Xavier Cold (Hard Knocks #2) (27 page)

X
avier parks Quinn’s Honda in the driveway of house on Sycamore. Knowing what I know now about this house, it creeps me the hell out. It’s a wonder Xavier was ever able to step foot back in here after all the things that happened to him here.

Xavier sighs and then cuts the engine. “I won’t be long. I’ll run in and get my things and then we’ll go find a hotel to check into.” He leans over the console and kisses my cheek.

I smile. “I’ll be right here.”

I release a content sigh as I lean my head back in the seat and close my eyes. I finally feel like things are going my way—that things are working out the way they are supposed to.

My door yanks open and my eyes snap open along with it, but minute I do I slink back into my seat.

“Get out the car, bitch,” Kai snarls as he points a dull, black gun in my face. When I don’t move, he shouts at me again. “You think I’m playing? I’ll blow your fucking head off if you don’t get your ass out this mother fucking car.”

My hands shake uncontrollably as I hold them out in front of me. “Okay. Okay. I have to unbuckle my seat belt.”

He shoves the gun against my temple and my stomach drops. “Well unhook the motherfucker.”

My left hand slips down and I press the button, freeing me from the car. Kai reaches in and grabs my arm so he can yank me out of the car.

I stumble and fall to the ground, but he grabs the hair on top of my head and forcing me back to my feet. “Let’s go.”

“Xavier will be back out here any minute,” I threaten as Kai continues to push me at gunpoint toward the black SUV parked down the street.

Kai laughs darkly. “I hope he does, because I’m going to kill that bitch ass sell-out.”

The moment he says that, Xavier’s voice calls out my name. Kai turns to look back just in time to see Xavier jump off the porch. But, before Xavier can fully make the jump into the ground, another man who was hiding on the other side of the porch tackles Xavier in mid-air. Xavier grunts as he hits the ground and another man comes sprinting from a neighboring yard and kicks Xavier in the gut.

‘Xavier!” I scream and Kai backhands me across the face.

“Shut up!” he orders, as he turns back to watch the attack.

A metallic taste covers my tongue and I clutch my face as it stings like fire.

I’ve never felt so helpless—so lost on finding a way to Xavier. I’m forced to stand there and watch.

Both men beat Xavier while he lays on the ground, and then one of them kick Xavier in the face, instantly knocking him out.

“No!” I shout again, not caring if it earns another hit from Kai. Tears pour out of my eyes and Kai tightens his grip on my arm. “Xavier, get up!”

The two men back away from an unmoving Xavier.

“Fuck!” Kai shouts. “You dumb shits. You weren’t supposed to kill him here. Our prints are all over that fucking house.”

“What do you want us to do?” The bigger of the two men asks.

Kai waves his hand dismissively. “Burn this shit to the ground and leave him.”

The men nod, and as if Kai is a general and they are foot soldiers go into the house to no doubt carry out orders.

“Come on.” Kai shoves me forward while still holding the gun on me.

He forces me into the back seat and slides in next to me. Within a few minutes, an unmistakable orange light flickers out onto the otherwise darkened lawn and the two men run toward the truck.

The engine drives past the house, and Xavier’s body still lies in the same place. I lean my head against the window, unsure of what’s about to happen to me, but knowing without Xavier I don’t care either way. Without him, my world means nothing.

A
voice in the fog of my brain tries over and over to wake me up, but it’s a real struggle to open my eyes. “Xavier? Can you hear me, man?”

My eyelids drag open and I attempt to cure the blurry vision. “Where is she? Where’s Anna?”

Cole’s face comes into focus and his brow furrows. “There’s no one here but you.”

I lean up on my elbows and light form the flames licking their way up the side of Grandmother’s house illuminates the entire block. “Holy shit!”

I rush to get up, but Cole puts his hand on my shoulder. The light from the flames catches the gold of Cole’s badge and the swirling red and blue lights from the top of his cruiser flash across his face. “Easy, big guy. You need to stay put.”

I shove his hand away and shove myself up on my feet. “Cole, they’ve taken Anna. I’ll kill them before I allow them to hurt her.”

Anger boils over inside me. I will get her back.

Cole steps in front of me. “Hold on, X. Let me call for—“

“There’s no time for that shit.”

