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Silence.
Who knew that the parking lot to a private club could be this quiet? Just the hum of the Honda’s engine and the whistle of a breeze through a few trees swirls in the cold air. I stare at Alice as she starts to shiver, and I’m on her in a moment, wrapping my arms around her, pulling her into my warmth.
“I mean it, Alice. I’m here for you. Now. Forever. Tell me what you need and it’s yours.”
She looks up at me with tears in her eyes, and her voice is shaky when she says: “My sister—”
“Alice!” The voice comes from the idling car, but I throw the woman an admonishing glance and she falls silent.
“Finish what you were saying, your sister, what?”
“This is my sister, Lydia. That guy with the scar? That’s Popcorn. Lydia owes him and a few of his friends money. I’ve been working here to pay for my room at college, but I’ve also been helping Lydia to pay off her debts, otherwise I would have quit. I was supposed to meet someone here to sell something tonight my grandmother left to me, but he never showed. I was going to use the money to pay off the debts, then quit. You wouldn’t have known if you hadn’t come here. And, why are you here?” She frowns. “Did you follow me? Why are you grinning?”
“Sorry, it’s just…it’s me.”
“What’s you?”
“I’m the person that wants to buy the brooch. It’s a family heirloom. That’s the only reason I’m here.”
“Really?”
I don’t notice the bouncer until he clears his throat standing about ten feet away. “It’s true, Al, he’s the guy that asked for you.”
I nod. “Alice, how much money do you need?”
“A lot. The offer you made on the brooch was only just going to cover it.”
“Do you trust me?”
She nods.
“Then let’s go sort this mess out.”
11 – Alice
“How much?” Roan demands again, as Popcorn eyes him. He’s sporting a growing black eye around his blind white eye and there’s tissue paper stuffed in his nose so that when he speaks it sounds like he has a cold.
“Get the fuck out of my club, before my bouncers throw you out.”
“How much does Lydia owe you?”
“Unless you have seventy-two thousand on you right now, there’s nothing you can do for Lydia. Three options, either she pays up, Alice—”
“I’m going to stop you right there,” Roan says with a growl, leaning over the desk, right in Popcorn’s oily face, “because you only have one good eye, and I’d hate to have to give you a matching set.”
“Ropa, get this guy out of here.”
Ropa takes a step back, folding his arms over his chest. “Didn’t I tell you I quit? Sorry. I quit. He’s offered me more as Alice’s private bodyguard.”
Popcorn’s face screws up and he raises his voice. “Vi—”
His voice is cut off as Roan grabs him around the throat, lifting him clean out of his chair and thrusting him back into the wall behind his desk. Roan growls.
“Seventy-two thousand is more than you deserve, asshole. I’m guessing you’re going to offer me a discount for settling up right here and now and not killing you. Am I right?”
Popcorn nods, his good eye focused on Roan. When he speaks, his voice comes out as a squeak. “Seventy thousand.”
Roan laughs and I see Popcorn’s face go blue as he squeezes tighter. “Sorry, you’re stuttering. It sounded like you said seventy thousand, but I know that’s not what you meant.”
“Fift—twenty thousand,” Popcorn stutters, and Roan looks around at the three of us standing behind him. “That sound agreeable?”
Lydia clings onto my arm, whispering, “I can’t afford that.” But I slip my hand in hers and squeeze, nodding, finally knowing that whatever happens, Roan will make sure it works out.
“Yes,” I tell him. “We can cover that.”
He lets Popcorn down from the wall, turning away. Leaning over the desk, he takes out a checkbook, scribbles on it and tears the check out. Then he takes my arm, nods to Ropa, and we head out of the office.
“I can’t believe you did that,” I tell Roan as we drive home, the weight of his warm hand on my thigh helping to calm me.
We followed Lydia back home and made sure she was settled. I was worried at first about leaving her, but Roan assured me that she wouldn’t have any more trouble from Popcorn.
“You’re a monster when you want to be, you know that?”
“A negotiation is a negotiation. I excel at winning.”
“I hope what I saw was not your usual negotiating tactic.”
Roan laughs. “Maybe not, but it’s the same principle. Stick to your guns until you get their bottom line. I knew he was inflating the amount your sister owed from the look on his face.” He shakes his head. “But let’s forget all about that for now, we need to talk about us.” Glancing over, he runs his hand up my thigh. “I can’t tell you I’m not disappointed about finding you there.” I open my mouth to speak, to explain myself, when he continues. “I want you to know that I haven’t lost any respect for you because of how you had to earn a living. I don’t want you doing that, I don’t want other men looking at you, but it’s the lying that really upset me.”
