Chapter Seven
Harlow
“What the fuck are we doing?” Alexis hisses out as we crouch out of sight behind a bunch of oil drums which line the outskirts of Newcastle docks.
“Shhh.” I peek over the drums when I hear the echo of bikes slowing down to park.
I look in the direction where a black car with tinted windows is parked and hope this isn’t a pass off.
“I told you - when I went upstairs to the office at the club, I overheard Drake say they were bringing Trevor here,” I hiss.
“And tell me again how you know this Drake guy?” I can hear the smile in her voice and groan.
I just can’t keep my stupid, big, bloody mouth shut, I had to tell her everything that happened after I left them last night. Peeking back over the barrels, I watch as car doors open and two men in suits step out. They look as scary as fuck as they stand talking with Drake while one of the bikers drags a kicking Trevor towards the side of the building.
“Shit.” I duck down.
“What?” Alexis whispers.
“We’re going to have to go in there,” I groan, wondering how far we’ll get before someone spots us.
“Um - no way, José.” She shakes her head violently. “Are you telling me, you want to go into a big ass building with guys in suits and a bunch of bikers, oh and not just any bikers mind you, they’re bloody 1%er’s. Have you lost your fucking mind?”
“I have to, Alexis. I need to do this. Trevor is the only lead I have, the only one who might know who killed Julie.” I plead for her to understand as my eyes begin to glass over.
“Shit! Shit! Shit!” she curses.
Tears I can’t control slide down my cheek.
“Okay,” she breathes out. “If we take this nice and slow we might get in there without anyone seeing us.” She pokes her head up above the drums before scanning the area and dropping back down. “There are a fair number of pallets stacked around and a forklift. I think if we go that way….” she points over my shoulder. “….we stay behind everything and stay low, we should be alright.”
Nodding, I give her a quick hug, wipe my tears away and we creep in the direction she pointed. We stay low and hide behind a stack of pallets when four other guys turn up and make their way inside.
“That was close,” Alexis whispers while tugging on my shirt to get my attention.
I nod in agreement before we make a run for the forklift which is near the door we need to enter through.
“Ready?” I breath out.
“Not really.” She pushes her glasses up her nose and rubs her hands against her pants.
“Thank you,” I whisper. I know once we walk through that door, no matter what happens, she has my back.
“Always, now let's do this before I piss myself.”
I giggle before leaning to one side and peering around the forklift, making sure nobody else is around. With the area clear, we dash to the large metal door. I open it as quietly as possible and we slide inside. The warehouse is dark but we’re guided by the light from a back room and make our way to the door. I poke my head around the door, the men’s backs are to me and their sole focus is on Trevor. He’s lying on a table in the middle of the room and I watch as Drake slides a knife down his chest. Fear slams into me. Fear that I won’t get the answers I so desperately need before Drake kills him. It sets my body in motion and I rush into the room.
“STOP!” I scream.
Large hands grip both my arms. Drakes head snaps up and his hand freezes on the knife. A deep growl rumbles in his chest when his eyes lock on the two men holding me. He stares at me and I see his eyes soften a little, my stomach twists at his next words and my heart skips a beat.
“Get your fucking hands off my woman,” he snarls between clenched teeth.
One set of hands release me as if I burned him.
“I said let her go, NOW!” His voice is deathly low and clipped.
It sends shivers straight through me and I’m surprised when it travels straight to my clit. Damn this man and my traitorous body.
“Nico.” A man's deep voice penetrates my lust filled head and the other guy drops his hands.
I watch as Drake takes a few deep breaths to get himself under control.
“Babe, what are you doing here?” His voice is deep and husky, like he's struggling for control.
His eyes flick back to Trevor and a look crosses his face that I don’t understand.
“Does this piece of shit mean something to you?” he asks without taking his eyes off him.
He’s jealous! That’s what that look is. Knowing this beast of a man is ready to kill at the thought I could have feelings for the weasel of a man, warms me inside. Moving slowly, I block everyone else in the room out and concentrate on the man who just declared to his friends that I’m his. My body presses against his. I slide my hand down his strong, inked, arm until I reach his hand with the knife in it. He grips it harder.
“Drake,” I whisper so only he will hear me.
He grunts in response.
“I need answers,” I whisper again.
