Outlaw by Nicole James Page B

Ling.
    Angel moved the girls off to the building.
    As soon as they were out of earshot, Crash asked in
a whisper, “Shit, Cole! Now what the fuck do we do?”
    “I know. I wasn’t counting on this.” Cole shook his
head, trying to think. “If we call the cops, Ling will give up his connection
with Chuck, and the Souls, and us bein’ here at this meeting, they’ll hang it
on us, too.”
    “Cops? No, fuckin’ way. That ain’t gonna happen!”
Crash was emphatic.
    Cole stared at him, and shook his head. “I’m not
letting Ling go.”
    “What the fuck are you
saying? Double murder with six witnesses?” Crash asked, pointing back toward
the building. “You can’t be serious!”
    “We get rid of the witnesses,” Red Dog suggested.
    Cole gave him a look. “We’re not hurting the girls,
asshole.”
    “Just a suggestion.”
    Cole stared over at the group of girls huddled by
the building, considering his options. He turned back to his brothers. “Look,
we take the girls back to Wyatt. They don’t see anything. They don’t know
anything. Once they’re gone, Chuck, Ling, the van, they all disappear.”
    “What if the girls talk?” Crash asked.
    “I don’t know, man. We make sure they know that
would be a real bad idea. Anybody else got a better solution? I’m all ears,”
Cole snapped.
    No one said anything.
    “Are we together on this, boys?” Cole asked, looking
around at all their faces.
    “Yeah.”
    “Sure.”
    “Whatever.”
    “I hope to hell you know what you’re doing,” Crash
added.
    Cole nodded, and looked back at the girls.

 
    Angel had her arm around one of the younger girls,
and was trying to calm her down. Most of them were crying, but she had
convinced them that they were safe now, and would soon be back with their
families.
    The guys walked back to where she was waiting with
the girls.
    Cole looked at them all. He could tell they were
still frightened. “No one here is going to hurt you. We’re going to get you
home.”
    “So, how will we get back? Are you going to call the
police?” one of the girls asked.
    “No. No police, darlin’.” Cole smiled. “You’ll ride
on the back of the bikes.”
    “With them?” she asked, looking at the guys.
    “Yeah. With them.”
    “It’ll be alright, girls,” Angel assured them. “I
know they hardly look like knights in shining armor, but they did just ride in
and rescue you.”
    Cole turned back to his brothers. “Pick one.”
    They each moved toward the bunch, and grabbed a girl
by the hand, and led her toward their bike.
    Cole smiled, watching his brothers trying to handle
them gently. He thought he even heard Red Dog say ‘there, there, now little
lady’. Then he turned back to Angel, and smiled. “Knights in shining armor?”
    Angel shrugged.
    When the girls were out of ear
shot , Cole bent close to Angel’s face. “Look, this didn’t exactly go as
planned. These girls…” he broke off, shaking his head. “They can’t talk. If
they do-”
    “I know. I know. They’ll end up dead.”
    “Exactly.” He stared at her. “You gotta help me
persuade ‘em.”
    She nodded. “I’ll make sure.”
    “They’re gonna run ‘em back up to Wyatt. Then come
back, and we’ll take care of the rest of this.”
    She looked over his shoulder to the van and the two
men laying face down on the pavement.
    Cole took her by the hand, and walked her back over
toward the van.
    They watched as the six bikes, each with a scared,
young girl on the back, pulled out.
    Cole sat down on the curb, and pulled Angel down
beside him. He knew that every minute they stayed here increased the risk. He
needed a good place to get rid of these guys, and the van. This site was no
good. If any of those girls did talk, and somehow was able to describe this
place, he didn’t want them leading the cops right to the bodies. Cole walked
over to the van, and rummaged through the glove box. He came walking back with
a road map. He unfolded it, and found their