Cold-Hearted (9 page)

What was I doing?

It must have been the tasty wine that was giving me so much confidence. All of the sudden, I found my foot running up and down Ash's leg. My heart beat faster and my cheeks flushed scarlet. I wanted this man completely. But did he feel the same? He certainly stared at me a lot but most guys did that. It was probably because I was so goofy.

“You're so beautiful, Nicole.” Ash's words sang across the table. The redness in my face multiplied by a million.
Was he reading my mind?

“Enough about me. What made you join Dark Steel?”

Ash shifted in his seat. He looked uncomfortable. My question hit a nerve. He felt the same way I did about the dancing question. I wished I could take it back. I pulled my foot back from his ankle.

Ash gulped. “My older brother AJ was a club member. My parents were barely around and I looked up to him like he was a superhero. When I was sixteen, he was gunned down by a rival MC.”

His eyes watered up a little. I reached out and grabbed his hand while he tried to find the words. How could a tough man like him be so sensitive?

“After that, I hung out at The Burger Joint every day until I was twenty-one and they let me join.”

“I'm so sorry, that happened to you,” I said.

Ash bit down on his lip and held my hand. The tension between us was crazy. “I've never really talked to anyone about my brother before. Not even my Dark Steel brothers.”

My heart melted instantly. I needed to change the subject. “The reason my parents wouldn't help me out with college was that I ran away when I was fifteen.”

“Oh shit, really?”

I took a sip of red wine. “My dad was really abusive. He would get drunk and beat my mom around the house. When I was little I'd run upstairs and lock myself in my room. I would stuff a pillow over my head to muffle the sounds of my mom's screams for help.

Anger boiled in Ash's eyes. His grip on the wine glass tightened until it almost shattered. He wanted to protect me. He wanted to save that little girl. Ash could be my superhero.

I put my hand up in defense. “My father never hit me. He never touched me actually—no kisses, no hugs.” I looked outside to the street as the headlights zoomed pass the large window. “When I was old enough, I called the cops on my dad one night. I thought everything would finally be over. When they showed up, my mom protected my dad and told them I was making it all up. I didn't wait around for my dad to punish me for what I did.”

Ash's mouth was wide open. “Wow, where did you go?”

“Luckily my Aunt Mary lived a couple hundred miles away. She took me in and I finished high school. I haven't seen my parents since.”

“Yeah I haven't seen mine in years. My parents divorced after AJ died. They couldn't handle the grief.”

“We had some fucked up childhoods,” he said. We both laughed and continued drinking.

The waiter came over and with a tray of food and the aroma of dinner was intoxicating. My stomach groaned as he placed the plate in front of me. The chicken was covered in a brown sauce and surrounded by peas and red potatoes. “This looks amazing,” I told Ash.

“Dig in,” he replied, picking up his fork and knife.

The first bite of chicken was so juicy and soft that it dissolved right on my tongue. I closed my eyes and moaned softly as I enjoyed the flavors. “This food is out of this world.”

Ash smiled. “I'm glad you like it.”

I felt so comfortable around him. He made me open up and tell him secrets that Jenny didn't even know. This time
his
foot ran up my bare leg and almost went up my dress. I could barely concentrate on my food as we played footsie under the table. His touch was exotic. His foot was just testing the waters.

I wanted him to kiss me so badly. Just once. Just so I could feel the warmth of his lips against mine. My daydream was right in front of me and staring down my dress. I wanted his rough hands to squeeze my breasts—pinch my nipples and suck on them. A wetness was growing down below.
How much longer could I wait?

But do I tell him I'm a virgin? I'd told him all my deepest secrets. But that would be pretty presumptuous of me. This was probably all a big joke. Cameras were planted in the restaurant and this was all being televised. Ash was just an actor playing a part. He had no real feelings for me.

Two old pink and purple Cadillacs parked out front right outside the huge window. A few Mexicans got out and were carrying guns.

Holy fuck!