Thick emotion is clear in my words, his eyebrows pull together in confusion.
“If I’m yours, trust me,” I plead.
After a few seconds, he nods, releases the knife and takes a step back. Gripping the knife in my hand, I step into his space. I feel the heat and aggression radiating off him in waves and I let it consume me. Leaning up on the tips of my toes, I brush my lips across his and on a whisper, I thank him. Closing my eyes, I taste the hint of cinnamon and a small hum escapes my lips. A soft rumbled growl leaves his throat. Snapping my eyes to his, I see the fire there and I have to turn away before I lose control.
Turning towards the table, I watch for a moment as Trevor’s beady little eyes plead with me to set him free. But, I feel nothing. I knew the minute I meet this man he was a weasel. I run the blade down his chest and blood pools around his body. I can’t pull my eyes away as crimson drops hit the concrete floor.
“Who is Elliot?” I snarl.
Glancing up when he begins to thrash, I notice he’s gagged.
“Demetri.” It’s the same deep voice I heard earlier.
I raise my eyes to him, he chuckles and winks at me. I feel my cheeks heat but allow my eyes to take in the deathly dark suit and the tattoos which peek out at the cuffs. I bite my lip when I return my eyes to his.
“Damn,” I gasp and I hear Alexis giggle.
My head snaps around to where she’s standing with a biker beside her, the same one from last night. Bending over, he whispers something in her ear and I notice the blush that creeps over her ivory skin before she ducks her head.
“Antonio…” Drake growls from behind me.
From the corner of my eye, I see Antonio hold his hands up and he has a smirk on his handsome face.
“Trust me, Drake, I’m not interested in your woman. I have one of my own I can barely handle. The fire inside yours reminds me of my Kitten.” He chuckles and the other men in suits laugh along with him.
“Thanks, I think,” I smile.
“Trust me, it’s a compliment, ma’am.” Antonio nods to me before his eyes flick back to Trevor on the table.
I turn back to Trevor and realise the guy Antonio called out to has removed the gag from his mouth.
“Who is Elliot?” I run the tip of the knife down his thigh before digging it in and splitting the skin. He lets out a scream.
“I’d answer a bit quicker, if I was you,” Drake calls over his screams.
Sucking down deep breaths, Trevor gets his words out on a grunt when I push against the wound with my finger. “He… He works behind the bar at the club.”
“I haven’t met anyone named Elliot,” I mutter more to myself while running through who I’ve met since I started at the club.
“Why the fuck would you have met them?” Drake demands to know.
I turn my face to his. “Because I work for this piece of shit.” I turn around further so he can see my shirt.
“Shit, how didn’t I know that?” he mumbles to himself before waving his hand back to Trevor.
“He goes by L,” he gasps.
I run the knife back up his stomach and when the name registers in my head, my movement freezes.
“The pussy bartender from last night,” Drake says after a few minutes of silence.
“I need to know where he is,” I say desperately while turning to Drake.
“Shadow, find Joel and Pete, they dealt with him after my woman beat the shit out of him last night.” I try not to smile when I hear the men in the room laugh at Drake’s words.
“Yep, she’s like my Kitten,” Antonio laughs.
“Babe, we’re going to finish this piece of shit off then you and me are going to talk about why you need to see this Elliot guy and how the hell you found us here in the first place.” Drake steps close enough that his chest rubs against mine and causes my nipples to harden. Gazing into his blue eyes, I see the control he’s trying to harness and nod my head.
“Oh shit,” I gasp.
I look around frantically, remembering Alexis is still here. I worry about the way she might be handling all this. Over the other side of the table, I notice her head is down and she’s still standing next to the biker from last night. Shit, I really need to learn these guys names if I’m gonna be around Drake. I shake the thought off and notice how the man is staring at the top of her head, it’s not hard, considering he towers over her.
“Alexis,” I say quietly.
She lifts her head and locks her eyes with mine. I’m worried she’ll be upset with what’s going on.
“I’m okay. Obviously, this piece of shit has pissed somebody off and I’m just glad you know who Elliot is now.” I see it in her eyes, she really is okay with this.
***
“Are you sure you’re okay?" I ask Alexis as we wait outside the warehouse.
