Choo-Choo (7 page)

She looked up to find Valentine standing beside her, his eyes glued to the driveway where the men had just been.  The look he wore around Choo-Choo had vanished.  He was as hard and cold as ice in the Arctic.

“Go inside Josie.”

A sick feeling settled in her stomach.  He was a bounty hunter and there was a huge one, on her.  She turned and rushed into the house.  Valentine had hurt Choo-Choo for money and they were cousins.  How could she expect him to be loyal to her?  She rushed to her room only to stop when she saw someone lounging on the bed.  He had blonde hair cropped close to his head and piercing blue eyes that looked colder than the Colorado sky outside the window.  His black leather boots were propped on the bed.  Josie frowned, but made no comment.

He must have noticed because he grinned and sat up to place his boots on the floor. 

“Can I help you?”

He narrowed his eyes.  “Sure.  Get your ass over here and suck my dick, I need to get on the road.  Choo-Choo told me to wait for you.”

Josie hesitated for a second.  Would he?  The man watched her as if she were a specimen under a microscope.

She stiffened her spine.  “He wouldn’t do that.”

The man shrugged as if it didn’t matter and pulled out his wallet.  He laid three crisp hundred dollar bills on the quilt. 

“Now get over here and I might let you have more than just by dick down your throat.”

Something snapped inside of Josie.  She felt fury boil in her gut until it almost choked her.

“Get the fuck out of this house and take your money with you.  I am Choo-Choo’s old lady and I deserve your respect!”

She was breathing hard and she knew if this man touched her she would tear him to pieces.  How dare he.  She wasn’t a whore!

Instead of getting angry, he stood with a half grin that made her want to slap him.  He reached behind him and for an instant Josie thought he was reaching for a gun, but it was a long knife.  He slipped it out of the black leather sheath and nodded to her before he tossed it on the bed.  He gathered his money and took his time sliding it neatly into his wallet.

“Good girl.  Hang onto that shit.  Ball up that anger and hang onto it.  You may need it and that.”  He nodded toward the knife.  “I’m not going to fill your head full of bullshit right now because that could get you killed.  Keep that with you and stay on your toes.  We think we got this shit covered, but we’ve been wrong before.”

“But Choo-Choo…”

“Choo-Choo is feeling invincible.  He’s in love and that shit clouds your head.  Poole wants you bad and he’s been reaching out.  You need to be ready to protect yourself.”

“So what was that shit about then.”  She asked with narrowed eyes.

“Simple.  I don’t waste my time on whores.”  He nodded.  “Glad you’re not one, but I had to check.”

“Who are you?”

“I’m Lawless.”  He pinched her chin and kissed her cheek before he stepped into the hall.  “Stay safe now.”

He walked down the hall without another word and left Josie feeling unsettled.  She walked to the bed and picked up the knife.

“What the hell am I supposed to do with this?”

Thirteen

Choo-Choo tried to listen as plans were made, but his mind kept drifting back to Josie.  Had he done the right thing leaving her behind?  He knew there was far more danger than he’d had the heart to tell her, but Valentine was there… The thought wasn’t as comforting as he’d hoped it would be. 

He ran his hands over the smooth skin of his head.  He felt all out of sorts.

He felt a hard slap to the back and looked up to see Lawless wearing a grin that sent chills down his spine.

“You are a pussy.  Good thing your old lady’s got balls enough for both of you.”

Choo-Choo let a grin slip.  That was high praise from Lawless.

“Glad you approve.”

Law nodded.  “I do.  Told me off when I told her to suck my dick.  Got really pissed when I offered to pay her.”  He nodded as if it proved something, but his words made Choo-Choo’s blood boil.

“You did what now?”  He asked finding a calm he did not feel.

Law’s grin was as cold as ice.  “Respect is hard to earn, brother.  She’s got a whole hell of a lot to prove.  That was the first step.  If it hadn’t been me it would have been another brother.  That shit needs testing.  Loyalty needs testing.”

