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“I hope you’re right, Maria, otherwise everything will have been for nothing. I need to go and make a call.” I pick up the folder and head for the office.
After making a call to Mickey and setting up the meet for nine tonight, I make the rounds and call Ripley at The Scarlett Door and then check in at Rogue too. Since the shooting, Rogue’s been quiet and no further sign of any of Laskin’s crew. Based on Laskin calling Maddox out of the blue, I sense a truce—of sorts.
How long it will last is another question and something to worry about some other time.
After sending Maddox away to burn some of his anger away, I’m feeling like I need an outlet too. I leave the office and head for the gym and Maddox. When I get there, he’s not there, and I shoot him a message to let him know about the meet and that the clubs are okay.
After a couple of hours, sweat coating my body and heart racing, I land one last punch to the bag before heading for the shower.
I’m halfway up the stairs when the doorbell chimes. With a sigh, I turn back, expecting it to be one of the guys to have got through the gate… Shit!
Quickly checking the spyhole, I see it’s Bowser. I open the door, but I’m heading for the office before he’s managed to step a foot inside the house.
“Come in, B. I just need to check something.” I’m rounding the desk when he comes into the office.
“What’s going on, man?”
“You got your gate fob?” He fumbles in his pocket and pulls out a small black fob before holding it up to me. “I’m just wondering how the old bill got through the gate without damaging it or triggering the alarm system.” My mind had been occupied by more important things, and I hadn’t even thought about how the cops got in here without us knowing. Now though, I’m thinking they had a helping hand. It will be easy enough to figure out if they used a fob as each one is programmed specifically to that person. The security system logs details every time a person uses it. Dropping down into the seat, I open the laptop on the desk and log in to the feed.
“Mad call you about tonight?”
“Yeah. Said something about meeting Bonner at The Watchtower and playing him at his own game.”
“Something like that, yeah. Here we go,” I say as the screen loads up. I skip back to the right day and fast forward till I see the cop cars pulling up to the gate. Sure enough, the gates open, and they drive right in. “Fuckers.” I navigate to the fob usage and scroll through to the right time and date, clicking on the serial number. When the details load the name of the fob holder is at the top of the screen. “Well, I’ll be damned.”
“What is it?” Bowser comes round the desk and takes in the name on the screen. “Fuck me. There’s got to be a mistake, Zak. He’d never do that.”
“This says otherwise, B.” I run my hands through my hair, then interlock my hands behind my head and rest back in the chair to think. If I tell Maddox about this, he’ll go ape shit, and I need his head in the game for the meet with Bonner. Making a decision that I hope doesn’t bite me on the arse later, I turn to B. “This needs to stay between us for now. But I do need your help.” I explain to Bowser what I want from him, and then he’s gone with a plan to meet us at The Watchtower in time for the meet.
I do a little housekeeping on the fobs before going for a shower and making it back downstairs to a ready and waiting Maddox.
He doesn’t look any calmer than earlier, a frown firmly lining his brow. “You set?” I ask.
“Yes. Where’s Bowser? He was meant to be here an hour ago.”
“Yeah, he called me to say that he’ll meet us there,” I reply casually to avoid further questions and give a nonchalant shrug for emphasis.
“Okay, let’s go then.” He snatches his phone from the counter while mumbling about something.
ChapterEight
Roxy
“Why didn’t you tell me you were coming? I thought we’d agreed you would wait.”
“No, Aiden, I didn’t agree to wait. That’s what you wanted not me. I’ve waited too long already.”
The voices quiet, replaced by the thumping of my head. I’m lying down and shuffle to try and ease the pain at the back of my skull, but all it does is make the pain bloom more.
“This is not how we do things, Star.”
“Well, this is how I do things. I’m fed up of waiting. She’s in danger.”
“Yes, and so are you.”
The voices become too quiet for me to follow the conversation, but I’m suddenly aware of something important that I need to remember. It’s why I’m here—wherever here is. And why my head hurts. Did someone hit me? No, that’s not right. I collapsed…fainted and hit my head. But why did… My eyes snap open, and I quickly close them again as the bright light above almost burns my retinas. Taking a couple of deep breaths and turning my head slowly to the left, so as not to blind myself again, I open my eyes again.
My vision is dotted with black for a second before it clears. And there she is.
