Beautiful Moves(Shifting Steel Book 3)(22)

"There's no way his supplier's going to settle for a thousand," Wolf  growled. "How much you wanna bet Ray's planning on trafficking more than  heroin?"

"That's what we thought too. The bastard's using Keith to lure Amy. I'm betting, either way, both of them would've disappeared."

"Sick asshole. Do we know if the kid is okay?"

"We had Ray put the boy on the phone, as proof of life. The child was  distraught, but alive, as of eleven o'clock. Amy was able to calm Keith  down, so hopefully the bastard doesn't rough him up."

"So, any clue how many people we're dealing with?" Wolf asked.

"Over the phone, we heard at least two people talking in the background."

"Cain must be thrilled with this."

"Amy's not really good at picking men. It took the lecture of a life  time from Penny, Iris and Marisol just to get her to leave that prick."

"She know about us?"

"Nah, she just works at the club, and occasionally comes to the bigger  parties. But she's trustworthy. And you know Cain, he takes care of his  own."

"He's a solid, loyal brother. You sure he's not part canine?" Wolf taunted.                       
       
           



       

Wolf laughed when he heard MD's indignant rumbling growl in the earpiece.

Wolf and MD rode the rest of the way to St. Louis in relative silence,  just enjoying the ride. It was a clear warm night. There were straight  barren stretches of Illinois road, where most drivers nodded off from  boredom, but not on a Harley, not with the view Wolf had. The quarter  moon hung huge in the sky. Millions of stars shone brighter than they  ever did in the city, with its light pollution. Wolf stared at the  twinkling dusty swath that banded the midnight sky.

What a night. What a glorious fucking night.

It was still a few hours till sun up when they reached the area where Ray was holding the boy, and stashed their bikes.

"I got a few things for you."

MD pulled a couple plastic bags out of his saddlebags. One held a  stuffed toy, that looked like a giant yellow pill, with one eyeball. The  other bag held a ratty t-shirt. Wolf grabbed the child's toy and  cracked open the bag, taking a big whiff.

"Amy said Keith likes to sleep with his Minion." MD grabbed the bagged toy, then passed Wolf the shirt.

"Is that what that thing is?" Wolf asked.

"Yeah, the cartoons are pretty cute."

"We should bring it. It'll calm the kid when we find him." Wolf unzipped  the second bag and took a sniff. "Fuck yeah the dude's a tweaker. I can  smell the shit. It must ooze out his pores."

"Can you find them?"

"Does a cat shit in a box?" Wolf grinned.

"You know what, I didn't miss your pathetic pussy jokes," MD grabbed the bagged shirt and chucked it back in his saddlebag.

"Yeah, I can find them," Wolf laughed. "Having both of their scents makes it much easier."

"Well then, get on the case, Scooby," MD countered.

"Ha! Nice one, Thelma."

"I think I look more like Daphne." MD preened his pale hair, making Wolf laugh.

Wolf and MD took off on foot, canvasing the area Trip pinpointed,  between the cell towers. The neighborhood full of rundown, shotgun  shacks, had more than one house with dirty shit going on. The scent of  weed didn't bother him as much as the other drugs. Meth smelled like a  mix of ammonia and paint thinner, where H was more like burnt barbecue.  Each time Wolf came across that sickly-sweet tar heroin odor, he stopped  and tested the air. He was looking for the baby powder fresh scent the  boy still held, even though he was six.

It was easier to keep to the shadows, so none of the local thugs and  wannabes hassled them. Wolf wasn't worried. He and MD were packing more  than 9mm's; they had their inner beast. The two of them were more than  capable of handling any problems that arose, but it would be a waste of  time and energy. The sun was cracking over the horizon when Wolf froze.

"Found you," Wolf smiled.



Ella

Ella couldn't wipe the blissful expression off her face, as she propped  two picture frames up against the wall beside Wolf's bed. Ella paused to  look at the bed. She finally got her V card punched, as Sabine would  say. More importantly, she shared her secret and the world didn't end.

Sabine will be so proud of me.

