“What kind of problem?”
“Don’t know just yet, but I think you two better come check it out.”
Menace and I stood, then followed him out front. I was expecting there to be some commotion with the crowd, maybe a fight or a sloppy drunk, but everything seemed fine as Diego led us through the club and towards the back exit. When we stepped outside into the alley, Diego stopped and looked over to us. “I was helping Casey take out the trash, and I was tossing in one of the bags. And that’s when I saw it.”
“Saw what?”
“This.”
He took out his phone and turned on the flashlight, shining it inside the dumpster. Menace and I stepped forward, and to our surprise, there was a woman sprawled out on top of the trash. She was slim with long brown hair, and she was beat all to fucking hell. One of her eyes was completely swollen shut, and there was blood all over her clothes, but the fact that I couldn’t tell if she was breathing had me concerned she was dead. There was no missing the shock in Menace’s voice when he asked, “What the fuck?”
“I don’t know, man. I found her this way. Got no idea how she ended up here.” Diego’s voice trembled with worry as he asked, “Should we call the cops?”
“Fuck, no,” I snapped. “Last thing we need is those assholes snooping around.”
“Well, we gotta do something,” Menace pushed.
“We need to get her the fuck out of there so we can see what we’re dealing with.”
I quickly hoisted myself up the side of the dumpster and gingerly made my way over the top of the ledge. I was careful not to get too close as I jumped inside and knelt down next to her. When I leaned in to get a better look, I got an odd feeling I knew her, but I couldn’t place where I’d seen her before. Being attentive not hurt her even more, I eased my hands under her body, and a soft, pained moan slipped through her busted lips as I lifted her into my arms. I looked over to Menace and told him, “She’s still alive.”
Menace nudged Diego. “Let’s give him a hand.”
Diego nodded, then stepped over to the edge of the dumpster next to him. They worked together to gently lift the girl from my arms and lowered her down to the ground. I took a quick look around for her purse or wallet, but unfortunately, I didn’t find a damn thing. I pulled myself out of the dumpster and stepped over to Menace. Diego was looking down at her in horror. “Damn. Somebody did a real number on this chick.”
“You’re not kidding.” I shook my head as I studied her. While it was my first encounter, this wasn’t the first time a body had been found in a dumpster. Hell, in a city as big as Nashville, it happened more than one might think, but there was something about this whole thing that wasn’t adding up. By looking at her stylish clothes and fresh manicure, I could tell she came from money. She definitely wasn’t the kind of woman I’d expect to find sprawled out on a load of fucking garbage. “Gotta wonder why somebody would do this shit.”
“You think this has something to do with that asshole you took out a few months back?”
As enforcer, I’d taken out more men than I could count. Having no idea which particular guy he was talking about, I said, “Gonna have to give me more than that.”
“You know...the one who roughed up Candy and stole her stash?”
“Don’t see how this chick could have any connection to that asshole.” I glanced down at her as I added, “And even if she did, why would they toss her here like this?”
That thought had Menace looking up to the roof at the security cameras monitoring the alley. “We’ll need to go through the security feed and see what we can find out.”
“Yeah, yeah. That’s good and all, but that doesn’t matter right now.” Becoming more nervous by the minute, Diego announced, “We gotta take her to the hospital or something. Look at her. She’s bleeding all over the place.”
“No hospital. Too many fucking questions. We’re taking her to the clubhouse so Doc can check her out.”
“You sure about that?” Menace asked.
“Absolutely. Only way to make sure the cops don’t come snooping around.” I could tell that neither of them were happy with my decision, but I didn’t have a choice. There was too much on the line. Besides, I trusted Doc and knew if anyone could fix her up, it would be him. I looked over to Diego. “Need you to keep your mouth shut about this. Got it?
“Yes, sir. I won’t say nothing.”
“Good.” Diego was a good kid. His mom was laid up and unable to get a decent job, so he worked at the club to help support his family. No way he’d jeopardize a stable income by running his chops. I turned to Menace. “You on your bike?”