A LIL' LESS LOST (The Kingsmen Book 2) (11 page)

CHAPTER TWELVE

JAY

We were watching the house, looking through the windows as Vicky made her way in through the front door. The prospect the was standing guard must have recognized her and he disappeared for a few minutes into the interior of the home, probably getting permission to let her inside. This was our chance... our opportunity to make our way down the drive and against the house. We took it, seizing the few free moments to clear the yard undetected.

Clink and Butch disappeared around back toward the rear door, sealing off the exits. Tiny and I crouched low against the foundation, out of sight of the prospect as he came back to let Vicki pass after thoroughly patting her down. I had my phone on vibrate, waiting for the alert from Clink that they were ready. We would enter simultaneously. Tiny and Clink had silencer attachments on their pieces. Hopefully it would give us the small amount of undetected headway we needed to get past the footmen and into the house, catching the rest of the men by surprise.

The kevlar vest I wore under my shirt slowed me down a bit, but I could make it inside in less than a minute if I had to. Tiny aimed his gun, setting it on the prospect. Before the signal could be given, a loud gunshot rang out inside. The prospect pulled out his own gun and searched around, on high alert.

SHIT!
Tiny lost his aim on the now moving target and our shots missed him as he ducked for cover. I stood and made my way into the house, Tiny offering me cover by shooting in the direction the prospect was last seen.

Shots rang out from the rear of the house and Clink and Butch joined in the assault. Two men shot round after round at us before slipping out a side door into the night. The roaring of Harleys alerted us of their hasty exit. I made my way through the main hall and nearly shot Clink as he came the opposite way. I nodded to him and shot my glance up the stairs. He followed my command without hesitation as he and Butch took the steps to secure the second story.

Loud screeching from outside the still-opened door sounded.  Tiny called out to me as I ventured further away from him, “Blue's out front, man!”... followed by several gunshots outside.

I pushed door after door open, searching inside.

“LIL'S! LIL'S! Where are you baby?” A closet door on the far side of the hallway swung open and I aimed my sights on it. Vicki crawled out. I exhaled my disappointment.

She looked up at me, at the gun in my hands pointed at her.

“Get the fuck outside!” I hissed at her. Tiny was standing guard at the entrance offering her cover as she held her head and ran through it.   “LIL'S! BABY...CALL OUT SO I CAN FIND YOU!”

There was a rustling sound through one of the open doorways.

“Jay?!? I'm in here!”

My heart stopped, and my eyes closed briefly. Thank God! I lowered my gun slightly and rounded the corner through the opening. Lil's was crouched in a corner shaking uncontrollably. She held onto a gun, her hands covered in red. Her eyes were alert, searching over me, wandering feverishly.

I held my hands up in surrender, using the softest tones I could find. “Baby... it's OK, Lil's. It's over. I'm here.”

I slipped my gun back into my waistband slowly and took a step in her direction. “Put the gun down, baby... gently.”

Tears welled in her swelling eyes. She threw the gun harder than I would have liked, behind her and under the sofa as she sprang up and burst into my arms. I held her tight drawing her in as close as possible, she held tighter. She sobbed haltingly into my chest as I smoothed her hair with my hand and kissed her head, shushing her. I rubbed over her body feeling my way, searching for injuries. I couldn't find any.

I lifted her chin to see her. She had deep circles around her bloodshot eyes and looked sickly pale. I reached around my waist and freed myself from her grip, holding her hands in mine. “Lil's... where did this blood come from?”

She opened her mouth to speak but no sound came out. Her body visibly deflated and her eyes darted past to the floor behind me. I turned slowly, still holding on to her. Shade's body was limp on the ground, contorted from falling. The blood had stopped flowing, and was now stagnant around his dead body.

“Christ.” I closed my eyes and pulled Lil's into my embrace again.

Her sobbing had now subsided and she was eerily quiet, just holding on to me as I gently rocked her.

Butch entered the room fast, startling Lil's as she instinctively moved to hide behind me. I held my hand out to him, stopping him in his tracks. He looked down at the corpse between us, and up again. Putting his gun away, he held his open arms out to his daughter. She swallowed a sob and left my side for him, letting him hold her.

I took several deep breaths, assessing the situation. Tiny was watching from the doorway, anxious to get to his sister, I'm sure, but holding himself back.  I reached him and pulled him outside out of hearing distance.

“How many others did we take out?”  I asked.

He kept his eyes on Lil's, seeing right through me but answering nonetheless.  “None.  Blue shot at the prospect but he got away.  A bunch of others took off on their bikes.

Clink came upon us.  “There's one out cold upstairs.  Looks like he was pistol whipped.  We locked him in a room in case he wakes up.”

My eyes widened at the news.  Why would they have knocked out one of their own men?  I shelved it for now.  Blue came barreling in. 

“We gotta bail, Jay.  Leo just called.  Scanners picked up a 911 call about a gunfight.”  He slapped the doorframe for emphasis.  “We gotta bounce, NOW!”

I nodded and headed back to Lil's, peeling her from Butch.  “Lil's we gotta go baby, it's not safe here.”  She started to tremble as I said the words.  I looked at Butch briefly before scooping her up and carrying her almost-limp frame out the door, down the steps and placing her in the back of the van.  I turned to Blue as all the boys filed in and shut the sliding door behind them. 

“Where's the whore?” I asked.

He answered me as he opened the driver's door and climbed in, turning the ignition. “She split. Took the cash and ran like hell.”

I climbed in myself and we sped away from the crime scene, tires fishtailing in the dirt as we drove. I looked back over my shoulder into the body of the van. Butch was holding Lil's as she clung to him, staring blankly.

Tiny was smoothing her arm, offering his sister the little bit of comfort that he could. “I think she's in shock Jay. She needs a doctor.”

