My Girl (8 page)

Seth bounced his knee nervously under the table as he watched out the window of the small coffee shop. They had been waiting for Elliot to show up for the last fifteen minutes. So far, there had been no sign of the man and Seth didn't like it.

Considering that they had to drive all of the way from the airport to reach the coffee shop, which was just around the corner from the police station, Elliot should have arrived a long time before they did.

Nicky's hand squeeze his thigh. "He'll be here."
"When?" Seth snapped, then immediately wished he
hadn't when Nicky's hand lifted from his leg and the man
bit his lip as he glanced away. He quickly reached over and
grabbed Nicky's hand and brought it back to his thigh. "I'm sorry, babe. I didn't mean to snap at you. I'm just…
something about all of this is making me nervous." Nicky's hand squeezed Seth's thigh again and a
nervous smile was sent in his direction. "I know. I don't
like it either. Elliot should have been here by now." "Ricky," Seth said as he glanced across the small
booth to their friend, "why don't you go call Elliot and find
out where he is?"
"Sure thing." Ricky climbed out of the booth and
made his way to the small entry by the bathrooms where
the pay phone was located. Seth watched anxiously as
Ricky picked up the phone, inserted some coins, and dialed.
Ricky spoke for several moments the hung up the phone.
His face looked grim as he made his way back to their
booth.
"Well?" Seth asked.
"Elliot left the precinct right after we called," Ricky
replied. "No one has seen him since he walked out the
door."
Seth turned to look at Nicky when the man inhaled
sharply. "What?"
"Morales has him."
"Nicky, you can't know that. Something could have
come up. He could have gone to the wrong coffee shop. Anything. Just because he's not here doesn't mean that
Morales has him."
Nicky shook his head. "No, Morales has Elliot. I
know it."
"Nicky—"
"You're not listening to me, Seth," Nicky
whispered. "I've seen how this guy works. I know what he's
capable of. I seriously doubt he even chartered a plane
anywhere. It was all just a ruse to get me back to Boston.
He knew I'd come here and now he's taken Elliot to draw
me out."
"Nicky, there is no way Morales could have known
you would come back to Boston," Seth insisted weakly but
he wasn't so sure. He had been shocked when Morales
discovered that Nicky was living out west as a woman.
How could he know what Morales was capable of? "Isn't there?" Nicky countered. "If Morales can find
a US Marshal's safe house, he can figure out I would come
back to Boston. He probably has Elliot's phones tapped." Okay, that made sense. Hell, it made a lot of sense.
It would explain a lot of things if Morales had Elliot's
phones tapped. Seth just didn't know what to do about it.
Going to the police didn't seem like a smart idea
considering the mole Elliot had discovered. He didn't know
who else they had on their side.
"Who do you trust, Nicky? Who can we go to?" Nicky slowly shook his head. "I don't know. If
Morales has Elliot then…" A sudden grin covered Nicky's
lips as he snapped his fingers. "I know just the people to go
to. Come on."
Confused but willing to let Nicky lead the way, Seth
scooted out of the booth behind Nicky. He could hear
Ricky following after them as they walked out of the coffee
shop. He had no idea where they were going but Nicky
seemed like a man on a mission.
The ride in the cab was silent. Seth figured each of
them were mulling over their thoughts. Seth knew his were
chaotic. They were a cross between scared out of his mind
and wanting to beat the crap out of Morales for the danger
he put Nicky in.
He was also worried about what had happened to
Elliot and couldn't seem to stop thinking about it. Add in
not knowing where Nicky was taking them and Seth was
about to crawl out of his skin.
"Would a blow job help?"
Seth snapped his gaze from looking out the window
around to look at Nicky in shock, especially considering the
innocent little smirk on his lover's face. "What?" "You're thinking too hard again," Nicky said as he
tapped his finger against Seth's temple. "I can hear the
wheels turning from here."
"So, your answer is to offer me a blow job?" Seth
didn't realize until the car swerved a bit that Nicky spoke in
a whisper and he nearly shouted. The cabbie was watching
them intently through the rearview mirror. Seth glared.
"Eyes on the road, man."
Nicky chuckled, which didn't help at all. The sweet
sound just made Seth's face flush. He didn't know whether
to throttle Nicky or take the man up on his offer. Both were
strong possibilities.
"Where are we going, babe?"
"I still have a few friends in Boston, one or two that
would love to see our friend put away for a very long time."
The delicate white blouse covering Nicky's shoulders
moved across his skin when he shrugged just enough to
make Seth's breath catch in his throat and wish that they
were in a place where he could get a blow job from him.
"They will help us."
"I hope you're right, babe, because we're in deep
shit here and I think it's only going to get worse. Maybe we
should have stayed out west?"
"No." Nicky shook his head. "I want this over with one way or the other. I'm tired of not being able to live my life the way I want and always looking over my shoulder.
We need to end this."
"There are only two allowable outcomes, Nicky.
For Morales to either be dead or behind bars. Nothing else
is acceptable to me." Seth gripped Nicky's chin and brought
the man's face up to his. "Nothing, Nicky, do you hear
me?"
"I love it when you get all fierce-like." "Nicky!"
Nicky's eyelashes lowered for a moment and he
licked his lips before raising them back up to meet Seth's
intense gaze. There was an unusual sparkle in them that
made Seth's heart thump faster.
"I love you, too, Seth."
Well, damn!
CHAPTER 15

