Stripped Bounty (21 page)

R
osie shifted
her weight as best she could to one hip. Her ass had gone numb hours ago, but it was starting to hurt again. Her arms tingled from being bound behind her back, and her head ached like there was a small marching band inside it. Likely from the goose egg on the back of her skull that she’d earned when Alvaro forced her inside his car and she wasn’t cooperating.

Jesus, she’d fucked up. Maybe the blow had knocked some sense back into her, because it was quite clear to her now that going to see a man she knew was a lunatic in hopes of convincing him to leave her alone had landed at the top of her “bright idea” list.

At least he hadn’t taped her mouth shut again. It was the little things that got a person by sometimes…

Rosie craned her neck to the side and peered through the doorway, listening for his voice, trying to get a bead on where Alvaro had gone. After he’d placed the phone to her ear and she got to hear the greatest sound in the world—Badger’s voice—he pulled it away and walked off to finish his conversation in some unknown corner of the abandoned building they were in.

His two guards had gone off somewhere, too. Those two assholes had been a surprise she hadn’t expected, which was another tribute to her stupid and rash decision-making skills. It wasn’t like she had a lot of experience with drug dealers, but she should’ve figured he’d have goons with him. She wondered if Badger knew they existed. Taking advantage of being left alone, she strained against the duct tape wrapped tightly around her wrists as she glanced around what must’ve at one time been an office, searching for anything she might be able to use as a weapon. There were two gray metal desks set off to one side, a couple of other chairs and a shit-ton of old papers and garbage strewn about the space.

Someone had graffitied “The End is Near” with black spray paint on the wall opposite her. Yeah right. It sure as hell wasn’t her end that was near. As far as Alvaro and his boys’ future? Well, that was debatable. Badger would come for her. He’d come, probably with his own crew, and then this would all be over.

If only she could… Ugh! Blowing out a breath fueled by annoyance, Rosie twisted her wrists, straining against the binding, trying to get the tape to give. Even just a little. “Okay, Rosie. Buck up and just wait it out. Your inability to make sane choices got you into this mess…better put your big girl panties on and get yourself right back out of it.” She craned her neck to the side, as far as she could, trying to see how much tape he’d used on her ankles. The fucker had taped her to the legs of the chair, rendering her pretty much immobile.

His laugh caught her attention and she jerked her head up. Alvaro straightened from his lean against the doorframe and stepped inside the space. “Please, go on. I find your little self pep talk quite entertaining.”

“Go fuck yourself. Better yet, go fuck your little minions. I bet they like it when you’re nice and rough. How’s that for an entertaining pep talk?”

With his lips pulled into a sneer, he tilted his head to the side. “I find you interesting. Very feisty. Though you could use some training. I can see why Mr. Baxter has become your savior. He’s definitely a better match for you than your spineless husband was.” He linked his hands behind his back and began pacing in front of her. “Honestly, I find Mr. Baxter interesting as well. In another life, I’ve no doubt we’d all have been friends.”

“Not likely. I don’t care for the company of liars or drug dealers, or murderers for that matter. And neither does he. As far as my husband goes, you better pray to whatever God you believe in that you don’t end up like you left Joey when Badger is done with you.”

He laughed. “I’m the only God I believe in. I am no liar; I have kept my word, unlike you. That’s a bit like the pot calling the kettle black, wouldn’t you say?”

Fuck him for bringing up her husband. And fuck him and his money. She’d shove it down his throat and watch as he choked on it if she could. “I don’t have your money, you sick motherfucker!”

With slow, calculated steps, he approached Rosie. As he got closer, she tilted her head back to keep her gaze locked with his. There was nothing but a cold darkness in his expression, as if he was dead inside. He likely was. The man showed no remorse for what he’d done to her husband, in fact he gloated. It was disgusting. Psychopath was the only word that came to mind to describe him.

His face hovered no more than half a foot from hers. Rosie blinked once, and Alvaro’s nostrils flared…but neither of them made a sound. Before Rosie realized what was happening, he’d raised his hand and slapped her across the face. Rosie’s head snapped to the right as light exploded behind her eyes and the coppery taste of blood filled her mouth. The hot sting was instantaneous and so was the high-pitched groan that erupted from her throat.

