Chapter 26
Rebel
I'd told Ginger that I was going to look for a house, and I intended to, but finding Daryl and Jack was my first fucking priority. After I'd dropped her off at the hospital, I headed to the pier to see Pinkie. My gut told me that if Daryl owed the Kings drug money then he'd be hiding from them, which meant that he'd have to get his drugs through another channel. Junkies always managed to find money for their next fix. I parked my bike, glancing toward the direction of the pier. I could see Pinkie from where I was standing, peddling his cheap beach towels and t-shirts, which was nothing but a front for his real business. To make sure that he threw the cops off, he gave a t-shirt or towel to every junkie who came by to buy drugs from him to give off the appearance of being legit, and every once in a while someone came by who actually wanted the cheap crap that he sold.
My phone buzzed just as I got off my bike. I dug it out of my pocket and leaned against my bike, seeing that it was Jace. Good. I'd been waiting for his call. He was supposed to touch base with me and Moody after he returned the girl to her Politian father and got the payoff.
"Got some good news, brother?"
He laughed. "Yep! Dropped the girl off, money's in the bank. I'm on my way back now. I talked to Moody, he said your girl managed to escape on her own. Hate that I had to leave."
"Yeah, she's small but feisty, and don't worry about it, man. Bad timing. I'm here at the pier looking for the fucker who took her now."
"Why the pier?"
"He's a junkie. He screwed himself over with the Kings, but he'll need to get his fix somewhere."
"Pinkie?"
"That's what I'm thinking. Daryl's days are numbered. I’ve got half of Daytona looking for his ass."
"What about the Kings? You get any blowback from them?"
"Not yet." I'd been watching Pinkie from where I stood, and I noticed that he was packing up his shit. "Listen, looks like Pinkie spotted me and is getting ready to move. I'll talk to you later." I ended the call and began to walk toward the beach.
Pinkie's movements told me that he was in a hurry. I grinned at the nervous look on his face that even his busy, unkempt beard couldn't disguise. Every few moments his gaze shot up to me to see if I was still heading his way. Pinkie was the kind of person who looked guilty of something even when he wasn't, and when he saw something that looked like trouble heading his way, he was quick to run.
He was just about to push his cart away when I stopped him. "Hey, Pinkie, long time no see," I said in a friendly tone, putting my hand on his bony shoulder.
He came up short and swung around, pretending surprise at seeing me. "Oh, hey there, Rebel." His eye twitched, a nervous tell. "Yeah, it's been a while, man."
"Yeah, I've been out of town the last few years. So what's your hurry?"
He shrugged. "Things are slow. I was just finishing up for the day."
I grinned, rubbing the lower half of my whiskered jaw. It was still early for him to be packing up, but I decided to let it go. We both knew why he was leaving. "You know anyone named Daryl?" Fuck, it suddenly occurred to me that I still didn't know his last name. "Tall, thin guy with shaggy brown hair, brown eyes, pale complexion?" I tried to recall anything that stood out about him, but shit, I'd only met him once. "Hangs with a guy named Jack."
Pinkie gave a nervous laugh. "Sounds like most of my friends." By “friends” he meant the clients that he sold drugs too. "You, ah, interested in a couple of beach towels?"
I knew how to play the game. I dug out some money. "You know them?" I handed him fifty bucks. He picked up a towel and held it up so I could see the huge butterfly on it. It immediately reminded me of the tattoo that Ginger had right above her cute little pussy.
"I only know one Daryl, he used to be a client until he tried to steal some merchandise when he thought I wasn’t looking. I don’t know any Jacks. You like this one?"
I nodded, snatching it from him. "Seen him lately?"
He shook his head, reaching for another towel. "Naw. He'd be stupid to come back around here, haven't seen him in weeks. Talk is the Kings are after him." He unfolded a towel that had kittens and puppies all over it, holding it up for my inspection.
I nodded, taking it from him. "Yeah, there's a few of us looking for him. So who would Daryl go to if he couldn’t come to you?"
We both knew that he knew the other dealers in the area. They all knew one another. They had territories just like the MCs did. I knew some of the dealers in the area, but Pinkie would have a better idea of where Daryl would go.
He grimaced. "Check with that fucker, Keiser, down on Main Street. He hops from bar to bar to sell his shit."
I could tell from his tone that there was no love lost between the two. I knew Keiser, too, but there was so many fucking dealers around I didn't have time to pay them all a visit, but at least I had a place to start. “You see Daryl, you get in touch with Vinny at Pirate's Cove. You got me?"
"Sure. Sure. I know Vinny. He's a good man." He seemed relieved that that was all I needed from him.
I walked away with the two beach towels hanging from my hand. There was no sense in heading down to Main Street. Keiser wasn't known to come out until after dark, just like the cockroach that he was. He was known for dealing in inferior shit, and word on the street was that more than one overdose had been credited to him.