Nicole stared at me with dreamy eyes, chewing on her bottom lip. I wanted to kiss her so hard and bite it. Her cleavage was deep and never-ending. I imagined my cock sliding right between her soft tits, unloading all over her chest. I needed to undress her and take her right here on this table.

Nicole looked outside and her calm face transformed into horror. I looked over to see Mexicans outside carrying pistols. “Get down!” I screamed to Nicole.

The Mexicans opened fire.

Everything was in slow motion. Bullets exploded through the front window, shattering it into a million pieces. I looked over to see the waiter get hit in the shoulder and his body contorted, his head snapping back as he took another bullet between the eyes.

I met Nicole under the tablecloth and pulled out my 1911 .45 Cal from behind my back. Nicole was shivering and holding her legs. The wine glasses burst above us from the gunfire. I flipped the table over and used it as a shield for both of us. I returned fire, hitting one Mexican in the chest and leg. He dropped to the ground like a sack of potatoes.

“We need to get out of here, Nicole,” I yelled to her. She didn't respond, just staring at the waiter who was dead and bleeding on the ground next to us. I slapped her across the face and she finally turned her attention to me. “I'm going to provide you covering fire and I need to you to run to the back door.”

Nicole shook her head. “I can't do it. I'm not leaving without you.”

I didn't have time to argue. I fired blindly into the night, my bullets ricocheting off the Cadillacs. I didn't know how many were out there and didn't want to stay long enough to find out. I grabbed Nicole by the arm and pulled her up while I unloaded the rest of my clip at the Mexicans. The boom of my gun echoed throughout the restaurant.

We started to run for the back as bullets whizzed by us. A screaming pain came from my arm and I cried out. We passed the maitre d' cowering in the kitchen with the chef. I kicked the back door open expecting to see an army of Mexicans waiting for us but there was nobody there. The valet must have ran when he heard the gunfire. I quickly ran to the podium that held my keys and we bolted through the parking lot until we got to my Harley.

“Are you okay?” I asked her. Nicole was in a daze. I quickly checked her over for any wounds but she looked untouched. I noticed blood running down my arm and winced when the pain hit me. There wasn't anything I could do about it yet.

We didn't even bother with helmets. I hid my cannon in the waistband of my pants and started the bike as Nicole hopped on. Her hands were still shaking as she wrapped them around me. I was so furious I thought I might burst. I had put Nicole in harm's way and all I wanted to do was get revenge. I squeezed the throttle and flew out of there.

I looked behind us to see if the Mexicans were following but they must have fled the scene. The sound of sirens was off in the distance. I only had one thing on my mind: get Nicole to safety.

My cellphone buzzed on the nightstand next to me. I closed the case file and gazed over at the clock—two in the morning. Pretty late to have somebody calling. Must be important. I pried my glasses off and answered.

“Agent Swift,” I said, my voice calm and monotone.

“It's Malarkey. The local sheriff thinks he has something for us.”

I sprung out of bed, my eyes alight with excitement. “Where are you?” I asked.

“San Giovanni's restaurant. Do you need the address?” Malarkey was excited too.

I had followed Dark Steel members to that Italian restaurant before. “No, I'll be there in ten minutes.”

I ran to the closet and pulled out a black suit that was an exact copy of the other four suits hanging. I didn't care much for fashion and wearing the same thing every day made getting ready in the morning that much quicker. I didn't even bother with my makeup or hair as I rode the elevator down to the parking garage.

I made it to San Giovanni's with one minute to spare. The entire police department was parked outside the place with their lights flashing. Yellow caution tape had been set up as a perimeter. A crowd was growing and cops guarded the area. I strolled up to one of the officers. His uniform barely fit and his eyes scanned the crowd nervously—obviously a rookie. He was about to turn me away when I flashed him my FBI badge. His demeanor changed instantly, rolling his shoulders back and straightening his back. The Bureau had that effect on people sometimes. He raised the yellow tape for me and I ducked under.

I spotted Malarkey and caught up with him. “What do we have here?”

Malarkey pointed to a portly man trying to look important. “Agent Swift, this is Sheriff Gillory.”

