I also noticed for the first time it wasn’t just a toilet. I was standing in a full bathroom, complete with a tub and a linen closet, where the extra toilet paper probably was, just in case I really was out of toilet paper.
“Alright, I’ll get you some. I’ll be right back. Don’t go anywhere,” he said, hurrying to the stairs. I heard his footsteps as he rushed down the wooden stairs and chuckled to myself. Poor kid.
I closed and locked the bathroom door. I cut off the water. I opened the linen closet and found a stash of towels. I went to the window, raised it all the way, and looked down to the ground. Surely, between the towels and the shower curtain, I had enough makeshift rope to make it downstairs.
I hated to have to leave behind Cole’s back while he was gone checking on the drugs I’d given to Fang, but regardless of my physical desire, my loyalty still rested with my boss. Fang had been a father figure to me. He took me in off the street and raised me. He put me to work, taught me a work ethic, and showed me how to manage the money he gave me for what I did. He showed me there was a life better than the one I’d been living on the street. I owed a lot to Fang. I certainly needed to get away from here before Cole got back. Surely he knew by now who was selling his stolen dope, which would bring him right back to me.
I climbed down from the bathroom, surprised that it actually worked. I figured it only worked in the movies, but I dropped down in front of a bare wall facing the street. No one saw me, and no one would know until someone decided to break down the door to the bathroom.
Now, I had to get to the park on foot. That was several blocks across town from where I was. I had to hurry.
Walking through alleyways to stay off the main roads and avoid being seen by Cole or anyone else from the MC, I had plenty of time to think about what I was doing. I was actually surprised at myself. I felt myself falling for the compassionate side of Cole that I was seeing. He wasn’t just the brutal, nightmarish thug I heard about in the stories on the street. He was a kind, caring man who wanted to take care of me.
There was also Fang, who had taken care of me for so long. I was pretty much his right hand gal. I’d helped him grow his organization through sabotaging his rivals. I wondered, though, if it wasn’t time to move on.
Cole had gone after one of his own for me. He hadn’t kicked him out of the Overlords, but he’d been sent packing. And somewhere down the line, I knew that Gage would probably end up coming back to haunt Cole for his decision. I was sure Cole understood that fact as well, but it didn’t seem to bother him or deter him in any way. I couldn’t buy that kind of loyalty. I couldn’t even expect that kind of loyalty from anyone.
Of course, it was possible that everything I saw had been staged just to get me to talk, but I doubted it. Cole seemed to be a very upfront kind of guy. I didn’t see him going through all that trouble just to make me trust him.
Trust was an important issue in our business. I had to know I could trust and count on him before I moved on. I knew I could trust and count on Fang. We’d relied on each other for far, far too long for me to just run out on him. But I was starting to feel like Cole was building some trust with me. Yet, as I crossed the street into the park a few blocks from Cole’s headquarters, I knew I was doing everything I could to throw away any trust I had earned from him.
I’d made it too far to turn back. I pulled out my phone and texted Fang.
At the rendezvous point.
After I sent the text, my battery gave out. I sighed and slid my phone back in my pocket. Hopefully, I’d be able to charge it soon enough, back at home, away from bikers and gangs, drugs and money.
I walked over to the bench and sat down. It was all going to be over soon enough, and I would be home relaxing in a hot bath, letting the danger and the drama of the last few days wash away from me.
That was when I noticed three men standing next to a black sedan with the windows blacked out. They looked like Secret Service agents with their black suits, black sunglasses, and small earpieces. I narrowed my eyes at them, keeping an eye on them as they started to approach me from across the park.
“No fucking way,” I cursed, getting up and breaking out into a run. I knew I was too far away to try to make it back to the Overlords’ HQ. I had to duck down an alleyway or into an abandoned building. It was time to get creative and use my skills to survive.
They were fast, though, and they closed in on me quickly, before I even had a chance to get back to the sidewalk. They surrounded me silently.
“Come on, guys, no cat calls, no greetings? What are you trying to do?” I asked them.