Текст книги "Rogue Stallion"

Автор книги: Carmen Faye

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CHAPTER SEVEN

Jim picked up his desk phone, hit some numbers, and waited, then said into the phone, "Brian still out there?" After he received his answer he said, "Good. Tell Brian I've got questions and also some work for him." Then he cradled the phone again and refocused on Cole, "Brian will watch over your lady here until you are back. With him in the room and five men close by and us right across the street, I think she'll be safe for a few hours while you clean up your back trail."

Cole nodded, "Agreed." Then he glanced at Nicole, "You all right with that?"

She nodded, "Sure. Won't the cops want to talk with me, as well?"

"Seeing as you just left town, for parts unknown, they can want all they would like," Jim told her. "We're taking you off the grid for a while. Might be a couple of weeks before this settles. I can't see Gabriel taking cash to settle this, at least not the kind of cash the club has available and I'm not paying him anything for Antonio or Davis.

He sighed. "That leaves only the possibility of war between us. He's too bloodied already to back down and I'm too stupid, but I can't see paying him for sending two enforcers to my man's door and then saying sorry that they weren't good enough to kill Cole. Fuck that."

Nicole suddenly felt very concerned about being the reason a war was going to happen and Jim seemed to pick up on it right away, shaking his head in a slow, reassuring way, "The shit between us and Gabe has been brewing for years. Been brewing between us since before my time.

"Sure, you kicked the hornet's nest, but it was going to blow sooner than later anyway. He's pulled some serious stuff with us this year, but I'm not going to air that dirty laundry right now. Suffice it to say, you could be still with him and within a few months, we'd be at each other anyway. The timetable has changed, but the actions are all going to be the same."

Nicole attempted to allow this news to make her feel better and failed, but she nodded, "Thanks."

Jim nodded his head in return. "Good and settled. Cole? I'm probably going to need you back here at noon tomorrow for a powwow with the core. I'm sure I'll hear from Gabe before then and get an ear full of his whining." Jim turned his focus inside again and said, "I should catch him off guard and call him now. He may still be thinking his men have you."

Jim smiled the wickedest grin Nicole had ever seen and picked up his cellphone, thumbed through some numbers, and then pressed the dial button. He shot a look of pure mischief at Cole who leaned forward listening intently.

"Gabe? Jim here. I got questions. Well Gabe, I'm sitting here asking myself why I'm on the phone with you when what I really should be doing is kicking your ass. But first, I would like to know why you sent three men to one of my member's house with guns and violence in mind. He's one of my best men, in fact, as your men found out."

Jim listened for a bit, "No, no, he's fine. It's your men who are dead. But that makes no difference to me. That shit doesn't fly and you've been throwing shit around for so long, a good ass-whooping might do you some good. Get you back on track. Knock your head out of your ass."

Jim listened again, smiling from ear to ear. He winked at Nicole, letting her know he was having far too much fun with this. "Yep, that's how it looks from here. Both Antonio and that brainless twit Davis. Yes," Jim then said with the slow and patient voice of a man who was heavily annoyed, "they are dead, Gabe. Well and truly dead. My man put them down on his doorstep, but like I said, that doesn't matter. You are the one sending people at mine and I'm not having it.

"What? No, not a word, but that don't matter to me either. If she left you, good, and I wish her well in her new life. In fact, if I happen to come across her, I may give her some cash to help her on her way." Then his voice took on seriously angry tones, "Especially, if a call girl is your reason for sending enforcers to my man's door. That's the lamest thing I've ever heard and you'd better have something more reasonable than that to say or we won't even bother with negotiations.

"Fine," Jim said, after a long time listening, "That was my feelings on the matter anyway. Consider your ass-whooping on the way."

Jim clicked his cellphone off, and then waited for a small span again to speak while he collected his thoughts. After this pause, he dialed another number and waited for it to answer, "George? Yep, Jim here. I want you on the phone as fast as you can, calling all the men working for that asshole Gabriel and pulling them out.

"Tell them to show up at the club and I'll have some things to say in about two hours. After that, go through the roster and head off anyone working in the morning or near future." Jim drummed his fingers, "Oh and you don't need to bother with Brian, he already knows," he added and then, after listening to George for a moment, answered, "Yes, it has been coming for some time. Should have cleaned this slate with him near the beginning of the year. Shit just keeps piling up."  He drummed his fingers once more, "Good. See you in a few then."

