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“I know, and I promise I will be on my best behavior from now on.”
“I know you will be, because—no joke—I will lock your ass in a closet if I have to.”
“I believe you.”
“You should.”
“I do,” I agree, trying to fight a smile, but he catches it anyway.
“My man is so fucked,” he mutters, and I run to him and wrap my arms around his back, giving him a squeeze.
“Don’t lock me in the closet. I’m afraid of the dark.”
“Liar,” he grumbles, squeezing me back, letting me know we’re okay. Taking a step back, I look over his shoulder at Pika, who is standing with his arms crossed over his chest and leaning against the wall.
“I’m sorry.”
“You’re safe. It’s all good, but like Zack said, we’ve got no problem locking you two away.”
“You won’t have to do that,” I assure him, and he nods then pulls himself off the wall and leaves the room.
“I’m going to my room for a bit,” Autumn says, and I turn to look at her.
“Sure, I’ll be in the living room if you need me.” I smile, and she nods before heading up the stairs.
Looking back at Zack, I ask, “Wanna watch Born in the Wild?”
“Fuck no.” He shakes his head as his face loses some of its color.
“Well, if you change your mind, I’ll be in the living room.” I grin then head in there, make myself comfortable on the couch, and eventually fall asleep watching a woman give birth to a baby in the woods.
Chapter 12
Sven
Truth
“This isn’t exactly a job you can put an ad out for,” Kai rumbles, and my eyes move through my office and over to him. Since my club is closed down for the time being, we have been meeting up here, leaving the girls at the house with Zack, Pika, and Teo.
“Yeah, but you know as well as I do that someone else is going to step in the second Paulie is no longer a part of the equation,” I reply, sitting back in my chair. “I don’t know shit about the business you’re in, but I do know business, and anytime someone steps out of a possession, there’s always someone there to take over, and I can’t imagine this will be any different.”
“You’re right. Someone else will step in, but I’m not sure our move should be leading someone else into the seat,” Kai says, placing his drink on my desk.
“I didn’t say I agreed with Justin’s idea. I do think we need a way to guarantee we won’t be collateral damage. If that comes in the form of making an alliance with someone else, then I’m all for it.”
“Aedan,” Justin puts in, and I turn to look at him. “Guy is fucked, but he is also not fucking crazy,” he says, referring to the Irish high-ranking drug dealer he’s been working with.
“He’s killed a lot of fucking people.” Kenton frowns.
“He has,” Justin agrees. “Aedan made a name for himself at twenty-three when he took out his boss, that boss being Armando Levy, the biggest drug lord Vegas had ever seen. A man no one—not even the FBI—had the balls to stand up to,” Justin says then looks at Kai. “You know his story. You know he took out Armando because he was kidnapping women, getting them addicted to blow, and then putting them on the tracks.”
“You’re making him sound like a fucking choirboy,” Kenton chides, leaning back in his chair.
“I’m not saying he’s a fucking angel of mercy. I’m saying he has a moral compass, which is more than what Paulie has,” Justin replies, sweeping the room, looking at each of us. “Regardless of what we do, what steps we take, there will be someone who takes over. There is no way to prevent that. The only thing we can do is put someone in that seat who isn’t going to come back for us.”
“You can’t guarantee he won’t, Justin,” Kai mutters, standing from his chair to pace the room.
“I can. He is not a fan of Paulie’s.”
“Why the fuck do we need to be involved in helping him into that seat?” Kenton asks, and Justin looks at him.
“There are four main families in Vegas. Those four families control what happens in this town—who pimps, who sells dope, and who sells guns. Three of those families are tied to Paulie. Only one family is not, and that’s Aedan’s.”
“Justin has a point,” I conclude, and Kai scowls at me. Sitting forward, I put my hands on my desk and lean in. “Listen, I don’t give a fuck who does what in Vegas. The only thing I want is to live a life where I don’t have to look over my shoulder. Searching for some fuckwad who thinks he’s gonna make alliances by taking me out.”