Choo-Choo clenched his teeth.  It was too close to what Valentine had told him years ago to set well, but Josie had refused, that was something.

“Let’s get this shit done brother and you back to that wildcat.”

Choo-Choo nodded and followed Lawless as they walked to where Shadow would meet them.  There wasn’t much cover so they had waited until dark, but the place seemed deserted.

“Where the fuck is everybody?”  Preach spat in disgust as he took in the dilapidated buildings that made up the Bastard’s compound.

“There’s been little movement since I got here.”  Shadow spoke in a low voice that was barely more than a breeze.

“Laying low or not here?”  Preach asked.  The worry in his face seemed to have aged him ten years since Mrs. had been taken.

“You said wait boss man, I waited.”

He pulled up satellite photos of the compound on a digital display screen.

“Spec sent these.  I suspect they are holding Mrs. in the house Josie shared with Eddie.”  He cut his eyes to Choo-Choo.  “Thanks to her we have and internal layout of all the buildings she’d ever been in.  They may not be exact, but they give us some idea of what to expect.”  He pointed to the screen.  “There has been regular activity around this area.”

He pointed to the cluster of trailers and small shacks.  Eddie’s house sat at the edge of the cluster.  There were only two real houses on the place and Eddie had one.  At least Josie hadn’t had to live in one of those shacks.

“This don’t feel right.”  Gator spat in the dry grass and frowned.

He was right.  Something was definitely off.  Choo-Choo watched his brothers shift.  They felt it too.

Shadow broke the silence.  “Sniper is on his way to Josie.  Oscar said everything is quiet up there.  Talked to Mike.  Things are quiet there too.”

“Where are these fuckers?”  Jack whispered.

“Law and I will head down there and scope everything out.”  Shad put in.  “We need to make sure we can get Mrs. without getting her hurt.  Then we can kill them all.”

Choo-Choo knew the man was ruthless, but he had never seen him kill.  The look in Shadow’s eyes sent a chill up Choo-Choo’s spine.  He looked so cold and unfeeling that he was terrifying.

“Cool down Shad.  We need to stay clear headed.”  Preach spoke as if to a spooked animal.

Shadow met his eyes and nodded, but the hatred never left his eyes.

Something was going on between father and son that the others weren’t privy to and that suited Choo-Choo just fine.

He watched Shadow draw in a deep breath and nod to Lawless.  They set out, silently in the night as the others waited.  It seemed like forever before they heard a sound, but that sound was not what Choo-Choo had expected.

Josie sat and played with little Amelia.  She adored the child after only about five minutes.  She was a delicate little thing and at seven she looked more like a child of four or five, but she had spirit.

Josie listened as Choo-Choo’s uncle Harry talked about how Amelia had given Choo-Choo his name.  She had only been about two when Choo-Choo had moved out and later hooked up with the Defenders after a fight with Valentine.  Apparently Granny P. had housed the lot of them and she had liked that just fine.

Amelia’s mother worked in the office of the repair shop Harry owned in Denver and they lived near the city, but Harry tried to visit his mother as often as he could in case she needed anything.

Granny P huffed at his fussing, but Josie could see the pride shining in the older woman’s eyes over her son.

Josie learned that there had been five children in the family.  The oldest daughter lived in New York and had been married a few times.  Valentine was the product of her first marriage and apparently a bad reminder of that which led him to live with Granny P. from an early age.   Another of Granny P’s children, a son, was killed in a car accident only a few years earlier.  Then there was Choo-Choo’s mother and Harry.

Choo-Choo’s mother had apparently been as wild as the wind.  She had moved away the day she’d turned eighteen.  She had longed for a life with some sparkle to it and had made her way to New York with her sister.  She’d fallen in with a bad crowd and found herself neck deep in trouble.  She’d come home strung out and pregnant.  Choo-Choo had been born a few months later.  His mother had loved him to distraction, but she was still a free spirit and hungered for freedom.  She spent too many nights out on the town and fell into old habits.  She’d been found in a seedy motel in Denver.  She’d mixed alcohol with too many pills. 