Nicky nervously bounced from one foot to the other as Seth grabbed their bags and Ricky paid the cab driver then shut the door. He turned to look up at the large neon sign and smothered the anxious laugh that tried to escape his mouth.

He had no idea what kind of reaction he was going to get from Seth and Ricky when he took them inside the club. He knew Seth said he didn't have an issue with Nicky dressing as a woman but how would he feel walking into the club Nicky used to work in? Would Seth lose his temper when former customers caught sight of him? Would his former customers actually recognize him dressed as a woman?

Nicky was ready to toss his cookies. His stomach seemed to be on a rollercoaster ride of epic proportions. Nicky wrapped one arm around his waist and reached for Seth's hand with the other.

"You ready?"
"Where are we, Nicky?"
"Don't ask. Believe me, you don't want to know."

Nicky tugged on Seth's hand and led him around to the side of the building. He carefully peered around the corner before walking into the alley that led to the side employee entrance.

Nicky knew going back to the scene of the crime, so to speak, probably wasn't his best option but he couldn't think of any other place to go. His mother's house wasn't an option and neither were the authorities. They'd fucked up more than once and Nicky didn't trust any of them except Elliot and he was in as much trouble as Nicky was.

Nicky stopped in front of a non-descript brown door and rapped twice, paused, then knocked again. After a moment, the door opened just a crack and a makeup covered face looked out.