Blue chimed in from the driver's seat as he navigated us back to our bikes. “You think that's a good idea right now? I mean, that's gonna open up a shit ton of questions.”

I stared hard at him. “Maybe when you get a patch, you'll have a fucking say. For now, drive the god damned van and shut your fucking mouth.”

“I think I have an idea,” Clink volunteered.

******

CHARLIE

My feet hurt, my back hurts, my head hurts. My job may not be as physical as most, but it never failed to leave me feeling beat up at the end of a shift. I entered my employee ID number into the screen and clocked out for the night. It was nearing three-thirty in the morning. Most people were asleep, all tucked in and warm in their beds. I was wired, running on the intense amount of caffeine that helped me get through the last leg of my shift.

I grabbed my bag from the locker room and passed by the security desk on my way to the exit. There were always one or two cabs waiting out front, to offer paid rides to patients, visitors and staff.

“G'night Pete!” I called out as I rummaged through my purse for my wallet to pay the cabbie.

“Hey, Charlie, another tough day?”

I nodded casually to the balding middle aged man smiling at me. “Hey, some guy came in here asking if you'd left yet? Said he's your ride...”

My stomach dropped. Clink. I hadn't exactly forgotten about our run in earlier, I mean, how could I? I just didn't exactly put any stock into seeing him again. Especially so soon. People say things they don't mean all the time. “I'll call you”, “It's not you, it's me.” “You deserve better than me”.... I had just added Clink's statements to the pile.

The automatic doors parted, and the artificial fluorescent lights began to fade behind me. There were crickets chirping nearby, but, otherwise it was quiet. The biker was leaning against his parked Harley, his ankles crossed, and he was fiddling with his phone. As I approached, he pocketed the device and watched me strut toward him.

“I distinctly recall telling you to meet me out back,” the bad boy stated.

I huffed. “Well, hello, to you too.”

He wasn't amused. In fact, he seemed to be deep in thought, biting his cheek. “Are you a good nurse?”

I squinted at him. Was he high right now? “Huh?”

He uncrossed his ankles and stepped in front of me.

“I asked... are you good at what you do?”

It was a loaded question, really. If I said yes, then I'm full of myself and bragging. If I said no, then I'm passing myself off as some two bit bedpan emptying, pencil pusher. I decided to be honest.

“I'm damn good at what I do.”

He nodded, taking it in, adding it to the scenario he was obviously mulling over.

“OK then,” He handed me a he;met. “Get on.”

******

It was my lucky day, err... night. Clink brought me back to the auto shop that doubled as the clubhouse for the Kingsmen M.C.. I had been trying to get in here for weeks and now I was officially being invited by a full patched member of the inner circle. The auto repair front was long-closed at this time of night, err... day, but the parking area was full of cars and bikes.

We pulled in alongside the long line of Harleys and Clink cut the engine. Several people were nearby and watched as I awkwardly took myself from the seat and stood next to the bike, waiting for Clink. I looked around, taking in the surroundings. This place had a whole different vibe in the dark. I felt warmth in my hand and as I turned to investigate, I found Clink's hand over mine, willing me to follow his lead.

There were plenty of men scattered around, dressed like my companion and roaming their eyes hungrily over my body. I wasn't dressed nearly as provocatively, well, trampy if I'm gonna be blunt, as these women. I was wearing my drawstring scrub pants and a tight tank top that I used for layering under my uniform at work, where the bitchy menopausal women dominated the thermostat trying to deal with their hot flashes.

I slowed down slightly observing the spectators when Clink yanked a bit on my hand. Allrighty then... I guess we're speed walking. The wooden door with a 'Members Only' sign opened as if on cue with some young guy holding it for us. The music was playing, although not terribly loud and the long wooden bar was filled to capacity, overflowing to standing room only.

We weaved our way through the crowd, the men nodding at us, the women giving me classic passive-aggressive bitch faces. The walls were filled with memorabilia, Harley Davidson logos adorning almost everything. There were occasional framed mug shots hanging, and newspaper articles behind paned glass.

We breezed past the personal effects, not stopping to fully admire them. There was a long hallway where we made a right and continued to the very end. Clink knocked lightly on the door, and it opened almost immediately. There were several people inside and a woman lying on the full-sized bed on her side in a fetal position. I recognized many of these faces, from my surveillance of the club. Sunny, who I knew from afar as well as my weekly visits to her salon, stood up and held my arms.

“Thank you so much for coming, Charlie.” She was sweet, and a damned good hairdresser to boot.

I nodded at her. “Mmm hmmm.” I turned to Clink and asked through my teeth, “Why exactly
am
I here?”

Clink cleared his throat. “This is Lil's. She's family in more ways than one.”

This
was Lil's? I knew about her, of course, but had yet to spot her around town. The man hanging his head low, leaning over the bed while stroking her hand spoke up. I could only see the back of his head before, but as soon as he spoke I recognized his voice.

“This is my baby... my ol' lady. She's seen some fucked-up shit and she's in shock.”

I inhaled. I could only imagine the “fucked up shit” that this poor girl has seen. I stepped forward through the concerned visitors.

“I.. i'll need some space,” I started.

Each person reluctantly passed back through the door, somber and concerned. Every person except Jay, who remained seated watching my patient closely. I sat in a now-empty chair on the opposite side of the bed and gently picked up her limp wrist. I numbly felt around for her pulse, and eyed my watch when I was finally able to find it. It was strong, although a bit slow. But most importantly, it was regular. She was cool to the touch but there was a small layer of perspiration adding a sheen to her pale skin.

“Is she vomiting at all?” I nervously asked Jay. He hadn't raised his eyes from her once yet. He shook his head no.