Fight (19 page)

29.

(Tripp)

I should have never let it get as
far as it did. It was too late now though. We were far too deep and there was a
slim chance we would make it out alive. In my mind, I tried to keep it simple.
All I needed to do was get to Skull X and get to Autumn. I could fight my way
there, fight my way through anything. I just needed more of the truth. I would
make everything right by Aldo, by his now dead son, by Winter, and by all the
pain and suffering she had to endure.

When I pulled up to the Red Aces
lot, they were at the front gate, all together, ready to leave. All their
motorcycles firing up at once sounded like scattered thunder.

Of course, Stoney was in front.

When he saw me, he put up a fist.
He then climbed off the motorcycle and took his sunglasses and helmet off. He
approached my car.

“
Tripp,
”
he said.
“
I think it
’
s time I get sick of seeing you
around here.
”
A second
later he asked,
“
Where
’
s Winter?
”

“
Not
with me.
”

“
Everything
okay?
”

“
Not
your business. Just so you know, Aldo
’
s
son died. Couldn
’
t survive
the coma or the bullet. It
’
s
not going to be good around here anytime soon.
”

“
You
came all that way to tell me that?
”
Stoney asked. He was defiant and had a smirk on his face.

Like he enjoyed this shit.

“
No,
I came here for directions to Skull X.
”

Stoney
’
s face dropped.
“
Are
you fucking serious?
”

“
Give
me the goddamn directions.
”

“
You
have no idea what you
’
re
getting yourself into, Tripp.
”

“
I
’
m willing to take the risk.
”

“
They
’
ll kill you.
”

“
I
know that.
”

“
What
’
s the point then?
”
Stoney asked.
“
Christ, you
’
re willing to do this for a
woman? For Winter? Trust me, when you get to know her better
…”

I took out my gun and pointed it at
Stoney. It was a bad move to make, considering he was the President of the Red
Aces and there were two dozen bikers that would die for him, that would kill
for him.

“
You
want it that bad?
”
Stoney
asked.
“
Fine. Enjoy your
fucking funeral.
”
He shook
his head.
“
Too bad Endo
died. We had a good relationship. That pains me.
”

“
You
look really upset,
”
I said.
“
Now give me the fucking
directions.
”

Stoney told me where to go, what to
do. Honestly, there wasn
’
t
a piece of it I trusted other than the general direction of where to go. It
wouldn
’
t surprise me if
Stoney hadn
’
t planned on me
going right into Skull X and getting killed before I could say a word.

I knew the risk.

I thanked Stoney and he stuck a
hand in my car.
“
Nice
knowing you, Tripp.
”

“
Is
that what you said to Rocky before he left?
”
I asked.

I backed away, forcing Stoney to jump
away from my car.

I took off.

One man ready to fight a war.

~ ~ ~

It was a large warehouse. It looked
like the kind of place where Aldo would have fights. There was a tall chain
linked fence with barbed wire across the top of it. The inside of the property
had broken concrete, growth pushing through it. It had all the signs of being
abandoned but it was certainly anything but that.

I circled once and then waited
across the street in another parking lot, along the side of a white building
with faded blue letters that read
Jimmy
’
s
Auto & Body.
This was definitely a forgotten part of the town. Probably
forgotten for good reason. This looked prime for crime and drugs.

Sitting for a while, there wasn
’
t much traffic. A few cars here
and there. A couple motorcycles. And then came the big vehicles. The massive
SUVs, some of them looking like they belonged in the damn military. The first
one pulled up to the gate. The passenger door opened and a huge guy climbed
out. He had a gun slung around his shoulder like a rockstar would have a
guitar. He grabbed the gun and surveyed the area. With a nod, two more men came
out. They ran to the gate and unlocked it.

They were all big guys. Thick with
muscle from who the hells knows
…
lifting weights, beating people to death, shooting shit in their bodies to get
bigger
…

The convoy of five vehicles all
went into the lot and around the building.

This was Skull X territory for
sure. Stoney hadn
’
t lied
about the directions. Now I just needed a plan. A way to get inside the
building and find Autumn. Find Andrea. Find out what the fuck waited, what it
had to do with Endo, with Aldo, and how to save everyone, including myself and
Winter. Especially Winter. Hell, if anything, she deserved a chance to run away
the most.

I slowly climbed out of the car.

