“I’m going to skip the small talk,” he continued while slipping his hands into the pockets of his tan chino pants. “I’ve been watching your operation for the past hour.”
Ghost and I didn’t even have a damn operation. We barely had a plan. We were winging things.
“You move clean,” he added, “That’s rare in a place like this.”
Ghost gave a slight nod, and he fed right into what Ryan was saying.
“We like to keep things professional.”
I stayed quiet, studying him the same way he was studying us. I wasn’t with all the conversation, and I preferred that we get straight to the point. I had yawned in this damn club five times already. I was ready to go and lie the fuck down somewhere. The outside scene wasn’t me.
“What do you want?” I finally asked.
Ryan’s lips curved just enough to show he’d been waiting for that question.
“I want whatever y’all have left tonight,” he said, “all of it.”
Ghost didn’t even blink, but I felt the shift in the air between us. Making a sale like this would take care of everything. But what he was offering felt a little too good to be true.
“And after that?” Ghost asked skeptically.
Ryan stepped a little closer while lowering his voice.
“After that… I want more. I want it in bulk. I can move weight like you wouldn’t believe. I just need a consistent supplier.”
I let out a slow breath, my eyes narrowed slightly.
“And what makes you think we can supply like that?”
He held my gaze without flinching.
“Because men who move like you two don’t think small.”
That line right there? That was bait. Good bait because I could see Ghost soaking the shit up as if we had more coke lying around. The opportunity he presented made you see money before you saw risk. Ghost glanced at me, just for a second. I saw the question in his eyes. The temptation. Selling him the last of what we had would be getting rid of all our stolen goods. The question was how were we going to get more? Quickly, Iwondered if other MB’s Autos had coke stashed in them, too. Ghost had to get in contact with the dude who had given us information on the first spot.
I set my glass down slowly on the table near me. I never broke eye contact with Ryan.
“Cash talks,” Ghost said evenly. “You got enough to back all that up?”
Ryan smiled like Ghost just confirmed everything he needed to know.
“I wouldn’t have approached y’all if I didn’t.”
And right then, I knew this night was about to change everything. That look on Ghost face told me everything I needed to know. His mind was made up. I could see him spending money mentally before it even touched our hands. And me? I just leaned back and let it happen.
Tonight, I let Ghost take charge. I let him do the rest of the talking. I zoned out completely. My focus was somewhere else entirely. It was on money, and that’s it. I just wanted my cut. Selling Ryan what we had left would have me exactly where I needed to be. I just wanted to stack enough to get my life out of the hole it had been sitting in. I wanted to be able to finally move without feeling like every decision I made, my back was up against a wall. I was tired of surviving. I wanted control again. And if that meant letting Ghost run with whatever this was, then so be it. I walked off to let Ghost and Ryan have a moment to themselves.
I went to the bar to grab myself another drink, and then I found a secluded spot tucked away in the side of the club. I was sitting on one of the couches with my leg propped up on the coffee table in front of me.
“Need some company?”
I looked up and saw this woman standing directly on the other side of the little table that my foot was propped on. Shewas pretty, brown-skinned, with wide, bright eyes and full lips that looked enticing. She was older, though, shit, probably old enough to have a son my age.
“Na, I’m good.”
I gave her quick eye contact with my response and then went back to scrolling carelessly on my phone. I had a girl, I didn’t need nor want the attention of any bitch in here. I put my phone down onto the cushion to the right of me when I felt someone sitting on the one to the left of me.
When I looked over, the woman was sitting beside me. I glanced over at the other two empty sofas that were on both sides of us.
