Chapter Sixteen
Kick
I pocketed the cash we’d just collected for King, and turned to Nitro as we headed towards our bikes. “I like it when jobs are that easy.”
He nodded. “Yeah, makes it a lot fucking easier when they just pay up with no encouragement needed.”
Just as we reached our bikes, my phone rang. King. “What’s up, brother?” I answered it.
“Have you been to Hawk’s to collect yet?”
“Nope.”
“Good, cancel that job. I’m gonna give him an extra week to pay,” he said, stunning me. King rarely gave extensions.
“Yeah, the motherfucker’s mother needed cash for an operation so I figure she needs it more than us.”
“You believe him?”
“He wasn’t the one who told me. Jen told me when I saw her yesterday before she left.”
I was so confused, not understanding the connection between Jen and Hawk, but I figured King knew his shit. “Right, so we’re done for the day then. I’ll bring the cash back now, but do you need me after that?” I hadn’t seen Evie since yesterday afternoon and was fucking craving her.
“No, you and Nitro can call it a day.”
“Thanks. I’ll see you soon with this cash,” I promised before ending the call.
Nitro raised his brows. “We done for the day?”
I nodded. “Yeah, man.” I reached for my helmet. “Did you finish working on the engine?”
“It’s nearly done. Thanks for your help the other day.”
“Sure. Just call out if you need a hand again.”
My phone buzzed with another call, and my face broke out in a grin when I saw the caller ID.
Evie.
Nitro chuckled. “Looks like some good pussy there, brother.”
“Yeah, you could say that,” I said as I answered it. “What’s up, baby?” I said into the phone.
“Someone’s broken into my house . . . can you come over? It’s okay if you can’t, but –”
I was instantly on alert; Evie sounded panicked. “I’ll be there in about ten minutes. Are you okay until then?”
“Yes. Thank you,” she said softly, relief clear in her voice.
“Fuck,” I muttered as I shoved my phone in my pocket.
“What’s up?” Nitro asked.
“My girlfriend’s house has been broken into.”
“You need help?”
“Nah, should be alright,” I said, turning over the engine of my bike.
He nodded, and I gave him a chin lift. “I’ll catch you later, man.” And then I took off for Evie’s place.
Whoever had broken into her house would pay dearly.
* * *
I’d expected to find Evie still panicked, but she’d calmed down by the time I got there. I took in the mess as I walked through the house to find her in the kitchen. The place had been trashed and it looked like we had a big clean up ahead of us.
She looked up from the table where she sat. “Thank God you’re here,” she said as she got up and came to me.
I opened my arms and pulled her close. She gratefully stepped into my embrace and rested her head against my chest. I felt the tightness of her body, and rubbed my hand up and down her back. I held her until she lifted her head and looked up into my eyes.
“Why did they have to wreck the place as well?” she asked, her voice cracking a little.
“Fuck . . .” I swore, “because they’re assholes.”
“Yeah, they are.” She let me go and walked to the sink. “I need a coffee. You want one?”
“No, I’m gonna take a look around.” At her nod, I headed into the lounge room and surveyed the damage. It didn’t look like anything of real value had been taken. The television and stereo were still here. I walked around the entire house and then back into the kitchen. “Babe, what’s actually missing?” I asked, because I couldn’t work out what had been taken. All big-ticket items seemed to be in place.
She was on the phone, on hold, and she answered, “That’s the weird thing. I can’t work out what’s been stolen.”
“Who are you on the phone to?”
“The cops.”
I reached for the phone and she let me take it. Ending the call, I said, “I don’t think anything’s missing, unless they took jewellery or something smaller like that?”
“No, I checked that, and nothing is missing.”
“Do you want to claim this on insurance?”
She frowned. “I don’t know. Why?”
“If you want to claim it you’ll have to involve the cops. If not, you can forget them and just let me and the boys find out who did it, and deal with them for you. Either way I’ll be finding out who did it, but I’d prefer not to have the cops involved.”
She thought about it for a moment and then said, “I’ll just let you handle it.”
I gave her a quick kiss and said, “Okay, I’m gonna get started on it now. Will you be alright on your own?”
She gave me a smile and nodded. “Yeah, Maree said she’d come over if I need her, so I’ll give her a call. She’ll help me clean up, too.”
Thank fuck for her friend. I didn’t really want to leave her on her own.
