Total pages in book: 121
Estimated words: 113639 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 568(@200wpm)___ 455(@250wpm)___ 379(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 113639 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 568(@200wpm)___ 455(@250wpm)___ 379(@300wpm)
“Axel?” I know I’m snarling but I have a bad feeling that something is going to happen that I might not ever recover from. “When was the last time you saw Doc?”
He says nothing and stares out the window.
“Brother, I need you now. Shit’s going down.”
He turns and I lower my head into my hands. “What? What happened to make you look like this?” Rubbing my face, I lean back and wait for my best friend to speak his sins.
“Doc came by last night… late after you left. He was nervous and acting paranoid.” He laughs as he glances out the window. “He wanted money, said someone was after Sandy and that he would pay me back as soon as he started cooking again.”
I take a deep breath and let it out. “Did you tell him that we had voted on not dealing anymore?”
Axel looks over at me then down at my phone, which is vibrating in my hand.
“Talk to me, Ryder,” I grit, trying to fit all the shitty pieces together before he tells me what we already know.
Loud sirens are in the background. “Hold on a second. Let me move around to the back of this shithole. Fuck it stinks out here.” The sirens fade and Ryder’s voice is loud and clear.
“Yeah, he’s dead, Prez. And there is no sign of Sandy.”
My eyes travel to the window as we speed through the streets of Burbank and I digest the news. Because even though I knew he was going to say that… I mean, the phone call with Sandy was obvious, but this… this confirms that my childhood friend has either been murdered or died of a drug overdose. Either way, he’s dead and his batshit crazy wife is wandering the streets, high, paranoid, and insane.
“Do you know what happened?”
“He’s been dead for hours, long before Sandy called. The place is a fucking sty man. They were into some serious shit.”
“Jesus,” Axel groans as he leans his dark head back on the leather seat.
“I take it the cops are there?” Realizing that we’ve stopped, I notice Ox has parked us so that we can see the entrance of the police department. He takes off his sunglasses to rub his eyes. Doc was a brother. He might have been a snitch, but first he was a brother.
“Yeah, it’s taped off, but Agent Deckard sends his best and he let me identify the body.”
I release the air I was holding because I have no idea what the fuck Doc had in that shithole he was living in.
“The cops had already gone through the place, right?”
“Yeah, but I don’t think he had anything but drugs. It looked like he was trying to buy stuff to cook up some shit. But he must have died beforehand. Fuck, Prez, they were hardcore.” Ryder’s voice is filled with anger.
“Get the fuck out of there. I’ll meet you back at the clubhouse.”
“You got it, Prez.”
“And Ryder, try to find Sandy before she does anything crazy. All this shit is connected.”
He sighs. “Whoever Sandy is with either killed him, or both of them are too high to care.”
“That makes her dangerous. Get Edge and find her.” I hang up because Rodney is buzzing in.
I look over at Axel who is packing his small black pipe full of weed. The flick of the lighter and his deep inhale makes me push the button for the window to go down and allow some air in as the thick, pungent smoke clings to the back seat.
“Roddy, talk to me? We ready?”
A loud sigh comes through the phone. “Yes. They are releasing her. Of course she needs to see the judge but… out of the blue, she can go.”
I can tell by Rodney’s tone he is not happy. “What’s your concern?” I ask, leaning forward and glancing around the parking lot.
“Well, ten minutes ago, they were trying to find any way to get her to talk and keep her, then out of the blue they say she can go? Anything I need to know?”
“I’ll tell you later. I’m waiting outside.” I reach for my cigarettes.
“Give us ten minutes or so.” He hangs up and I light up, blowing the smoke in the air.
“Axel? What the fuck, man? It can’t be that much of a shock that Sandy finally killed Doc or someone else took him out. For all we know he could have OD’d. Ryder said the place was crawling with drugs.”
He sighs and opens his passenger door. “He asked me for help, Blade. He flat-out asked me to get him and Sandy help. And I blew him off because I was sure he was setting me up… us up.” He steps out and looks down at me, his blue eyes swimming with tears. “And now he’s dead and I feel like shit.” He slams the door and walks in the opposite direction from the station.