I stuffed the towels into my saddlebag and then brought my leg over the seat. I was about to start my bike when a familiar rumble drew my attention. I recognized Ace, one of the Sentinels, turning in my direction. I knew all the members in the club, but Ace least of all. He wasn't the friendliest. He didn't speak much, and he tended to keep to himself. What little I did know about him I'd heard from Tanner and some of the others before I'd left Daytona, back when we'd hung out on Main Street or at Tanner's bar.
At forty-something he was the oldest of the Sentinels, built like a professional wrestler, and strong as an ox. Half of his face and body were scarred from a helicopter crash that he’d survived when he’d been deployed, which contributed to his dark, unapproachable looks. He frightened little kids, and the women feared him but still flocked to him because he was a biker. They didn't care about his scars, or that he'd returned home a hero. As far as they knew, he'd received them from doing some dangerous, bad ass biker shit.
He pulled to a stop beside me but didn't shut down his bike. We exchanged chin lifts. "Glad I saw you," was the first thing out of his mouth. "Found out where Jack lives."
It didn't surprise me that the Sentinels had been the first ones to get a solid lead. They ran the streets at night, and they knew their town. He didn't have to say any more. I started my bike and followed him to a rundown apartment complex in a seedier part of town that resembled an old hotel. As we drove through the lot I spotted a black Camaro that stuck out amongst the older vehicles parked around it. We pulled up next to it and dismounted.
Ace said nothing as we walked toward Jack's apartment. He took the stairs two at a time to the second floor. He didn't acknowledge me until we came to a stop outside of a door with the paint peeling off of it. He paused and directed a hard, uncompromising look on me.
"You kill anyone, make it clean."
I gave him a sharp nod, and then watched as he stepped back and raised his leg to kick the door in. We stepped inside and closed and locked the door behind us. Several things registered at once. The room was empty but the TV was on, and the place reeked of weed and cigarettes. Ace and I exchanged a look, and as we both moved to search the apartment, the sound of a door opening stopped us. The noise of the TV had probably blocked the noise of Ace kicking in the door, because the man walking into the room was buck naked and running a towel over his wet head.
When he glanced up and saw two, big, leather-clad bikers standing in his living room, he panicked and turned around and ran. I caught up with him, wrapping my hands around his throat and throwing him against the nearest wall. "What are you running for?" I gritted into his face. "Are you the fuck who took my woman?"
His eyes nearly bugged out of his face, proving his guilt. "What? No! It‒It was Daryl!" It hadn't taken much persuasion for him to throw his friend under the bus.
This was going to be easy. "So you weren't there?" I grated, applying pressure. He remained quiet. Losing patience, I punched him in the gut and returned my hand to his throat. "Answer me, you asshole! I recognize your black Camaro." I banged his head back against the wall, not caring if I cracked his skull. The wall cracked instead.
"I‒was there!" he admitted reluctantly."But I didn't touch her! I swear! I just provided the transportation."
He was downplaying his role, but I didn't give a fuck. His face was turning red. Instead of loosening my hold I tightened it, resisting the urge to strangle the life out of him. The thought of how terrified Ginger must have been when they’d taken her registered in my mind. "That's not what she said," I lied between my teeth, looking closely for his reaction. I could hear Ace moving around in the apartment, and I knew that he was searching the place. When Jack began to sputter and lose consciousness, I loosened my hold and slammed him a couple more times against the wall to wake him up.
"I j-just held h-her!" he admitted with a pitiful cry.
"That means you put your hands on my woman, asshole. You touched what belongs to me. What do you think I do to fuckers who touch what's mine?" I could feel him shaking violently.
"I-I-I do-don't k-k-know! I-I did-n't huuurt her!"
I shook him, gritting into his face. "Doesn't matter." I wondered how long it would take before he started begging me not to hurt him.
The fact that he'd put his hands on Ginger had me seeing red. I reached down to my boot and removed the knife that I kept tucked inside. I put the tip of the blade against his belly and dug the tip in just until it drew blood. He scrunched up his face and whimpered like a baby. Even now he was too much of a cowered to fight back. He was the kind who didn't initiate shit, he followed whoever he was with, attaching himself like a leech to someone else who had more guts. I fucking hated weaklings, even if it was going to make my job easier. "Tell me where Daryl is, or I'll fucking gut you now." I dug the blade in to remind him that it was there.
"Step back, brother!"
Ace's sharp, unexpected bark made me follow his command without question. I glanced down, seeing that Jack was pissing himself, the spray hitting the dull, linoleum floor and splashing onto my boots. I got up in his face. "I've had piss on my boots before," I snarled. "Unless you tell me what I want to know, your blood and guts will be on them next."
He swallowed. "He's n-n-not he-here, I sw-swear!"
"Already know that, asshole," Ace said from somewhere close by.
