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Chapter 7
Addie
Surprisingly Nate knew a guy who could preserve Little Jimmy’s hand in a glass jar for me. It took me a couple of days to decide where I was going to put it. Since my father told me the dining room was out of the question, which was understandable, I decided to put it in the living room. There was a built-in bookcase that also served as a TV stand. The hand jar rested close enough to the TV so that anyone who looked in that direction couldn’t help but see it.
My father and our housekeeper, Ms. Lovett, weren’t fans of the placement. But no one moved it. I was in the living room when Nate emerged from the hallway. He glanced at the jar and smiled.
“You shocked a lot of people.” Nate nodded toward the hand as he sat on the oversized white leather chair across from the sofa.
“How?” I placed the book that I hadn’t really been reading on the coffee table.
“Well, I mean…no one thought you had it in you.” He leaned forward, folding his hands, propping his elbows on his knees. “Yeah, you grew up in the family and they heard some things about you, but to shoot two guys point blank surprised some people.”
I shrugged. “Did it surprise you?”
He smiled. “No. You forget. I know what you did when you were in college and why you couldn’t finish and had to come home. I had to help my father clean that shit up. I know what you can do, Addie. But these guys aren’t going to believe it unless they see it.”
I nodded, slowly processing what he was telling me.
“I said that now, because you aren’t going to like what we are going to do today.” His eyebrows lifted as he looked into my eyes.
I sighed. “What now?”
Nate chewed on his bottom lip. After hanging out with him over the past few days, I noticed that he only did that when he had to say something he didn’t want to, or when he had to do something that he wasn’t sure about. It was like he was trying to stop certain words from coming out of his mouth.
He took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. “Reggie wants me to show you a new part of the business. Something we only started doing last year.”
“Oh-kay,” I said, dragging out the word.
“You aren’t going to like it and you’re not going to agree with it, but this is part of the business right now and I need you to keep your cool.” Nate sat back, shaking his head. “The men were afraid you’re going to just shoot them like Frank and Matt.”
“Then if they’re afraid, they shouldn’t be in this business.”
He raised his hands. “Now I’m not saying you can’t change things, but you need to be smart about it.”
I nodded slowly, understanding. Basically, Nate knew he was getting ready to take me somewhere he knew was going to piss me off. But I needed to keep my cool, stay levelheaded, and keep an open mind. But I’d never thought of myself as levelheaded. Even though I was nodding in agreement, I wasn’t sure I could do what he was asking.
I nodded, rising to my feet. “Let me get ready and we’ll go.”
Nate nodded, getting to his feet, too. “I’ll be here.”
I had no idea what hornet’s nest I was going to be walking into, but I had to present an aura of power. So, I donned another dress suit with my shoulder holster, made sure my weapon was loaded, slipped on a pair of running heels, and was ready to go.
“Ready?” I asked, slipping the chain of my purse over my shoulder. At this point, I had no idea why I even bothered to carry one, but it was a habit and made me feel like a lady… despite my actions.
He placed his hand on the small of my back and held the door open for me. Outside, he nodded toward my weapon. “If you don’t mind, I think it would be wise to hand that to me before you go inside, along with any other weapon you may have on you.”
“Damn, Nate really?” I headed toward the car, considering. I’d never relinquished my weapon to anyone, and I wasn’t about to now. But thank goodness, my hand-to-hand combat skills were superb, thanks to my father’s insistence on me taking just about every martial arts lesson he could think of.
He opened the passenger door for me and I slid in.
We rode in silence on the way and then stopped outside a gate. A tall, good looking guy outside looked in the car.
Nate motioned toward me. “Of course, you know Adrienne Kingsley. She’s the new Underboss.”
He nodded, smiling as he inclined his head toward me. “Hey, Addie.”
I nodded, returning his smile, knowing I was going to have to start learning everyone’s names.
