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I suspected I was currently in an SUV’s cargo area. Were Dali and Jas tied up with me?
As my mind sharpened, I devised escape options. Was my phone with me? Though I considered whispering for Jas and Dali to see if they were also in the vehicle, I feared alerting the men that I was awake.
I flinched when a male voice spoke louder. “Dad, shit went sideways.”
A voice on a speakerphone asked, “What’s happening?”
“Someone ratted us out. They were waiting.”
“Slow down, son, and explain what’s going on.”
“We hit the Sorority House to force things with the Black Rainbow. But someone snitched, probably Hadley. The assholes were waiting. I told Bob not to walk into a trap. He claimed those cowards were on the run. Bob thought he’d be able to burn down the fucking house, but he walked into a massacre.”
“Oh, my God, Vinny,” said a woman. “Who died?”
“Bob,” Vinny replied. “The men who followed him.”
“The men? Those are your friends,” Vinny’s father said. “Son, what are you doing?”
“We’re taking back what was stolen from us!”
“This isn’t the way.”
“You always say things aren’t the way!” Vinny hollered. “You never want to do anything!”
Vinny was one of the men who attacked Dali, Nova, Elle, and me back at the grocery store last year. The Crimson Guard’s plan had been to kill them, but Clint kept holding off. My club president feared the assholes’ families might go after Elle in Baton Rouge. As much as I had wanted the guys dead, protecting my friend felt more important.
“Where are you now?” Vinny’s father asked.
“Outside of Little Memphis. We should be in Baton Rouge in a few hours.”
“You can’t come here. Zodiac will be expecting that. You’ll end up like Bob.”
“Fuck that piece of shit! We can fight Zodiac and his loyal losers!”
“Who will fight them?” Vinny’s father replied casually. “Our friends will be busy planning funerals. They won’t want to battle Zodiac when it wasn’t him who killed their sons.”
“What the fuck do you expect me to do?”
“Calm down. You need to lay low outside of Arkansas and Louisiana. Head to Mexico. Or hide in Florida with my cousin. But you can’t come here, or it’ll be your funeral next.”
“What about the girl?” asked the other male in the SUV.
“Who is with you, Vinny?”
“It’s Aaron. Greg is here, too, but I don’t know if he’ll make it.”
“What girl?” asked Vinny’s mom.
“The bitch who started everything back at the store,” Vinny spat out. “She was riding to the house when we nailed her bike. We grabbed her as a bargaining chip.”
“You’ve got to get rid of her,” Vinny’s dad said immediately. “There’ll be no bargaining. You need to disappear and start over somewhere that Zodiac and those Little Memphis fucks can’t find you.”
“Just dump her?”
“You’ve got to hide her body,” Vinny’s mom said. “Don’t let her people know she’s dead, or they’ll turn their focus to hunting you down. Right now, they’ll put their efforts into finding her. That’ll give you time to put distance between you and that town.”
“Where do I ditch her?”
