Daniel (Kings of Korruption MC) (7 page)

We get to my unmarked cruiser and I open the back door for him to climb inside. I can see the tears now forming in his eyes as he ducks his head to get in. Rounding the vehicle, I jump into the driver’s seat but don’t start the car. Placing my hands on the steering wheel, I stare straight ahead.

“What’s going on? What happened to my Mom?”

I don’t move. Glancing up into the rear view mirror, I see Tommy sitting back there, behind the glass partition. “Your mother’s fine, Tommy.”

He sits forward, his face confused and angry. “What? You said something happened to my Mom! What the fuck is going on? You stupid fuckin’ pig. Let me the fuck out of this fuckin’ pig wagon.” His hands scrabble at the door handle, desperately trying to open it, but the door is locked and can’t be unlocked from back there. I sit silently while he bangs on the door in frustration and turns his hate filled eyes to me. “You can’t hold me here. I know my fuckin’ rights.”

“Where’s Derrick Monroe?”

He freezes, his eyes locked on mine through the mirror. “What?”

“I said where is Derrick Monroe.”

His eyes narrow and he glares at me with immeasurable hatred. “Fuck you.”

I sigh and decide to try a different tactic. “You know… you really hurt Gabby today. She was in tears when I talked to her.” He stops glaring and his face turns sad. “She loves you, ya know.”

Tommy says nothing but I can almost see the war he has raging inside his head. I stay silent, letting it play out. Finally he looks up at me, his eyes meeting mine in the mirror once more. “They’ll kill me.”

I shake my head. “They’ll never know it was you, Tommy.”

He shakes his head. “They’ll know. They always know.”

I turn my body and face him through the barrier. “Is Derrick alive, Tommy?”

His jaw hardens and slowly he nods his head. “Barely.”

Hope fills me. There’s still time. “Will you take me to him?” Tommy nods once more and I face forward again, starting up my cruiser. “Where am I going, Tommy?”

Tommy sits up tall in his seat and rattles off the address. I put the car in drive and pull away from the curb, anxious to get to Derrick before it’s too late.

Gabby

A
fter Daniel leaves my house, I sit on my couch and stew. I’m pissed at myself, not only for allowing myself to be distracted from my search for Derrick by a sexy cop, but also for allowing Daniel to touch me the way he did only to blow me off afterwards and just walk out the door.

I’m not an idiot. I know why he did what he did. I respect him for having more self-control than I do and for doing what was best for me and my brother. Even knowing all that, the rejection still stings a little.

Forcing my thoughts back to my brother, I think back to Tommy’s behaviour at the coffee shop. In hindsight and knowing Tommy for as long as I have, I realize that he really was just putting on a show. Hurting me had hurt him. And if hurting me hurt him, I know that hurting Derrick would just about kill him. He might not know where Derrick is, but he knows more than I do, which at this point is absolutely nothing.

Daniel had said that he was going to Tommy’s house. My mind had been a little distracted at the time but I have no doubt that Tommy will not be home. He hates his house, only going there to shower and sometimes to sleep if there is nowhere else to go. If this is just a regular night for him, he’ll be at The Corner Pocket.

Nodding my head, I jump up from the couch and grab my seldom-used car keys. Mom had left her car here when she moved out west for me to use whenever I wanted. I rarely use it though, opting instead to walk or take a taxi. Parking in this city is ridiculous.

Heading for the garage, I hit the button on the wall and open the car door as the garage door rattles open. Sticking the key into the ignition, I give it a twist and listen to the car come to life. The little Kia Rio hasn’t been started since I took it out to visit a friend in the suburbs three weeks ago.

I pull out of the driveway and make my way to the pool hall, praying that Tommy will be there. I don’t know if I can go through another sleepless night, wondering if my brother is okay. The drive only takes a few minutes, and on the way I plan out exactly what I am going to say to him. I know his buddies will be around and that he’ll likely be a dick at first, but this time I’ll be prepared. I will yank him out of there by the ear if I have to.

Pulling up to the curb, I make my best attempt to parallel park the Rio. I only having to pull out and back in again four times. That’s a new record for me. I’m just reaching for the handle when I see Daniel come walking out of the pool hall, Tommy close on his heels, his face looking sad.

I watch as Daniel opens the back door of an unmarked cruiser and walks around to the driver’s side.
Where are they going? Does Tommy know where Derrick is?
I consider getting out and approaching the car but I’m worried that I’ll be interfering with whatever Daniel is doing to get Tommy to co-operate. Besides, my car is parked several cars behind them. I’d never make it to them before they pull away.

But they don’t pull away. From where I sit, I can make out the shadows of both men, and neither seem to be moving much. Suddenly, the shadow in the back starts jerking around, arms flailing and it almost looks like he’s hitting the windows but I can’t be sure. What the hell is going on?

I reach across the seat and rummage through my purse without taking my eyes off the shadows in that car. When I finally locate my phone, I pull it out and get ready to dial Daniel’s cell phone. I want to let him know that I’m here.

I just dial the last number when the Tommy’s shadow sits up straight and the car pulls away from the curb. Daniel’s phone rings four times before his voice mail picks up.

