Breaking Dragon (22 page)

“Fuck off.” Dragon says shaking his head.

“Dragon always has women.” I reply and it was the truth. Women flocked to the bastard.

“Not like this one Dancer, man. This one is special. She has all his shit tied up.”

Dragon didn’t even argue. Holy hell!

“You’ll meet her soon Dancer. Eagle is working on getting your appeal decision handled this week.”

Eagle was the club lawyer and smart as a fucking tack. If anyone could it would be him. You would think after all this time hope would have been died a bloody, fucking violent death. Apparently it hasn’t because I can feel the quickening of my heart beat. I want to tell him not to worry about it. I can’t make the lie come. I want out of here. Fuck, if I don’t get out of here soon, I may do like that poor schmuck in cellblock C last night and twist my neck to escape. I don’t know what is waiting for me in the next world, but the way I figure it, even hell can’t get worse than this place.

“Visit is over girls, time to leave. Jacob here has a date with the little girl’s room. I got a sparkling new tooth brush for him.”

Fucking prick, I get out of here he’s the first one I’m killing. The very fucking first and I’m going to make it hurt. They think I was a killer before I came in here? They have no idea what the fuck they have turned me into.

“Later boys,” I say as Dixon pulls me up and pushes me back towards my hell.

“Head up brother, it’s coming, you got my word.”

I turn to look at Dragon, could he see the bleakness in my eyes? Could he read the crap that had happened to me since I’ve been behind bars?

I just nod and turn away. As I walk back into hell, I do my best to beat down the hope that tries its’ damnedest to take root in my chest.

Chapter 22

Dragon

“Fuck man there’s more going on than even our informant is telling us.” Crush says as we walk out the door. I try not to wince at the clanging of the doors, but I do just the same.

“I know.” We walk towards the visitor’s area where the lockers we were given to hold our personal items are located.

“So what the fuck are we going to do? We need to get him out of this hell hole.”

“Call Eagle, tell him to speed this shit up. I don’t care what money is involved or who we need to pay.”

Crush didn’t respond, but there was nothing much to say. We waited while the guard behind the counter took our claim ticket. He pushed cell phones and billfolds across to us. We grab them and leave. I hated that I was so relieved to get out of there, leaving my brother in there to rot. Hell yeah Eagle needed to get on the ball.

Once we made it outside I put my shades back on and stop when I get on my bike. Shit, maybe I am pussy whipped, but all I know is I want to check in with my woman. That’s when I notice I have twenty missed calls from Irish and Nailer. Crusher got on his bike beside me, but he didn’t talk—maybe he could tell from my face shit was up.

“Yo what the fuck is going on?” I say as soon as Irish picks up the phone.

“Dragon, man Nicole is missing.”

Holy fuck, my heart hurts. With three words I knew more fear that I had ever felt in my life.

“Motherfucker I left her in your care. You better be fucking joking and let me say right now that fucking shit ain’t funny and I’m going to personally pull your head out of your ass backwards…”

“Dragon her girl called and asked her to meet at their house. I made her take Nailer. Hell Dragon, Nailer said it was an ambush. He opened the door and some fucker knocked him out cold. When he woke up your woman and her girl and whoever the hell hit him were gone but…. Shit man.”

“What damn it?” I felt a knot in my chest, fear total fear. What the hell was wrong with me?

“Fuck man…there was blood everywhere.”

I think my heart stopped. Whatever I felt in that moment went beyond fear.

“What about the cameras at the house?” I said trying to think. Anything the club owned we had cameras on them, but motherfucker the cameras on that old house were ancient. Why the hell hadn’t I thought to change them sooner?”

“It looks like the girls got away into the hills. Some fucker came out behind them, got in a car and left.”

“So, he didn’t follow them?” I asked trying to catch my breath.

“No, but we haven’t heard from Nic. The boys have been combing the hills and the main road.”

“Crush and I are about an hour out. Call the Ohio Chapter, tell them we won’t be there today. Then you put every fucking man we have out searching and you find her. If she’s hurt I’m taking it out on your mother fucking ass for letting her leave during lock down!”

I look at Crusher while I start up my bike.

“Home now,” I order not explaining the rest, I figure he got enough of the conversation that I didn’t need to clue him in. My fucking palms are sweaty and my heart is beating out of my chest. I’m not a praying man. I figure God turned his back on me before I was born, it’s all I can explain for the way my life started. Right now though, I find myself praying and praying hard.

I need this woman. Last night cemented that to me, when she held me and told me she just wanted me? Fuck. No one had ever ripped me open like that before. They sure hadn’t claimed me and been proud of that shit. In my experience women wanted to fuck the Prez because I was the Prez but that was about it. Nicole could care less about the club or my position in it. I still didn’t understand what it was between us, but after last night I know that this girl is it for me. I have to have her. I have to keep her, fuck. She has to be safe. She has to be.

Hold on Mama, I’m coming.

I repeat that mantra in my head over and over, praying she can somehow hear me.

Chapter 23

Nicole

Okay it sucks but I’m ready to admit it. I have no fucking idea where we are. I thought we were heading towards the road, I really did, but we’ve been walking forever now and there’s no sign of a fucking road. In fact the hill seems to be going up instead of down. Shouldn’t it go down if I’m getting close to the road? I fall down against a tree and Dani does something similar across from me. We don’t talk. Neither one of us are happy with each other at this point. We’re cold, we’re tired, and we’re scared. I refuse to list scared first, though
truly the fear I feel inside is like this giant knot threatening to choke me at this point. Worse I’m horribly numb. The radio had said the high today would be forty but it feels like fifteen. I’m so frozen I don’t think I’ll ever get warm again.  I close my eyes and picture Dragon.
He probably doesn’t even know I’m missing. He was going to be gone all day. Dani and I had both been trying to use our cell phones but no signal. That’s the thing about living in the Appalachian Mountains, cell service sucked donkey balls. I would almost suck donkey balls to get out of this mess. Shit no, I’d make Dani do it. Bitch owed me, even if she didn’t admit it and surely that couldn’t be as bad as sleeping with that creep I had stabbed.

