Ridin' Dirty: An Outlaw Author Anthology (OAMC Book 1) (30 page)

Gabby

After Daniel leaves my house, I sit on my couch and stew.  I’m pissed at myself, not only for allowing myself to be distracted from my search for Derrick by a sexy cop, but also for allowing Daniel to touch me the way he did only to blow me off afterwards and just walk out the door.

I’m not an idiot.  I know why he did what he did.  I respect him for having more self-control than I do and for doing what was best for me and my brother.  Even knowing all that, the rejection still stings a little.

Forcing my thoughts back to my brother, I think back to Tommy’s behaviour at the coffee shop.  In hindsight and knowing Tommy for as long as I have, I realize that he really was just putting on a show.  Hurting me had hurt him.  And if hurting me hurt him, I know that hurting Derrick would just about kill him.  He might not know where Derrick is, but he knows more than I do, which at this point is absolutely nothing.

Daniel had said that he was going to Tommy’s house.  My mind had been a little distracted at the time but I have no doubt that Tommy will not be home.  He hates his house, only going there to shower and sometimes to sleep if there is nowhere else to go.  If this is just a regular night for him, he’ll be at The Corner Pocket.

Nodding my head, I jump up from the couch and grab my seldom-used car keys.  Mom had left her car here when she moved out west for me to use whenever I wanted.  I rarely use it though, opting instead to walk or take a taxi.  Parking in this city is ridiculous.

Heading for the garage, I hit the button on the wall and open the car door as the garage door rattles open.  Sticking the key into the ignition, I give it a twist and listen to the car come to life.  The little Kia Rio hasn’t been started since I took it out to visit a friend in the suburbs three weeks ago.

I pull out of the driveway and make my way to the pool hall, praying that Tommy will be there.  I don’t know if I can go through another sleepless night, wondering if my brother is okay.  The drive only takes a few minutes, and on the way I plan out exactly what I am going to say to him.  I know his buddies will be around and that he’ll likely be a dick at first, but this time I’ll be prepared.  I will yank him out of there by the ear if I have to.

Pulling up to the curb, I make my best attempt to parallel park the Rio.  I only had to pull out and back in again four times.  That’s a new record for me.  I’m just reaching for the handle when I see Daniel come walking out of the pool hall, Tommy close on his heels, his face looking sad.

I watch as Daniel opens the back door of an unmarked cruiser and walks around to the driver’s side.  Where are they going?  Does Tommy know where Derrick is?  I consider getting out and approaching the car but I’m worried that I’ll be interfering with whatever Daniel is doing to get Tommy to co-operate.  Besides, my car is parked several cars behind them.  I’d never make it to them before they pull away.

But they don’t pull away.  From where I sit, I can make out the shadows of both men, and neither seems to be moving much.  Suddenly, the shadow in the back starts jerking around, arms flailing and it almost looks like he’s hitting the windows but I can’t be sure.  What the hell is going on?

I reach across the seat and rummage through my purse without taking my eyes off the shadows in that car.  When I finally locate my phone, I pull it out and get ready to dial Daniel’s cell phone.  I want to let him know that I’m here.

I just dial the last number when the Tommy’s shadow sits up straight and the car pulls away from the curb.  Daniel’s phone rings four times before his voice mail picks up.

“Daniel?  It’s Gabby.”  I put my car in drive and pull out onto the street, following the unmarked car.  “Um … I went to The Corner Pocket to see if I could find Tommy, and saw you and him getting into your car.  Did he tell you where Derrick is?  Anyways, I’m right behind you.  Call me back.”

Pressing the end button, I toss the phone on the seat beside me and do my best to keep up with the speeding car.

Daniel

I see Gabby’s number ringing through on the screen and silence the ringer.  Tommy is behind me, finally telling me everything and I’m not about to interrupt him when I’m so close to finding Derrick.

“So this kid at school started selling us weed, ya know?  And me and Derrick, we thought he was a cool kid, and we liked his supply, so we started hanging out with him after school and shit.”  I keep my eyes on the road, but every now and then look back to where Tommy sits, talking with his head back on the seat, eyes on the ceiling.

