Page 9 of Property of Doc

“So, you didn’t think to call me?” the one who appears to be in charge asks.

“Sorry, Boss,” Gash replies. “We was worried that the cops would see the flames and didn’t wanna get caught here and raise questions.”

“But again, you chosenotto call me?” the boss questions. “I swear to God, you two are imbeciles. Now we have to start all over again.”

“Might be harder, Boss, because of the Kings.”

Abyss growls out, “He’s got that right. Find those fuckers, because hearing the word auction makes me think they’re traffickers. Not very good ones, thank fuck, but nobody deserves that hell.”

“The fact that they had to drug them to keep them compliant says a lot about them,” I add. “I’ve got ten people, including Gretchen, currently detoxing. Most were in our medically assisted transition program through the clinic, and quite a few had a lot of recovery time under their belts. This shit is gonna set them back and possibly cause them to relapse.”

“Fuck the Kings!” Boss man shrieks, throwing his hands in the air. “They’re nothing but a bunch of pussies.”

Both Jbone and Gash step back and look around, as if their boss saying what he said will conjure up the club. “Boss, nobody fucks with them, that’s the word on the streets.”

“Yeah, well, if they try to dismantle us, they’ll find out who the fuck they’re messing with, that’s for damn sure,” the boss snarls. “Now, you two start scouting for a new place, we’ve gotta get up and running again so we can hold our first auction. Maybe try spreading yourself around the meetings so you don’t get too many from the same place. That’s what probably tipped them off, if this was them.”

“You got it, Boss,” Jbone replies.

We watch as the three of them leave without another word. I have so many fucking questions in my head right now it feels like it might explode. Were the people abducted picked because they were at their meetings? Did these men sit in and listen to stories and then decide who would be the unlucky one chosen to be abducted and drugged?

“It’s obvious that Jbone and Gash are street names,” BamBam says, breaking the silence. “Because there’s no fucking way a mother would name their child something so ridiculous.”

“We need to reach out to any contacts we have on the streets to see if they’ve heard of these two fuckers,” Rio states. “Gopher, take Mongrel with you and see what y’all can find out.”

“About Mongrel,” Abyss interjects. “Seems he’s pretty close to patching in. We need to call for a vote.”

“He is, and we’ll do that and set up a party once we get this dealt with,” Rio advises. “But the other two need a little bit longer.”

“We gonna change his road name? We’ve always used Mongrel, Monkey, and Mutt for our prospects, but I’ve gotten used to calling him Mongrel,” Nighthawk asks. “Plus, he’s been a huge help to me a few times and keeps his mouth shut. Maybe we need to ask him.”

“Gopher, feel him out about a possible name change,” Rio says. Banging the gavel, he says, “Church dismissed!”

I don’t waste time; I hurry out of the room and back up to mine. I want to check on Gretchen before I head over to the cabins to see about those other patients. Then I have to go to the clinic. Maybe I’ll hear something that’ll help us find these three fuckers.

When I walk into my room, my eyes widen looking at the bed. “What on earth?” I ask as my gaze locks in on a small table tray that covers her lap.

“It’s something called diamond art,” she replies. “Livy and Shelly came by and brought it for me to do so I could keep busy.”

I move closer and see there’s a canvas with a pre-printed design on it. She’s holding what looks like a pair of tweezers and there’s a box with partitions and a shit ton of sparkly beads in them. I watch her pick one up then place it on the canvas and see her smile when she looks down.

“What’s it going to be?” I question.

“It’s a carousel,” she says. “I’ve never done this before, but it’s relaxing, Doc.”

“You didn’t get too tired when they came to visit, did you?” I query.

“No, I had just woken up from a nap,” she says. “They didn’t stay long, but Shelly offered to bring her stuff here once you say it’s okay. We’re going to do a different kind of tattoo, though. She feels that I should still honor the sixteen years I had clean, eventhough I’m starting over again. I’m kind of excited about the design she’s working on.”

“Can’t wait to see it, sweetheart,” I reply as I check her IV then her vitals. “I’ll be back a bit later, I’m heading over to the cabins to check on the people there, then I need to put a few hours in at the clinic.”

“I’m sorry I can’t go in and help,” she tells me.

“Don’t be sorry, Gretchen, this isn’t your fault in the least. Do you need me to get you anything before I leave?”

She looks around like she’s just realized she’s not in a guest room. “Is this… is thisyourroom?”

“Yeah.”