“Daniel? It’s Gabby.” I put my car in drive and pull out onto the street, following the unmarked car. “Um… I went to The Corner Pocket to see if I could find Tommy, and saw you and him getting into your car. Did he tell you where Derrick is? Anyways, I’m right behind you. Call me back.”

Pressing the end button, I toss the phone on the seat beside me and do my best to keep up with the speeding car.

Daniel

I see Gabby’s number ringing through on the screen and silence the ringer. Tommy is behind me, finally telling me everything and I’m not about to interrupt him when I’m so close to finding Derrick.

“So this kid at school started selling us weed, ya know? And me and Derrick, we thought he was a cool kid, and we liked his supply, so we started hanging out with him after school and shit.” I keep my eyes on the road, but every now and then look back to where Tommy sits, talking with his head back on the seat, eyes on the ceiling.

“Turns out, this kid is a Crip. We start hanging out with a bunch of them at different spots. We even make a few friends. Derrick and I both started selling weed for them. Just small time shit, ya know? Dime bags to buddies from high school mostly.” He shakes his head. “After a while, they started teaching us some shit about how they work. Invited us both to parties. We spent a lot of time high, man. And the ladies … ” He smirks and shakes his head. “The ladies were everywhere, ya know? Man, we were gettin’ laid almost every night.”

“Who was taking you to these parties?”

Tommy leans forward and his eyes meet mine in the rear-view mirror. “Fuck that, man. I’ll take you to Derrick. I’ll even tell you his story, but I’m no narc. You hear that?” I nod, knowing that he might not have much choice before this is all done. Giving up the gang may be the only way the cops can offer him protection.

Tommy sits back in his seat. “Anyway, all of the sudden the other guys were going to parties and we weren’t invited. It was bullshit, man. Pissed us both off. We were told those parties were for members only. Finally, one of them asks us if we want to become members ourselves. Derrick and I both said yes. We’d have been crazy not to. The weed and women alone made the initiation worth it.”

I look back at him through the mirror. “What was the initiation?”

He smirks. “No way, man. Not tellin’ you that shit either. I
will
say that we had to do something specific. Something illegal. Once that was done, we were in — full-fledged Crips.”

“So what happened?”

Tommy shakes his head. “Derrick started talkin’ to some bitch online. She lives in the country somewhere on some fuckin’ horse farm. He took her out a few times. Stupid fucker told me that she was the one. You imagine? Dude is nineteen years old and he thinks he found the
one
?”

I take the next exit, our destination only a few blocks away.

“Anyway, Derrick goes up to the head guy, ya know? Not gonna tell ya more than I need to, but basically he tells him he wants out. Buddy tells him it ain’t that easy. Derrick says he don’t fuckin’ care. He’s movin’ away and wants to go to college with this bitch and he’ll do what he needs to do.” Tommy shakes his head and sniffs, trying to look unaffected by his own story. “Buddy tells him the only way he’ll let Derrick out is to jump him out.”

I know exactly what that means. You don’t work on the Street Crimes Unit and not know what a jump out is. Basically, if a gang member wants out and the gang is willing to let him go without fear of him turning on them and trading their secrets, they’ll do a jump out. It’s where every member of the gang takes turns beating the shit out of the member. If he lives, he’s out. Free from the gang.

“Is Derrick alive, Tommy?”

He nods solemnly. “Barely.” I pull into the driveway of the address he gave me and look up at the large abandoned warehouse. This building had been on police radar for a while for being a hub for gang activity. Tommy directs me towards a rear entrance and keeps talking.

“Those fuckers kicked the shit out of him, man. Even I had to take my turn or I’d have looked like a pussy.” His breath wavers a little. “When they were done, everyone went their separate ways but Derrick didn’t get up. He was bleeding like crazy and I could tell that some of his bones were broken.”

“Why didn’t you take him to the hospital?”

“They were watching me, man. The boss though, he liked Derrick, and he let me pull him off into one of the offices and said if I could nurse him back to health, he was free to go.” I pull to a stop and look back to see Tommy shake his head sadly. “It’s not good, man.”

“Take me to him.”

Getting out of the car, I let Tommy out of the back and he leads me inside the building, moving quietly for fear that someone is around. The place seems deserted. Finally, we round a corner and there he is.

Laying on a pile of dirty rags is a barely recognizable Derrick. His face is black and blue and swollen. One look at him tells me that he has fractures to his face and right arm, and God knows where else. I rush to him, squatting down beside his broken form and feel for a pulse. It’s weak, but it’s there.

I pull out my phone, ready to call 911 when I hear a loud click from behind. Both Tommy and I spin around, and the blood drains from my face.

The first thing I see is the gun, cocked and ready. And then I see where it’s pointed. Gabby’s terrified face is white as a sheet and covered in silent tears as the gun presses hard against her temple. The shaking and angry man holding the gun clutches Gabby to his body with a forearm across her throat.

“I knew you were a fuckin’ rat, Tommy,” he spits. “Fuckin’ piece of shit.”