Page 13

Kiki

I stayed in bed and fell asleep after he stormed out. I expected him to come back, but he hasn’t. I sigh as I sit up and grab my clothes, pulling them on. Then I head for the door. I need to apologize to him. I know deep down he isn’t like Spike. I shouldn’t have said what I did. I shouldn’t have even debated it in my head. It was wrong. So wrong.

I leave the room and walk down the hall when I see Tina at the bar. I slip onto a stool and smile at her.

“Where’s the guys?” I ask as I look around, not seeing Locke or Hodge.

“They had business to attend to.”

“What business?”

“Locke didn’t tell you?” she asks. I shake my head.

“We had a little argument, and he stormed out of the room.”

“Shit. So what I heard was that they found some spot locally where Spike was running shit. I don’t know the details. That’s just what I heard.” I narrow my eyes at her and shake my head. That doesn’t sound right.

“That can’t be right,” I say more to myself than to her. Spike doesn’t have a setup around here. He never did. He didn’t like it being so close to my dad and his club. He kept his shit away from here.

“What are you talking about?” Tina asks as panic takes over. My hands begin to shake as I stand and back away from the bar.

“It’s wrong. It’s all wrong.”

“Duke! Get out here!” I hear Tina yelling but my mind is going a million miles a minute. This isn’t right. This is wrong. It can’t be right.

“What? What’s goin’ on?”

“She keeps yelling it’s wrong.”

“It’s a setup!” I yell as Duke tries to grab my arm. I shake my arm away from him and run to the stairs. I take them two at a time before I burst into my dad’s office.

“Tell me they’re all okay?” I scream as I look at him.

“What’s goin’ on? Kiki, what the fuck?”

“Dad, please. Tell me they’re okay?”

“She said it’s a setup, Prez,” I hear Duke behind me.

My dad steps in front of me, grabbing my shoulders and forcing me to look at him.

“What’s happenin’, Kiki?”

“It’s a setup. Please, Dad. Tell me Hodge and Locke are okay.”

“It’s okay. They’re on a surveillance run,” he tells me. No, it’s not okay. I can feel it.

“It’s wrong, Dad. Please.”

“Pull up the coms and get them on the line.” I don’t even pay attention to who he’s talking to. I just listen as static comes over the line. Then Hodge is there, and I sigh.

“Locke with you?”

“Yeah, passin’ it over,” Hodge says. A few seconds later, I hear his voice.

“Yeah, Prez?”

“Locke, Kiki is here. She needs a minute with you. You good?”

“Yeah, I’m good.”

“Talk to him. Calm down,” my dad tells me as he passes me a walkie-talkie. They leave the room, and there’s just me.

“You there?” I hear Locke.

“I …”

“What is it, baby? What’s wrong?” Hearing him call me baby sends my stomach into a spiral. I blink back the tears filling my eyes as I try to focus.

“It’s a setup, Locke. Spike doesn’t have anything local.”

“We’ve had people watchin’ him. We know he has somethin’ here,” he replies.

“But it can’t be. Spike would never do that.”

“It’s okay, baby. I promise. We know what we’re doin’.”

“Locke, please. You have to listen to me!” I will beg him if I have to. I don’t care what I sound like; I just need him to listen. I wait for him to respond when I hear yelling and screaming. My stomach drops when I hear that dreaded sound.

Gunshots.

“Dad!” I scream until the guys come running back into the room.

“What happened?”

“Locke! There were shots!” Dad grabs the walkie-talkie and tries to make contact with them, but there’s no response. I drop to my knees in tears as Duke kneels in front of me.

“Get her outta here,” Dad orders. Duke pulls me to my feet and leads me out of the room when I take off running toward Locke’s room. Tears spill down my cheeks. I drop onto the bed and cover my face in my hands when I hear Tina come in.

“What am I going to do?” I cry.

“They’ll be fine, Kiki. I promise.”

“I heard the shots!”

“That doesn’t mean it wasn’t our guys shooting. The other guys are on their way over there now,” she tells me. That doesn’t make me feel any better.

“They didn’t listen to me. I told them, Tina. I told them!”

“I know,” she answers softly as she runs her hand up and down my back.

“I can’t lose them, Tina. I can’t.”

“You’re not losing anyone. They’re going to be fine,” she repeats firmly. I heard the shots. What could be happening? Did Spike find them first? My heart beats wildly in my chest as I try to calm myself down.

“Kiki?” I hear my dad’s voice, and when I look up and see him, I stand and rush into his arms. He pulls me in and keeps me wrapped up in him.

“Are they okay? Tell me they’re okay.”

“I don’t know, sweetheart. I can’t get anyone on the walkies. The guys are on the way over there now.”

“It’s a setup. It has to be,” I cry harder.

“I don’t know what it is, Kiki. They’re gonna be fine, though. We’re gonna get to them and bring them home.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“Because I am. Have I ever told you wrong?” he asks, but this is different.

“This isn’t the same, Dad. You don’t know what they’re up against,” I cry a little more. He holds me tighter against his chest, and I know that I’m protected, but what about them? There’s no one to protect them against Spike.