Jim hung up the cellphone and looked at Nicole with glitter in his eyes, "Yep, he was still under the impression you were on your way. Now he's all fucked up and that should give us some time to figure out something more solid than actually going over there and performing a full scale ass-whooping. If I play this right, I may be able to shame him into leaving you alone, as well as getting some good concessions out of him for my trouble."

CHAPTER EIGHT

There was a knock at the door again and Jim bellowed for the visitor to enter. Brian came in the door and softly closed it behind him. Nicole looked him over. To hear Jim talk about him, the man was more dangerous than any five Antonios, but she couldn't see it on him. He stood straight, presenting all of his 5'll'' height.

He had a good build, though nothing as impressive as Cole's. The suit he wore fit him perfectly, but had a humble cut to it, which told the world around him that he was just a working man, though that suit probably cost him a couple grand. It was definitely made to order. His dark red hair was like a low burning flame on his head, one that was soon to be coals. Brian's inviting, and friendly eyes, were soft green. No, he didn't look like a killer at all, but she had no reason to doubt Jim's honesty and even less to doubt the man's appraisal abilities.

I would never see this man coming, she thought to herself.

Brian stepped farther into the room, nodding to Cole and then said, "Good to see you again, Nicole. Hope you have been able to calm down from that business at your house."

"Thank you, I'm fine. And thank you for your help with that," she told him.

"I didn't do much," he grinned a little shyly, "And I'm glad it was your man here that I was up against or I would likely be laying in a blood spatter area instead of here. Not many people keep their heads like that when the shit hits the fan."

"You seem to like her and that's a good thing," Jim said to Brain.

"Sir?" Brian asked.

"I would like you to watch over her tonight, keeping her around here or over at the hotel. Either one is fine, but nowhere else. I don't want unfriendly eyes crossing her path. Cole has some cleaning to do with the police and that business earlier. We are taking your name completely out of the story – sorry about that if you're one of those types who likes to find his name in the morning paper."

"Not at all. I could live my life without my fifteen minutes and consider it a blessing," Brian told him.

"Good. Also, take over the room next to the one you get for her and settle in when Cole returns. I'll want you over here at noon tomorrow for war council. This shit has been coming for a while, but now it’s here and asses will be kicked."

Brian nodded, more seriously this time, the friendly gleam in his eyes flickered and died, "Well, at least I won't have to worry about being fired tomorrow."

"No, that's a worry you no longer have," Jim agreed.

"Good, I hate being fired for not dying. It sucks," Brian said, as if this had been a problem for him in the past.

Another knock requested entry and Jim bellowed his permission.

A man, nearly as tall as Cole, but built like a rail with shoulders, came in wearing a gray power-suit, tailor made, and carrying the confidence she only expected from men like her clients.

Jim introduced the lawyer, Jack Thorn, around the room, and then filled him in on the events of the evening.

"They were armed, I take it?" Jack inquired.

"Yes," Cole answered.

"Then this shouldn't be a problem. They'll tell you things like not to leave the city and all that, but that's all bullshit anyway. Will Nicole be joining us?"

"No, she's left the city already, which is a shame," Jim told him. "I kinda liked that girl."

"Ah, yes, me too," Jack confided. "Seemed like a woman with her head on her shoulders. I'm confident she'll land on her feet, though." Then Jack gave her a conspiratorial wink, which was so surprising friendly and boyish, she nearly laughed.

Then Jack looked back to Jim, "Well, we should probably take care of this sooner than later. We'll go by his house first, but if they have already closed up shop there, we'll hit the station," he said to Jim and then back at Nicole he said, "Don't worry, I'll have him back to you in a few short hours."

"Thanks, because getting a replacement for him would be very difficult and I'm rather attached to the one I have," Nicole replied, as she reached over and took Cole's hand.

Cole gave hers a squeeze, "I guess we are off Jim. Thanks for standing behind me on this one."

"I owe you and the club owes you several. Never should have crossed your mind that this would go down any differently," Jim told him, rising from his chair and, for a brief moment, to Nicole, it didn't seem like he was ever going to stop rising.