"Hey, Junebug," Nicky said quietly, "can you open up?"
The door instantly swung open to reveal a young man dressed in a pink bathrobe and fluffy bunny slippers. "Geez, Nicky, what in the hell are you doing here? You know if the boss catches you that you're a dead man."
"What better place to hide than under his nose?"
Nicky's face flushed when he let out a little yelp as he was suddenly swung around and slammed into the wall. Seth was right there, leaning into him, his face flushed red with anger and confusion.
"This is where you worked? Are you out of your mind bringing us here? Are you trying to get yourself killed?" Each word was snapped out between clenched teeth as Seth glared at Nicky.
"Seth, this is the one place Morales won't be looking for us. Who is stupid enough to go back to the scene of the crime?"
"I wonder!"
"Uh, Nicky?"
Nicky pushed Seth back a step when he heard the tremble in Junebug's voice. Junebug, as his friends called him, was a sweet young man of twenty three who couldn't hurt a fly. He was one of the few men Nicky had met who was actually shorter than him.
"Junebug, this is Seth and Ricky, they're with me."
"O—okay."
"Is Marla around?"
"Yes." Junebug's eyes darted between Nicky, Seth, and Ricky. "She's on stage at the moment but her set is just about done, though."
"We need to go backstage and hide in the locker room," Nicky said. "Can we do that?"
"Oh, Nicky," Junebug said as he glanced over his shoulder, "I'm not sure that’s such a good idea. The boss came in awhile ago and he's not happy. He was yelling and everything."
"Was he with anyone?" Nicky's heart nearly jumped out of his chest when Junebug said Morales was here. He just knew the man hadn't flown out west. That would have been too convenient.
"Just his shadows," Junebug said, referring to the muscle bound goons that did Morales's dirty work.
"Anyone else?" Nicky almost crossed his fingers as he prayed.
Junebug shrugged. "I don't know. I heard him yelling and came backstage. I really didn't want to stick around, you know?"
"Yeah, I understand." Nicky patted Junebug's shoulder gently. He knew the small man had been on the receiving end of one of Morales's tirades more than once. Pretty much anyone who worked for the vicious man had been. "Let's just go to the locker room and wait for Marla. She'll know what to do."
Nicky felt bad for Junebug when he nodded and wrung his hands together before turning to walk away. He grabbed Seth's hand and pulled him along as he followed Junebug into the backroom. It probably wasn't the best place to hide but Nicky figured Morales would never look for him there.
Besides, there was a small room in the back, more of a closet really, that Morales didn't know about or never went into. It was hidden by a floor to ceiling mirror. Nicky and Marla discovered it by accident one night when they were goofing around in front of the mirror.
They'd kept the information to themselves as much as possible, only sharing it with those they thought they could trust and usually only when someone needed to hide from Morales. It had been used more than once. Nicky just hoped it could be used once more.
There were a few gasps and a couple of girlish giggles as Nicky, Seth, and Ricky walked into what everyone called the locker room. It was basically the backroom where the dancers prepared for their set on stage.
A long counter lined each wall, individual mirrors set a few feet apart. Each dancer had their own spot with their jewelry, makeup, and whatever they used for their dance sets. Nicky remembered vividly spending hours upon hours preparing for his dances.
Despite what people may have thought, a dancer didn't simply pull on a thong and go out onto the stage. There was makeup to be applied, lotion to make their skin look sparkly or wet. Things needed to be tucked away or shaved or just generally dealt with. A dancer always made a little more money if he had something hard in his thong to bring out to the crowd.
"Nicky, honey, is that you?" one of the dancers said as they rushed up. "Oh, honey, you can't be here. The boss will tear this place apart if he discovers you here, and then you."
"Hey Stell." Nicky accepted the quick hug the man gave him. "We were kind of waiting for Marla."
"She's almost done with her set but we need to get you into the back, honey. The boss is being a real prick right now. He has his shadows coming in here every ten minutes or so." Stell shook his head. "He's more paranoid than usual, honey."
"Nicky, if this is a gay bar, why are we waiting for some girl named Marla?"
Nicky chuckled. "Marla is Martin."
"Oh." Seth frowned. "Is he… er… she dressing like a woman for a reason?"
"Marla lives as a woman." Nicky waved his hand down his body to the skirt and blouse he wore. "Hence, the outfit. When I had to go into hiding, I went to Marla. I knew she could help me hide."
Seth cocked his head to one side, the corners of his lips lifting up a little. "Good choice."
"I thought so."
"But I still don’t understand why we're here, Nicky. Morales is in this same building. That’s like asking to be caught."
"I have a plan, love, not to worry."
"Love?"
Nicky smiled over at Stell and Junebug and pulled Seth over to stand closer to him. "This is my Seth."
Junebug giggled. "Nicky has a boyfriend," he sang softly.
Seth chuckled and pulled Nicky closer. "I'm hoping I'm more than a boyfriend but I'll take what I can get right now."
"Okay, this is all really fun and all but can we get out of the middle of this room?" Ricky asked as he stepped closer to the group. "I'm feeling a little exposed at the moment."
Nicky suddenly realized that Ricky was right. Morales or one of his goons could walk into the room at any moment. He glanced around the room to make sure there were no new faces or anyone watching them.
"Are there any new dancers?"
"We've had one since you and Juan left but he's more afraid of the boss than Junebug is," Stell said. "The boss has taken a special interest in Justin and it's not a healthy one, if you know what I mean."
Nicky nodded sadly. He knew exactly what Stell meant. He and Juan had garnered Morales's interest and Juan ended up paying for it with his life. "How far in is he?"
Stell shrugged. "He's scared to say no but I don't think he's said yes yet. The boss keeps pushing though so I don't know how much longer Justin can hold out. He's already tried to leave once but the boss just brought him back."
"Okay, look, we think the boss has kidnapped a cop, the one that helped me get away. I think he's here somewhere in the building. I also think the boss expects me to show up here in Boston."
"And that would explain oh so much why you've done exactly what he wanted," Stell snapped. "Nicky, you've gone and lost your marbles. He's going to find you."
"Oh, he's going to find me all right."
"What?" Seth shouted then quickly looked around the room to ensure they hadn't been overheard. Junebug rushed to the doorway leading to the stage and looked through the curtain for a moment before walking back. "Are you out of your mind?" Seth hissed, much quieter this time.
"I'm tired of letting Morales run things. He's taken almost everything from me, from Juan, and from every man in this room. It's time he was stopped. It's time for us to take our freedom back."
"And you have a plan to do this?" Seth sounded incredulous. "Does it involve getting your ass shot off?"
"No, but I still don't think you're going to like it."
"I don't like it now, and I haven't even heard it."
Nicky reached up and patted Seth's cheek. "Don't worry, love. I'm not about to do anything that will keep us from being together."
"Okay, fine, then what do you have in mind?"
Nicky grimaced and turned to look at Stell. "Can I borrow a thong?"
CHAPTR 16