Ink & Bone (New York Crime Kings Book 5) (10 page)

Another bullet dodged. How long can I keep this up? How long can I avoid the inevitable?

Jai better get here and fast.

Nine

Jai

Murder, Murder

It’s two a.m. I’m wired, and I haven’t slept. To be honest, I’m still a little tipsy too. I grip the steering wheel in my hand, desperately awaiting them to open the gates and let Antoni Smith out. According to Joker, Antoni tipped the cops off on one of their drug deals. I listened to the entire story surrounding Antoni and the Twisted Sons as an empty gesture. All I got from Joker was a bunch of lies. It was a ‘poor me, betrayal of the brotherhood’ claim that I immediately recognized as bullshit. Little does he know, I’ve read the case file and I know the full story. Not surprisingly, Joker is far from the innocent party.

Basically, the police offered Antoni Smith protection if he would testify against Bones and Dex in court for selling crack to school age children. As a father of five, Antoni felt he had a moral obligation to put the fuckers away. Sadly, the charges didn’t stick for the rest of the gang, but at least Bones and Dex are off the streets for life.

That being said, Antoni Smith is still far from innocent. With racketeering, profiteering, and rape up his sleeve, I don’t feel so bad about shooting him.

“They said two a.m.,” Joel growls, shifting in his seat. “It’s now three.”

“I know.” I lean forward. “I’m sure they’ll let him out any second now.”

Right on cue, the large wire gate begins to roll back, and out comes a short man in jeans and a long-sleeved shirt, clenching a black jacket in his hand.

“You think that’s him?”

I shrug. “Can’t be anyone else, can it?”

Antoni pushes his fingers through his hair and approaches a black Chevy. Smiling widely, he opens the door and slips inside. The Chevy hums to life and the driver flicks on the lights. Joel and I wait patiently as they reverse out of their parking spot and gently roll out of the lot. I turn my lights on and slap Joker’s truck into drive.

Joker assured me Antoni wouldn’t be able to recognize the truck since it was green the last time he saw it, and that’s good enough for me.

I follow a safe distance behind Antoni’s vehicle for thirty-three minutes. When the Chevy indicates to the left and pulls over, I pull over too, fifty yards behind it, settling nicely behind a large van with a giant, pink cupcake printed on the side.

“Stay here,” I tell Joel. “I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

“Be careful, would you?”

I open my door and slip out. Instead of slamming it, I push the door shut, avoiding the loud bang. I step around the cupcake van and see Antoni walking toward me. Where’s his protection? His ride has gone and there are no witnesses. Once again, the New York Police Department is doing a bang up job. I glance up and down the street. For the slums, this is pretty quiet.

Whistling a merry tune, Antoni walks with a skip in his step. I don’t blame him, he’s a free man, after all…or so he thinks.

As he gets closer, I slip my hand into the pocket of my black hoodie and wrap my fingers around the handgun Joker gave me. When he’s within reach, I step in front of him and shove him backwards.

Swearing, he waves his arms and crashes against the pavement.

“I don’t have any money,” he tells me, his voice filled with aggression, not fear.

“I don’t want your money,” I snap, kicking him in the leg.

He shouts and scurries back. “What do you want?”

“Your life.” I whip out my gun, point it at him, and squeeze the trigger without thought.

With a loud bang, the gun kicks into my hand and blood sprays the concrete behind him. I see the life leave his eyes as he drops against the sidewalk and ceases to be.

There. I did it.

I whirl on my heel and march back to the truck. I hear no sirens…not here and not in the distance. Who knows when law enforcement will give a shit enough to come down here?

I pull open my door, but Joel isn’t in the passenger seat. I toss my gun into his seat and climb in. As I flick on my lights, I notice the windows are a little foggy. Why would they be—

“What the fuck?” I slap my rearview mirror and see Monique and Joel in the back seat, putting their arms back through their t-shirts, their lips swollen and red. “What’s she doing here?”

Joel pins her with an angry glare. “She was hiding in the back.”

“So you thought you’d get a quickie in while I splatter someone’s head all over the sidewalk?” I snort. Fucking hell. I look at Monique in the mirror. “And you, don’t you have school in the morning?”