Oh my God I stabbed someone. I should feel remorse I guess. The last hour or two or however long we’d been out here, I was mostly wishing I had been able to Lorena Bobbit his ass or dick as it were.

“We need to keep moving,” Dani said.

I wanted to ignore her because I figured she deserved that shit.

“Feel free, I need to take a minute to breathe,” I grumble instead. I sounded like a spoiled two year old but I didn’t care. I blame Dani, even if I understand her reasons behind it. I love my girl but she got us in this mess and I want to slap the shit out of her.

“I’m sorry Nic,” She sounded so miserable, I felt a little guilty.

“Forget it. I understand, but you’ve got to trust me when I tell you that Dragon is nothing like Michael.”

Dani didn’t say anything. I could tell from her face that she didn’t believe me, but she was wise enough to let it go, so I did too. She’d see in time, because despite what Dani said, despite the photos, despite everything, if I managed to survive this, I was totally going back to Dragon. I plan on holding him tight and never letting go.

“Should we try getting off the trail and sliding down the mountain to see if it might end up near the road?” Dani asked and I could hear the fear in her voice. This was because when she said slide, she meant it. I had looked over the edge a time or two and it was a cliff’s edge that falling off would most likely kill either of us. The mountains were gorgeous to look at, but clearly I should have listened closer to all those news reports about lost or injured hikers.

“Hell if I know at this point Dani. You know my parents trips to Lexington and Louisville were their idea of recreation. I know shit about climbing hills or directions apparently.”

“Did you hear that?” She asks.

My body stiffens because I did. It sounded like branches snapping. Someone’s coming. We stare at each other in panic and then
Dani nudges with her head and points to a big rock behind her. It’s not much but we make our way to it as quiet as we can to hide.  Once we crouch down behind it, we sit and wait. When she grabs my hand, I hold on as tight as my numb fingers will let me.

“Alright bitch it’s time for you two to come out. I know you’re here, Irish tells me I don’t have time to watch you squirm anymore. It’s time we finish the game.”

I would have thought he was bluffing if I hadn’t heard a gun cocked on my right side. It sounds so chillingly loud even over the man’s yelling.

I look over to see one of the last faces I expected. I almost feel relief but the other guy’s words register in my numb brain.

“Irish?” I ask confused.

“Sorry Nic, just business. You got caught up in it. It’s time Dragon is brought down and sadly girl you are a sure way to keep him so wrapped up in his head he has no idea what’s going on,” he says grabbing my arm and pulling me up. He lets me go, then grabs Dani by the hair of the head. He holds a gun to her as he urges us around the rock.

Another man is on the other side holding a gun. I don’t know him. In fact I’m pretty sure I’ve never seen him before.

“How could you betray Dragon like this? He thinks of you as his brother?” I ask Irish. I’m not really trying to stall at this point. My mind is racing on how to get out of this, but really I’m pretty sure I’m going to die. I try to keep the tears from falling though; I don’t want to give them that victory.

“Just business Nic. Dragon and Dancer pissed off the wrong people. The same people offered me a sweet deal to help them get revenge. Club makes a fuck of a lot of money, but Dragon’s gone soft trying to keep everything in the legal. Once I’m in control and part of the Phoenix’s pipeline, I can live in the Bahamas and rake in the cash.”

“So you’re betraying your brother for money?”

“Fucking shut it. What are you doing telling this whore our business?” The other man hollers out.

Because he’s a moron!

Bad Nicole whispers and though that is a hundred percent certainty, I fear I know the real reason.

“What does it matter anyways? She’ll be dead and we’ll be long gone by the time Dragon finds her or her friend.”

Oh yeah see, I totally knew the real reason.

“It matters. You don’t follow instructions well! I know I told you to make sure Dragon didn’t find out about this until the deed was done, yet here we are.”

“I had to report in after Nailer came through, if I hadn’t it would have been too suspicious. This way I can still play my role and spy on Dragon until you make your big move.” Irish defends.

The other man looked totally unconvinced, but instead of responding asks, “Which one of you killed my friend Tiny
?” 

I should feel guilt that he died, but I can’t seem to drum it up.

“That’d be me. Though I thought he survived, you’ll excuse me if I don’t shed any tears over him,” I say trying to sound badass. In truth I’m shaking inside terrified. If I somehow survived this, I don’t think I’ll ever forget the way it feels to have a gun pointed at you.

“Oh he lived, but I had to kill him for being such a fucking moron.” The man explains as if he’s talking about his grocery list.

“Well since you’re doing the world a favor and ridding it of morons, maybe you could turn the gun on yourself,” Dani piped up and if I hadn’t been so terrified I would have smiled.

The man looks at Dani and curls his lips and then…shoots her. I scream and go to her, falling down as I try to catch her. He shot her in the leg, and while that’s a good place to get shot, if you had to get shot, there is instantly a lot of blood. I tear her shirt and try and stuff it at the wound, pushing it tight while the two men above us are laughing.

“A pity, Tiny spoke highly of you. I was going to add you to my stable. Can’t stand a mouth like that though. Of course if you survive I could cut your tongue out and still use you. Hmmm…” The pig seemed to truly be considering this.

“I’m going to meet up with the others. Take care of the whores and meet us at the docks.”

“Might be more powerful if Nicole here is a gift,” Irish suggests cryptically and I don’t know what this gift is, but I’m thinking it’s not good.