Free Snatched by Sharon Cullars

friends get a kick out of those."
    "I have better uses for them."
    "I don't want to know."
    She shifted placing her feet on the floor. It felt good to be mobile again .
    "It'll be light soon. First thing we're going to do is pick up some breakfast then we'll head over to the warehouse district . That's the official meeting place for the Demons . We have facilities all over the city. An yway t his is what's going to happen in a few hours . We're going to walk in together lovey-dovey, kissing or no kissing is up to you. But you hang on to me, stay by my side. That'll be the message to the gang that this is a thing for now. Luckily for you, Rez's woman Clare is a hothead and doesn't take kind ly to women being passed around so at least you don't have to worry about that. But make sure you don't ever be alone with any of the guys because they will definitely try something."
    " And just w hat do I do if someone does try something?" The idea of having to fight off one of those goons was temporarily debilitating.
    "Fight. Fight like you've never fought before. And call out to me. I'm not going to be far away."
    "Can you promise that ? " she asked.
    His silence wasn't reassuring.
    "Put the shirt on. A nd to answer your question, all I can do is try to keep you within distance at all times . Other than that, w e're going to have to play this all out by ear. "
    "Play it by ear," she repeated as she turned her back to him, took off her torn shirt and slipped on his much larger t-shirt. She shifted it and tucke d it to prevent major exposure.
    "That's all you got ?" She turned back to him. He gave a slight nod of approval at the change.
    "For now . The main thing is to stay alive. If I'm taken out, you're at their mercy. Just remember that. Which means neither one of us can afford you do ing some thing stupid like trying to run off again. Because even if I don't find you , you be st be sure Rez or one of the crew will and the consequences will be brutal and final. "
    She didn't want to be reminded of those consequences. Her courage level was dropping at a rapid rate. Even now she didn' t know how she was still standing. Her legs were jelly.
    "C'mon," he ordered, opening the door. " We better get fueled up , put some food on our stomachs . S omething tells me it's going to be a hell of a day ."
    S he followed him out to the bike . The sun was almost fully risen and already the heat was settling over the city like a pall . S he didn't know how she was going to keep anything on her stomach. Actually s he didn't know much of anything at this point. Including whether she would still be alive at the end of the day.
    She was going to have to play it by ear, just as he 'd ordered, if she had any hopes of getting out of this mess. She climbed on the bike behind him and held on for dear life as he roared out of th e lot into a traffic that was burgeoning even at this early morning hour.
     
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    The warehouse district was located just southeast of the downtown area . The blocks of industrial buildings ran along the BNSF freight railway with t he Los Angeles River j ust a few miles away . Hardly anyone lived in the surrounding area anymore and many of the dilapidated buildings were closed up due to the economic downturn. The seclusion provided a perfect backdrop for the less than licit dealings of the gang members which not only included drugs but prostitution and other enterprises . Dele had accumulated evidence of the drug running and the pimping but still hadn't picked u p anything on the Mojave murders . At this juncture he wasn't sure that he would.
    Dele pull ed up in front of a building just off Merchant Street that presently served as the Demons business headquarters . The building's front signage read " Nuevo Mexican Seasonings " and offered " chiles, frijol , tamale pepper and other mouth-searing spices ." The graffiti- strewn metal door was closed but a couple of bikes were already parked indicating that there were members inside.