Donna Joy Usher - Chanel 02 - Goons 'n' Roses (14 page)

I turned around as far as I could and hooked my left arm around to the other side of his body for support. Then I lifted my right arm, aimed in the vicinity of the black car, and fired off six rounds in rapid succession.

I probably would have missed totally if Billy hadn’t swerved the bike to the right at that precise moment. Two bullets peppered into the bonnet of the car. One went through the windshield, and the other three tore into the front right tyre.

The tyre exploded into a mess of rubber, dragging the car to that side. It wouldn’t have been an issue except they had all ducked when my bullet had whizzed through the windscreen. I saw Dmitrij desperately dragging the steering wheel to the left, but it was too late.

The car ploughed into a dumpster, metal shrieking and tearing as it came to a dead stop. The last thing I saw were the front airbags exploding.

I handed the weapon to Billy, who slid it back into the tank-bag.

‘Nice shooting,’ he said. There was a pile of admiration in his voice that I didn’t deserve.

I shrugged and wrapped my arms around him again. He detoured back to the restaurant and stopped the bike near the chair I had ruined on Boris’s hard head.

I climbed off the bike and watched Billy remove his helmet and enter the restaurant. I took off my helmet, pushing back the stray bits of hair that had escaped my bun and pinning them into place.

‘I think we should lie low for a while,’ Billy said when he came back a few moments later holding my bag and the leather jacket.

‘Where did you have in mind?’ I was hoping it was somewhere we could lie
really
low. Like, horizontally low.

‘My place.’ He said it with a straight face but there was a twinkle in his eyes.

‘I concur,’ I said.

We stared at each other for a few moments and then suddenly, we were kissing. He crushed me to him, one arm around my waist, the other holding the back of my head.

Kissing him was even better than I had imagined. I wrapped both arms around him, clinging to him as his lips, insistent as they moved over mine, took my breath away. He was running his hand up my side when he suddenly stopped and pulled away.

He looked down at his hand. There was blood on it. He turned me sideways to look at my right arm.

‘I got shot,’ I said, shrugging. ‘It’s just a scrape.’

‘What am I going to do with you?’

‘You could try spanking me.’

He burst out laughing. ‘Get on the bike. I need to take you home and clean you up.’

‘Oh good,’ I said, sliding into the jacket and pulling my helmet back on. ‘Cause I’m feeling pretty dirty.’

***

Billy lived in a small apartment in a run-down, red-brick block, on the outskirts of town. It was small but surprisingly tidy. The well-worn furniture gave it a homely feel and for a second I was homesick for Hickery.

He led me into the bathroom and retrieved a first-aid kit from a small vanity. He washed and bandaged the small nick the bullet had made in my arm. Then he kissed it better.

We hadn’t said much since we’d left the restaurant and I didn’t think now was the time to start talking. I let him trail kisses from my arm up to my neck and then I took him by the hand and led him to his bedroom. I pulled his shirt up over his head, pausing to stare at the contour of his muscles.

They had felt good to the tips of my fingers, but even that hadn’t prepared me for the perfection of his body. Swimwear models everywhere would be throwing in the towel if they got a glimpse of Billy’s abs.

I shook my head and blew out some air and then I pushed him onto his bed, watching those muscles ripple as he shuffled back towards the top. Still staring, I pulled my t-shirt off and crawled on top so that I was straddling him. I must have looked hilarious with my Band-Aids and the bandage on my tanned arm, but he didn’t seem to be finding me funny; quite the opposite in fact.

I could feel his erection pushing up through the fabric of his jeans and I was suddenly, totally turned on. But I didn’t want to rush this and miss the delicious sensation of my body winding tighter and tighter, so I didn’t do what I wanted to – get naked immediately – and instead I lay forwards on him and took his mouth with mine.

His body was like silk and steel, as he moved beneath me. Our tongues touched, diving into each other’s mouths as our lips danced together. He moaned gently against my mouth and trailed his fingers down the bare skin of my back.

‘You are the most intriguing woman I have ever met,’ he said, running his lips across the sensitive skin under my ear. He took my lobe into his mouth and sucked gently.

I groaned and ground my hips down into him.

He sucked in a breath of air and bit me lightly on the neck. ‘I don’t know any other woman who could inspire both the Russian and the Italian Mafia to capture her.’

A cold chill raced down my spine at the same time that a hot flush swept over the rest of my body in a wave. Memories flitted through my mind:

Billy watching The Russian’s hideout while Tommy Tiger entered.

Our conversation last night when I had told him that Martine and I were going to The Chocolate Bar for breakfast.

Billy speaking fluent Italian to Maria.

I pulled away from him and bit my lip. ‘I’ve been a bad girl,’ I said, as I gently rolled my hips.

