Page 3 of Chrome Poppies
“L-Levi?” Ozzy Dillon stuttered as he walked out into the living room, wiping his hands with a towel. “Sorry, I was-um- indisposed. Can I get you guys something to drink? We’ve got water? Beer?”
I couldn’t see Levi’s expression as I stood behind him, but I could guarantee he wore a fake grin and responded, “Yeah, beer me, dude!”
When Ozzy left the front room, Levi had us gather around to huddle. “Act like this is a social visit. Enjoy your beers, pretend to catch up on old times, and when I give my cue—it’s execution time.”
“You know talking would make more sense, he’s got children, Levi.” Once again, my voice of reason spoke, and all eyes were on me. “I mean how do you know Ozzy ain’t packing? For all you know, he could have an arsenal in his kitchen and open fire on all of us.”
The men laughed, and this only pissed me off. I feared my cop instincts were giving me away, and this massacre was certainly going to change me from a God-fearing enforcer of the law to an outlaw. I never became involved in the illegal activities in this motorcycle club, but never reporting it made me no different from Levi Shields and the other members.
***
Over the next half hour, we all went through an entire twelve pack of beer while shooting the shit about how differently both clubs perform their business. Ozzy was a wealth of information that Levi could use against the president and the rest of the members. Just what Levi needed for carnage on a grander scale.
“Hey, Ozzy, go get your wife and kids. I have an announcement to make.” Levi said and waited until Ozzy eagerly left the kitchen to turn his attention on the five of us. “You all remember the plan, right?” He pulled cable ties from his vest pocket and handed them to four of the guys. “Grimes, since you’re a whiny bitch, you will just stand back and watch this all unfold.”
“Levi? Men? This is my old lady, Beatrice. We call her Trisha though, it’s what she prefers.” There was so much pride in his voice and eyes when Ozzy introduced Trisha, sour bile crept up in the back of my throat to think of how this lovely woman was soon to be a statistic.
Levi’s eyes scanned the petite woman’s body, which was detestable and the thoughts running through my head were nothing but the worst for the females. However, he wasn’t the type to do anything inhumane to any woman or child. “The pleasure is mine, Mrs. Dillon.”
Two teenagers shuffled into the kitchen. The girl who answered the door was hesitant to come close to the men; whereas the boy was too distracted by whatever was on his phone to notice anyone else in the house besides his own family.
“These are my kids, Selena and Ozzy Jr,” Ozzy said with the same pride as when he introduced Trisha. “Not sure where Emilie is…”
“She’s with grandma,” Selena spoke up and her eyes shifted at the lie. I knew she was lying since I had just seen Emilie outside.. On the other hand, perhaps, she sensed something bad happening and was protecting the youngest.
Trisha opened her mouth to speak, until I glanced at her, silently urging her to play along. Her eyes widened and the color in her face was now ashen. “I hate to rush this meeting, Mr. Uh?”
Levi smirked, “You can call me Levi.”
She crossed her arms over her chest with a look of defiance. “Levi, we—um—actually have dinner plans with my parents in Palmdale and were ready to head out the door. Is there any way we can reschedule this meeting? My mother hates it when we are even five minutes late.” Her voice was steady, not a sign of a woman fearing for her life.
“You know Trisha. I really hate being lied to.” Levi hissed and removed his revolver from the holster as he quickly aimed, shooting Ozzy Jr. in the head. “That was an easy kill.” He bragged over the screaming. “Tie up the rest of them so we can get the hell out of here.”
Ozzy knew his time was up and fell to his knees, letting Pops bind his wrists with the plastic cable tie. “Please! Please!” He begged, “My family had nothing to do with the extortion. I never took the money.”
“Let me guess, you are trying to maintain your innocence in all of this, Dillon?” Levi seethed.
Ozzy shook his head before lowering his eyes to the floor, “I masterminded the heist but didn’t carry out the work. I never even got a percentage of it. My president kept it all to himself.”
“I appreciate your honesty, but it’s too late to save yourself and your family.”
Trisha was already bound and kneeling beside her husband, whereas it was a fight to get Selena back into the kitchen. “You fuckers are going to pay for this,” the young girl yelled out, not expecting Levi to strike her face with the back of his hand.
“You watch your dirty mouth, you little brat.”
Selena didn’t speak another word and was pushed next to her father, bound just the same.
“Momma?” I heard a quiet whimper from behind me and waved my hand, hoping the child would take heed to my signal and resume hiding. I couldn’t save all of them, but I had every desire to save one.
When I peered over my shoulder, the young girl—the one Trisha called Emilie—was out of sight.
Levi didn’t give any kind of resounding speech as the kitchen was filled with the sound of three simultaneous shots.
“Hey boss, you missed one,” Denton, the newest prospect and a real ass-kisser, called out dragging Emilie by the arm.
“Don’t you dare lay a hand on her!” I warned as I crossed the kitchen to remove the tiny girl from Denton’s tight grip.
“Or what?” Levi asked as he aimed his gun at the child.