Goddamn that man is big," she shuddered to herself.

Back out in the bar, she gave Cole a hug and then a kiss, "See you soon and don't worry; it looks like I'm going to be well taken care of. I think I'll hang out here for a few hours anyway and then around midnight hit the hotel for some sleep if you aren't back by then."

Cole looked at Brian, "What are your plans if it goes sour with the cops?"

Brian answered as if he had already thought this out, "We'll stay at the hotel, at least for a few days. If I am forced to move her, I'll safehouse her at my place. I have a spare room with a comfortable bed and a pinball machine. We'll be fine. Not to worry, and both Jim and George have my address. It's only about a mile from here," Brian told him. "In any case, I'll keep both Jim and George updated on my movements if something presses us beyond that. But she will be safe and well looked after until you are back. I guarantee you that much."

"What are your first instincts about running, say to New Orleans?" Cole inquired.

"You thinking along those lines?" Brian asked in return.

"It would be a major hassle with the house and other stuff, and the Horsemen aren't there, which was actually one of my reasons for picking it out of the blue. Maybe getting out of town for a few months and waiting for things to cool down would be a good idea."

"My first thought," Brain answered, "is that with Antonio's demise, this shit is only going to calm down with a short list of solutions. The way I read it, Antonio was more or less a calming element with Gabe and now Gabe's making decisions all by himself. That's going to keep the waters churning for a while, because that man uses way too much coke. But to the first question, it's a good choice. San Diego would be better. Gabe doesn't have nearly the arm his delusional ego believes. Twenty miles outside of Chicago and your threat level drops to near zero. Hate to see you leave, though. I think you and I got some good miles to ride together."

"Same," Cole nodded and then to Jack, "I need to shoot a trash can. I'll meet you at your car. No sense taking the bike. It's safe here."

Jack nodded and walked toward the door.

Cole kissed her lips and then rubbed her nose with his, "See you soon. If you decide to cause some trouble, at least make it interesting for Brian."

"I can do that," she nodded and returned his kiss with one of her own. "Sooner is better."

CHAPTER NINE

Cole was able to make it back to the club before midnight. He shook hands with Jack, thanked him again for the backup and perfect language skills, and then got out of his car. He looked back inside to the lawyer, "Think they'll call me in again?"

"Not really," Jack decided after a brief moment, "I can't prove it, but what I saw in their eyes was case closed. They didn't seem motivated in sifting around for a few months in order to pin anything on you and even less motivated in expending effort in looking for Nicole. A runaway call girl isn't high on their priority list, which means they're stupid in this case, but that's the breaks."

Cole nodded his head in agreement and thanked him again as he closed the door. Scanning the long parking lot to the side of the bar, as Jack guided his Mustang out and into the light traffic, Cole counted ten men spread out, looking casual while being heavily armed. Across the street, around the small hotel, he picked out five more men with the same attitudes.

Gang wars should be avoided, he was told by their last president, Sam, but if you are going to engage, then you hit hard and often. As Cole approached the door, a group of ten more men filed out and every man in sight began heading for their bikes. One of them was Rat, who he waved over.

"What's up?" he asked his friend.

"Oh, just a little strafing and harassment," Rat told him. "Jim wants to draw first blood before sunrise, so we are going to put a bunch of holes into some choice real estate and then catch the late movie. Want to come?"

"What's the movie?"

"Not sure which one, but one of those old Clint Eastwood's, I think," Rat said seriously.

“Oooh, that is tempting and we get to shoot at houses," Cole smiled. "but, have to pass. I have an extremely attractive woman who is delusional enough to seriously like me who has promised sex of the circus act variety inside. Otherwise…”

"Yes, I was given some of the scoop on her, a call girl or something," Rat said, studying Cole's face. When his comment failed to raise an immediate response from Cole, he shrugged and said, "Well, do me the favor and don't trust her too much. She's hot, extremely hot, and over at the end of the bar with Brian, but… still."

"Can't promise that one, amigo. I've already gone past what caution would advise," Cole admitted, "Planning to go much further, too."