Yeah, I was nothing more than some
lowlife thug fighter. I beat up people for money when I needed it. I beat up
the guy who trained me to fight. I beat up all the men my mother brought home.
Yeah, that was all true. I was stuck with Aldo as his toy to earn cash. I may
have had muscle, a little bit of a crooked nose, and scars on my knuckles for
days.

But it didn
’
t make me an idiot.

There was only one way to get
inside the Skull X compound.

I had to get caught.

And a group like this wasn
’
t just going to have one
building.

That I knew.

That
’
s
why I parked where I did.

“
Put
your fucking hands up,
”
a
voice said behind me.

I grinned.

I was caught.

Which was exactly what I wanted.

30.

(Winter)

I chewed my nails until there was
nothing left. I bit at my fingers until they were soggy and sore. I got
dressed, changed twice, stood on the balcony four times, and paced the room
three times. And it barely killed a couple hours.

Being stuck in the motel room the
first time was bad enough because I couldn
’
t
get Tripp to even look at me, let alone talk to me, touch me, fall in love with
me. Now was worse. I had no idea how long to wait.

Would his boss, Aldo, call me if
something happened? Or would Aldo just have me taken out then too? I had nobody
to call. I had nowhere to turn. Everything I knew seemed to be a lie, except
the feelings I had for Tripp. They were painfully real. And they were painfully
dangerous.

I sat on the bed and outstretched
my hands. The sheets, the pillows, they all lingered of his smell. My body
tingled thinking about him. The way he grabbed me. The way he came at me,
opening my legs, thrusting forward. Thrusting inside. Thrusting deep.

My toes curled and I put my head
back. My body ached all over.

There was something I could do
to kill some time.

My fingers touched the bottom of my
shirt, then the top of my jeans. My fingertips slipped down, feeling the laced
edges of my panties.

And my cell phone rang.

I exhaled, feeling warm and
flushed.

I grabbed my phone and saw it was
Stoney.

Stoney?

“
Stoney,
”
I said as I answered it.

“
Ah,
fuck, Winter!
”
he groaned
into the phone.

“
Stoney!
What is it? Are you okay?
”

“
No,
”
he said.
“
I
’
m
…
fuck, it
’
s so bad
…”

I jumped up.
“
What?
”

“
Tripp
lost his mind,
”
Stoney
said.

“
What?
”

“
He
came here. He wanted to know how to get to Skull X. I sat him down in the
clubhouse, Winter. I tried to explain what he was getting into. We all did. We
tried to explain what Skull X was. We tried to help him get a better plan
together than just going after them
…
ah, fuck, it hurts
…”

“
Hurts?
What hurts? What did Tripp do? Is he still there?
”

“
Yeah,
he
’
s right here,
”
Stoney said.
“
He got mad and started swinging.
We tried to stop him. He stabbed three of us, including me.
”

“
Tripp
stabbed you?
”
I asked.

“
Right
in the fucking arm and stomach. I think I
’
ll
be good. Winter, you have to get here. He
’
s
lucky he
’
s not dead yet.
”

“
Holy
shit
…”

“
Can
you get here?
”
Stoney
asked.

“
I
have no car. I have no ride. Can you put him on the phone?
”

“
No,
”
Stoney said.
“
We have him in a room. I have
two guys with guns on him. I gave orders not to kill him. For your sake.
Christ, Winter, what the fuck is going on?
”

“
I
’
m sorry,
”
I said.
“
Something
happened with Tripp
’
s boss.
They all want Autumn. They think I
’
m
involved. I
’
m
…
Stoney, what do I do?
”

“
Okay,
just take a breath,
”
Stoney
said.
“
Here
’
s what you do. I need you to
tell me where you
’
re
staying. I
’
ll come get you.
I
’
ll bring you back here
and we can figure this out. Okay?
”

“
Okay,
”
I said.

“
Winter.
You can trust me
…
I promise
…”

I nodded as my body shook.

Then I rambled off the address to
the motel and my room number.

In the process, I was making one
of the biggest mistakes of my life.

31.

(Tripp)

The warehouse had started to fill
up.

There was going to be a fight
tonight. I had fucked up their plans, and that was fine. The set up was nothing
like Aldo
’
s system, but it
worked. A guy at a table took bets on the fights. People filtered in, but they
weren
’
t the same clientele
that Aldo would attract. These were just regular people. Throwing down five,
ten bucks to see something they thought was going to be cool.

