expensive, man. Chew’s reign of terror was about making that payment. Further heads up, according to Digger, he already had a stash. So he might have needed to make up the shortfall, but my gut says, since he’s headed back, he’s achieved that goal.”
Shit.
“Do not look for this guy, Throttle,” Snap warned.
“Amends,” Throttle replied.
On that, they were obviously done because Throttle fired up his bike, pulled it off the stand, kicked it up with his heel and looked to Snapper to get out of his way.
Snapper moved out of his way.
But Throttle didn’t ride off.
Fuck.
Rather than shout at him over the pipes when he knew it would get him nowhere, Snap stalked to his bike, got on, and rode home.
Throttle followed him, idling at the foot of the drive after Snap turned in.
“Jesus, fuck me,” he muttered as he waited outside the garage for the door to open.
He rolled in, got off his bike fast, and stood staring out at the dark beyond the bay as the door went down.
Only when it was closed did he hear Throttle’s pipes as he rode away.
Then he pulled out his phone.
He called Rush and shared they had a new ally and they had a new lead.
When he was done, he left that shit with his bike.
Rosie would not know any of it.
“Jesus, fuck me,” he repeated.
Then he opened the door to get to his woman.
Millie
One thirty-seven, Wednesday afternoon . . .
I was sitting at the light at 32nd and Federal, almost home, when I heard someone lay on their horn behind me.
I looked in my rearview and saw Roscoe and Brick on their bikes, their heads turned to look behind them.
The car behind them jumped as if it had been bumped.
“What on—?”
It wasn’t only the fact that Brick whipped out a gun that silenced me.
Or that Roscoe threw down his stand and jumped off his bike.
“Oh my God,” I breathed in panic, and I stared when the car behind the brothers jacked the wheel, went up on the curb and rode half on, half off the road.
My body jolted and I ducked down when I heard the gunshots.
Close to hyperventilating, tipping my head way back, I looked out my side window when the shots stopped, and I heard cars honking and skidding as clearly that car ran the light.
I saw a truck following.
Then thankfully I saw Brick alive and well with no bullet holes on his bike following the truck.
But I sat frozen stiff in my car.
Chew had been in that first car.
Chew.
Following me.
And firing at Chaos.
Roscoe.
I sat up just as Roscoe rapped on my window.
Thank God. Thank God. Thank you, God.
I turned to stare up at him.
“Turn off. Pull over. I’m drivin’,” he ordered through the window.
I nodded and somehow got it together to turn off on 32nd when the traffic started rolling again and then I found a place to pull over.
Roscoe pulled in behind me, abandoned his bike and as he was jogging toward my car, I hit the locks, undid my seat belt and jumped seats.
He yanked open my door, folded in, took nary a second to adjust the seat and check the mirrors.
Then he roared onto the road.
I did not remind him to put on his seatbelt.
I just put mine on.
He had his phone to his ear.
“Tack? Yeah. Chew, fuckin’ Chew was following us following Millie. Had a Bounty or whatever the fuck, think it was Eightball, on his ass. Eightball made him. Think he pulled in behind us on Twenty-Ninth. Know we didn’t have him before that. Doesn’t matter. He fired on us as he took off. Brick’s on him. Eightball’s on him. Federal, just past Thirty-Second. I got Millie. Going to Chaos.” Pause. “Right. Yeah. Later.”
He dropped his phone in his lap.
“He’s following me,” I whispered.
“You’re safe.”
“He’s following me.”
“Get ready to move into the Compound, darlin’,” Roscoe muttered.
I closed my eyes and turned to the side window.
I opened my eyes and looked forward. “That was brash, you two with me.”
“Desperate man. Desperate deeds.”
I turned to Roscoe. “Why’s he following me?”
Roscoe didn’t say anything.
I knew what his silence meant.
Chew used to have a thing for me.
“That was years ago, Roscoe.”
“Babe, love never dies. Fucked-up, loser, unrequited love apparently burns down deep.”
I shut up.
My phone rang.
I grabbed my purse, took it out and then sucked in a huge breath before I took the call.