As I headed out, I mulled it over. My natural instinct would be to suspect Gambarro because I was a paranoid bastard, but this didn’t seem like a job he would pull.
It seemed to me that if he were involved, Evie wouldn’t be breathing anymore.
But it wouldn’t hurt to check in on him.
* * *
“Mr Gambarro is out of the country.” His security guy glared down at me, challenging me to argue with him. He was refusing me entry to Gambarro’s building and feeding me stories about Gambarro not being here.
“You expect me to buy that?”
“I don’t give a fuck if you do or don’t; it’s the truth. Now fuck off and leave me alone.”
I assessed the situation and decided to confirm that information with my other contacts before pursuing this any further, but I did ask, “When will he be back?”
The guy glared at me harder, in a ‘you’re-fucking-kidding-me’ look. “I said, fuck off.”
I pulled out my phone and began dialling as I walked away.
Bones answered on almost the first ring. “Kick. What’s up, my man?”
I liked Bones, simply because he usually had solid information, and he was always willing to share it with me. He ran strip clubs and girls, and, in general, had his finger in a lot of pies. “Do you know if Gambarro is out of the country?”
“Yeah, he left last week. Pretty sure he’ll be back this week, maybe in a couple of days.”
“Thanks for that.”
“Why do you ask?” Bones was a nosy motherfucker and while he had his uses, I didn’t trust him with my secrets.
“Just checking some shit out for a friend. Their place was trashed, and they suspect him, but I don’t figure him for that kind of thing.”
“Yeah, it doesn’t sound like something he would pull. Gambarro would be in your face; you’d know it was him without a shadow of a doubt.”
“My thoughts exactly. Thanks, man, I’ll keep investigating and figure out who else it could be,” I said and then ended the call.
No doubt that information would start spreading and perhaps whoever was responsible would come to light sooner rather than later.
* * *
I headed to the clubhouse after that and found King in the bar. The newly painted bar. He was on one of the old couches with one of the club whores. Brittany had gotten her way with the new paint but not with the new couches. There’d been no point really; new couches would only get used in the same way the old ones did.
King dragged his attention away from the ass he’d been admiring to look at me. “You come to play, Kick?” he asked with a wicked glint in his eye.
“No, I’ve got your money for you, plus I need to talk to you about something.”
He slapped the whore’s ass and moved her so he could stand. “Wait here, I won’t be long,” he ordered her before leading me to the office.
I shut the office door behind me and handed him the envelope of cash. “My girlfriend’s house was broken into today. They trashed it, but I don’t think they stole anything.”
He punched in the code to the safe and dumped the cash in it. Turning back to me, he asked, “Are you thinking this is retaliation from Gambarro? Or Silver Hell?”
“Fuck, I hadn’t thought of Silver Hell, but I had considered Gambarro for it. Doesn’t seem to fit his usual style, though.”
Shaking his head, he said, “No, it doesn’t.” He sat in the chair behind the desk, a thoughtful look on his face. I waited for him to speak. “What about Silver Hell, though? Did you find out anything else about where they are at with Marco’s death?”
“Last I heard they were chasing up a lead that Black Deeds were involved in that. They weren’t even looking in our direction so I don’t think this is their work, either. It’s too subtle.”
He shrugged. “Maybe you and I are just too fucking paranoid for our own good, brother. Maybe this is your run-of-the-mill neighbourhood burglary and has nothing to do with us.”
“Yeah, could be. I’ll keep looking into it.”
King’s eyes narrowed on me. “This chick means something to you?”
“Evie means everything to me,” I stated, aware this would trigger further questions from him.
“As much as the club means to you?”
“My loyalties are even.”
He was silent for a moment, and then he blew out a long breath. “Well, fuck, I never thought I’d see the day,” he murmured.
“Is that a problem for you?” I really fucking hoped it wouldn’t be because it might force me to admit to myself, and everyone else, that my loyalties actually weren’t even. That my loyalties were fast becoming slanted more in Evie’s direction.
Standing, he said, “No, brother. She means something to you, then she means something to the club. We’re behind you with this. Whatever you need, you’ve got.” His eyes bore into mine and told me he meant every word he said.
I let out the breath I didn’t realise I’d been holding. Nodding, I said, “Thanks.”
Contemplating that conversation as I headed back to Evie’s house, I realised how deep I was in with Evie. Seventeen years of club loyalty meant more to me than anything else in my life. But not more than Evie meant to me.
And fuck, I didn’t know what to make of that.