The sheriff was chowing down on a burrito and he wiped his disgusting hand on his pants before shaking mine. “Not every day I get the FBI in our town,” he said with his mouth full. I'd be completely grossed out if I wasn't so distracted by the crime scene.

“What do we have here,” I repeated, skipping the small talk.

The sheriff pointed to the restaurant. “We got a call around 11:30 of shots fired. We arrived on the scene to find two bodies and two witnesses.”

I put on white latex gloves and surveyed the scene. Two pairs of skid marks on the street indicated that two cars were involved. The front window of the restaurant was completely destroyed and a body lay outside.

I looked over at the closest intersection, searching for any traffic cameras. Next door was a small clothing boutique with a camera pointed toward the restaurant. Bingo.

“Sheriff, can I get the footage from that camera?” I asked pointing up.

He finished the burrito and threw the wrapper on the ground. I don't know what irked me worse: the contamination of the crime scene or littering. It was equally both. “I'll get one of my guys on it right away,” he answered.

I got a closer look at the body—male in his early thirty's, Mexican, and very dead. I pulled down a red bandanna that covered half his face. A small black mustache hid under his nose. I pulled up his shirt sleeve and a tattoo of a red devil and pitchfork covered his arm—Los Diablos MC. Blood stains on his chest and leg marked where the bullets entered his body.

I stepped into the restaurant through the broken window and shattered glass crunched beneath my feet. A table had been overturned and a waiter lay a few feet from it. Large amounts of blood and brain matter stained the floor. I looked back at the overturned table and noticed a bunch of food on the ground.

People were eating here when the gunfight started.

I turned towards the sheriff who was watching me closely. I pointed to the open back door. “Did one of your men open that?”

The sheriff shook his head. “My officers didn't touch a thing.” He didn't seem very competent nor trustworthy. I couldn't know for sure who opened the back door.

“Can I speak to the witnesses?”

“You can...but good luck with the chef, he doesn't speak a lick of English. And the other won't talk until he sees a lawyer.”

I went up to the nicely dressed man being looked at by an E.M.T. “Hi sir, I'm Agent Swift.” I flashed my badge at him and he didn't care to check it. “I'd like to ask you a few questions.”

He tried to fix his disheveled hair but it was no use. “I already told the cops, I'm not going to talk to anyone until I see my lawyer.”

I nodded. “I can understand that. I'd do the exact same thing in your position. But I know your not to blame for this. We already know who did the shooting. It was the Los Diablos Motorcycle Club. There's Mexican blood all over the streets. You don't want to talk to us because you're trying to protect someone. What time does your restaurant close?”

“We normally close at ten.” The man realized that he had spoken and quickly shut his mouth. Start off with an easy question and a witness will find it hard not to respond.

I hid a smile and continued. “So you close at ten and the cops get a call an hour and half later that there was a shooting. What were you doing open so late?”

The witness turned his head. He wasn't going to speak anymore but I didn't need him to. I could tell everything from his eyes.

“How about I tell you what happened. You stayed open late to let a special customer eat alone and then the Los Diablos shot the place to shit. The Los Diablos are about to lose their only drug supplier: the Dark Steel MC.” The witness's eyes darted away when I mentioned Dark Steel. I continued my story, “Los Diablos killed the waiter and the Dark Steel member took out a Mexican before running out the back door. Does all that seem about right?”

The witness shifted his feet. He avoided eye contact but I could tell by his slouched posture that he confirmed my story.

“What do we do now, Swift?” Malarkey asked me, placing a bullet with tweezers into a bag.

I waved the sheriff to take the maitre d' away and turned my attention to Malarkey. “We know that this was revenge on Dark Steel and that they're supposed to have a meeting tomorrow afternoon with Los Diablos. Reach out to your contact and find out if they're still planning a meet. Otherwise contact the sheriff and let him know that there will a lot more blood in the streets.”

Malarkey chuckled. “You got a funny look in your eye. What is it?”

“I know how we can finally get Dark Steel.”