Wrong Side of the Tracks by Ashley Zakrzewski
ChapterNine
I’m so hyped with adrenaline. My heart is beating so fast I can hear the blood pounding in my ears. Soapbox packed me some comfortable clothes and a pair of sneakers, which makes it easier to sneak up on Jason in stealth mode. I follow the location marker, glancing at my phone screen now and then to see which way it’s moving. The industrial park is quiet at night, amplifying the slightest sound. I’m careful not to scrape my feet as I hasten my steps, taking care not to step on anything that’ll give me away. Checking my phone, I can see the location marker has stopped behind an auto parts warehouse. The muffled voices coming from near the loading bay tell me that my suspicions are correct. Someone has Bodie’s phone, or my brother has miraculously risen from the dead. The sickening thing is, I don’t know what the fuck to expect, and it scares me.
“I knew you were working for Mayor Booker, just admit it!” I hear Jason shout, and my stomach lurches.
I turn off the app and keep hold of my phone in case I need to call Sheriff Dan for help. Now I have the gut-wrenching task of looking around the corner, dreading what I’ll find. My head is screaming at me to run, but my heart refuses to listen. I need to know. So, I inhale a shaky breath and peek around the corner, seeing several dark figures standing parallel to one another in the floodlit loading yard. I recognize Mohawk Guy and his goons from the dive bar. There’s another guy standing between them, and I wrack my brains to think where the hell I’ve seen him before. Then it hits me. It was the time the Jackals came to the auto shop and threatened Bodie. Holy shit, that’s him. That must be Marcus Jackal. And Jason is practically within punching distance from him, with four guys I recognize from the back. Tex. Rooster. Hustle. And wait. I squint to get a better look. That’s the mysterious biker guy who saved me from the fire. He’s wearing the same biker leathers that have vertical red and white stripes down the sides of his suit. Then he turns to spit on the ground, and the side of his face is illuminated with light, confirming my thoughts.
“Oh my god,” I utter; my heart shatters into a million pieces as my back slams against the wall.
Bodie is alive. They fucking lied to me. They all did.
“Sorry, can you repeat that?” Siri chimes through my phone, I’m holding onto it so tight.
I didn’t realize I must have hit the button, and it picked up the sound of my voice. My eyes widen with terror, and I momentarily freeze with panic.
“Did you hear that?” a guy says in a gruff voice. “They’re not alone. We’re being set up.”
Shit.
I hear the words, “Go check!” and my mind whirls into a frenzy. A fight breaks out between the gangs. That’s when I start running, but I don’t get far before someone grabs me by the hair and pulls me back, sending hellfire through my scalp. I go to scream, but then a rough hand clamps down over my mouth.
“What do we have here? Nosey little bitch, aren’t you?” The guy rasps harshly against my ear. He shoves a gun against my back. “Start walking.”
He keeps me at gunpoint as he takes me to the scene of the brawl, then raises his gun and fires a single shot into the sky to grab everyone’s attention.
“Look what I found skulking around in the dark. Does this fine piece of ass belong to anyone?” he asks, and I figure he must be Mr. Mohawk because he’s the only one missing from the fight.
I don’t know if he remembers seeing me at the bar, but I’m hoping he doesn’t. A surge of pure fear flashes through Bodie’s eyes as he sees me, but he recovers quickly. The Hawks don’t react to seeing me, and the worst thing of all nor does Jason.
“She’s not with us,” Jason answers impassively.
Marcus curls his hand to Mr. Mohawk as a gesture to hand me over. I get shoved toward Marcus who grabs me roughly by the jaw.
“Who are you, and why were you spying on us?” Marcus demands.
“Leave her be,” Jason mutters in a bored tone, sounding like he couldn’t give a fuck whether or not I live or die. And that hurts. It really fucking hurts to see him barely even bother to look at me. “She’s probably just some junkie out to score. Stop stalling for time. We’ve got unfinished business.”
Marcus’s eyes narrow on me as if he’s considering something. “You’re right,” he replies, tone empty, his eyes emotionless. He lets go of my jaw and then delivers a blinding back-handed slap that knocks me to the ground. My phone flies out of my hand and lands way out of reach.
I don’t see how the Hawks react, but I hear the click of a gun and know that I have about five seconds to live. Is this how it ends, with my brains splattered all over the asphalt? I squeeze my eyes shut as the resounding blast shatters through the sky. Only to find I can open them. The ground vibrates with a thundering of heavy footsteps, then I see blue flickering lights. A high-pitched noise screams through my head from the aftermath of the blast, and I can’t make out what all the yelling is about until I see a hunched figure slumped on his knees, clutching his chest. I’m too shocked to take in all that’s happening. I hear gunshots. The cops are here, and the Jackals ride away in a cloud of exhaust fumes. It’s like time slows down all around me, and one minute I’m almost dead, then the next, I’m staring death straight in the face. Only I’m not the one who’s dying.
“Jason!” I blurt out, then clamber toward him.
There’s too much blood, and I cover his hands where he’s pressing against the wound to stem the flow. He looks at me and manages a strained smile, and for the first time since leaving the hospital, he looks genuinely glad to see me. It was all an act. He does care. That doesn’t excuse the fact that he lied.
“You just blew our entire operation,” Sheriff Dan grumbles at me. “Months of work just got flushed down the toilet.”
The Hawks don’t seem so happy to see me. In fact, they’re scowling at me like I just canceled Christmas. Sheriff Dan corrals me into the back of his car and drives me back to the hospital. Bodie rides in the ambulance with Jason, and the Hawks go home to their women as if nothing has happened. Now I know what Ivy meant when she tried to warn me about being kept in the dark. There’s an ugly side to being a biker’s chic. To them, we’re nothing but property.