In the next moment, Alvaro gripped her jaw, dug in with his fingertips and forced her head back to look at him again. “Poor thing. But this is just what you need, isn’t it?” Bending closer to her, he smoothed the hair away from her face and tsk’d at her. “Did that hurt?”

Rosie spit a mouthful of blood in his face. “Fuck you.”

And then he slapped her again.

B
adger turned the key
, unlocking the heavy padlock on the small storage unit Rosie had directed him to in her letter. After removing it from the latch, he raised the door and peered inside the dimly lit five-by-five concrete space. On the floor, in the center was a black leather duffel bag.

Typical of Alvaro that it was leather. Beyond arrogant, really. With a grunt, Badger moved inside the unit and crouched down in front of the bag. After unzipping it, he pulled the top apart and found exactly what she’d said would be there. The fucking money. He shook his head and straightened, pulling the bag up off the floor with him.

On the drive home, he placed a call to Deuce, and then to Wolf. They’d both agreed to meet at his house within thirty minutes.

Once Badger arrived home, he set the bag down on the dining room table and started pulling out the money. It was time to count exactly how much money Alvaro had taken a life over. One by one, he stacked the wrapped thousand dollar bundles of cash on the surface of the table. Just as he finished laying them out, both Deuce and Wolf walked in from the garage.

“Holy shit, that’s a pile of money.” Deuce smoothed his palm down his long beard.

Wolf stepped up beside Deuce. “Holy shit is right. How much?”

Badger set his hands on his hips and glanced over the table. “Looks like a decent amount, but haven’t counted up yet.”

“I’ll grab us some beers,” Deuce said and made his way back to the kitchen.

Wolf clapped his hands together. “Let’s do it then.”

Badger slid several stacks Wolf’s way and began counting off his share. When he was done, he glanced over at Wolf. “Nineteen K. You?”

“Shush. Don’t make me lose my place. Twenty-two, twenty-three, four, five…” Wolf moved over to the next pile. “Six, seven, eight…” Wolf glanced up. “Wow.”

“Wow what? How much?” Badger crossed his arms, growing impatient because he needed a damn cigarette, but needed to know how much money was there more.

“Thirty-one K on this end. You said nineteen, right?”

“That’s only—” Badger doubled check the math in his head a couple of times, “—fifty K? Right?”

“Yep. Fifty K. Unless you want to count it again?”

“There has to be more than fifty-large, Wolf. Count up again.”

Deuce returned, two beers in one hand, a third in the other. “How much?”

“Shh. One sec,” Badger said and continued counting his stack again while Wolf did his. “Yeah. Nineteen.”

Wolf stood back. “Thirty-one, brother.”

“Oh, hell fucking no. Serious?”

“Serious.”

“Only fifty K? What the fuck.” Deuce handed a bottle to Wolf. “That’s just stupid.”

Badger threw his hands up in the air, and then headed for the back door, grabbing his bottle from Deuce on his way past. “I
cannot
fucking
believe this.”

He hadn’t even lit the cigarette before both guys were out there with him. Wolf stood off to the side of them, quiet as a mouse and Deuce took a seat next to Badger.

Badger lit his smoke and inhaled a deep drag, exhaled, and drew in another. “I just…” He took another drag, then a swig of beer. “This motherfucker is crazy. Crazier than I already knew he had to be.” Badger turned and faced his friends. “A man who’s facing a murder charge goes after a measly fifty-thousand dollars? What kind of man does that?”

Wolf crossed his arms. “You said it already, brother. A crazy one.”

“Nah, I’m thinking this is more than just your average crazy.” Deuce rubbed his palm down his belly.

Badger smoothed his palm over his beard. “Her husband made a fool of him in the game. So Alvaro made his point by taking the guy’s life. I get that. Even coming after Rosie, with intent to take her life and further make his point, plus get his dollars back…” Badger threw a hand out in front of him. “Shit, that’s still a stretch because there ain’t no honor in coming for a family member, but considering an ego that big is at play, I get that, too. I even get he probably doesn’t give one fuck about the murder charge, but I figured it had to mean he was coming after a few hundred thousand. Not a piddly fifty large.” Badger looked a Wolf. “This isn’t crazy, this is psychotic. This is…real deal personality disorder, narcissistic, egomaniac shit.”