She scoffs and kicks the back of my seat.

“Enough with the kid jokes, please,” Joel snaps. “It makes me fucking uncomfortable.”

I laugh. “You and everyone else.”

“I’ll have you know I’m turning twenty in twelve days,” Monique points out, like it makes a fucking difference.

“That’s cute.” I pull out onto the road and drive off. “Let me know when you can buy me a beer.”

I reach into the compartment on the left side of the dash and open it up. Inside, I retrieve the small cellphone and hit redial, calling Joker’s personal cell.

“You better have good news, Stone,” he answers.

“It’s done,” I tell him. “Are we good to go with Skull?”

Joker pauses, and I hear him smile through the phone. For some reason, dread settles in my stomach. “Of course. Do as we planned. You go in through the back at exactly oh-nine hundred and we go in through the front.”

“You’re not going to fuck me on this, are you?”

“Jai.” Joker laughs. “We’re brothers. I’ve got your back.”

He hangs up and I clench the phone in my fist.
Brothers…

“Is he good?” Joel asks, leaning forward as he pushes his head through his hoodie.

“Yeah,” I tell him. “He’s good to go.”

Joel settles onto the backseat with Monique. Tossing the phone, I flick the rearview mirror back to its normal position and stare dead ahead at the road as we roll across it. Unease burrows through my stomach. That phone call doesn’t sit right with me. Something was definitely…off…about it.

Where do I go from here? I don’t know. The least I can do is give Joker the benefit of the doubt. He did initiate me into his gang, and I did just murder someone in cold blood for him. Maybe, after everything I’ve been through, I’m just being paranoid.

Or maybe, just maybe, Joker is gonna fuck us over.

Ten

Emily

Submerge

The morning sun is warm on my skin. It’s the first day of spring, and it’s surprisingly lovely. For the first time, Skull is letting me outside, and I’m not even chained to anything. Granted, there are a few people lurking in the background with assault rifles, but at this point, I’ll take what I can get.

The environment is beautiful. The air is crisp and clean, and the pool is sparkling.

Skull sits across from me, happier than usual, whistling a merry tune while flicking through the newspaper. Even in a yellow tee and big, bright sunglasses, he’s terrifying.

“You’re awfully cheerful this morning,” I point out, confused since he didn’t get what he wanted from me last night.

Skull glances at me, or at least I think he does. I can’t tell through his shades. “I’m expecting a delivery this morning.”

Smiling, Laura spoons her grapefruit and sucks off the juice. It turns my stomach. To ease it, I reach out and pluck a small piece of bread crust from my plate and eat it.

After Skull left me in the bathroom last night, I got out, dried myself, dressed myself, and went to bed. Before I did that though, I went to the bedroom door and saw that it was left unlocked. I could have ran. I wanted to, but I didn’t fancy being shot again. Besides, I was so tired I ended up sleeping the drug off, only to wake this morning with a bloody nose and extreme kidney pain.

I can’t do that drug again. I don’t think my body can take it.

“John and Sarah,” Skull says, flicking the corner of the paper.

I look at him. “Hm?”

“John Farrell and Sarah Shepard. Those are your parent’s names.”

I frown. What is he talking about?

“Gabriella, nineteen, Blake, sixteen, and, Remi, nine, are the names and ages of your siblings.” He glances up from his newspaper. “Clark is the name of their seven-year-old pug.”

Frustration prickles in my chest, but I manage to hold it down. Where is he getting this information? And why does he think it’s important to me? It was, once upon a time, but now…now I have a new family. Anyway, if my birth parents wanted to see me, they would have tracked me down. The only person I want to see, the only person I want to hold, is Jai and only Jai.

“Why are you telling me this?”

He lowers his newspaper. “I thought you wanted to know.”

“I did. Not anymore.”

He tips his head. “Why not?”

“Because knowing doesn’t change anything. They’re not my family. They never have been, and they never will be.”

“Funny you say that.” Skull plucks a manila folder from inside his newspaper and tosses the newspaper aside. “I found a whole bunch of letters from your mother that never went through to—”

I shoot out of my chair and snatch the folder from his hands. Growling, I toss the folder into the pool, destroying everything in it. I won’t let him into my head. I won’t let him fill my head with lies.

