Savage Angels: A Savage MC Erotic Romance (16 page)

Daddy and I both waved through the diner window as she stomped all the way across the parking lot.

Down in the Hole

Bogart took the call from Jake. Hacker got up to leave him in privacy, but Bogart waved him to stay.

Into the phone, Bogart said, “Yeah, Jake... Well, what can I tell you. You fucked up the deal. I gave you a chance to make it right, you didn’t do it. Yup... No, Jake, you have to get me what I need. Then I’ll call it off.”
 

There was a pause, “How do you get out with it? Jake, that isn’t my problem. This is your fault, not mine. Yup... uh–huh... Yeah, you get me what I need, it stops right away.” Another pause. “Yeah, he’s a real vicious bastard, ain’t he?” and Bogart hung up.

He said to Hacker. “He’s got it. Says he can’t get here with it unless we call Butcher off.”

Hacker said, “Shame.”

Bogart said, “Really.”

Half a spliff later, Bogart’s phone rang again. He picked it up and listened a moment and said, “Uh–huh. Good,” and he hung up again. Bogart looked at Hacker, “Seems he thought of a way.”

Hacker said, “Like he just remembered where he had fifty K stashed.”

Bogart said, “Mmm–hm.” They both took a sip of bourbon.

Ten minutes later, Bogart went out back and collected a large, heavy backpack. He told Hacker, “Jake shows, check what he brings. Double count it, then call me.”

Bogart and Hacker gripped hands and bro-hugged. As Bogart was turning, Hacker put a hand on his shoulder and said, “Stay safe,” Bogart went out and climbed onto his bike. The engine crackled into life and carried him away down the hill.

Bad Company

I waited in the sad little motel room, sat on the bed by the bathroom with the TV on loud. Why Snori and Trols would have believed me, I couldn’t think, but it seemed as though they did.

Beanie told them to come and that I would be there, ready and waiting for them. I couldn’t have told it to them myself. I didn’t know if I could go through with any of this, either. I didn’t know if I could, but I knew that I had to and I knew that I would.

And I knew that if Cox ever found out, he would probably kill me.

The knock came at the door and my heart dropped. I said, “It’s open,” and Snori and Trols walked in, grinning as they saw me, sat on the bed. They came and loomed over me, taking up all the air in the room and standing between me and the big, flimsy closet. The closet that Beanie came out of with a gun in each hand.

He put the guns to the backs of both of their heads and said, “Kneel.”

I produced the nine millimeter and told them, “Hands high.” As they knelt I could see the guns in Beanie’s hands both shaking.

That was the plan, for Beanie to come out behind them from the closet. The only reason that I had a gun at all was that I was too scared to do it without one. Daddy had taught me since I was little how to handle guns. I was a biblical slayer of beer bottles and tin cans.
 

Silhouette targets didn’t have a prayer around me, but I never pointed a weapon at anything with a pulse before, much less fired one.

And it wasn’t the plan now. The plan now was to confront them, to find out the truth about Cap and take appropriate action. Beanie and I had discussed how that would be.

The two men knelt and Beanie’s voice trembled as he said, “Turn to Jesus, motherfuckers, do it now. Cause no-one else is going to give a fuck about you.”

Snori said, “Did I hear that before somewhere?”

Beanie told him, “Probably when your mama called.”

Trols moved fast to grab that awful blade, but kneeling down, he couldn’t pull it out in time. By reflex alone I’d squeezed on the trigger and fired into the middle of his forehead, and moved the gun onto Snori. He was turning and had his hand on a revolver, so I let another shot out into his temple.

It was over before I even knew it was happening and as soon as the second shot was out of the gun, I had to run for the bathroom. The world went white and spun horribly, and I sank to my knees, missing the john and blasting the oatmeal walls with vomit.

In the far distance, like through a fog I heard the muffled ‘pop’s of the two more shots. Then Beanie came and put an arm around me. “It’s okay.” He told me, “You did good.”

He got me a wet cloth and a glass of water, but we both knew we couldn’t waste any time. We’d squared the manager and he swore there were no guests in the rooms, but we needed to be gone and fast.
 

I looked at the heaps of sticky mess on the brown carpet. “Doesn’t look like Butcher’s work, Beanie.”

“Don’t worry, Nikka, it will. You just get out of here.”

As I made for the door, he said, “Don’t take Butcher’s gun, Nikka. Leave it on the bed.”
 

I’d forgotten that it was in my hand.

Hurt

Jake leaned his Harley up outside Hell’s Kitchen Bar & Grill. He came into the clubroom in a hurry. Only Cox was there, and Rusty at the bar. Cox didn’t get up. Jake said, “Here it is, man, now come on and let’s make this right.”

Cox told Rusty to give Jake whatever he wanted. “I don’t want anything. I just want you to make the call, alright?”

Cox lifted the case. “Take a while to count, you know. We don’t use those machines like you guys do. We use a thumb, a forefinger and a pair of eyes. Get yourself a drink. Relax.”

Cox took the money from the case, put the ten piles on the bar, got a pad and a pencil from Rusty and started to count.

Jake shifted nervously, fidgeted and told Cox to hurry. Cox said, “Aw, man. Now I lost count,” and he started over. After that, Jake waited. He smoked, he took a couple of shots, had a beer. And he looked at his watch, many times.

When Cox drew a line under the column of numbers on his pad, Jake said, “Come on, man I’ve brought you what you wanted, okay? Now let’s get all of this stopped.”

Cox looked him in the eye, held his gaze there, said, slowly, “Jake, you had this cash all along. You could have stopped this any time that you wanted to, but you had to wait. Don’t ask me why, but you did.”

Cox took his time over a sip of bourbon. “So don’t be telling me now that you’re in such a hurry. If you were in such a hurry, you could have paid us in full on delivery.”

Then Cox put the top sheet from the pad into the case, then each of the freshly stacked piles and snapped the case shut. Then he took it out back.

He returned after a couple of minutes. “Now. Wait while I call Bogart.” Jake was twitching.

“It’s OK, I’ll do it right here, you can listen. Look, I’ll put it on speaker...” he dialed and set the phone to speaker. Set it on the bar between them. They listened to the
brrr
a few times until Bogart’s voice answered. Cox said,

“Hi, Bogart? I got you on speaker.”

“I know, I can tell. I hate the gurgling echo of that fucking thing.”

“Yeah, it sucks. So, Jake’s here,”

“Oh, hi, Jake. How’s it going? Everything okay?”

“Yeah, everything’s lovely, Bogart. Oh, all apart from the psycho maniac who’s killing all my friends and blowing up my damn property.”

“Ah, man, that must really suck. Still, how’s the settling of our account coming along?”

“I gave it to Cox. He’s got it all right here.”

“I wasn’t talking to you, Jake, I was asking Cox. So, Cox; how’s the settling of our account coming along?”
 

“Yeah, Jake brought a briefcase with him. I counted what was inside it twice, and by my reckoning we’re right on the money. I’d say we’re set square here, bro.”

“Good to hear. Shame about the delay but I guess these things happen. Good to talk to you, Jake.”

And he hung up.

Cox said, “A drink while you wait?”

“Sure,” Jake said, “Maybe one of your girls would like to keep me amused, too.”

Cox looked at Jake hard, “I hope you won’t mind me asking you this but, are you a total fucking idiot? All of our girls have run and hid because of the situation that you put us in, and so now the only girl here is Angelica. I can ask her in to see you if you like, but my bet will be on you coming off a whole lot worse than her.”

“Just a bourbon, then.”

Melt