Since neither Bobby nor Freeze had ever seen Sal Terrico they covered the exits to make sure that he couldn’t getaway once he was in there. Nick and Wanda took a seat near the stage, where Nick could see the door. Mike sat at a table in the back so he could see the whole club.
Mike signaled for a waitress, but a dancer responded to his motion. 'How you doin’ tonight? You wanna table dance?'
'I was tryin’ to get a drink,' Mike said.
'I’ll send a waitress over,' the dancer said and started to walk away.
'Hey!' Mike shouted. 'Is there a dancer here called Jaylyn?'
'Yeah!' the dancer said and looked around. 'There she go right there. You want me to send her over?' she pointed to a dancer dressed in just enough black leather to cover the more sensitive areas. Jaylyn was a pretty woman, about five feet eight inches tall, with a small waistline. Deep brown skin, dark brown bedroom eyes and shoulder-length black hair, just like Shy.
'No.' Mike reached in his pocket and peeled off a twenty. 'Just send the waitress.'
'My name is Diamond Princess,' the dancer said looking at Mike and the wad of money. 'You let me know if you need anything.'
On the other side of the club, Nick was looking at Wanda, who was looking at him. 'What?' Wanda asked over the music.
Nick leaned closer. 'Just wondering if you’re having a good time?'
'Yes. I’m just glad to be here,' Wanda said nodding her head to the music. 'Not that watching these women parade around naked is any big deal. I can see this at any one of the houses. I’m just glad to be hangin’ out with you guys, you know, like we used to. I miss that. Do you know how it feels to find out everything the day after or maybe years after? Mike is so over protective of me.' Wanda took a sip of her drink. 'But I guess it’s for the best.'
'So I guess we can’t call this a date either?' Nick said in Wanda’s ear. It had become sort of a running joke between them, but after spending the last two nights with Wanda, he was beginning to think that maybe it wasn’t such a bad idea.
Wanda smiled and took another sip before answering. 'No, Nick, this is definitely not my idea of a date.'
'It’s not? Well then, tell me what is your idea of a date, Wanda?' Since the night Wanda bailed him out of jail and he spent the night telling her his story, Nick had been watching her. Wanda was tall and slender, but thick with it in all the important areas.
'Let’s see, my idea of a date…' Wanda began.
'Hold up,' Nick said and stood up. 'That’s him. Wait here.'
Nick moved toward Sal Terrico, who was pushing his way through the crowd toward Jaylyn. He pointed Sal out to Mike, and he signaled Bobby and Freeze.
Sal stopped dead in his tracks. Even though Mike and Bobby didn’t remember him, Sal recognized Bobby and knew that Mike Black couldn’t be far away.
Sal looked around quickly for a way out. That’s when he felt the gun in his back. 'Hello, Sal,' Mike said and patted Sal down. 'I’ve been waiting for you,' he said and took Sal’s gun. 'Come on, Sal, let’s talk outside.' Mike told Freeze to put Wanda in a cab.
As soon as they got down the steps and outside the club, Sal started talking. 'Listen, Black I never wanted to take her. We just needed her to get outta there. I swear to God, Black, I didn’t know that she was your wife or that it was your spot,' Sal told him quickly as they walked him around the corner. Bobby and Freeze pulled out their guns and pointed them at Sal. Mike grabbed him by the throat. 'When she told me who she was, I wanted to let her go, but Papi said to take her to Miami.'
'Papi? Who the fuck is Papi?'
'Diego, Diego Estabon.' Mike let Sal go. 'When we got to Miami he said to bring her here. I dropped her where he told me.'
'Where was that?' Mike asked.
'I dropped her at an apartment on 151th street, they took her from there.'
Freeze punched Sal in the face. Bobby grabbed him before he fell. 'They? Who the fuck is they?' Freeze yelled.
'I don’t know who the guys were. I just dropped her and got away from there.'
Freeze hit Sal again, while Bobby held him. 'Take us there,' Mike demanded.
On the way to Harlem, Bobby drove, Nick sat in the front seat with his gun pointed at Sal. Mike and Freeze in the back seat on either side of Sal. 'You don’t have to worry Sal, I’m not gonna kill you, at least not yet,' Mike said calmly. 'I just need you to clear some things up for me.'
'Sure, Black, whatever you need.'
'Who set the meeting in my club?'
'Pat, Pat Matthews.'
'Who is that? The one Julio shot?'
'Yeah,' Sal answered nervously.
'Why’d Julio kill him?'
'Julio said he was DEA.'
'Is that why Julio shot at him, cause he was DEA too,' Mike asked pointing in Nick’s direction.
Sal glanced at Nick, he turned back to Mike. 'He’s not the one Julio was shooting at, but yeah, he was with them. I mean, it was just him and your wife shooting at us.'
'So Julio recognized another agent and that’s who he shot at?' Mike asked.
'Yeah. After they started shooting at us we grabbed her to get outta there. I swear to God, Black, that’s what happened.'
When they arrived at 151st street Sal told them that he took Shy to an apartment on the fourth floor. Bobby parked the car down the block from the building, while Freeze and Nick went to check things out. They went inside and took the back staircase to the fourth floor. Once Nick confirmed that there was nobody in the hallway, he called Mike.
Mike and Bobby led Sal into the building at gun point. They took the elevator up to the fourth floor where Nick and Freeze were waiting. Mike told Nick to watch Sal as he and Bobby approached the door. Mike kicked in the door and Bobby and Freeze rushed inside the apartment, but it was empty. While Bobby and Freeze searched the apartment, Mike called for Nick. 'Bring Sal in,' he told Nick and put a silencer on his gun.
'Black, take a look at this,' Freeze said and led Mike in to one of the rooms. There was a bed in the room with ropes tied to the four posts.
'She was here,' Mike said. 'Bring him in here, Nick.'
Nick pushed Sal in the room. 'This is where I brought her, Black, I swear.'
'Where did they take her!' Mike yelled and pointed his gun at Sal.
'I don’t know!'
Mike lowered his weapon, and looked at Sal. 'As soon as she told you she was my wife, you should have let her out of the car and apologized for taking her,' Mike said and raised his weapon. He shot Sal twice in the head.
Chapter Thirty-three
The next afternoon Mike asked everybody to meet him at Cuisine. Freeze arrived first. 'What’s up, Black?' he asked and sat down at the table with Mike.
'What’s up?'
'Chillin’,' Freeze said.
'What about that thing for Paulleen; what’s up with that?'
'I got that. I am gonna take care of it today,' Freeze said.
'I don’t want you goin’ alone, so wait for me or take Bobby with you.'
'If I can find him,' Freeze commented.