He closed his eyes and reached for me again. I captured his hands and placed them on my breasts while I continued the motion of my lower body. ‘And when I’ve been a bad girl I like to be really naughty.’

His breath caught in his throat and he let out a low growl as he massaged my breasts.

‘Stay here,’ I commanded. ‘I’ll be right back.’

He watched me as I left the room. I grabbed my handbag, rumbling through its contents till I found what I was looking for and then I tossed the bag into the bedroom. I’d need it again in a moment.

I moved to the doorway where I leaned against the frame. I was going to have to do this right if he wasn’t to get suspicious. I undid my shorts, wiggling out of them in the most seductive way I could manage. Feeling stupid, I twirled them on one finger before flinging them off towards my bag. By the grin on his face I could tell he liked it.

Then, thankful I had worn my sexiest underwear, I sauntered towards the bed with the cable ties Martine had given me in one hand.

‘I’m going to do things to you that you’ve never had done before.’

That was probably true.

I slapped the end of the cable ties against my bare stomach a few times, watching in satisfaction as his eyes widened in response.

‘I’m going to satisfy you so that you never let me go.’

That
was a blatant lie.

I shimmied back up his body while he stroked me and for a second I considered abandoning my plan. The problem was that he felt so damned good. It had been too long since someone had loved me, and the warmth of his body, the feel of his skin, was intoxicating. I wanted to feel him pinning me down with his hard body. I wanted to wrap my legs around him as he took me. I wanted to feel him deep within me until we were both totally, exhaustingly sated. Couldn’t I just enjoy him for an hour or two?

But then I remembered Roger and cold water ran through my veins.

He’d felt good too.

I guess that was the problem with bad boys. They weren’t called that because they sold Girl Guide cookies in their spare time.

I moaned a little, and shifted my hips over his erection as I lifted one of his arms above his head. He closed his eyes and his breathing increased and I knew if I kept up that rhythm I could do whatever I wanted and he wouldn’t realise until it was too late.

I took one of the cable ties and secured his wrist to the bedhead, making sure I had done it the right way around. Then I did the same with the other arm.

When they were both secure I leant down and I kissed him one more time. Then I wiggled back off him and hopped off the bed. His eyes flew open and he stared at me.

‘The thing is Billy,’ I said, pulling my shorts back up. ‘I never told you about the Italian Mafia.’

His eyes widened as he shook his head. ‘I’ve been keeping an eye on you.’

‘And you were the only person who knew where I was going to be this morning.’

‘I didn’t tell them,’ he said. ‘Chanel, you have to believe me.’

‘I’d like to believe you,’ I said. ‘But I can’t risk it. Sorry.’ Reaching into my bag I grabbed the roll of Duct Tape. I ripped a piece off and looked down at him.

As I lowered the tape towards his mouth he said, ‘Don’t do this Chanel. You’re making a big mistake. I’m an…’

‘Idiot?’ I finished for him as I secured his lips with the tape.

He shook his head and made some muffled noises while I plucked my shirt off the floor. I pulled it back on while he struggled against the cable ties.

‘Bye Billy,’ I said, blowing him a kiss. ‘It’s been fun.’ And then I turned and headed for the front door.

I considered taking his motorbike, but I didn’t know how to ride one. I didn’t want to ruin my super-cool exit by crashing his bike and ending up in hospital. So I caught a cab back to The Luxor.

By the time I got there the shock of what I’d been through that day was starting to affect me.

‘I got shot,’ I said to Martine when she opened her hotel room door. And then I burst into tears.

‘Sweet mother,’ she said, pulling me into the room.

I held my bandaged arm out for her to admire while I sniffled.

‘What the… who did… how… I don’t know what to ask first,’ she admitted.

‘Fucking Russians,’ I said, slumping onto one of the chairs. My legs were having trouble supporting me. ‘They tried to kill me when I was at lunch.’

‘Is Billy okay?’

I grimaced as I said, ‘Sort of…’

‘What do you mean sort of?’

‘I may have used those cable ties to secure him to his bedhead.’

‘That’s some kinky shit.’ She sounded impressed.

‘Not like that,’ I said, wishing it
had
been like that. ‘He took me out for Italian.’

‘And for
that
you tied him to the bed? Lucky he didn’t take you for Vietnamese.’

She got a smile out of me. ‘He speaks fluent Italian.’

She stared at me for a second and then raised her hands as she shook her head. ‘Still not getting you.’

‘He knew that the Mob was after us. How do you think they found us this morning?’

‘Ohhh.’ Her eyes went wide and her mouth made a perfect circle. ‘You think he’s with them?’

‘It makes perfect sense. He’s the only person I told where we were going for breakfast. Plus, why else would he have been watching the Russians when Tommy Tiger went in? He didn’t seem at all surprised that the Russians tried to kill me.’

