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My rage was icy and intense. My blood froze and it was all I could do to control myself. But it wouldn’t do me any favors to let Dev under my skin. I couldn’t let him cloud my judgment with emotion.
“I guess we’re done here.” I placed my hands on the table and stood. “Good luck explaining to your business associates that you nearly recovered their massive shipment of cocaine, only to let it fall through your fingers.”
His hand lashed out to grab my right wrist and squeeze. I felt the bones crunch underneath his relentless grip. “Want me to give you a matching cast for the this arm, you fuckin’ bitch?”
I didn’t answer, and I didn’t wince even as the pain intensified.
“What’s your angle, darlin’? Because I know you didn’t walk in here with a packet of coke to dangle like a carrot in front of my face. You’re up to something.”
“Damn right I am,” I said mildly. “You mind letting go of me?”
He squeezed it one final time and then released me. “What the fuck is this? Why are you here?”
“You brought the cartel to Waco,” I said. “Let’s pretend I give two shits about that. I don’t. What I do care about is you fucking with me and my livelihood and shooting at women and children in a park.” I cocked my head to the side. “You seem awfully calm for a man who owes millions to the Garcia cartel. You’re still alive, which tells me they don’t know that Richie stole the shipment from you. But the window is closing on how long you can bullshit them. Once they realize what’s going on, you’re fucked.”
“So you have it all figured out, do you?” he murmured. “You don’t know shit.”
“No?” I nodded. “Okay.” I turned to leave.
“You want something. What is it?” Dev demanded.
His words made me pause and slowly turn around to face him. “Richie left Dive Bar to me. I want you and your boys to fuck off, and stay out of it.”
“Dive Bar doesn’t exist anymore. Your man had it burned to the ground.”
“I want to rebuild and reopen it. And Ido notwant the Iron Horsemen attached to it. Clean slate. You will also forfeit your territory on the East side. In exchange, I’ll take you to the warehouse tonight and you can recover your shipment. And hopefully keep your head before Alejandro Garcia removes it.”
I placed my hands on the table and leaned over. “I know who you’re in bed with. I know what they’re capable of doing. Your shipment for my bar and your club stays the fuck out of the East Side of town, that’s the deal.”
“You’ve got to be shitting me,” Dev said with a rusty laugh. “I’m not giving you the East Side. Why don’t I just kill you now and be done with it?”
“Simple. My guys have moved the shipment. I no longer know where it is and won’t find out until I’m safely out of this building and call to confirm you’ve agreed to the deal. Only then do you get an address. You can show up heavy if you don’t trust us. We just want the bar. We don’t want shit to do with the cartels and the bar provides us clean money. Fuck with drug muling if you want, but keep us out of it.
“Besides, I can’t imagine you’re down for what Alejandro will do to you if he finds out you’ve crossed him by involving Richie. He certainly won’t care that Richie is dead. But if you don’t care about yourself, then maybe you care about your club?” I shook my head. “You know they won’t stop at just killing you, right? You know what they do to men who fuck them over. What do you think they do to women of the men who fuck them over?” I cocked my head to the side. “How is Sydney, by the way? She’s a freshman at A&M, isn’t she?”
His jaw tightened but he said nothing, his eyes glittering with suppressed rage. “Why did Colt send his Old Lady to negotiate for him?”
“Kinda hard for him to speak for himself, what with him being in jail and all. And you and I both know, none of the Angels could walk into this club and make it out alive.”
He smiled, but said nothing.
“Once we get outside I’ll get in my ride so my guys know I’m safe. Then I’ll give you the address to the warehouse and then you make a call to get Colt and the others released from jail. We all know who pulled the strings to get them locked up anyway.”
“I don’t trust you not to fuck me over,” he stated.
“That’s the pot calling the kettle black,” I seethed. I reached into my clutch and pulled out a set of keys and tossed them at him. “As soon as I give you the address you can go and see for yourself.”
His eyes gleamed. “Do you think I’m stupid? Do you really think I’m gonna go to an address that I haven’t scoped out yet. It could be a trap. You’re coming with me.”
“As what?” I asked, brows raised.
“Collateral.”
“I’m not going to a storage unit in the middle of the night with you. What’s to stop you from getting your entire shipment back and then putting a bullet in my brain?”
He grinned. “Nothing.”
I stared at him. “You kill me, and you start a war.”
