AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“The fact is, I didn’t want to have to do business this way. I prefer the easy, negotiable way in which we are both adults about the whole thing.” He lifted his broad shoulders slightly. “But you were being horribly uncooperative. You left me no choice.”
“No choice?” I repeated incredulously.
Ignoring me, he continued. “Now, I’m forced to leave you with no choice.”
I began to shake my head, my heart sinking. “What do you want?”
“I told you already: I want your storage.” He sat back again, his momentary burst of anger gone in a flash, just as quickly as it had come. “You have something I need. A piece of property in town without my name on it. A rare commodity these days. And that little slice of storage space already receives steady, legitimate shipments of consumable goods.”
“You want storage space? Fine, take it,” I spat, furious as I realized I didn’t have any options left. Turning him down had just cost me an income I couldn’t afford to lose. Maybe I could make it back in whatever deal he was going to throw at me.
He held up a hand. “Oh, I’m going to. You see, I had been willing to pay an excellent price for it. Monthly rent that you so desperately needed. After all, I’m not heartless.”
I couldn’t stop myself from snorting, though I instantly regretted it. I didn’t tell him that I highly doubted the existence of his heart, mostly because I saw the hardening of his eyes. He hadn’t appreciated that little sound.
“I know that adorable little boy of yours isn’t cheap.”
It was the way he said it. With hard eyes and a dangerous tone, the threat laced beneath was clear and present. He was threatening my boy, reminding me he had me by the balls. And I didn’t like it.
Without a thought in my head, I lunged. I threw myself over his desk, reaching for him, but I didn’t make it more than a couple of inches. The big man, Louis, who had been standing at the door, moved like lightning. He caught me around the waist and jerked me back, throwing me harshly into a chair. He didn’t say anything, but he left a large hand planted heavily on my shoulder to keep me from trying anything else.
“I told you not to talk about my son!”
Chambers only smiled at me. “In lieu of the proposal so quickly rejected earlier, here’s the new one. I will use that storage space anyway. And not only am I not going to pay rent, I’m going to charge you protection. Clearly, after the fire, you need it.”
I opened my mouth, but couldn’t find any words. What he was talking about…Pay protection? Between the cost of repairs and the lost income of the convenience store, how was I supposed to find this extra money to pay Chambers, too?
Grasping at straws, I jumped on the only thing I could think of. “You wouldn’t burn down the salon. Not if you’re storing your own stuff there.” It may not have been the best argument I’d ever come up with, but it held water. If he was going to use the storage space anyway, he wouldn’t want to destroy his own goods.
I felt a little better, like I still had a dog in this fight. Until I saw his unperturbed expression.
“Sometimes you have to take a loss. And besides, who says you have to worry about me burning the place down?” When I didn’t answer, he continued, “I have my enemies. It would be easy to throw out a few hints into the ether, little tips to attract the wrong kind of people to your shop. My rivals would love to get their hands on my stash. In fact, that’s half the reason I needed the space in the first place.”
My heart sunk. I was screwed, and this bastard of a man knew it, too.
“So you will need my protection. Because after they torch The Cut, I’d have to punish you for losing not only that precious storage space, but also my very expensive stash. Honey, you’d be ruined in less than a week.”
I slumped in the chair. Louis’s beefy fingers released me, letting me wallow in my situation. It had been a long time since I’d felt this out of control, this utterly helpless. My heart ached in my chest, my breathing like drawing air through a cigarette filter. How had this happened to me?
I did the right thing and I got screwed for it.
My eyes burned as I tried not to cry, but it was all too much. I thought of my pride, of how hard I’d worked towards building it up. After everything that had happened with Cody, after all the mistakes I’d made with his father, and the stupid things I’d tried as a kid…I’d worked hard to come back from it and all of that effort was tied up in those two little businesses. The Cut and that convenience store were my life. Not just the way I made a living, but how I convinced myself I was doing well. That I was setting a good example for my kid.
