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“Ah, fuck.” I slammed my hand on the table. “Are you kidding me?”
“Afraid not.” His jaw tightened. “Emmie’s father is a con-artist with a gambling addiction. His name is Philip Jaxon.”
“Why do I know that name?”
“He worked for us for a couple months about a decade ago. I suspected him of stealing, but I couldn’t prove it. I had the guys rough him up a bit and sent him on his way.”
“How much does he owe Myers?”
“With interest, a quarter of a million.”
“They know Emmie can’t repay that.”
Caleb Myers was a high-level loanshark with a mean streak. He often lent money to people he knew wouldn’t be able to repay it so he could take out their debt in other ways. He had a reputation for making those who owed him money do unspeakable things.
“Phillip ran when they turned up the pressure. He’s been missing for months.”
“And now they’re after Emmie.”
“They’re planning to auction her off.” The disgust in Luke’s expression matched the irritation in my gut. “They thought by scaring her, it would draw her father out, but that’s not happening, so she’s left to settle the debt. My guy tells me they’re going to pick her up this week and give her to the highest bidder.”
“I’m not going to let that happen.” My blood boiled when I thought about anyone terrorizing that beautiful girl.
“I figured that,” he said. “I can put her in a safe house until we figure out how to deal with Caleb.”
“I want her here for now.” I glanced up from my mug to find Luke staring at me. “What?”
“You haven’t known her for twelve hours. What’s the infatuation?”
“There’s no infatuation.” That wasn’t entirely true. I couldn’t seem to help myself when it came to her, and that bothered me. “Am I supposed to let her be auctioned off to one of Myers low-life associates?”
“Of course not, but I can place her somewhere safe. We don’t need these complications.”
“She won’t go somewhere else. I had a hard enough time getting her to stay here. Besides, if we steal her from Myers, that will only cause more issues.” I wasn’t ready to let her walk out of my life yet. “Issues we don’t need with Caleb or the cartel.”
I had a close working relationship with some high members of a cartel in South America. They needed my connections and location in the city. The arrangement Luke and I had struck with them years ago turned out to be quite lucrative.They trusted me because I was discreet and never brought attention to them.
“Caleb is a wild card,” Luke reminded me. “So far he’s been staying out of our way when it comes to the cartel’s business, but you know he’s been trying to get on their good side.”
“I’m aware he could cause trouble for us.”
“As long as you’re aware.” He shrugged. “I can’t change your mind, so tell me the plan and I’ll execute it.”
I trusted Luke and always ran my thought process by him when it came to business. We built a profitable partnership over the years.
“Did you find the man with the snake tattoo?” I asked.
“His street name is Cobra.”
“How original.” I rolled my eyes. “Is he Myer’s enforcer?”
“He’s up there in the command chain, and he has eyes on Emmie.”
“He’ll be disappointed.” I stood from the table, not exactly sure of my reasons, but Myers would not be taking out this debt on Emmie. “Breakfast is going to get cold.”
“Tell me what you need, and I’ll get it done.” Luke got up and followed me down the hall. “I have your back.”
“Let me think about our next move.”
