Whiskey: Devil's Rose MC #2

Chapter 15: Eli Noble

The sound of guns firing echoes off the walls. 

Reaper tilts his pointer and middle finger forward, urging Carbon and me forward. I take a quick yet deep breath to focus and turn the corner. Ahead, an unknown gang member fires his gun, forcing me to protect myself and the people around me. The gun weighs heavy in my hands as I shoot, the bullet passing through his shoulder. 

He screams out in pain but reaches for the gun that was flung out of his hand, and I press the trigger again, this time the bullet hitting his upper chest - close enough to his neck that he shouldn't bleed out too quickly in case someone comes to save him but he won't be able to move or shoot the gun again. 

The three of us tear down the hallway, still making sure to keep an eye out for other gang members that are shooting to kill, and are hoping that we find the cocaine and whatever else their boss is keeping around to sell for a high price.

Reminds me of my young days. Not that I was ever involved in something this intricate.

My boss was mostly dealing with weed when it was much more regulated. It's still illegal where we are in the South, but I don't think police officers care about it. It seems they are other, important things to focus on. Not anything I can agree with, however. 

The systematic racism and white supremacy are appalling, but I'm getting off track. When I was young, my mother was a stripper, my dad an abusive alcoholic. Though my mother tried, as best as she could, neither of them was generally equipped to take care of me, feed me, not beat me. 

So, as a lot of young kids do when they have nothing, they turn to something that'll make them enough money to survive. And I did, with a cost to my innocence, dignity for myself, and almost a few times, my life. 

I was just like the kid I had to shoot less than two minutes ago. It's not that I want to, but being in that position before and understanding what they will do to get what they want or need, I can't risk those I care about. At the time, I only cared about myself and maybe a few girls that I had coming in and out of my house, but that was about it. 

When I finally killed a kid two years younger than me, he was thirteen, I knew I couldn't do that sort of thing anymore. I was hurting people with the drugs that we were selling and shooting them. All for the wrong reason, a selfish reason. 

I had to get out, and I did, with some major convincing and manipulation of my boss. I'm not proud of how I did it and I will never be, but I am trying to make up for it. Make up for all of my mistakes. The Devil's Rose took me in when they shouldn't have. 

The MC carved me into a somewhat respectable, loyal, trustworthy, and healthy person who treated people the way they deserve. But now, seeing these kids give up their lives for a person who is hurting others as I did, it's painful.

Today, I'm going to be able to go home to my girl and my daughter, knowing that I did something good to protect people even by killing them. None of the people we're up against are going to be able to say the same thing. Most of them might not be going home - unfortunately. 

I feel a calming hand on my shoulder to find Alpha, who I didn't exactly realize was here. He gives me a pointed but understanding look. He gets how hard this is for me since he was around when I was straightening myself out, but he also knows that I need to get my head in the game. 

If Bee was around right now, and she knew I thought 'head in the game', she would absolutely be singing that stupid ass song from High School Musical or whatever it is. A movie about high school that is nothing like high school at all. Not that I paid much attention to what was going on at my school anyway.

A shout in the air signals me to truly focus on the task at hand. If it's not obvious already, I'm terrible at focusing, and the only time I can is with Bee, she's everything I want to focus on. 

I lightly put my finger on the trigger, ready to push down if I have to, but I hear an all-clear from Carbon who must have gone ahead. Alpha tells me to keep steady just in case and trusting his gut to the end, I follow orders. And boy, with what we found, I'm glad I did. 

A woman - someone I used to know - stands there dominantly, a gun sweeping around the room dangerously as we shuffle in. Carbon is frozen as ice in the middle of the room, one of the woman's followers ramming his gun to the back of Carbon's head.

"Oh, put the fucking gun down Whiskey. It's not gonna do anything."

"Victoria. What are you doing here?"

"Expanding the territory, babe."

"How did you even get this crew?"

"A woman can get anything with the right information and a whole lotta love. Your old meathead boss just couldn't believe that I arrived in his hands, and I gathered much-needed resources. You remember the rules, don't you?"

"So blackmail."

"Knowledge is power, isn't it?"

"Why here?"

"You made the terrible mistake of being a total and complete motherfucking asshole after everything I went through for you. This girl holds a grudge, and you deserve my punishment."

"I know what I did was wrong, I do, but can't we move past this?"

"No. We can't. Sure, you can move on because you have people helping you out. You left me with him. Left me to suffer in a hellhole 'cause you are selfish and stupid. However, let us not digress. We have business to get down to."

"What can we do for you, Victoria?"

"Give me what I want, and my crew as you call them, won't hurt your girls at home. They are safely tucked into bed after a cute day at the park. We wouldn't want them to suffer now, would we?"

"Don't fucking-"

"Touch them. Yeah, I know, I've heard it before and it hasn't stopped me. I'm gonna be honest with you though, I couldn't care less what my crew does to them. God knows what they already have up their sleeves. As long as they get the job done. Another one of the rules."

She swings the gun once again, flicking her fingers for me to step closer to her. I turn my head to Alpha, waiting for the order, and he forces me to walk forward. I'm guessing I'm a diversion to what the other team members are doing - checking the rest of the building for any drugs, weapons, or humans. 

She rests the gun to the middle of my forehead, my skin dripping with sweat, my brain muddled with the thought of Beatrice.

"The boys do follow my orders though, just as you do with your boss...like a little puppy all over again. So, if you listen to me and do what I want, no harm will come to them. A lot of people go for that option. I have no mercy if I do say so myself."

"Victoria."

"Hell no. Call me Claws. Biker names aren't only for men."

"Claws."

"Once I blackmail you, my claws have just dung into your skin, haven't they?"

Her nonchalant shrug, the cruel and annoying tone of voice, each insufferable, violent flick in her eyes makes me want to punch her till she bleeds. But I know better. She could seriously hurt my two favorite girls in the world. 

Once I know they are safe, healthy, happy, and taken care of, I know I'm going to punch her. Or do a whole lot worse. No one threatens my girls and gets away with it. She waves her empty hand and the man backs away from Carbon who instantly tries to assist me in the conflagration I have found myself in. 

But wanting to make sure that he doesn't get caught with Claws' nails dug into him too, I give him a sharp look to back away. I listen to her final demands - not telling Beatrice about anything, following her orders only, and a couple of other statements - and she finishes by telling me one thing...

"Remember. All of this is your fault, Whiskey. You have to fix it. Tell your boss that I'm not going anywhere until the territory is either handed to me or taken by me."