Choo-Choo had been five years old.

Harry was the baby and had still lived at home at the time.  He helped all he could, but he was too young to father two boys.  He eventually went to technical school and bought his own garage where he met his wife.

It was a happy family, in their own way anyway.  Josie envied them.  She longed for a family which is probably why she had turned to the club in the first place.

She laughed at little Amelia when she said something silly and felt her heart settle in her chest for the first time in so many years.  She wanted this.

She took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

There were few things she had allowed herself to want over the years, but she wanted this.  She wanted a family and she wanted to be happy.

Josie looked up when Granny P stepped into the room.

“Amelia grab your coat.  We are going to town to get a few groceries.  With all these mouths to feed I’m afraid I’m running low.”

“Aww Granny, can’t I stay with Miss Josie?”

Granny chewed her lip for a moment.  “That’s up to your dad and Miss Josie.”

“I wouldn’t mind watching her.  Valentine is here too.  Oscar too and Sniper should be here in a couple of hours.  We will have fun.  It has been forever since I’ve had a girl day.”

Granny P. nodded and Harry shrugged the way fathers do.

“Can we paint our nails Miss Josie?”  Amelia bounced on her toes.

“I don’t have any polish, but we could do our hair…”

Granny let out a breath.  “There is nail polish in my bathroom under the sink.  It’s that stuff you bought last time we went to the store.  Don’t make a mess with it.”

Amelia hopped up and ran to get her things and Josie beamed.

“Thank you for this.”  It wasn’t only the promise of a girl day, but also the trust that Granny P was showing by leaving Amelia in her care.

“You are thanking me now, but that girl will wear you out.”

Josie hugged Granny P and then Harry before she could stop herself.

“I will enjoy every second of it.”

They waved their goodbyes as Harry drove away with Granny.  Josie turned to find Amelia with her hands on her hips standing in front of Valentine and Oscar.

“There is no rule that boys can’t have their nails done too.”  She said in her very serious seven year old voice.

Josie covered her grin with her hand as Valentine scowled and Oscar looked uncomfortable.  She wondered just how long it would take the little spitfire to get her way.

Fourteen

As it turned out Oscar was a stronger man than Josie had given him credit for.

Amelia hadn’t been able to convince him to let her do his nails, but he’d submitted to her hairstyling with little complaint.  His red hair stood on end and he looked like a ginger porcupine, but he didn’t say a word as Amelia tugged and gelled until her heart was content.

“Now then.  You look like a badass.”  Amelia said with a definite nod.

Josie’s eyes widened.

“Hush that up sprite or I’ll have to tan your backside.”  Valentine grumbled and Amelia’s face fell.

“He does though.”  Amelia insisted.  “Now since you don’t have hair…”

“Back off Sprite.”

Josie saw the exact moment when Amelia turned determined and she honestly didn’t know how to stop the train wreck that was bound to happen.

“I don’t think it is too much to ask for you to let me do your nails.  You have been gone forever after all and if Granny didn’t talk about you all the time, I wouldn’t even know you…”

“Oh for shit’s sake.”  Valentine gave in with a sigh of defeat.  “I think you will owe me one after this.”

“What do you want?”  Amelia said with narrowed eyes.

“If I let you mess with my hands, you gotta get Miss Josie to give me a kiss.”

Valentine looked up at Josie and sent her a wink.

Amelia plopped her fists on her hips and frowned.  “No deal.  She is Choo-Choo’s girl and I’ll not have you causing trouble with them cause I like her.”

A smile tugged at Valentine’s lips.  “Fair enough little firecracker.  Do your worst.

It was almost two hours before Amelia tired out.  She drooped against Valentine as they finished watching a cartoon on TV. 

