holy Joe, and he immediately forgets about me and my cuffs to check on his brother. He concentrates while immediately starting to work on his brother. The worry that runs across his face makes me wonder why such a dedicated man, who has such excellent skills necessary to save someone from dying, isn’t doing something more than being a biker in a motorcycle club. Same thought I have for Incubus and Cobalt. It just doesn’t make sense, but at this moment nothing seems to be doing that.
When we hear someone on the outside of the door, Mammoth stands, immediately going to stand right out of sight, up against the wall to the left of the door, motioning for me to sit by Holy Joe and try to act normal. I show him my lifted eyebrow, which brings a faint smirk to his face because, honestly, this is the furthest thing from any normal I understand. Stunned, I watch, eyes wide open, as the door swings open and Honey struts in with a big Italian guy right behind her. My eyes never leave her face as she takes in the scene in front of her. By the time she’s a third of the way in, Mammoth has taken the man out. I’m not sure if he’s dead or alive, but he’s down on the filthy concrete floor. Something catches Honey’s attention and it has her turning, and the blood-curdling sound that comes out of hermouth has shivers rolling down my shoulder and back. Within seconds Mammoth has her dangling in the air, his hand around her neck. Then he starts to squeeze and I see panic rush into Honey’s face. She is trying to talk but is unable to with his huge paw wrapped around her delicate throat. Her face is a bright red, while her lips are turning a pinkish blue/purple. When Honey raises a hand, placing it on Mammoth’s arm, he instantly flings her to the floor. When I go to move to check on her, he clears his throat, shaking his head, indicating I shouldn’t go toward her. Ignoring his intense stare, I rush toward Honey, who when she sees me approaching puts up a hand. We are at an impasse. That’s when Holy Joe lets out this pitiful moan, which has me going moving him. I glance back and see Mammoth with a pair of his own cuffs on his index finger as he twirls them right in front of Honey. Her face, almost white, says it all…she knows she’s totally fucked.
FIFTEEN
COBALT
Son of a fuckin’ bitchis my only thought running through my brain as I pace back and forth. How, and more importantly, who in the ever-lovin’ hell was able to sneak into our clubhouse during a Mob attack and find my bunker, then grab Julie and disappear into the night. Also, another person, nope, a brother is missing. Holy Joe is nowhere to be found, which sets up alarms because that brother is newer to our club. He recently just got his patch about four or five months ago, after prospecting for like thirteen months or so. Thought he was solid, but if I find out otherwise, he’ll regret the day he was pushed out of his fuckin’ mother’s cunt. Right now, my only concern is Julie. Incubus and Stash are watching me with concern on their faces. My brother because he knows how I get when I have lost control of a situation and Stash because, for fuck’s sake, Julie is his sister. The two of them have been through enough, Stash doesn’t need to be adding to his stress level even though mine right now is through the roof.
Psycho rushes in, phone in his hand. His eyes are shifting left then right before he sees me off in the corner. My VP makes his way to me, putting a hand on my shoulder. Oh fuck, don’t tell me I lost her before we even had a chance. This goddamnclub continues to take and take. Leaning closer to Psycho, I wait impatiently for him to give me the news.