“Sociopath.” Deuce took a swig of beer.

Wolf stepped closer. “No guilt. No conscience. And a vendetta. Bad, bad combo.”

“Dangerous, too.” Deuce looked Badger’s way. “You remember what we talked about weeks ago when you first brought this to me?”

Badger blew out a harsh breath. He remembered exactly what he and Deuce had discussed, or what Deuce had implied anyway. That little convo had been stored in the back of his mind in the “just in case” folder. Badger needed to put Alvaro down like a rabid dog. End of discussion.

The man was fucking nuts. Most big drug dealers were, but from everything Badger had found out about the guy, he wasn’t a big time trafficker. For fuck’s sake, Alvaro only had a small Puerto Rican operation. Definitely no Mexican Mafia by any stretch, but still big enough to employ a crew, line his pockets, and live like a wannabe high-roller.

Considering how high the stakes had gone, Badger had clearly underestimated how nuts the guy really was. Alvaro took crazy to a supreme level. Whacked in the head enough to ignore a murder charge and instead, track a woman clear across the fucking country only to double up on that murder charge.

The fact that the guy was chasing a measly fifty thousand dollars, hell bent on gaining his vengeance, only reinforced Deuce’s original point.

There was no way in hell Alvaro would ever stop coming for Rosie.

Once he was done with her, the dealer would likely leave the country and set up shop wherever he landed. He’d use the fifty-K for that. Badger had no choice but to take him out. But he had to do it in such a way that he walked away clean.

No blowback to his brothers, the Cabaret and especially to Rosie.

B
adger packed
the money back in the bag. “He said even trade. The money for Rosie. But we all know that’s a load of bullshit.”

Wolf looked up from loading bullets into his clip. “Betting he’s planning on taking you out, too.”

“Right, but he’s gotta figure I’m coming prepared. Or at least that I won’t go down without a fight. He might be batshit, but he’s not stupid.” Badger zipped the bag closed.

Deuce leaned back in the kitchen chair, balancing it on two legs. “Don’t count on it. Vengeance has a way of making men stupid. Wars have been fought for less than the vendetta he’s got. Especially on our modern-day streets. Hell, at one time, with a patch on each of our backs, we fought plenty of wars over something as stupid as turf. City streets we had no right to claim for fuck’s sake. If that ain’t stupid, I don’t know what is.”

“Come on now, what we did was to keep our presence solid.” Wolf shrugged and took a swig of his beer.

Badger shook his head. “Qualifying it now don’t make it right. I gotta agree with Deuce on this one. It didn’t seem stupid at the time. But in hindsight, it’s pretty fucking stupid.”

“Maybe.” Wolf set his beer down on the table and started loading another clip.

Badger put his hands on his hips. “I’m going in alone. If it gets messy it’s on me.”

Wolf’s head jerked up. “Nope. No fucking way I’m letting you do that. We already know he’s got two babysitters with him, who knows if he’s got more. Plus, the minute you step foot in that door, he’s going to disarm you.”

“No
way
we’re letting you do that.” Deuce placed his hands behind his head. “No doubt this
will
get messy and we’re gonna make sure the mess is all on him
and
his boys.”

“Deuce, look, brother—” Badger blew out a sigh followed by a grunt. He needed to make himself clear. “—I appreciate it. But I never should’ve involved you to begin with. Had I known then what I know now, I never would’ve. Only way to make that right is to make sure you don’t get touched. You got Evie and the bar to think about. I’d never forgive myself if any of this blew back on you.”

Deuce let the chair fall forward and the legs hit the floor with a loud thud. “Now, listen to me. No way in—”

“He’s right, Deuce. Don’t argue it.” Wolf got to his feet and gripped Badger’s shoulder. “As far as me? Blowback doesn’t apply. I’m going in with you. No question.”

Badger stared at Wolf as Deuce grumbled in the background. Wolf had his back always, Deuce had also. The fact that they no longer wore a patch to drive that bond home didn’t matter. They were brothers, forever. “Meet me halfway, Wolf. I’m planning on giving him one chance to stay by his word. If he doesn’t, which we both know he won’t, and shit get’s messy, then you’ll know.”