I wanted her to defend him. I really wanted to believe that he wasn’t involved. But unfortunately there was nothing to defend. She sank back onto the other chair and sighed.

‘Is Mum back?’ I asked.

‘Not that I could tell.’

‘What the hell are they up to?’ I was really getting tired of worrying about her.

‘Do you think they got her again?’

‘Well they didn’t have her this morning. I’m assuming that’s why they wanted us.’

‘To use us as bait?’

‘Or hostages. I don’t understand how they knew about all of us? From the very beginning they knew where we were and who we were. It doesn’t make sense.’ I hopped up and started pacing around the room. ‘I mean, how did they even know we were coming? The only people who had all of that information were the competition organisers.’ I stopped pacing as bits and pieces started to fall together in my head. ‘Oh my.’

‘What is it?’ Martine asked.

I waved a hand at her while I thought some more, unwilling to let go of my train-of-thought in case I lost it. It made sense. All of it. Right down to Billy’s involvement.

‘The competition,’ I said, spinning to look at Martine.

‘What about it?’

I looked at her. ‘What if it were a sham?’

‘Why?’

‘Trent said the man that mugged Mum recognised her.’ I started pacing again as I worked my way back through the sequence of events.

‘But she moved to Sydney in case she’d been recognised.’

‘Yes, but what if he weren’t alone?’

She stood up as well as she reached the same conclusion I had. ‘And the first man told the others about her before he tried to get her handbag.’

‘Or else they all saw her and he was the unlucky one that went after her.’ I stopped and ran my hands through my hair, pulling out my bun to release the pressure building at the base of my skull.

‘Then they follow her to Sydney and keep her under observation so they don’t spook her into running again,’ Martine said.

‘And they design the competition to get her back to Las Vegas.’

‘Because of Lou the Brain?’

‘Because she is the only witness to Lou the Brain’s murder.’

‘When was his body found?’

I thought about it, working back through time. ‘Well Big H said the body was found about a year ago.’ Right before Mum was hit by the car. The timing was perfect.

‘It’s a bit expensive to bring us all out here, isn’t it?’

‘Small price to pay to eliminate the only witness to a crime,’ I said. ‘Besides, this is the Mob we’re talking about. It’s probably small change to them.’

‘So we arrive, and they already have our details.’

‘And what we look like,’ I said. ‘Mum had to provide them with copies of our passports and credentials to organise that immigration clearance.’

‘So then what happened?’

‘Well,’ I said, ‘we turn up and they snatch Mum, but she gets away. And then we stumble on the Russians in our search for Mum.’

‘How are they connected?’

‘I have no idea, it doesn’t make sense. They appear to be working with the Italians but then they killed Tommy. Whatever it is, I’m sure it’s the same reason they want us dead.’

We were silent for a few moments as the seriousness of the situation settled down around us like a heavy, suffocating blanket.

‘We need to find Tess,’ Martine finally said.

‘And get out of here alive.’

***

It felt weird going to The Big Blue knowing the club, or at least some of the people working there, were part of the elaborate conspiracy to kidnap Mum. My instinctual dislike of Barney Stilton made sense now. But hey, in all fairness to the man, I think my instinctual dislike of him was more to do with his natural creepiness than anything else. I certainly hadn’t taken an instant dislike to Billy.

I waited until the girls had finished the show and were in the change rooms before I started snooping around. I had wanted to go while they were performing but if they needed me, and I wasn’t there, it would become obvious to the staff. I didn’t want anybody asking questions about my whereabouts.

It was like the night before. All of the rooms had their lights out and doors closed except the one at the end of the corridor.

Why did it have to be the one at the
end
of the corridor? Why couldn’t it be the first office? Then I could take a quick peek and get the hell out of there, instead of having to creep all the way down the hallway.

I was planning on pretending I was looking for the toilet if I got caught, but it had sounded much more convincing when I hadn’t thought they were doing anything wrong.

I was in quite a state by the time I made it to the room; each creak of the floor ratcheting my nerves tighter and tighter until I wanted to run screaming back the way I had come. But I didn’t. Instead, I stopped outside the room and took a few deep breaths to calm my staccato-ing heart.

If Barney were in there – and I really hoped he wasn’t, because the thought of being alone with him was seriously creeping me out – I could always pretend that I had come out to thank him for the chance to play in his club.

If Mum were there I was going to spank her.

I took one last breath, which I held as I slowly put my head around the corner.

The room was empty.

I walked across thick carpet to the large desk I had found Mum slumped over. There was a stack of files and some loose sheets of paper lying haphazardly on its surface. The flowers had been changed since I was here last – red roses this time. I tried not to breathe in their scent as I scanned the rest of the room.