Of course, I stole the attention
for a few minutes as I was escorted along a back wall, a gun to the back of my
head. I moved peacefully and had no intention of doing anything stupid. I was
here on business and here to find out why Skull X had Autumn, then find a way
to get her to Aldo.

Then this would all end.

I could prove Winter wasn
’
t a liar and I could escape with
her.

“
Here,
”
the guy behind me said.

He stopped and opened a door.

We went up a set of old metal steps
that rang out with echoes with each step we took. At the top of those steps, we
went through another door. There was a walkway that overlooked the floor. A
nice place to stand and admire the fights when they started. Along that walkway
was a door where we stopped again. The guy knocked and opened it.

There was a black desk and a black
chair. The chair slowly turned and a man sat with his hands folded, covering
his mouth. His eyes were dark and beady, his shoulders wide. He wore a black
button down shirt. He put his hands to the table and pushed up.

“
Leave
him,
”
the man ordered.

“
Okay.
Hey, Dmitry, should we guard the other doors? In case this asshole came with a
crew?
”

“
No.
I can smell him. He
’
s
alone. He
’
s got big balls between
his legs and wants to show them off.
”

The guy left the office.

I stood there, waiting.

Dmitry eyed me up and down a few
times.
“
You
’
re a fighter, aren
’
t you?
”

“
I
’
m not here to talk about me,
”
I said.
“
If you know who I am, then you know why I
’
m here.
”

“
Let
’
s pretend I know nothing. And
you know nothing.
”

“
You
’
re hosting a fight out there,
”
I said.
“
You run Skull X. I
’
ve
heard that name floating around for a while now. A lot of people are afraid of
you.
”

“
Should
be. We don
’
t fuck around,
Tripp.
”

Yeah, that one took me back a
couple steps. The logical question would have been
how did you know my name?
but I let that slide. It didn
’
t
matter that he knew my name.

“
Where
’
s the kid?
”
I asked.
“
That
’
s why I
’
m
here. I
’
m taking her where
she belongs. No more bullshit. I want Autumn and Andrea.
”

Dmitry knocked his right hand on
the table and then chuckled.
“
Goddamn.
That
’
s a tall order to
make.
”

“
I
made it,
”
I said.
“
So what
’
s the problem?
”

“
Have
a seat.
”

“
No.
”

Dmitry nodded.
“
I will then.
”
He sat back down. He opened a
drawer and dug through it. Then he brought out a picture. He put it on the desk
and turned it around and slid it forward.
“
So
you
’
re here for this?
”

I stepped forward and looked down
at the picture. For a second I lost my breath. The picture was of a little
girl, maybe four years old. She had dark, curly hair, a big smile, but the eyes
got to me. They were Winter
’
s
eyes. It was definitely her daughter. The daughter she had been forced to give
up.

“
Cat
got your tongue there?
”
Dmitry asked.

I looked at him. My right hand was
in a fist. I really thought about going after him.

“
Easy,
”
Dmitry said. He lifted his
right hand and put a gun on the desk.
“
I
know how to take care of myself. So let
’
s
just be men and talk.
”

“
I
’
d rather fight.
”

“
Understandable,
”
Dmitry said.
“
This isn
’
t your gig. So why are you here?
”

“
You
took something that
’
s not
yours. That little girl doesn
’
t
belong to you.
”

“
She
’
s taken care of, along with her
mother.
”

“
So
let me try your game,
”
I
said.
“
What do you want
from me to get them?
”

Dmitry nodded.
“
That
’
s a tough decision. I was just going to kill them.
”

“
Why?
”

“
I
have no fucking use for them now.
”

“
What
the hell does that mean?
”

Dmitry grinned.

He leaned back in his chair.

I made my move.

I grabbed the gun and pointed it at
him.
“
Where are they?
”

“
Don
’
t do this, Tripp. I want to like
you.
”

“
Fuck
you. I have no loyalty to anyone. To anything.
”

“
Except
that little tight slit between Winter
’
s
legs, right?
”

I pulled the trigger.

My eyes went wide
…

Click.

I dropped the gun and Dmitry stood
up.
“
And I thought we could
trust each other.
”

The door to the office busted open
and I turned just in time to have three huge guys charge in after me. My
instinct was to fight, so I started throwing punches. I had no chance - and I
fucking knew it - but if I didn
’
t
fight, then what was the point of living?