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“He’s an occasional customer. But that’s not why I wanted to sit down. He went to the cops about the spa treatment you gave him, Dexter.”
“Spa treatment?”
He waves my question away with a frustrated huff. “Code, motherfucker. Look where we at.”
“What about it?” Rock asks, ignoring the outburst.
“Well, how the fuck am I supposed to have your back in Ironworks, if I don’t know what you all’s up to?” He jerks the lapels of his suit and then settles into place, sort of like a rooster sorting his ruffled feathers. “Luckily Stan went to one of the cops in my pocket and he brought it to me.”
“He I.D. me?” I ask. “Did he say it was a Lost King?”
“Yeah! Why the fuck you think you’re here?” he shouts.
“All right. They puttin’ out a warrant on me?” I ask. Fuck. I don’t actually care if I get picked up. It’s Vapor I’m worried about. But so far, Loco hasn’t mentioned that he knows there were two of us.
“No. Fuck, no.” Loco slaps the table. “You think I’d let that happen? I made it go away.”
Ahh, I see where this is going.
“Are you shitting me?” Rock growls in a low, furious tone. “You dragged me out here to shake me down?”
Loco touches his chest as if he’s deeply offended. “Dragged?”
“What do you need, Loco?” I ask.
Rock slants a look at me, like he wants me to shut up.
“The wayIsee it,” Wrath rumbles, lazily swiveling from side to side on his stool, “taking care of shit like that is part of our arrangement that allows you to keep runningPussy Townin our territory.”
Jesus Christ. This is getting way out of hand.
“Rock,” I say, trying to humble myself. “This is my fuckup. I didn’t think it would bring heat down on one of our partners.”
Rock’s eye twitches at “partner” but Loco nods and seems less irritated.
“I just like a heads-up,” Loco says. “Help me to help you. That’s all.”
“How much?” I ask.
“Well.” Loco scratches his chin. “It cost me about five K to make this go away.”
Rock glares.
“I’m not asking to be reimbursed.” Loco holds up his hands. “Just forewarned.”
“It won’t happen again,” I say. “He’s a piece of shit who hurt one of my dancers, though. It needed to be done and I only had a short window of time to make the visit.”
“Oh.” Loco sits back. “Well now. That changes everything. I figured it was an MC business spat. But you’s just protectin’ one of your girls?”
“Yes,” I answer. “He sprained her wrist, fucked up her shoulder, and fuck knows what else.”
“How she supposed to ride the pole like that?” Loco asks.
“Exactly,” I say.
“All right then.” The strained atmosphere seems to dial down a notch. “You know how I feel about that shit, Dexter.”
I nod. At least we see eye-to-eye with Loco about something.