A bookcase lined the back wall of the room, part of it covered with books and the rest with ornaments. A couple of filing cabinets and a large printer sat on the side wall.

It looked like a normal office. But if the person who organised the dance competition was the person who killed Lou the Brain, then it was possible that this was
their
office. And if
they
had organised Mum’s kidnapping, that meant that Mickey, Riley and the late Tommy Tiger – may he rest in peace – worked for them. Which meant that whoever killed Lou the Brain was the same person who was now in charge of The Mob. Which meant…

I looked around nervously, my eyes falling on the vase of half open blooms, and I realised I was standing in the office of the Mob’s secretive new boss.

Was Barney Stilton The Rose? Or was there somebody else hiding behind the main players who wore that title?

I walked to the table, lifting the files to read the names on them. Most of them looked like files for suppliers, and the pieces of paper were lists of items that needing ordering.

It seemed like too normal a room to be an office for the Mob boss. I wasn’t sure what things I thought would constitute a Mob boss’s room. A gun rack on the wall? A dead body in the corner?

Perhaps the events of the past few days were making me jumpy. Perhaps this
was
just an office for the person who ran the club.

As I turned away from the desk I saw the corner of a piece of paper sticking out from the top drawer. I pulled on the drawer but it was locked. There was just enough paper for me to grab with the tip of my nails. I tugged on it gently, sliding it from side-to-side until finally, I had it out.

It was a printout of a spread sheet with a list of names running down the left-hand side. Different columns denoted: date; country of origin; age; and address. The last column had an amount written in it.

I scanned my eye down the list of names. All girls. All in their late teens, early twenties. Was it an audition list? A lot of girls came to Las Vegas and clubs like this hoping to make it big.

And then I realised I recognised two of those names.

Melanie Taylor and Rachel Brighton. It had them listed as being 20 and 21 and staying at the Moonshadow Backpackers. The last column had $10,000 written next to each of them.

‘Holy shit.’ I stared at the page in disbelief.

Melanie Taylor and Rachel Brighton had been here in January. Had they auditioned? What had happened to them afterwards?

And then I realised, that
that
was the key. What had happened to them afterwards.

I remembered Tommy Tiger arriving at the Russians’ empty-handed and leaving with a briefcase.

They had chased us that night, and were still determined to kill us because they thought we knew something, had seen something. And we
had
seen something; a dungeon capable of holding multiple people for an indefinite period of time.

My God.
The Italians were selling the names and accommodation details of young, good-looking girls to the Russians. Girls far from home, with no family to protect them. Tommy had been collecting the money.

These girls would have auditioned at heaps of bars during their time in Las Vegas. Throw some crooked cops into the equation and the probability of it ever coming back to The Big Blue was slim, if at all possible.

Some of the girls on the list would still be in Las Vegas in seedy brothels. Drugged and restrained. Some men didn’t care about that sort of thing.

Other girls, the particularly beautiful ones, would be sold to the highest bidder. I’m sure there were a lot of private jets that flew into Las Vegas each year. It would only take a few greased palms to get these girls onto those jets.

All of a sudden finding Mum and getting out of there took a back seat. I had to get this information to Trent so he could do something. And if not Trent, well I had to get it to Interpol.

I could take this list with me but if they realised it were missing they would shut the whole operation down. Those girls would never be found.

I had to get a copy of it.

I lifted the lid on the printer and placed the piece of paper on the copier, changing the number of copies to five. If push came to shove, surely one of those pieces of paper would make it out of Las Vegas safely.

‘Come on, come on,’ I said as I watched the bright strip of light slowly scan the document. It seemed to take forever for the five copies to emerge from the bowels of the machine. I was about to lift the lid when I heard the door at the far end of the corridor swing shut and footsteps heading in my direction.

Shit.
I just had enough time to grab my copies and dive into the shadow beside the far filing cabinet before Barney Stilton entered the room. I held my breath, desperately hoping my stomach wouldn’t choose that precise time to growl or do something ridiculous like that.

He strode to the far side of the table so that his back was to me, and then he picked up the phone and punched some numbers into it.

While he waited for it to ring he reached out and repositioned the long-stemmed roses in the vase, moving them around till he was happy with their new arrangement. Then he stiffened slightly and said, ‘I got your text.’

The scent of the roses wafted down to me and my nose started to twitch. I squeezed it with my fingers and tried not to think about sneezing.

‘Where did you find her?’ He laughed and then said, ‘In her daughter’s hotel room? Surely she would have known we were watching it.’

More silence and then he said, ‘Very well, bring her here. But not till we’ve closed.’ He slammed the phone back down and laughed gently. Then he smoothed back his hair, straightened his jacket, and left the room.

I stayed frozen where I was for several minutes after he left, contemplating the awfulness of the phone call.

They had Mum.

They’d captured her again and they were bringing her here.