“Already told you I did,” Mathews spat. “Assholes didn’t even notice when that shit went black.”
“All right, then.” The guy looked over to me. “What do you want us do about her?”
His eyes skirted over to me. It was at that moment I knew things were about to go from bad to worse. Without so much as a blink, he answered, “Get rid of her.”
“No!” I shouted as I tried to break free from the man’s hold. “Thomas already told you. I had nothing to do with this.”
Before I could say anything more, I felt the man’s fist slam into my ribs, causing the air to rush from my lungs. He hit me again—hard enough to crack a couple of my ribs—and my knees buckled from the pain. I didn’t have a chance to shield myself before several of the men gathered around and started wailing on me like a punching bag. I’d never been in a fight or even hit someone before, so I didn’t know how to react. I could only take the beating that they were dishing out. It was as if I were a rag doll as I dropped to the ground and tried to keep myself from passing out while they continued to kick me in the side and head.
Thankfully, it stopped as quickly as it had started. Every inch of my body ached and throbbed, and my chest felt like it was caving in on me as I lay there trying to take in a breath. Everything was spinning when I felt someone’s hand tangle in my hair, pulling hard as they dragged me across the parking lot. When they’d gotten me over to one of their cars, the guy released my hair and dropped me to the ground. Once they’d opened the trunk, one of them lifted me up and tossed me inside.
I was barely conscious, but was aware enough to hear Mathews say, “Finish her off, then take her over to Stilettos. Toss her into one of their dumpsters.”
“Why there?”
“Hell, look at her. She’ll have people out there looking for her, and when they find her in that fucking dumpster, it’ll take the heat off you and put it on the Sinners.”
“Got it.”
My breathing was shallow, and I was losing consciousness when I felt a jab at my gut, followed by searing pain. I felt a second jab in my chest, and that was it. Everything went black.
Shotgun
When I pulled up to Stilettos, I wasn’t surprised to see it was packed. Since the day we opened, it had been one wild night after the next. I parked at the front door, then went inside to find Menace. The music was blaring, and three of the stages were crowded with a mix of the club’s regulars and some newcomers. From the way they were carrying on, it was evident they liked our new girls, especially Candy. The girl was a knockout with all the right moves, taunting the men with every turn on the pole. I had no doubt the chick was bringing in bank, and it wouldn’t be long before she’d be able to cover the cost of her college tuition and more.
I headed back to the office, and when I walked in, I found Menace sitting at his desk working on the computer. He seemed pretty enthralled in whatever he was doing and never even looked up as I sat down in the chair in front of him, so I was surprised when he said, “Hey, brother. I wasn’t expecting to see you tonight.”
“Just thought I’d come by to see how things were going.”
“Going good.” He looked up from his screen. “Looks like another big night.”
“Apparently so. Hell, I could barely find a spot to park my fucking bike.”
“That’s the way we want it.” Menace leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms. “Anything going on at the clubhouse?”
Before I could answer, there was a tap at the door, and Diego, one of our bus boys, stepped inside with a panicked expression on his face. “Hey, man...Umm...I think we got a problem.”
“What kind of problem?”
“Don’t know just yet, but I think you two better come check it out.”
Menace and I stood, then followed him out front. I was expecting there to be some commotion with the crowd, maybe a fight or a sloppy drunk, but everything seemed fine as Diego led us through the club and towards the back exit. When we stepped outside into the alley, Diego stopped and looked over to us. “I was helping Casey take out the trash, and I was tossing in one of the bags. And that’s when I saw it.”
“Saw what?”
“This.”
He took out his phone and turned on the flashlight, shining it inside the dumpster. Menace and I stepped forward, and to our surprise, there was a woman sprawled out on top of the trash. She was slim with long brown hair, and she was beat all to fucking hell. One of her eyes was completely swollen shut, and there was blood all over her clothes, but the fact that I couldn’t tell if she was breathing had me concerned she was dead. There was no missing the shock in Menace’s voice when he asked, “What the fuck?”
“I don’t know, man. I found her this way. Got no idea how she ended up here.” Diego’s voice trembled with worry as he asked, “Should we call the cops?”
“Fuck, no,” I snapped. “Last thing we need is those assholes snooping around.”
“Well, we gotta do something,” Menace pushed.
“We need to get her the fuck out of there so we can see what we’re dealing with.”
I quickly hoisted myself up the side of the dumpster and gingerly made my way over the top of the ledge. I was careful not to get too close as I jumped inside and knelt down next to her. When I leaned in to get a better look, I got an odd feeling I knew her, but I couldn’t place where I’d seen her before. Being attentive not hurt her even more, I eased my hands under her body, and a soft, pained moan slipped through her busted lips as I lifted her into my arms. I looked over to Menace and told him, “She’s still alive.”
Menace nudged Diego. “Let’s give him a hand.”
Diego nodded, then stepped over to the edge of the dumpster next to him. They worked together to gently lift the girl from my arms and lowered her down to the ground. I took a quick look around for her purse or wallet, but unfortunately, I didn’t find a damn thing. I pulled myself out of the dumpster and stepped over to Menace. Diego was looking down at her in horror. “Damn. Somebody did a real number on this chick.”
“You’re not kidding.” I shook my head as I studied her. While it was my first encounter, this wasn’t the first time a body had been found in a dumpster. Hell, in a city as big as Nashville, it happened more than one might think, but there was something about this whole thing that wasn’t adding up. By looking at her stylish clothes and fresh manicure, I could tell she came from money. She definitely wasn’t the kind of woman I’d expect to find sprawled out on a load of fucking garbage. “Gotta wonder why somebody would do this shit.”
“You think this has something to do with that asshole you took out a few months back?”
As enforcer, I’d taken out more men than I could count. Having no idea which particular guy he was talking about, I said, “Gonna have to give me more than that.”
“You know...the one who roughed up Candy and stole her stash?”
“Don’t see how this chick could have any connection to that asshole.” I glanced down at her as I added, “And even if she did, why would they toss her here like this?”