Her jet black hair is tangled into a rat's nest; her body nothing but bones. She is wearing a ratty red t-shirt; her arms stained with needle marks from drug use. I look into her eyes and see dull, lifeless blue eyes, the corners etched with wrinkles. She smiles and her teeth are rotted out, her breath sneaking out and stealing mine with a rancid tide.
“I’m Cassie. This is Ricky. Next time you wanna play boxer, I'm not going to stop him. Got that?” she asks, her forehead gathering wrinkles.
How dare she. I wouldn’t have to play boxer if they didn’t take me against my will. My beast wants to be released again. I grit my teeth at the bitch.
“Fuck you!” I whisper, my eyes never leaving hers.
She nods her head as she stands. “I can see why Adrian likes you. You’re feisty.” She laughs, taking joy in my displeasure. Who the hell is this woman?
“What do you want with me?” I ask, my voice cracks from the assault from Ricky. I try and stand, wincing at the burn coming from my ribs, the pain so hostile my vision becomes blurry. I wonder if the fucker cracked my rib; as bad as it hurts it wouldn’t surprise me. Cassie sees my pain and tries to help me to the bed. Her touch repulses me and I slap her hands away. “Get the hell away from me!”
“You Adrian’s Ol' Lady?” she asks as she sniffles. Ignoring my comment, she sets me on the bed.
“I don’t know an Adrian,” I yell, frustrated, making me wince again.
She sniffs loudly again; taking the back of her hand she wipes her nose with it. Suddenly it all makes sense. This junkie is Shadow's mother. Is Ricky his father? Is Adrian, Shadow?
-------------------------------------
I sit at the same wooden table we do every other day. Usually, though, we are discussing shipments and payments. I never thought we would be talking about the fate of someone I care deeply about. Care deeply about; listen to me, I am pussy whipped beyond repair. I instantly regret pushing Dani away, holding out on her. The short time I had with her wasn’t enough, and in my world I wasn’t optimistic Dani would come back the Dani she was when they took her. Thoughts of her being raped and abused surfaced, making my stomach curdle with gut wrenching regret.
“Bobby, see if that store has surveillance,” Bull says.
“Got it, Boss,” Bobby responds, rising from the table.
“I'll go with him.” I need to clear my head. Sitting here thinking of shit that could be happening to Dani is not helping me. I know who has her; just have no idea where they've taken her.
We walk out onto the courtyard. Grabbing my helmet off the ground where I threw it earlier, I start putting it back on my head. The simple gesture sparks a memory of when Dani had such a hard time with her helmet. That was her first ride; the thought makes my lips curl into a smile. A smile I hadn’t had all damn day, not since I last saw Dani anyway.
“You going to be alright, man,” Bobby asks, climbing on his bike. I don’t answer because the truth is that if something happens to Dani, it will be earth shifting.
We pull up to Mom and Pop's store. Once inside, the smell of candy and bread invade my nose. I see Ma and head toward her. The club helps support this little shindig, so they know us well.
“Hey, Ma, you got your cameras on?” I ask her politely.
“I always got my cameras on, son; you can’t trust anybody these days. Why you ask?” she asks, her voice shaky with old age. Ma had to be in her late seventies, her and Pa have had this place since I could remember. I am pretty sure only Devil's Dust comes here, I haven’t seen anybody else.
“Just got a situation that took place earlier. I would like to see them if that’s alright.” I lean up against the counter, trying to control the urgency of my voice. I take a deep breath.
“Sure, follow me.” She walks into a door behind the counter, leaving me and Bobby to follow. She sits down in a rusty metal chair with a computer monitor sitting on a desk.
“What do you need exactly?” she asks, looking up at me.
“Go back to around the time Charlie was here,” I tell her. She knows who Charlie is because we send him after a lot of crap; bitch work. Considering what went down today, if he isn't kicked in the fucking ground, he'll be doing a lot of bitch work for a while.
Ma starts rewinding and then stops. I see Dani and Charlie pull up to the parking lot. The sight of her makes my heart gallop. I'm determined to find her. Yet I see red and want to blow Charlie’s head off for having her on the back of his bike. When you have a girl on the back of your bike, she is your responsibility. Her being the president's daughter should make that more than a rule; it’s law. Instead he treated her as if she was Candy on the back of his bike. The thought makes me high with anger; this shit isn't over with me and Charlie.
I see Dani walk to the side of the building.