We’re waiting with bikers, Razor and Crank and one of the men in a suit. I think he said his name was Nico. As soon as we walked outside, he put his jacket in the car and rolled up his sleeves, he looks like he could bust out of his shirt at any minute.
“Yeah.” She doesn’t say anything else as she kicks the toe of her Converse against the gravel.
“How long do we have to wait?” I ask Razor who is leaning against the side of the building.
“As long as it takes." He shrugs his shoulders and looks towards Crank who is smiling his ass off.
I can't help but laugh, he’s kept his mouth shut since Razor told him to shut it or he would cop a boot to it.
“Do you think Drake is pissed we followed him here?” I ask Alexis and watch as a smile curls her mouth.
“Why do you care?” she throws back.
She’s right to ask the question. I’ve never cared if I get in shit for stuff, I'm my own woman and I do what I want. But something about pissing Drake off is equal parts worrying while the other part has tingles running through my body at the thought of the punishment I could get.
“I'm guessing by the look on your face, you’re not too worried about it,” she laughs.
She laughs so hard that she snorts, cracking me up. Her eyes widen when she realises what she’s done and she shies her face away so nobody sees her blush.
“My woman does that too when she laughs," Nico chuckles.
The guy is huge and kind of intriguing, especially that thick accent of his. Actually, now I come to think of it, all the guys in suits have the same accent.
“Nico, was it?” I ask.
He nods.
“I love your accent, where are you from?”
“Jesus, Harlow, are you flirting with him," Alexis grumbles.
I shake my head desperately. Fuck no! First off, he just said he has a missus and secondly, I have a man beast who is beating his chest every five minutes over me. I definitely don't need another one.
“I swear I wasn't chatting you up,” I rush out so he doesn't think I'm some lush bouncing around every guy I meet.
“I didn't think you were," he reassures me. “And, I'm Italian.” He folds his arms over his broad chest and I see a huge tattoo on the side of his forearm which reads, Josie. There’s another name underneath, it’s smaller and I can’t read it.
“Who’s, Josie?" Curiosity gets the better of me.
Chuckling, he stretches out his arm and stares at it for a few minutes.
“Josie is my Petal, the woman of my dreams.”
“So, your wife?”
“Si, soon to be anyways," he nods and smiles.
“Any kids?”
“Jesus, Harlow, do you want him to tell you his life story or something?" Alexis asks.
Razor and Crank crack up laughing.
“What? I'm naturally a curious person and since we can't go anywhere, and those two….” I point at the pair of bikers. “…. just grunt when you ask them shit, who else can I suss out?”
Everyone cracks up at that, even me. I shrug my shoulders and wait for Nico to answer.
“Si, we have a little boy," he nods.
“Awesome, what do you do for a living? I know it's some shady shit, but after today I'm kind of shady now, too."
Nico laughs again.
“Fuck, I can't wait to tell my woman about you. Antonio was right, you’re exactly like his Missus."
He laughs, but before I can say anything else, the metal door opens and the rest of the rat pack walks out.
“Razor, has Shadow got the information we need?" Drake barks out.
“Yep he’s at Club Ivy with that Elliot guy now.”
I narrow my eyes at Razor, irritated he didn't say anything to me earlier.
“Well, let's get this shit done." Drake strides over, grabs my hand and starts pulling me towards his bike.
“What about Alexis and my car?"
He stops and turns towards Razor; a silent conversation appears to take place before he starts pulling me again.
“Sorted, Babe, now get your sweet ass on my bike before I bend you over it and spank your ass in front of everyone."
He finishes just as Alexis calls out that she’ll follow in my car. Turning, I see her almost at my car with Razor hot on her heels.
“Fine," I grumble. I’m pissed Drake thinks he can order me around.
“Lemon Drop, I'm really doing my best to control myself right now so, let's get this shit done. We need to talk." He speaks low so only I hear.
I nod, not wanting to push him too much, but needing him to know I have a voice too. Putting the helmet on, he pushes my hands away and fixes the strap before climbing on himself and doing what he did last night. He pulls me close to his body so I'm like a vine wrapped around a tree. I feel him blow out a deep breath and tension leaves his body when I rest my head against his strong back and run my fingers over his hard stomach.
“Easy, Babe."
He grunts and I giggle when my fingers brush over his jean covered cock. Before I can say anything, he kicks the bike to life and the rumble of the pipes echoes around us.