Again Rat shrugged, as if this wasn't an important matter to him, which Cole knew wasn't the way of things, as Rat said, "You're a grown man, so I see nothing to complain about."

"Thanks for that, but –"

"But, you weren't asking," Rat broke in.

"Actually," Cole said thoughtfully, "that's a lot cooler than what I was going to say, so I'll go with that, but when I said it, I sounded more like Clint Eastwood than you just did, which brought up the coolness value several degrees."

"I don't think you need to worry much about your coolness value right now," Rat told him. "You're a major topic of discussion, being that you took down Antonio and Davis, together – in a gun fight, no less. Even I'm close to doing a little hero worship of my own and making sure everyone knows that we are friends and shit. And you know I don't get into that kind of play."

"I cheated," Cole told him.

"Well, shit, of course you did," Rat said with a tone of voice that suggested he was affronted that Cole didn't believe he figured that out already, "I know that much, because you are still walking around without holes in you or leaking everywhere. But who cares? They are dead and you are not. This is a good thing."

"I agree with that," Cole said seriously.

Bikes began starting up across the parking lot. Both of them looked in that direction and then back to each other, "Safe wind buddy," Cole said.

Rat began moving for his bike, "Call me tomorrow," he yelled back to Cole, "we'll do something maybe. Or bring your new friend over for dinner or something. Angie is making a roast and she likes it when you stop by."

"I'll try, but with…" he began to say, but then just shrugged.

"Yeah, sure. Well, try harder," Rat advised and then turned, heading quickly for his bike.

Cole remained where he was, watching the outriders of the club hitting the road with targets in mind, and very little mercy in their hearts. After Rat's bike thundered by, Cole turned and walked into the club.

Scanning the room, he decided that the general mood was much more somber than normal, which he supposed with the news coming down, the mood would then be considered normal. He also decided he needed a beer and perhaps shot, and then some good sex with Nicole. He walked in the direction that Rat said she would be and found her surrounded by Brian and four other men, all smiling and flirtatious.

"Having a good time?" he asked, coming up behind her and putting a hand on her shoulder.

"It just got a lot better," she said as she turned with a blazing smile and wrapped her arms around his neck, "Everything good?"

"Well, except for the possible prison sentence, yeah," he said with a subdued voice.

Her smile vanished with such suddenness the room got darker.

"Kidding," he explained quickly and kissed her, "Everything is fine. Great, in fact. They are no long interested in me, not interested in you at all it appears, and couldn’t care less if the case were closed tonight. Seems Antonio and Davis were not the kind of community members these detective give a shit about."

She slapped his chest lightly with the palm of her hand, "That was not funny. Not at all," she pouted.

"Ah," he mused, "I'll try something different next time."

"Better be a lot funnier than that or I might stick you with a pin while you are sleeping," she warned.

"Maybe we could try that pompoir again tonight," he suggested.

"No, not tonight, not after that joke. I don't want you to feel rewarded. It would only encourage you to dabble and dabbling in those areas of amusement is dangerous. So really, it’s for your own good."

"Of course," he agreed, cynically.

"I could be enticed to explore other areas of pleasure and interest, though," she said with a alluring and very affecting voice while running her hand down to his chest, and exploring in a way that suggested everyone else just left the room.

"Hmm, that sounds hopeful," he mused with a grin.

She nodded slowly, looking him over with lust-filled eyes, "And I'm quite sure you will maintain those feelings of hope right up to the point where you become graphically and overwhelmingly grateful for the level of fulfillment I plan to bring you to," she told him, returning his grin.

"Well, I need a beer and perhaps a shot before I jump into monkey-sex mode. You want another?"

"A coke, maybe. I've had several beers already and a handful of shots," she reported.

CHAPTER TEN

The men who were gathered around her, flirting shamelessly, were giving him greeting smiles and drifting away behind her back, all except for Brian who looked a little uncomfortable with the level of overt flirtation going on between Nicole and him, which made this even more fun for Cole. But now he wrapped his arm across her shoulder and called out to Hank with his order. With his order in, he turned his attention to Brian.

"She give you any trouble? Try to drag you to the mall for a quickie shoe purchase?"

Brian smiled lightly, "Not at all and no signs of any problems on the horizon either. I'm sure that will change in the morning when the smoke clears around the outriders activities tonight, though."

