Page 42 of Scotch: Unraveled

“Rory,” I talk over him. “Rodrick is here. He’s working with them.”

“Fuck…” He doesn’t yell. “The babes?”

“They’re okay for now. Only Brighton and I have sustained any injuries. “Please, you have to save us, Rory.” This comes whispered. “The warehouse is a meth lab and they have me cooking crack. I hurt all over, but I promised them they could do whatever they wanted with me if they’d keep the girls safe.” Having him on the line, revealing this secret, the sobs begin and I can’t stop them.

“What have they done to you, Frankie?” he asks, his voice lethal.

“It doesn’t matter…”

“It fucking well does.”

Outside the closet, boots clomp to a standstill and the lock jiggles. I hold the phone to my ear with my shoulder and frantically pour the cleaner and a scoop of coke in the pan, cranking the hotplate on and up to high. I hang up on Rory, shoving the phone back in my bra just as Scud gets the door open.

“Needed to make sure you’re workin’. Heard talkin’.”

“To myself,” I say. “Reminding myself how much of each I’m supposed to use.”

“Fuck, your heat’s too high.” He runs over to dial it down two notches. “Wanna blow this room, too?”

“No. I just… my head is foggy from the explosion. I guess I forgot the setting.”

“Yeah, okay… whatever. Just get it done.” He turns to leave me again, slamming and locking the door, and I sag against the wall. Then I start to cry. That was way too close for comfort.

I only allow myself a couple more minutes of self-pity, then wipe my eyes and get back to work. Rory knows… He knows and I have to keep the girls safe.

I feel our time here running down.

14.

Rory

Duke sets Blood and Hero on the trail but pulls me into the rally room so I can give a total briefing of the situation.

“What all she say?” he demands to know.

“Just what I told you out there—it’s the Horde and Rodrick. I knew that fucker was involved. There was an explosion. They’re cooking meth at a warehouse and Scud has Frankie making crack. My lassies are hostage in a meth lab.”

“Chill, brother. We’ll get ’em. How’d the situation with the Horde get so far gone? All these women’s shit…Fuck!” he yells, pounding his fist on the tabletop. “Years tied up in kidnappings and killings, Horde built this shit right under our goddam noses.”

“What do we do?” I ask. “She was talking on a burner. She found it in the commotion, but what if they let her find it? I can’t help thinking this is a setup.”

“Let me plan. You don’t do anything stupid. Stupid’ll fuck shit up worse, got me?”

“Aye, I got ya.” I turn to storm out of the rally room and the clubhouse, then I hop on my bike, fire it up, and peel out, noticing both Blue and Crass at my rear.

My phone rings. While I pull it from my cut to answer, my front tire skids over loose stones, causing me to nearly lay my bike down.Shite.I have to get my shit together. “Yeah?” I grumble into the line.

“We got one of ’em cornered at Shopper King.” Then the phone disconnects and I shove it back in my pocket. I hold up two fingers in the air to signal to Crass and Blue that I got a direction. The voice on the line didn’t need to identify himself. I knew the voice. Hero. And ‘one of ’em’ meant Horde.

Destination in hand, the brothers and I rocket toward Shopper King. Left turn, right, and another left brings the store in sight. Hero’s and Blood’s bikes are stashed off to the side of the building, no doubt in order to keep from being seen.

I signal to my brothers. We park next to the bikes and I pull my phone out to dial Hero. “Here. Where you want us?” I ask, no need for pleasantries.

“Meet you in the dairy aisle. We can cage him in.”

I disconnect and turn to Crass and Blue. “Dairy. We’re caging the fucker in.” Their looks remind me that they have no idea what I’m talking about, but they follow because they know this is about my woman and the lassies.

Hero creeps around the corner from a second aisle, finger to his lips to shush us. I nod once and look to the brothers behind me. They nod, too, and once we reach Hero, he whispers, “Blood’s on the other side. Two of you take the middle aisles. Scotch, follow me.”

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