The house was quiet when Valentine tucked Amelia into bed in Granny P’s room.  Oscar snored on the couch and Josie felt very uncomfortable being left alone with Valentine.

“We could go up to my room and have a nap too you know.  Nobody would ever know.  I promise you’ll like it.”

It seemed as if all the air was sucked out of the room as Valentine closed in on Josie.

“I...I think not.”  She said quietly.

“I’ll never tell a soul.  We could go right up there and strip off our clothes and nap.  There’s nothing wrong with that.”

“No Valentine.  I’m not interested in you.”

“Come on now baby…”  His words were cut off with a grunt as blood seeped through his t-shirt.   She fell to her knees to see what was happening, but he grabbed her hand.  His were slick with blood and he was growing pale.

“Get upstairs.  Lock….the door...move the dresser… bathroom…call...help.”

His words trailed off as he slumped to the floor.

Josie looked up at the window and saw a hole.  It took her mind a few too many seconds to realize what had happened.  Valentine had been shot!  She heard the front door splinter and Oscar cry out in pain.  She rushed to the bedroom door and looked out.  Poole stood in the doorway wearing a grin that could have frozen the sun.

Josie backed up before he could see her.  She heard voices outside the window just before it shattered.  Her mind snapped and everything seemed to happen in slow motion.

She grabbed Amelia and ran.  She knew she couldn’t think or she would lose her nerve.  She ran with all her might to the stairs.  She felt a searing pain in her thigh, but she refused to slow.  She had almost made it to the top when something grabbed her leg.  She fell to her side to shield Amelia.

“Run baby.  Hide in Choo-Choo’s room.  I’ll be right there.”

She pushed Amelia further up the stairs as Poole tugged at her.  Josie exploded with all the pent up anger that had built up inside her for so long.  She used her free foot to kick out.  It met Poole’s nose.  He roared in pain and his grip loosened.  That was all she needed.  She bolted up the stairs.  Something was wrong with her leg, but she didn’t stop to look.  Something crashed behind her, but she didn’t look back.  She slammed Choo-Choo’s door and turned the simple lock, but she knew it wouldn’t keep anyone out for long.  She lunged for the bed where she had stored the knife Lawless had given her under her pillow, but she barely made it three steps before Poole was on her.  He threw her to the bed and slapped her with a force that made her head swim.  She fought the inky darkness that threatened to pull her under and forced her hands up to fight him.

“You stupid bitch!  You broke my fucking nose.  If I didn’t have to keep you alive I’d break your stupid neck.”

He forced one of her hands above her head and tied it with something coarse that bit into her skin.  She fought it.  The burning only made her more determined to get away.  He tried to capture her other hand, but she forced it under her pillow.  Her hand closed around the cool handle of the knife and she tugged it out of its sheath.  With one arch the blade slid across Poole’s throat as easily as a knife through hot butter.  He gasped and grabbed his throat.  Blood poured over his hand and squirted into Josie’s eyes.  She kicked and wiggled until he fell to his side.  It took only one whack of the blade to free her hand its bindings and she struggled out of bed.  She grabbed the phone, but her hands were covered in hot, sticky blood and it slipped from her hands.  She heard shouts from downstairs and rushed to the door.  She slammed it again and shoved the heavy dresser in front of it the way Valentine had told her to.

She tried to keep her voice calm, but it shook with fear.  “Amelia?  Honey are you in here?”  She had to protect that child.

“I’m here Miss Josie.”  The girl spoke from inside the bathroom. 

Josie rushed to her.

“Baby I need you to climb into the tub and stay really quiet, no matter what, ok?”

Amelia looked pale and scared, but she nodded and did as she was told.  Josie pressed the lock and closed the door.  She stood outside the bathroom door with the knife in her hands.  She might die, but she would kill to keep that child safe.

There was a pounding at the door.  The dresser crashed to the floor.

This was it.