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It’s dark outside now, and the streets are significantly quieter than earlier in the day in this community. Everyone looks to be safely tucked away in their homes. The roar of my brothers’ straight pipes can be heard in the distance, and I know that all hell will break out when these neighbors find their community overrun by one percenters.
How the fuck did this happen? How did Hurricane let her get taken right from under his nose?
I park in the back lot and see that all the lights are off in the building as though no one is there, but I know differently. I saw his car parked across the street.
I walk up to the side of the building and peer inside, and I see nothing. When I touch the doors, they don’t open. I pull out my keychain and finger the old worn silver key with the initials ES crudely carved in the metal, for my parents’ first names, Ewan and Sacnikté.
I slide the key into the lock, and it opens. Removing a card from my wallet, I quietly step inside and slide it between the locking mechanism to avoid the door locking or announcing my arrival with a click.
The bar’s empty, so I make my way toward the kitchen as I hear the roar of my brothers’ pipes. There’s nothing quiet about their arrival, and they make no apologies for it.
My mind is flooded with a thousand memories. I swore I’d never return when we left eleven years ago. Ryan has been back, but my heart couldn’t take it.
Too many memories of Ma and Da, and no way for me to ever feel her arms around me again or hear Da’s booming voice. So, I stayed away.
Moving through the kitchen, my next stop is my father’s empty office. I glance around and see a lot has changed. Gone is my father’s old chessboard that he played with Ryan during his downtime.
The pictures of Ireland that hung on the wall have been replaced by posters of Sports Illustrated swimsuit models. The metronome on his old oak desk is no longer there. Hundreds of old drink rings now darken the surface, and stacks of papers litter it.
My father was neat and organized. The trash can overflows with beer bottles and other trash. I turn around to head out when I hear voices just as Axle peers into the hallway leading to the office.
Pressing my finger to my lips, I jerk my thumb towards the rear of the restaurant, telling him to go around back. I know he’ll see the stockroom window that sits low to the ground and know what to do. I also know that he’ll route my other brothers away from here.
I quickly make my way further down the hall to the stockroom. The door’s closed, but I can tell it’s not locked by how the handle dips down.
The handle’s been broken for decades. When it’s unlocked, the handle turns down slightly to the floor. When locked, it turns upwards, but never straight the way it was designed.
I hear voices, but none of them belong to Moni. I wonder if she’s even here; worse still, I can’t see what’s happening. I’ll have to go inside blind.
I don’t know how much time I have left, but just as I’m about to break through the door, Axle texts me.
Axle:She’s sitting in the middle of the room with a gun trained on her.
Me:How close are they to the door where I’m standing?
Axle:Facing the door about twenty-five feet away. They’ll see you when you come through.
Me:I need a distraction.
Axle:Need a second. Just listen.
As I slide my phone into my pocket, a familiar voice calls, “Axle! I know you’re here. I hope your dumb ass didn’t send anyone to sneak in on me. If so, this bitch is dead.”
He’s confirmed that Moni is in the room with him, but he could be lying. Either way, I need to tread carefully because I can’t risk her life.
“Call off the dogs, Nitro. I’ve got no beef with the Sinners. Just want the one she belongs to. You.”
Me:Where’s the goddamn distraction?
Axle:One minute.
I don’t have one minute. We don’t have much longer before he does something desperate.
It feels as if the seconds are turning into minutes and the minutes hours, but exactly one minute later, I hear a loud crash.
I kick the door in, but I freeze when I see not one man but two and blindsided by the discovery of who the second man is. Axle can’t see him because he’s standing against the wall on the right side of the window, staring directly at me.
A popping explosion deafens my ears as he aims at my chest. He narrowly misses as I drop to the ground, snap my chain around his legs, and jerk him off his feet as Axle jumps through the broken window beside him.
