KING
I was still floating on Cloud Nine as I pulled my bike into the clubhouse parking lot. It had been an incredible night with Abbie – quite possibly the best sex I'd ever had in my life. But it was more than that. There was something special about her. When I was with her, I found myself wanting to talk to her, to open up and share with her – which was uncharted territory for me since I wasn't one who ever opened up to anybody. But there was something about her that made me want to.
I liked Abbie. I liked her a lot and I wanted to see where things went with her.
All of those warm and fuzzy feelings rolling around my head died in an instant when I saw the small army of cops milling about in the club's parking lot. I took my helmet off and slowly climbed off my bike as Detectives Mahoney approached me – Roy right on his heels.
“King,” Mahoney said, stopping a few feet from me. “We need to talk.”
“I told him we don't know anything already,” Roy said. “But he won't listen to me.”
Mahoney turned around, his expression irritated. “Roy, I told you to go back into the shop and stay there. I need to talk to King and I don't need you getting in the way.”
“Look man, I'm just – ”
“Go back to the shop now, Roy,” Mahoney cut him off. “You keep getting in my way, I'm going to run you in for obstruction.”
Roy gave me a look that was half sick with worry and half filled with rage – which told me something really bad was going down. My defenses were immediately up and I was tense beyond measure. Grudgingly, Roy walked back to the shop, his posture stiff and tense as well. What in the hell was going on here?
“What's going on, Detective?” I asked. “Why do you have your men picking through our clubhouse?”
“It's part of an open investigation, King,” he said. “There's a copy of the warrant inside for you.”
I immediately worried about what the cops might find during the course of their search. I hoped beyond hope that Roy had the sense to stash everything when he saw the cop cars rolling in. We had a number of hidden safe spots in the clubhouse where we stashed the contraband for moments just like this.
“What are you investigating?” I asked.
“We received a package down at the station today,” he said.
Mahoney handed me a picture and I stared at it in shock and horror. It was a picture of two hands that had been cut off and set in a box. And on the hands, our club logo had been crudely drawn with a marker. I stood transfixed, not believing what I was seeing.
“What in the hell is this?” I asked.
“I was hoping you could tell me,” Mahoney said. “That's the Cossack logo, isn't it?”
I nodded, my mind numb. “You know it is.”
“The fingerprints were burned off with acid, so an identification is impossible,” Mahoney said. “I was hoping you could tell me whose hands these are.”
I shook my head, feeling my anger surging. The goddamn Incas were sending us a message. It couldn't have been anybody else. El Segado and his merry band of pricks were fucking animals. Savages. This was their work.
“I have no idea, Detective.”
“You're sure about that?”
I nodded. “I would tell you if I did, but I don't have a clue.”
And it was true. I couldn't identify the hands. It could have been any of my guys. Hell, it could have been anybody at all and not necessarily one of my guys at all. It was a pair of hands.
“Would you, now?” Mahoney asked.
“I would,” I replied. “Whether you believe me or not.”
“This is a pretty big escalation, King,” he said. “I don't need to tell you the seriousness of this. The last thing I want around here is a gang war – I don't want any innocents getting caught up in your bullshit. So if you know something, now's the time.”
I finally tore my eyes away from the picture and looked him in the eye. “I don't know anything, Detective,” I said. “I don't care if you believe me or not, but I don't want a war around here either.”
“Do you know who might have done this?” he asked. “The message was obviously meant for you and the Cossacks.”
Now, it was a little trickier. I didn't want to let him know that it was the Incas because that would only put me and my guys in further danger. He was going to have to ferret out that information on his own. I shook my head.
“I really don't know who might be trying to send us a message,” I said. “Or what this message is even supposed to mean.”
Mahoney sighed and handed me another picture. And when I saw it, I felt my eyes grow wide and my stomach drop into my shoes. The picture was of Abbie and it had been taken just outside of her apartment.
“King,” Mahoney said, “if you know something, you had better tell me now. I really don't want to have this girl's hands – or worse – sent to the station in a box.”
I felt sick and angry at the same time. I'm sure my face looked exactly like Roy's had when I'd seen him a few minutes ago.
“Do you have anybody watching her?” I asked.
Mahoney shook his head. “No, we're not sure what's going on and we don't have the resources to spread out like that.”
“Then I need to go,” I said. “Is there anything else you need from me right now?”
“Yeah, I need you to tell me what in the hell is going on.”
“I have no idea what's going on,” I snapped. “But those pictures seem like a pretty fucking direct threat to me. Now, unless you're planning on hauling me in, I'm going to get her and keep her safe.”
Mahoney sighed and nodded. “Go,” he said. “Protect her.”
I slammed my helmet back down on my head as I jumped back on to my bike and fired it up. I roared out of the parking lot and took off down the highway. My stomach was in knots and my head was spinning. I hoped and prayed Abbie was safe.
I needed to get to Abbie. I had no idea how in the hell the Incas had found out about her, but I needed to get to her and take her back to the club with me. Or just stash her somewhere safe. I didn't know what I was going to do other than getting to her as quickly as I could.
Sticking the Bluetooth in my ear, I called Roy. He picked up before the first ring had even ended.
“What in the hell is going on, King?” his voice was tight.
“I don't know,” I said. “The cops got a box with two hands and a picture of Abbie in it, though.”
“Abbie's hands?” he almost shouted. “Weren't you with her – ”
“They weren't her hands,” I said. “But I need to get to her to make sure she's safe. Do you have any idea whose hands they could have been? Has everybody checked in this morning?”
There was a pause on the line as Roy was presumably thinking. “I never heard back from Dawkins,” he said.
I shook my head. Dawkins was young and one of our newer members. He was a good guy and I really hoped it wasn't him.
“Call him again,” I said. “And keep trying. We need to find out what the fuck is going on here.”
“I'm on it.”
I hung up and dialed Abbie. The phone rang and rang, but went to her voicemail.
“Shit,” I cursed.
I opened up the throttle a little more and drove as fast as I dared. I wasn't all that far from Abbie's place, but at the same time, it seemed like I was a million miles away.