“I’m done with your games,” I snap at him, and he clenches his jaw. On and off the muscles go, faster and faster, until a growl rips from his chest and he dives at me. His large body crashes into mine, knocking me on my ass. I barely have time to recover before he scoops me up by the scruff of my white tank top and drags me to the edge of the pool.

“You’re going to fish those out,” he snaps, grabbing me by the shoulders.

I struggle against him, thrashing wildly. “No, I’m not!”

We wrestle. Every time he gets a good grip on me, I shake out of it until my patience wears thin and I spit in his face. He freezes, and I use the minute to catch my breath. Skull reaches for his sunglasses and his shirt. Pulling his shades off of his face, he wipes his face with his shirt.

“That’s not very ladylike now, is it?” he states, his voice as cold as ice.

“I—” His wide palm connects with my face, and it tosses my head to the side. I swing my arms and scream as I lose my balance and fall into the freezing pool.

The water is so cold it almost paralyzes me. I gasp for air, kicking my legs as quickly as I can. I swim for the edge of the pool and grab onto it. As I slap my palms against the stone, Skull stands on my fingers with his sneakers, and I hiss as he jars them against the hard rock.

“You’re not getting out of this pool until every shred of paper is collected, do you understand?”

I glare up at him, shivering. “I-it’s f-freezing.”

He crouches low. “You should have thought it through.” He removes his foot from my fingers. “All of the paper.
Now.
”

Despite the violent tremors in my body and the way my teeth chatter, I turn around and swim to the center of the pool. I grab the soaking manila folder and three small sheets that have fallen out of it. They disintegrate in my hand, but I do my best to keep them all together. Then, I force myself to the edge of the pool and hand them to him. I grab onto the ledge as he takes the sopping papers from me.

“Did you learn your lesson?” Skull asks, glancing down at me, and I nod. “I’m not convinced.”

He tosses the paper back into the pool, and I all but sob as tears fill my eyes. Turning, I swim back out for the paper…

…praying that I drown somewhere in the middle.

Eleven

Jai

Warped

He fucking lied to us. He said he’d be here at nine a.m., and it just hit ten. I pull my hoodie off of my head and reach for the cellphone again. I hit the button, and the screen turns on.

Beep. Beep.
Warning! Your battery is critically low.

Fuck.
I hit the phone icon and call Joker’s cell. I bring the phone to my ear, and it rings out…and then it dies.

“You’ve got to be kidding me!” I shout, opening my door. I jump out of the car, cock my arm back, and throw the phone deep into the forest. I knew it! I fucking knew he set us up.

I rake my fingers over my face and push them through my hair. Now what? Now-fucking-what? My blood burns under my skin, the anger in my veins threatening to eat through my skin like acid.

“What do we do, Jai?” I startle as Joel sneaks up behind me and rests against the car. “Whatever you want to do…I’ll do it.”

I plant my hands on my hips and stare at my boots. “We’re here,” I tell him. “I can’t leave her there a second longer,”

“And if we’re caught?”

I look at Joel. I don’t need to say anything. He knows. If we’re caught…we can kiss our asses goodbye.

“Never too late for you to back out, brother,” I say, stuffing my hands into the pockets of my black cargos. “Jessica is in Italy. She’d love to see you.”

He pulls out his black cap from the pocket of his hoodie. “Bail and let you have all the fun?” He places it on his head. “Nah.”

I guess stubbornness is a trait we both have. I nod toward the car. “What about Monique?”

“She wants to help…” He smiles. “Telling her what to do is like catching rain in a bucket riddled with holes, so I’m gonna let her tag along.”

I can’t help the laugh that bubbles up my throat. I know how that is. “It’s settled then. The three of us versus the army of them.”

Joel smiles at me, but the corners of his mouth are sad. It’s a farewell smile. I’ve seen them a million times throughout my life. “Thank you.” 

Oh, no. Not the ‘thanks for everything’ speech.
I push past him. “We’re not doing this right now.”

