Marcus

It wasn’t long that I tried to call Chris back. I thought that he would for more threats or at least to pick a place to meet. We had beef to clear up and I wanted Angie. If they did anything to her, I was going to do much more to whoever it was on the phone.

When Chris didn’t answer, I threw the phone and was relieved that it wasn’t broken. Kevin hadn’t asked much, but he was still there and I know that he was getting the gist of what was going on.

“Hey man, you have blood coming through your shirt. Are you okay?”

I looked down to what he was talking about and I shrugged. I couldn’t help that and I didn’t really care. The aching in my side didn’t want to go away and as I moved around to get dressed, I had to pop a pain pill to make it. It hurt so bad that I was nauseated. That couldn’t be good.

“It’s nothing. I got into it the other day with a couple of guys.”

“Is that who called?”

“Yeah. I guess I didn’t take care of it like I thought I had.”

Kevin nodded, but his mind was working so fast I could hear it from where he stood next to me in the kitchen. I could tell that he was nervous and I wondered how many times he had been in a similar position. Maybe I had seen him all wrong because he looked like he was going to freak out. When there was a car that stopped in the driveway, I could see his body getting tense like someone was coming for him.

“It’s just Lucas. Don’t worry about them.”

He didn’t seem to be so much calmer after I said that. It was only when Lucas and David came through the door that he visibly relaxed. I guess now he didn’t think he was going to get caught into the middle of it like Angie had been. I didn’t blame him after what I said about her to Chris. It had been cold and I knew that I was going to pay for it later. I just hoped that Angie hadn’t heard it. I didn’t want her thinking that I didn’t care. If she had, I was going to have some explaining to do. I still wasn’t sure what I was going to say, but by the look on Kevin’s face, I was going to have to say something.

Lucas and David came in with a worried look on their face. Lucas was more upset than anyone else. He took an attack on any of us as one on himself. It was nice to know that he was worried about it. I hadn’t told him much, so I had to fill in what was going on.

“Where are they?”

“I don’t know. A man named Chris called and knew my name. He has Angie and said he was going to kill her.”

“Who is Angie?”

“It’s the one that the tattoo on his back is about.”

I glared at David. Sometimes that man had a big mouth. I wasn’t ashamed of loving her, but it wrecked my image, as did the worry that I was sure was on my face.

“Oh. How did they find out about her?”

“The hell if I know. I didn’t even know who it was the first time. You have to tell me wat happened when I was out of it for a couple of days. You told me that you took care of it, but that is obviously not the case.”

I was so upset that I wasn’t thinking clearly. It wasn’t Lucas’ fault, but I wanted to blame someone other than myself. If it was his fault, it wouldn’t be mine that she was in the situation that she was in. The fact that I couldn’t change anything was hard enough, but to think that just knowing me had put her in danger was a hard thing to get passed. If something happened to her, it was ultimately going to be my fault.

“I know you are upset, but there is no need to lose it Marcus. We will take care of this, just like we have every other gang that tried to come in. This is no different.”

It wasn’t the first time that someone had tried to push in on our territory. It happened a lot in the city of New Orleans because it was so big. There was a lot of money in the city and keeping our hold on it had always been challenging.

“This is different because they aren’t threatening and shooting at me. They have Angie.”

Why couldn’t they see that this wasn’t the same? This was nothing like anything that I had ever experienced. I had never cared this much in my whole life. I had spent a third of my life missing this woman and I wasn’t going to spend the rest of it wishing that I would have been able to keep her safe.

“I got the guys trying to find something out. You know that nothing happens in this city without a bunch of people knowing about it. We will find out who did this. I promise you Marcus. We are not going to let this happen like this.”

I had a feeling that there wasn’t much more that could be done. I had messed up worse than ever before and now Angie was going to pay the price for it. That was the worst part of it all.

“I need to get out of here and clear my head.”

“I brought the car with me because I didn’t think you would be able to ride that bike yet.”

He was probably right, but I wouldn’t admit. Instead I told him that I would be able to. When he insisted that I ride with them, I didn’t argue. I knew that keeping the bike upright was going to take more of me than was available. I was still weak and the infection was not going away as quickly as I would have liked it to go.

“Thanks Lucas. We need to find her.”

“And finish this.”

Yes, finish this, but find her first.

***

Lucas was right in thinking that it wouldn’t take long to find out what was going on. They had gotten most of the Arc Angels, many more fled out of the city the night of retaliation, but there were a few hold outs. They were in Lafitte and before the sun started to come up in the sky, we were all on our way to the address that had been given to us. It could have been a trap, but all I was worried about was getting to Angie and making sure she was okay.

I dialed the number that had called me earlier in the night, but once again there was no answer. I don’t even know how many times I had called it, but whoever it was that had Angie had taken my words to heart. It left me with a sick feeling in my gut and the deeper into the bayou that we got the harder it would be to find her. She could already be gone. The thought made me sick to my stomach.

“We are going to get there Marcus. You need to calm down. You are bleeding all over your shirt again.”

I looked down and still didn’t care. Everyone kept telling me to calm down like I was about to keel over from a heart attack. It certainly felt that way, but I didn’t like the idea of everyone knowing it. I was always so cool and collected about everything. I just couldn’t be right now, no matter how hard I tried.

The car turned onto the bumpy dirt road that the GPS said to turn on. We were almost there and it was only a mile back there and one more turn until we would be at the run down house next to the water. My hopes were still up and running, telling me that Lucas was right and that we would get there in time.

The place was lit up when we got a little closer on the road. I told Lucas to pull over, but he was already turning the little bit of lights that were on off and cutting off the engine. We were not too far from it and it was close enough to at least get a feel for the terrain. Whoever it was, all the names still not available to me, was going to pay for this. They were going to wish that they had never come to my town or messed with my Angela. Everyone would know after tonight that messing with our gang or me for that matter what would happen. I was going to make sure that no one else would ever dare again. Any newcomers were going to hear about this.

Everyone walked towards the house slowly, ducking a little to blend in better with all of the shadows around us. My heart was racing and I was burning up from the extra heat. I needed to see her and nothing was going to make the feeling inside of me change until I could see her and touch her and know that she was okay. I didn’t like how hard it was to keep my focus. It was times like this that I needed to.

It didn’t take long until we were close enough to really get a feel for the place. There were a couple of cars and I was thinking at least a couple of people that needed to be contended with. I didn’t care who they were or why they were getting involved. All I cared about was Angie and if she was okay. That was it.

Lucas had his gun out before I did. He was ready and the plan was that there was no plan. We were just going to play it by ear. Everything was going to work out, one way or another. There was too much emotions involved to think it through. I didn’t care if it was safe. I was going to be the first one in.

He held his hand up and we waited for David to catch up. He wasn’t that far behind, but an injury to his foot was slowing him down more than my side was. The other day hadn’t gone as smoothly as they wanted to make me believe. The Arc Angels were causing chaos everywhere and it was time for them to be put down.

“Don’t do anything stupid Marcus. You already got a hole in your gut.”

“I am going to get Angie. I don’t care about anything else.”

“Well if you want to get your ass shot off for love, do it on your own time. We are here to settle a score and get the girl. That is what is going to happen, Marcus.”

At least he didn’t tell me to calm down. If he did, I knew that I wasn’t going to be able to control myself. It was taking everything in me not to run in guns blazing.