“Then let me go with you.”

I keep walking. “I won’t allow you to risk your life too. Call the fire department and take care of this. I’m going to get Anna.”

I don’t give Cole time to argue anymore. I sprint to Quinn’s car, hop inside, and crank the engine to life. The tires squeal against the asphalt after I back out of the driveway and slam the transmission into drive.

There’s only one way to handle this—the only way people like Kai and Bishop handle problems—with brut force and take what’s mine back.

The wheels on the little white car damn near fall off as it screams through the streets of Detroit to find its way to Nettie’s. I rush the door and at first Nettie smiles at me, ready to greet me, until she takes in the expression on my face.

“Xavier?” I don’t answer her.

I rush to the stock room and lift the twin mattress I slept on for years and find an old shoe box. Inside I find the Beretta I used to carry when I worked for Bishop. I pick up the gun, double check the clip has bullets, and then load it into the gun.

Nettie walks in just in time to see me shove the gun into the waistband of my jeans. “What the hell are you doing?”

I frown, hating I’m disappointing her, but know this is the only way to handle the situation. “Bishop has Anna.”

Nettie’s eyes widen. “No, Xavier. Don’t go there alone.”

“I have to, Nettie. They’ll kill her if I don’t.”

Nettie swallows hard and tears fill her eyes. She knows better than anyone there’s truth to what I’m saying. She’s seen the violence created by Bishop and his gang, The Block, and knows the body count racked up by them means they aren’t afraid to kill.

I hug Nettie and kiss the top of her head, and rush out the back door of the restaurant to get my bike.

I fire up the engine and it roars through the streets until I pull up to the building Kai took me to when all of this began. The bike is loud and I’m sure it’s signaled my arrival, but I don’t give a shit. Nothing will stop me from getting to Anna.

I go in the same way Kai took me through, only this time I don’t make it to the bar Bishop built inside. When I round the corner, sitting in the middle of the empty warehouse, tied to a chair, is my Anna.

I rush over to her, and immediately drop to my knees and untie her ropes. “Where are they, Anna?”

“I don’t know,” she whimpers. “They brought me here and I haven’t seen them much since then. I think they went into some room behind me.”

I glance over her shoulder and spot the door to the club. Could getting her out of here really be this easy? It’s unlike Bishop to leave bait unattended like this when he really wants to get to someone.

“You okay? Did they hurt you?”

“I’m fine. Just get me out of here.”

Relief floods me and I work faster to untie last knot. When it’s finished I grab Anna’s hand, and kiss her lips. “Come on.”

Before Anna makes it out of the chair, a slow clap sounds from behind me. “We were beginning to wonder if the boys really did kill you. It took you a while to get here.”

I turn slowly to find Bishop, Kai and two other men with them. “I don’t want any trouble. I just want to take Anna and go.”

Bishop rubs the scruff on his chin. “Well that’s the problem now, isn’t it? People always tend to want what they can’t have. You haven’t agreed to what I want from you, and yet you expect me to hand over what you want, just like that. You and I both know the world doesn’t work like that, X.”

“I told you the truth before. I don’t have any money to start a business with you.”

Bishop shakes his finger at me. “It’s not nice to lie to an old friend. I read your tax statements. You make nearly four hundred thousand dollars last year. You’re good for it.”

“Did you also read that half of that goes toward my travel and business expenses, and the other half went back to Tension in fines?”

“So you have nothing?”

“Like I told you . . . I. Don’t. Fucking. Have. It.”

Bishop sighs. “That’s a shame, because now I can’t let you go. I can’t have you pinning a kidnapping charge on me and my boys, so you’ll have to go.” He pushes the glasses on his face back up the tip of his nose as he turns to Kai. “Kill him—kill them both.”

Hearing his order, I reach for my gun, yank Anna behind me. I point my weapon directly at Bishop. “If he pulls that trigger, I will kill you. Hell, I should anyhow for trying to take away the thing I love most in this world.”

Bishop grins. “There’s the old X again. I have to tell you I like him much better than this new let’s-talk-everything-out-X. Old X knew how to get shit done.”

“Old X was a hot-headed idiot that fucked up his life all the time because he couldn’t control his temper.”