“Yes, we are.” He snags my arm, holding me in place. “If we’re caught…if I die or if Monique dies, just know that we are incredibly grateful. Every extra second that I’ve spent with her is something that never would have happened without you so…thank you.”

Nodding, I shrug my arm free and circle the car to the open bed. I stretch forward and snap the locks on the metal box to my left. I tug on the handle and drag the heavy tray closer to me. Clearing my suddenly thick throat, I pop the lid off and, behold, a box full of beautiful bitches. I grab an M-16 and pull it out.

“I wonder if Joker filled these with real bullets or blanks.”

I press the butt of the rifle against my shoulder and peer down the length of it. “Real bullets.”

I don’t bother checking. As I hold the rifle in my hand, I just know she won’t let me down. Joel chooses his rifle and stuffs a handgun into the waistband of his jeans. “How far are we?”

“A mile, maybe less.” I point east. “If we follow that track we should come out by the fence behind his pool house.”

“How do you know?”

“I studied every inch of Huss’s map of Skull’s compound.”

Every.

Damn.

Inch.

“The pool house isn’t a bad place to enter, actually,” Monique chimes in, sauntering around the back of the truck. “There’s a wine cellar underneath with a secret passage to the second kitchen in the main house.” Tucking a lock of long blonde hair out of her face, Monique peers at Joel. “Remember?”

Realization spreads on Joel’s face. “Right.” He beams. “There is.”

I don’t recall the passage being on Huss’s map, but then again, why would it be if it’s a secret? “Do I even want to know how you two discovered the secret passage?”

Monique chuckles, blush rising to her cheeks. “Probably not.”

I won’t ask then. Exhaling, I reach into the tray and whip out a handgun. “You know how to use one of these?”

She nods. “I’m not completely useless.”

“Prove it.” I hold it out, and she grabs the handle. “If you hit
at least
four people, I’ll stop harassing you about your age.”

Monique purses her soft, glossy lips before tucking the handgun into the waistband of her own jeans. “There’s nothing wrong with my age, but I’m going to take you up on your bet anyway.”

I close the tailgate and turn east toward the path.

One mile.

One mile from here my woman is waiting. One mile from here, a man and his army will do whatever it takes to keep her from me.

I hope they prepared for my arrival, because I’m about to rip through there like a fucking tornado.

***

“Shhh!” Joel shoves me against the pool house, his palm firm against my chest. “Shit!”

Gasping, Monique grabs my wrist. What’s their problem?

“What?” I demand, trying to peek around him. “What is it?”

“Fucking Skull,” he hisses, clenching his teeth. “They’re by the pool.”

I shoot forward, and Monique releases me, but Joel pushes me back.

“What’s your problem?” I shove his hand away and inch out, peering around the corner. My heart stutters at the sight of Emily sitting on her knees, soaking wet and freezing to death while Skull crouches in front of her, clenching her hair in his fist. His mouth moves as he speaks, and all I can see is the tremors in her muscles as the cool breeze penetrates her body. Surrounding them are Skull’s goons with their rifles. They scan their proximities, their fingers resting on their triggers. Fuck. They’re expecting us. I just know they are.

“Fuck!” I curse, wiping spit off my lip. “They know we’re coming.”

Joel drops his head. “Fucking Joker. I knew it!”

It makes sense. Skull has it in for the Twisted Sons ever since one of his men murdered his wife. He would’ve offered them a deal.
Shit.
Dropping back, I rest against the pool house. What the fuck am I supposed to do? There’s no way we’re going to make it through that. I glance at Monique, who watches Joel and me with wide eyes, her hands trembling around her gun. We’re going to fight this war with her as our support? Her tiny legs can barely hold her body upright.

“It’s all right,” I tell her. “We’re good, all right?”

Letting his gun hang from his body, Joel steps around me and pulls Monique into his arms. She holds him tightly, so tight her knuckles turn white.

“Go back to the car and leave, Nique,” he says. “You know where I’ve stashed the money. Take it and go.”

Sobbing, she shakes her head. “Not without you.”

“I can’t go with you.”

I look away as their conversation falls to whispers. I inch forward and watch Skull talk to Emily with a condescending smirk on his lips. Then, without warning, he claims her mouth with his, and my vision turns red.