Ella wasn't sure why Wolf was so cool when he discovered her gift. Maybe  it was a mix of knowing an actual psychic and the fact he was a badass  biker. Either way, coming clean felt good, really good.

She also didn't know how she hadn't leveled Wolf. Deep down she didn't  want to hurt him, and craved him desperately. That had to have an  effect. Or perhaps she was getting better at controlling aspects of her  curse as she got older.

I don't know about that. One look around this bedroom says otherwise.

Ella shook her head not sure how she'd gotten so lucky. Wolf said she met her match, maybe he was right. Ella grinned goofily.

"Hey, Ella." Char knocked on Wolf's open bedroom door. "Wolf asked me to  come check on his place. He said a window broke. Shit what happened?"

Char looked at the shattered window, then at the rest of the carnage,  and shook her head. Ella wasn't sure what to say, or how much Wolf had  shared with his sister.

"It's a mess alright," Ella deflected as she finished picking up the biggest pieces of glass. "I'm going to grab the vacuum."

"It's in the closet in the hall," Char hollered.

Ella went down the hall and grabbed the vacuum, then headed back into the room.

"Damn it smells like Wolf was getting some pussy in here. Oh, hey Cotton Tail."

Ella froze as she saw Vick standing in the broken window.

How did he smell sex? Ella tried not to blush.

"Just fix the window," Char snarled as she leveled a menacing stare at Vick.                       
       
           



       

"Fine," Vick chuckled, then hefted a piece of plywood and started screwing it over the outside of the window frame.

Ella repressed the urge to hide.

So what, if they figure out what Wolf and I were up to. I'm a grown woman. Ella straightened her shoulders and smiled.

"I've got it." Char took the vacuum from Ella.

"You shouldn't have to clean all this up."

"Oh, and you should?" Char looked at her sideways. "I've cleaned up  after my brother's temper tantrums before, although I was usually the  instigator, and we were kids." Char started vacuuming with a shrug.

Ella felt bad for letting Wolf take the blame for this mess. She was  willing to admit she had a roll in the hay with Wolf, but she wasn't  quite ready to admit her other secret to his friends and family.

While Char vacuumed, Ella started folding the clothes that spilled out  of Wolf's dresser, when it fell over. She giggled as she put the  t-shirts away.

"I like this one." Ella held up the ‘Harvard Law, just kidding' shirt.

"I got that for him when I went to Boston," Char hollered over the vacuum with a grin.

When Char finished, Ella heard Wright barking his fool head off next door.

"I better go take him for a walk."

"I think this looks good enough," Char commented.

"I can take the trash bag to the dumpster when I take Wright out."

"Thanks."

"You want to have a drink. I'm wide awake," Ella invited Char.

"Sure. I'll be over after I check on Vick," Char nodded.

Ella snapped the leash on Wright and headed to drop off the trash. She grabbed the mail on her way back in.

"Bill, bill, garbage."

Ella froze when she saw the envelope from The University of Chicago  Medicine. Ella's fingers shook as she opened the letter and read.

"No, no, no."

Ella dropped the letter and pressed her forehead to the tile counter, attempting to repress the tears pushing past her lashes.

"How can insurance deny the claim? We were assured this would be  covered. How the fuck does the hospital expect someone to come up with  that kind of money?" Ella started pacing her kitchen. "They can't kick  Sabine out. She's starting to show improvement."

Ella's fist clenched. She had to come up with seventy-five grand, for  Sabine to finish out the experimental regimen, and that included the  portion the drug company subsidized. It was insane.

"This can't be happening."

Ella shook her head as she reread the letter. Nothing changed. The news  was as grim as when she'd first read it. She could appeal, but by the  time all that went through, Sabine would be out on her ass.

"What's wrong?" Char said from the door.

"I got really bad news." Ella tried to calm down.

She was glad she'd expended so much energy with Wolf, otherwise the apartment would be rattling to pieces.

"I'm sorry. Is there anything I can do to help?"

Ella paced the living room. Things were going so well, wonderful even.