Bishop chuckles. “You really believe you’ve changed that much?”

“Yes,” I say with the sternest tone I can muster.

“Prove it. Walk out of here without throwing one single punch.”

I lift my eyebrows. “What?”

“I don’t buy this whole non-violence bullshit act, so prove me wrong. If I’m convinced, I might let you go.”

“Just like that?”

He nods and confirms, “
Just like that
. I want to see this new X in action, because the X I knew would’ve ripped my head off and spit down my throat for less. I don’t believe you’re any different from the man I once knew—from the hungry, angry kid I met all those years ago.”

I clutch Anna’s hand tighter, but still keep my gun drawn as I pull her toward the men. I tiptoe around the men, and he’s right, I would love to tear into these motherfuckers, but know getting Anna out of here in one piece is more important.

Once we’ve made it all around them and my back is toward the exit I keep walking backwards. “This ends here, Bishop.”

This is the first time in my life I’ve ever walked away from a fight, which is baffling even to me considering this is the one time I’ve ever had a good reason to go berserk and rip someone’s head off.

“I still don’t believe you,” Bishop says but I chose to ignore him.

As I turn away from him, Anna releases a blood curdling scream. “He’s got a gun!”

My eyes widen, knowing this could be the moment when it all ends. This could be the moment when my world turns black.

I point the gun at Bishop, waiting to see if he’s going to force me to pull the trigger.

The sound of my pulse thudding inside my head is the only sound I hear as everything around me seems to move in slow motion as Bishop and I stare one another down.

“Make your move, bitch,” Bishop taunts.

My chest raises and then falls as I ask God to protect my family.

The sound of glass crashing jerks all of our attention behind Bishop, police with the words S.W.A.T. written across the back of their black uniforms storm through the windows. “Everyone get on the ground!”

I grab Anna’s hand and pull her down with me. In these situations it’s best to comply even if you aren’t the person doing anything wrong.

“What’s happening,” She cries as cops over to us.

An officer kneels beside me and removes his helmet and glasses. “You all right, X? Anna?”

I raise my chin up to spot Cole wearing black tactical gear. “What in the hell’s going on Cole?”

He reaches down and helps both Anna and then myself up off the concrete floor. “I’ve been working on busting Bishop for years. When he kidnapped Anna, it was the last piece we needed to take him down.”

I glance over to where officers are cuffing Bishop, Kai along with his goons. “Federico Bishop, you are formally charged with kidnapping, attempted murder, assault, racketeering, felon in possession of a firearm, drug possession . . .” The list of things he’s being charged with seems to be never ending.

Something tells me Bishop and Kai won’t be getting out of prison anytime soon. That should make this neighborhood a hell of a lot safer for everyone in it, including Anna and I.

Anna clings to me, and I kiss the top of her head. “You all right?”

She nods. “I’m okay.”

Cole’s radio squawks. “Code ten, fifty-four at house fire located on 1020 Sycamore.”

Cole’s gaze flicks to me. “Why the fuck is there a dead body in your place, X?”

My eyes widen. “
What
?”

“That’s what that code means. Was there anyone in that house other than you and Anna when it caught fire?”

“No,” Anna speaks up. “Kai had the two guys that were just in here with him set the fire after they knocked Xavier out.”

“There was no one in there when I was there,” I confirm.

Cole raises his eyebrows. “Then I suggest you get your ass over there and see what’s going on. I’ll handle all this.”

“You sure?”

He nods. “I’ll even walk you out.”

“Thanks, man. I owe you one.” I shake his hand.

“I’ll remember that when I need people to testify against Bishop.”

“Abso-fucking-lutely count me in on that shit,” I tell him. “I’ll do all that I can to help.”

Anna and I race back to Grandmother’s house and I park my bike and rush under the yellow police caution tape.

“You there! Stop right there,” one of the officers order.

I point toward the house, where smoke still rolls out of front door but the visible flames are long gone. “This is my house. I own it.”

The heavy-set cop motions me toward him. “Shit man, what happened to your face?”

I wave him off. “It’s nothing.”

Gauging by his reaction, I look pretty rough. I will probably feel this shit in the morning, but for now, my adrenaline is pumping so hard, I don’t feel much pain at all.