“We all can agree on that.” Kai nods then looks to Justin. “Set up a meeting. Tell him I want to speak with him about business. We won’t mention what’s going on until we get a feel for him.”
“On it,” he mutters, pulling out his phone and stepping out of the office to make the call.
“Were Maggie and Autumn okay?” Kai asks, and I look at Kenton, seeing his expression is the same as mine.
“Autumn said she needed to go to the drug store, so she and Maggie came up with a plan to do that.”
“She could have asked one of the guys to get whatever she needed,” Kai says, and I feel my lips twitch.
“Don’t know much about Myla, but Maggie’s always down for causing chaos. Pretty sure she thrives on driving me crazy.”
“Autumn’s the same. I’m surprised she didn’t hatch an escape plan sooner, actually.” Kenton chuckles.
“Thank god Maxim is teething, Myla’s been locked in our room.” Kai mutters as Justin comes back into the office.
“Meeting’s set, tomorrow at two, he’s meeting us here.”
“Good,” I nod, rubbing my jaw.
“Now we need to talk about Lane,” Justin adds, taking a seat across from me once more.
“He still downstairs?” I ask, and he nods.
“Yep, and I don’t think this will surprise you, but I ran his phone record. He’s been keeping in contact with one of Paulie’s guys.”
“Fuck,” I clip, standing from my chair and turning to the window behind me. Looking down at the club floor, I see that Lane and Aye are sitting at the bar.
“I don’t know what they are talking about when they do talk, but the calls are constant—one a night over the last two months. I also watched the tape again,” he says quietly, and I turn to face him. “In one clip, he acted like he was pushing someone off of Maggie at the bar. That’s when he slipped the substance he used in her drink.”
“It’s taking everything in me not to fucking kill him,” I whisper.
“He’s our in,” Justin says, and I let out a breath.
“He’s going to get us where we need to be with Paulie, so when we take him out, it’s not expected. We are going to use him as a pawn and play him at his own game.
“He’s sleeping down the hall from my woman,” I remind him quietly.
“He can’t make a move without one of us knowing about it.”
“I want this shit done,” I growl. I’m so fucking frustrated by this situation, and knowing my suspicions about Lane are justified, the anger and betrayal I’ve been feeling is choking me.
“I’m not happy that he knows where the women are, Justin,” Kai breaks in, and Justin pulls his eyes off me to look at Kai, who’s still standing with his arms crossed over his chest.
“You have Zack, Pika, and Teo at the house, a security system that rivals the Pentagon’s, and enough guns to start a small war. The girls are safe, and if I thought for one second they weren’t, I would have you move them to Dino’s,” Justin says, holding his gaze.
“How do you know Dino?” Kia asks, raising a brow.
“Been here off and on over the last few months working with Aedan. I know more than I want to,” Justin answers, making me wonder what the fuck he’s been up to and why he’s working with Aedan to begin with. Justin doesn’t do work for just anyone, and I can’t imagine him helping out a drug dealer. That isn’t his style. He wants the world to be
a better place.
“How close are you with Aedan?” Kai asks, studying him.
“Wouldn’t trust him with my lift, but right now, he’s an ally,” he replies immediately, and Kai studies him for a moment more before nodding and taking a step back.
“Let’s head back to the house. Myla’s been with Maxim the last few days without a break,” Kai says, pulling his phone out of his pocket.
“Works for me. I need to make sure Autumn hasn’t escaped out the window, or found a way to talk Myla or Maggie into helping her dig a hole back to Tennessee,” Kenton interjects, standing from his chair as I roll my shoulder and press the palm of my hand into it as I stand.
“You good, man?” Kenton asks, watching me.
“Yeah,” I mutter, dropping my arm to my side.
“If you need to step back, we’ll understand,” Kai assures, and my gaze goes to him.