Wolf stared at him for what felt like forever. Badger waited, practically able to see the wheels turning behind Wolf’s eyes as he tried to sort out what Badger wanted. But there was no way Badger was going to give in on this one. The situation was just too critical; Alvaro was too unpredictable. Considering the odds were in the dealer’s favor, Badger wasn’t sure if he and Rosie would make it out of this alive, and bringing Wolf down with them wasn’t an option.

“New proposition: I am going in with you, but I’ll do it through another entrance—back door or something. No way I’m waiting outside for shit to go south only to get to you too late. You’re going to need the backup fire power and you’re going to need it up close and personal.”

“Fuck this. If he gets to go inside, then I’m coming too— Goddammit! Don’t either of you look at me like that!” Deuce glared at the two of them. “I’ll wait outside and
when
, not
if
, shit gets messy, I’ll call the PD.” Deuce ran his palm over the top of his head. “Can’t believe I’m even saying that, but yeah. I’ll call the law. You just make sure it looks like self-defense.”

Badger shook his head, knowing full well, that his two best friends weren’t going to back down. They were right, he knew it and he hated it. “Fine. Jesus fucking Christ, you two are a pain in my ass. Fine.”

“Fine.” Wolf clapped him on the shoulder and moved back to his seat. “What’s the plan?”

Anticipation thrummed through Badger in time with his heart. The plan? How about kill the motherfuckers and bring his woman back home? Easy enough. But that was all much easier said than done. “I need to show my face by ten p.m. That gives us a little over an hour. But look, Rosie doesn’t want him to have this money. She doesn’t want anyone to have it. Honestly? I don’t, either. So, I can either show up with a bag stuffed with cash or newspaper. Makes no difference to me. Like I said before, no way he’s gonna stand by his word, so I’ll do what needs doing.”

“All right, you decide how that plays. I’ll find an entrance, when I do I text you. You head in the front and do what you gotta do to negotiate.” Wolf slid a fully loaded clip into his .45. “Betting he’s got her secluded somewhere in that warehouse. I’ll search her out while you make small talk with Alvaro.”

Deuce nodded. “He’s probably got one of his henchmen guarding her. You’ll need to take him out nice and quiet, then bring her out to me.”

“I don’t think that’s smart. I’m staying inside. I’ll make sure she’s safe before I go find Badger to finish the job.”

“No, Wolf. Too dangerous. I can handle Alvaro and whatever he brings to the party. Especially if you take one babysitter out of the game for me. Just get Rosie out of the building. Deuce, the minute you have her, I want you to get ghost,” Badger said.

Deuce shot up in his seat. “No way. I’m not leaving the scene. What if yo—”

“Enough! I’ll fucking handle it!” Badger’s words came out on a growl. “Listen, I want her safe. That’s the most important thing to me. Which means if Wolf gets Rosie out, which he will, then I want her as far away from there as possible.”

Deuce stared at him for a long moment, before his lips curled into a grin. “You love her.”

“For fuck’s sake,
do not
start your romantic bullshit with me right now.”

“You do. It’s good, brother. All good. You deserve it.” Deuce’s grin spread into a full smile. “We’re clear. I’ll keep her safe. You have my word.”

“Thank you.” Badger stood and looked at Wolf. “You good?”

“Yeah. All good.” Wolf didn’t meet his eyes, just continued wiping residual oil off the slide of one of his guns.

Badger let out a grunt and made his way out back again. Regardless of what Badger had just instructed, Wolf would do what he thought was right once the heat got turned up. That’s just the kind of man he was. Unpredictable, but in a save-his-partner’s-ass sort of way.

When Badger got outside he lit a smoke and stared up at the sky. The plan was set, the deal done. Mostly. He needed to decide if he was taking the money along or not—but regardless, none of what was happening was right. All of it was wrong. Rosie losing her husband, even though it’d led her to Badger was wrong. Her having to get back on that stage…fucking wrong. Hiding out in order to save her life, also wrong. Right up to Badger having to go to any length, no matter that he was willing, was totally, fucking, undeniably wrong.

The only thing that felt right in the whole twisted situation was how he felt about Rosie. And that was the key to all of it. Deuce was right, Badger loved her. That love was what was driving him now, and would continue to drive him while he did what he needed to do to make sure she was safe. He’d never loved a woman before. He’d never wanted to.

But all he wanted now, more than anything was to love Rosie. Forever and always.