Vicious Rebel (82 Street Vandals #2) - Heather Long Page 0,11
bottled blonde tipped girl with the black hair was a 19D. Last I checked, she belonged to a couple of the guys. Not that I cared beyond she’d have a better idea of what was what. Conversations would happen around her.
I gave her points for not flinching at the severing of the guy’s hand, and I was also rather grateful when he passed out from the pain. At least he wasn’t screaming anymore. The harsh scent of urine punched through the heavier smoke of the room. The sickly scent would cling to my nostrils for days to come, and I already wanted to wash my clothes.
Fuck, I hated the stench here.
Darla shifted her stance and cut her gaze to me when she thought I wasn’t looking. Hesitation marked her expression, and she sucked on her lower lip for a moment before shifting her gaze back to the guys. Vaughn hauled another one forward. We couldn’t really maim our way through the 19 Diamonds, no matter how much damage Jasper had on display.
Freddie hadn’t vanished like this in a while. I’d checked with the cops and the hospitals. He hadn’t been pinched and he hadn’t OD’d. I’d seen the way he looked at Emersyn. Something kept him from coming back, and it wasn’t Vaughn.
A flash of rumpled, defiant Emersyn in the middle of Vaughn’s bed flashed through my eyes. Fuck me sideways. That was going to go so goddamn wrong. What the fuck had Vaughn been thinking?
You know exactly what he was thinking, the pernicious little voice in the back of my head taunted. He wanted her, she needed something, and he gave it to her.
The first time she’d turned that want on me, I’d damn near caved. But we weren’t good for her, and now…
Now was not the time to think about this. Jasper had no clue, and it was safer for everyone if it stayed that way. I didn’t think he’d go after Vaughn. Not for more than a fist fight, and Vaughn could more than hold his own. But we so didn’t need that shit.
Darla shifted again when Jasper demanded, “Freddie Dunlap. Where is he?”
This time, when her gaze flicked to me, I pinned her with a look and she gulped.
“Where is he?” I kept the question soft. The girls were dead silent like they didn’t want the crazed guy with the axe noticing them. Not that I could blame them.
“I’m—” Darla began, then grimaced. She cut a glance back to the drama unfolding behind me. I kept my gaze on her.
The swing of the axe would come any moment, if she wanted to save the guy’s hand, she better speak up now.
“He showed up looking to score with one of the girls from Mama’s.” The statement was only a fragment of the story. Freddie wouldn’t wander into 19D territory on a whim. Not even for pussy.
“And?”
“Look, if I tell you—” A sharp scream punctuated the air behind me, and she blanched beneath the red lights. Those hard eyes cut to mine, and her jaw tightened. If anything, she looked like she was going to be sick.
“He’s next door at Bernie’s,” the girl next to Darla said and then winced when Darla slapped her. I caught Darla’s wrist when she would have swung her hand again. Tears filled her cold eyes, but I ignored Darla and focused on the brunette who’d spilled the beans.
“How do you know?”
“Because I got him here from Mama’s,” she admitted and offered up her own life. No wonder she’d been dead silent and pale since we arrived. “There was a reward if you found a Vandal alone and let them know.”
Let them know. The 19Ds.
“How long?” If it happened in the last twenty-four, it was Meeks. If not, then it was old shit rearing its head, and the Bay Ridge Royals sticking their fingers into everything was more than enough to destabilize the peace here.
The last thing any of us needed was a gang war, but between Jasper severing body parts and Meeks pushing an agenda, we were well on our way.
Another reason to get Emersyn the fuck out of here.
Darla tried to jerk herself free, but I shackled her wrist without a look. When she would have swung her free hand, I twisted the arm up behind her back and pushed her face first against the wall. I didn’t slam her or do any other damage. If she kept struggling, she’d keep inflicting pain on herself.