"Yeah," Cole agreed, "I got the impression from Rat that they are going to stir this pot up and shoot up the town."

"In so many words, those were the orders. There are a couple of party dens they are going to hit and a couple of red-light houses, as well. They aren't hitting Gabriel directly, though."

"You sound concerned about that," Cole noted as he put a twenty on the bar and signaled that Hank should keep the change.

Brian made a gesture of agreement, "I am. If you are going to start a war, don't flirt around with it. Kick them in the nuts, put a bullet in the brain, and go home. This tactic tonight only ups the scale of combat, which Gabriel probably assessed as minor. He'll assess it much differently in the morning."

"I've heard that tactical advice before, from trusted and experienced sources," Cole agreed, then added "I believe what Jim's thinking is, if we actually show that we are committed to action and impress Gabriel with the fact that we aren't putting up with his crap anymore, then he'll wise up and drop this shit – not only with Nicole, but the other crap he's been pulling. If it works, then what the outriders achieve tonight will be all the violence that happens."

Brian looked unimpressed and ordered a beer. When he turned back around to Cole, he said, "First off, I'm behind Jim. Whether I agree or not, I'm in. That said, you can't impress an idiot. I've only met Gabe a couple of times. He's good at business and brilliant at finding talent and promoting for new clients. His call girl service is the best in the city, but since his promotional skills are so high, it really doesn't matter if it is or not. By reputation, it is, which in areas of business such as his, where real evaluations and comparisons can't be made, reputation is reality. He's also vicious and protective of his territory, and makes powerful friends. However, his idea of self-worth is blatantly delusional; it is clinical. Medication is definitely required. He's insane and I mean that literally. He won't be impressed with the action; he'll be furious that we dared to act, at which time, he'll overreact – and, God, I hope I'm not right about that. In his mind, having Nicole back is not only what he wants, but it is also his God-given right. When you threaten a man like him, you have to be ready to put him down a second later."

Cole thought about what he knew of Gabriel Morelli, which was only what he heard from others. He never met the man; his only contact with that group had been Antonio and then Nicole. Brian had also said earlier that Antonio was the one who kept Gabriel in check and the only one who could. With Antonio dead, the Horsemen might discover just how crazy Gabriel really is. He glanced at Nicole, who had the look of agreement on her face.

Nicole looked up to meet his eyes, "Brian is right. Gabriel simply doesn't believe that he can be wrong or that his little empire can be taken down. These kinds of failure thoughts simply don't register in his mind. He'll be furious at the audacity of what the riders do, not the damage. He literally has no doubt that he can not only engage in a war with you, but he's obviously going to win the war. The first thing he's going to do in the morning is begin making calls and gathering resources. Then he's going to hit the Horsemen. He'll hit you hard and publicly. He'll want the world to know that he doesn't take shit, even from a group like the Horsemen."

Cole downed his shot and then took a long drink from his beer. "God, I hope you two are wrong, but my gut tells me differently. Either way, I've just passed exhausted, which I was at when I got home this evening and I'm now in a new and unexplored fun park of total depletion." Then to Nicole he added, "I think I need a rain check on the monkey-sex."

She smiled and leaned into him, "Monkey-sex can wait. Well, it can wait until morning anyway. Let's get you to bed."

"I'm in the room next door, to the East. If you two decide to hit breakfast before the noon meeting with Jim, I'd like to join you."

"Sounds good. Let's plan on hitting Jacob's Diner at nine," Cole offered.

"Sound perfect," Brian agreed. "See you in the morning."

Cole's last conscious thoughts were on the prediction Nicole made, wondering what would be hard and public enough to attract Gabriel's attention as a target tomorrow. As he went through his inventory of Horsemen real estate, the one place that stood out was the club. It would take some serious balls to hit them there, but if Gabriel was seriously delusional, with a firm belief in his divine right to do as he pleased, it was the only place that made enough statement for the God of Pimps to hit. All of the other places – the strip clubs, the pawnshops, and liquor stores – were minor compared to the club across the street. Nicole was on her laptop, clicking keys. He listened to her for several more minutes, intending to call her to bed, but never made it that far. His weariness from the long ride and everything after washed over him.