Page 48 of Switchin' Lanes
25
Diesel
“We gotta leave now!”Hollywood orders.
“What the fuck is going on,” I ask.
“That was Tink. She’s in Wolf River at a Gas-n-Get. She got away from the guys who kidnapped her,” he explains.
Hollywood, Kicks, Ratchet, and I leave right away, me in my Camaro and them on their bikes. What should be a thirty-minute drive only takes us fifteen. We pull up to a sedan and a black van parked out front. The guys park their bikes by the pumps to make it look like they’re just passing through. I pull around back and park. Hollywood, Kicks, and Ratchet are walking up to the door as a man walks out toward them.
“We’re closed. You’ll have to go somewhere else.” He has an accent. I’m guessing he’s a cartel member. I quickly and quietly walk up behind him, pulling out my knife. I grab him by the little hair he has on his head and slide my knife across his neck from one ear to the other and let him fall.
“Fuck, D.” Hollywood’s eyes are on me, full of lust. I smirk and turn to go inside, drawing my gun so I’m prepared. There are two bodies on the floor when I first walk in and two men are walking out of the back, guns in their hands. We all lift our guns at the same time. I aim and pull the trigger quickly. Gunshots go off behind me, too. I watch as both men fall to the floor. Ratchet and Kicks hurry to the fallen bodies, kicking their guns away from them.
“Tink,” Hollywood shouts.
“Where you at, Pixie?” I walk toward the back office. “It’s safe to come out now.”
“Tink, baby, come on. Let us know you’re okay.” There’s a pain in his voice. He’s scared.
“Maybe she got away before these guys showed up,” I say. We’re standing in the front of the store. Hollywood’s shoulders sag in defeat.
“Wh-what happened?” Tink’s voice comes from the hallway we just came from. Her voice is small.
“Tink,” I shout.
“Oh, thank fuck,” Hollywood cries out. He scoops her up in his arms.
“You had us scared out of our fuckin’ minds, Pixie,” I tell her.
“Are you okay? Did they hurt you,” Hollywood asks her.
“I’m okay. I got away before they had a chance to do anything,” she tells us. She glances around at the bodies on the floor. “I hate that they killed Kathy. She was such a nice woman. They killed her because she wouldn’t give me up.”
“We’ll have Tech dig up any information on her that he can, see if she has family. We can send them something anonymously,” I suggest.
“That would be great,” she agrees.
“Let’s get you home, Pixie.” Hollywood ushers her out of the gas station.
“Can we stay at the clubhouse tonight? I would feel safer there,” Tink says.
“You got it, babe.” Hollywood brings her to my car. “Ride with D and I’ll be right behind y’all.”
Tink stands on her tippy toes and plants a kiss on his lips. “Be safe.”
“Always. I’ll see you soon.”
She climbs in the car and he closes the door for her. Hollywood’s eyes come to mine. Something about the look he gives me, I get he’s telling me to be safe. I give him a nod and slide into the car.
“Thank you for getting here so quickly,” Tink says.
“We would have been here even quicker, but we didn’t want to risk gettin’ pulled over.” I chuckle. I lay my hand on her thigh and she places her hand over mine. Within a matter of minutes, she’s passed out. Post adrenaline rush crash. It’s been a wild day.
We go the speed limit the whole way home, so it takes us twice as long to get back to the clubhouse. I walk around to the passenger side door and as I’m about to pick Tink up to carry her inside, she wakes up.
“Are we home?” Her sleepy voice is adorable.