"That’s not what I asked you." I dug the knife in a little deeper. He cried out. "You tell me where he is, and maybe you get to live." I might let him live another day, but I would be back for him.
"I-I think he-he's working!" he whimpered.
"Wrong answer, fucker!" I dug in deeper. "I already know he lost his job." I leaned in close, using my weight to crush him against the wall.
His eyes grew big as fucking light bulbs. "I-I think he-he got a new one! At a-a tire sh-shop." I didn't believe it, considering that Daryl was probably hiding-out after all the shit he'd done. He wouldn't be working out in the open right now.
"You expect me to believe that?" I snarled, applying more pressure. "He’s a snake hiding from people he owes money to, and he has to know that there are people looking for him for what he did to Della. So try again." I reminded him of the knife in my hand. "Last chance."
He shot off the name of a shop that I was unfamiliar with off of A1A. "It's his uncle's shop!" This meant that he was hiding out there more than he was working. I made eye contact with Ace, who'd been standing by silently. His nod confirmed that he knew where it was.
I pinned my gaze back on Jack. He looked like a sniveling, crying, red-faced looser. No balls. Killing him wouldn't even be satisfying, but he'd been involved with Ginger's abduction, and I couldn't let that slide. I'd made up my mind to leave him alive until Daryl was out of the way, but now I was having second thoughts about it. My gut warned me that as soon as we left he'd be on the run, but the fact remained that we still might need him.
"You better not warn him or his uncle that we're coming. Don't call anyone. Daryl shows up here before we find him, you get in touch with Vinny at Pirate's Cove. You got that?" He agreed with a nod. "Don't run. If you make me hunt you down I'll cut your dick off and stuff it down your throat." The whole time he was nodding, the relief evident on his traitorous face. "Don't make me regret leaving you alive."
He slipped down the wall onto the floor when I finally released him and stepped away. I slipped my knife back into my boot, turning toward Ace. "You coming with me?"
He nodded. "You trust him?" he asked, nodding towards Jack.
I grinned, heading toward the door. "About as far as I can throw him." We left the apartment and headed down the stairs. "I only left him alive in case we still need him later." After we mounted our bikes I dug out my phone. "I want to text my girl before we head out." Ace's response was to pull out a cigarette and light it.
Hows it goin baby?
I gave her a couple of minutes, and then her response came through.
Ok. Della seems to be in a lot of pain today. I'm glad they’re keeping her sedated. Where r u?
Taking care of some things before I go to the realtors.
I could almost see her smile in response.
What kind of things?
Got a lead on Daryl. What kind of car does he drive?
A full minute went by before she responded.
A faded Chevy s10, blue, with gray primer on the passenger side door. Plz b careful.
Fuck, my woman cared about me.
U know it angel. Got backup. Dont worry.
I'd told her about the backup for her own relief, because I sure as hell didn't need backup for a coward like Daryl.
Stevies here. We're going to grab lunch.
I was glad she wasn't alone. Skipper, another Sentinel, had relieved Gabe from protection duty that morning, but he wasn't there to keep Ginger company, he was there to keep her safe, which meant he needed to be aware of everything going on around her. His orders were to stay with Della at all times.
Where? I dont want u leaving the hospital alone.
Then I guess its good we decided to eat in the cafeteria here.
Ok, have fun. I just wanted to check in on u.
You're so sweet.
U think so?
I wasn't sure that I liked her description of me.
Dont let anyone hear u say that. I have a bad ass reputation baby.
Ur definitely bad ass. It turns me on.
This was getting interesting.
Yeah? What about it turns u on?
Everything! Ur scruffy beard, ur steely eyes and the way they make me shiver when u run them over me, ur raspy voice.
She stopped, and then continued.
Ur domineering ways. The way ur muscles flex, even when ur just raising a glass or bottle to ur lips. I like ur washboard abs, ur thick, powerful thighs and the confidence u exude when u move. I especially like the girth of ur big, thick cock when ur pounding into me. Its bad ass on its own.
Holy hell, I was hard as a rock by the time she was through.
Fuck angel, u sure know how to turn this bad ass on. If I was there Id have u on ur back in no time. Hell ur going to pay for this first chance I get.
What did I do? Im innocent!
I laughed gruffly, drawing Ace's interest.
Ur a tease. We'll see just how innocent u r next time I get my hands on u.
I could almost hear her laughing.
What makes u think Im not looking forward to that?
Fuck! She knew exactly what to say. Ace tossed his smoke away and gave me a look with raised brows. I knew he wanted to be off.
Baby u hold that thought till I get there. Ive got to go.
Ok. Just plz b careful.
I will.
I slipped my phone back into my pocket, and addressed Ace. "Ready?"
"Yep."
We started our bikes and roared out of the complex onto the main drag. I let him lead the way. Ginger's concern warmed me. I'd never had anyone worry about me before. She was a special woman, and I was a lucky bastard.
I didn't deserve her.
But I was going to keep her.