“Turns out, this kid is a Crip.  We start hanging out with a bunch of them at different spots.  We even make a few friends.  Derrick and I both started selling weed for them.  Just small time shit, ya know?  Dime bags to buddies from high school mostly.”  He shakes his head.  “After a while, they started teaching us some shit about how they work.  Invited us both to parties.  We spent a lot of time high, man.  And the ladies …”  He smirks and shakes his head.  “The ladies were everywhere, ya know?  Man, we were gettin’ laid almost every night.”

“Who was taking you to these parties?”

Tommy leans forward and his eyes meet mine in the rear-view mirror.  “Fuck that, man.  I’ll take you to Derrick.  I’ll even tell you his story, but I’m no narc.  You hear that?”  I nod, knowing that he might not have much choice before this is all done.  Giving up the gang may be the only way the cops can offer him protection.

Tommy sits back in his seat.  “Anyway, all of the sudden the other guys were going to parties and we weren’t invited.  It was bullshit, man.  Pissed us both off.  We were told those parties were for members only.  Finally, one of them asks us if we want to become members ourselves.  Derrick and I both said yes.  We’d have been crazy not to.  The weed and women alone made the initiation worth it.”

I look back at him through the mirror.  “What was the initiation?”

He smirks.  “No way, man.  Not tellin’ you that shit either.  I will say that we had to do something specific.  Something illegal.  Once that was done, we were in — full-fledged Crips.”

“So what happened?”

Tommy shakes his head.  “Derrick started talkin’ to some bitch online.  She lives in the country somewhere on some fuckin’ horse farm.  He took her out a few times.  Stupid fucker told me that she was the one.  You imagine?  Dude is nineteen years old and he thinks he found the one?”

I take the next exit, our destination only a few blocks away.

“Anyway, Derrick goes up to the head guy, ya know?  Not gonna tell ya more than I need to, but basically he tells him he wants out.  Buddy tells him it ain’t that easy.  Derrick says he don’t fuckin’ care.  He’s movin’ away and wants to go to college with this bitch and he’ll do what he needs to do.”  Tommy shakes his head and sniffs, trying to look unaffected by his own story.  “Buddy tells him the only way he’ll let Derrick out is to jump him out.”

I know exactly what that means.  You don’t work on the Street Crimes Unit and not know what a jump out is.  Basically, if a gang member wants out and the gang is willing to let him go without fear of him turning on them and trading their secrets, they’ll do a jump out.  It’s where every member of the gang takes turns beating the shit out of the member.  If he lives, he’s out.  Free from the gang.

“Is Derrick alive, Tommy?”

He nods solemnly.  “Barely.” I pull into the driveway of the address he gave me and look up at the large abandoned warehouse.  This building had been on police radar for a while for being a hub for gang activity.  Tommy directs me towards a rear entrance and keeps talking.

“Those fuckers kicked the shit out of him, man.  Even I had to take my turn or I’d have looked like a pussy.”  His breath wavers a little.  “When they were done, everyone went their separate ways but Derrick didn’t get up.  He was bleeding like crazy and I could tell that some of his bones were broken.”

“Why didn’t you take him to the hospital?”

“They were watching me, man.  The boss though, he liked Derrick, and he let me pull him off into one of the offices and said if I could nurse him back to health, he was free to go.”  I pull to a stop and look back to see Tommy shake his head sadly.  “It’s not good, man.”

“Take me to him.”

Getting out of the car, I let Tommy out of the back and he leads me inside the building, moving quietly for fear that someone is around.  The place seems deserted.  Finally, we round a corner and there he is.

Laying on a pile of dirty rags is a barely recognizable Derrick.  His face is black and blue and swollen.  One look at him tells me that he has fractures to his face and right arm, and God knows where else.  I rush to him, squatting down beside his broken form and feel for a pulse.  It’s weak, but it’s there.

I pull out my phone, ready to call 911 when I hear a loud click from behind.  Both Tommy and I spin around, and the blood drains from my face.

The first thing I see is the gun, cocked and ready.  And then I see where it’s pointed.  Gabby’s terrified face is white as a sheet and covered in silent tears as the gun presses hard against her temple.  The shaking and angry man holding the gun clutches Gabby to his body with a forearm across her throat.

“I knew you were a fuckin’ rat, Tommy,” he spits.  “Fuckin’ piece of shit.”

Gabby

I keep my eyes pinned on Daniel, my body shaking with fear.  Everything happened so fast that I didn’t see this guy’s face.  I pulled up behind Daniel’s car and walked inside, listening for the sounds of their voices in the empty warehouse.

I heard the faint echo of footsteps off to the right and moved in that direction.  I didn’t make it more than three steps before a strong arm wrapped around my neck and a gun is stabbed into my cheek.  “Don’t fucking scream, bitch.”

The truth is, when he grabbed me I lost all of the air in my lungs. I couldn’t have screamed if I wanted to.  With wide eyes I stare at the gun that is being held only inches from my eye.  “Keep your mouth shut and do what I say,” he orders and starts walking, my body propelled along in front of his as he moves silently towards the sounds I’d been following a few seconds ago.

We round a corner and my body sags in relief when I see Daniel.  The strange man behind me pulls the gun away from my face and uses his thumb to cock the hammer before pressing the muzzle to my temple.

Both Tommy and Daniel spin around, Daniel’s hand moving towards his hip.  “I knew you were a fuckin’ rat, Tommy,” the man spits.  “Fuckin’ piece of shit.”

Tears fill my eyes as I stare at Daniel who stands frozen in front of us, eyes locked on me, his jaw set.  I watch as Tommy throws out his arms.

“Tooth, man” he pleads.  “You know I’d never rat.  I just want Derrick to get some help, brother.  He’s my best friend.”  One of his hands drop while he’s talking and points at a pile of rags in the corner.

“Fuck you,” Tooth snarls.  “You brought a fuckin’ cop to a fuckin’ Crip joint and likely told him all kinds of shit.  Then ya got this bitch creepin’ through the goddamn building.”

I hear them talking, but I don’t know what they’re saying.  My body trembles and my head screams as I stare at that rumpled pile of rags.  Only it’s not rags.  It’s my brother.  My breath catches in my chest and I forget all about the gun pressed against my head.  Attempting to shrug him off, I let out an anguished cry.  “Derrick!”

He doesn’t move.  I try to pull free once more and Tooth yanks me back, screaming into my ear.  “Don’t move you crazy fuckin’ bitch!”  He presses the gun even harder to my head, grinding it into my skull.  “I’m gonna blow your fuckin’ brains all over this fucking room!”

I feel his hand move and my eyes lift to Daniel’s, an apology on my lips.  Just then, Tommy lurches forward.  “No!  Tooth!  Don’t —”

The sound of the gun going off so close to my face nearly deafens me, my head fills with a loud ringing as I stare in horror at Tommy.  He clutches his chest, his mouth open in surprise as the blood stain on his shirt grows bigger right before my eyes.  His mouth makes no sound as he drops to his knees.

I know I’m screaming, but I can’t hear my own voice over the high-pitched ringing in my head.  When Tommy slumps forward and lands face first on the floor, I know deep down that he’s dead.  My eyes move to Daniel.

Like a fearless warrior, he stands proudly in front of my brother, protecting his body with his own, his arm raised as he holds his gun firmly in his hand.  Instantly, my mind clears and I scramble to come up with some sort of plan.  We can’t die like this.

“I said, drop it, pig!”

Daniel’s voice is strong and fearless, his gun held steady.  “Let the girl go.  She was just trying to find her brother.”

Tooth’s body tenses behind mine and he mutters a soft, “Fuck it.”

Before I know what’s happening, he pulls the gun away from my temple and points it right at Daniel.  He pulls the trigger before I can react and I watch in horror as Daniel crumples to the ground.

“No!” I scream, struggling to free myself from his hold.  “Daniel!”  Daniel doesn’t move.  Suddenly, I’m flying across the room, my body landing on top of my brother's in the corner.  He doesn’t even open his eyes as I look down at his broken body.

“You wanted to find your fuckin’ pussy ass brother so bad, bitch?  Well there he is.  Now you can both go to hell!”  He raises the gun and time seems to stop as I watch his finger slide over the trigger.  I drape my body over Derrick’s and squeeze my eyes closed.

The gunshot rings through the warehouse and my body jerks in surprise and tenses, waiting for the bullet to hit me.  Something drops to the floor and I lift my head, wondering what the hell is going on.

Tooth lays crumpled just a foot away, a disgusting looking hole drilled right through his forehead.  My heart pounds as I lift my eyes and see Daniel slump to the floor clutching his arm.  He’s out of breath when he looks up at me and asks, “You okay, baby?”