“I said, don’t worry about it. I have it all planned. We’ll have a great time. Now, call me as soon as you get home so I know you’re safe,” Ryker said a second before placing a quick kiss on her lips.
“Okay, I’ll see you on Thursday.” Kenzie took the steps down to the driveway and turned around. Ryker was watching her. “Thanks for the most fun night I’ve had in forever.”
“Thank you for reminding me of who I am underneath the suit.”
That gave Kenzie an extra bounce to her step as she walked to her car. The feelings she had, besides the pent-up sexual frustration, were like a bubble of excitement. She knew, with every cell of her being, that this was special. The desire to impress her classmates was gone. They didn’t matter. Only what she and Ryker were developing did because it had the potential to change her life forever.
11
“I said it wasn’t me,” Joseph “Little Joey” Palmero said as if he were a teenager in trouble at the principal’s office. He was slouched in Ryker’s chair, showing zero respect for him or the situation he had been summoned to talk about.
Thwack
Mary Alice’s yardstick slammed down onto Little Joey’s knuckles.
“You fuc—”
Thwack
“Ow!” Little Joey yelled as he leapt from the chair.
“You will be respectful in this office, young man, or I will tan your hide,” Mary Alice said even as Joey stared down at her with disgust. He could snap her in half, but Mary Alice didn’t back down. She glared at him until his cousin Nico yanked him back into the chair.
“She’s a nun,” Nico hissed to Little Joey, who just rolled his eyes as Mary Alice harrumphed at his bad manners.
“Joey, I don’t think I can believe a man who can’t respect his elders,” Ryker told him.
Joey grabbed his crotch. “Respect this.”
Thwack
Joey leapt from the chair, clutching his balls. Ryker and Nico crossed their legs reflexively. Mary Alice grinned.
“You’d better talk to your cousin or I will talk to your grandfather. And you know what that means,” Ryker said to Nico.
“Don’t talk about me as if I’m not here. You can’t say shit to my grandfather. He’ll have you whacked if I don’t first,” Joey threatened.
“Whacked? Jesus,” Nico shot a glance to Mary Alice. “Sorry, ma’am. Geez, Joey, you’re an idiot.”
Joey looked ready to go nuclear. “Get out of my office, Joey. It’s clear you’re not a man I can do business with.”
Mary Alice advanced on him and Joey slithered from the room.
“I’m sorry about him. Everything has been handed to him in life and he’s a spoiled brat,” Nico said with a sigh.
Ryker didn’t say anything because it was true. Joey was a spoiled brat who probably hired someone to hurt Ryker’s business.
“I’ve talked to Di Maio. He swears it’s not him. Joey swears it’s not him. The trouble is I don’t believe either of them. You know what that means?” Ryker asked as he leaned back in his chair. “I’m about to go over all of your heads and take this matter straight to the bosses. That won’t end well for you.”
He didn’t mention that as soon as this meeting was over, he was going to make Joey’s life a living hell. The house he’d rented would be gone by the end of the week and his cars were about to be towed. Just like Fat Joey had learned the hard way, the money was about to be frozen. Let Little Joey call his grandfather and explain why he was out of money.
Nico reached for his briefcase and pulled out a thick packet of papers. “I have a mentor who looked these over last month and said I was doing well. I know it’s a lot to ask, but my grandfather taught me to always learn from the best. Something seems off on this month’s reports, but I can’t put a finger on it. Before you destroy my family because of my spoiled cousin, can you tell me what I did wrong?”
People rarely impressed Ryker, but Nico was starting to do just that. He also knew it was Sebastian who had looked over it and was further impressed that Nico didn’t name-drop. Ryker reached across his desk and flipped through page upon page of financials and port records. “You’re losing money on inland transport. They’re overcharging you. Also, someone is stealing cargo from you. Looks like two shipping containers this past month. You’re keeping good records at the dock, but then you’re slipping on inland transport. I’d start by questioning that company and their drivers.”
Nico cursed under his breath and then his eyes shot to the door as if Mary Alice would suddenly appear with her yardstick.
Ryker looked back down at the paperwork. “You’ve done it, though. You’ve gone legit.”
“I know. And I’m turning a profit.”
Ryker looked up at the man. “I won’t bullshit you. I know that bomb has to have ties back to the mob. I’ll take everyone down, including you, in my search for who planted it. Don’t make me do that. Give me credible information on who bombed me and who tried to shoot me off the road. Then I’ll let you stay in Charleston.”
“Shot you?”
Ryker saw genuine surprise. “I handled it. Let me know if anyone suddenly has a dead henchman.”
“I shouldn’t be surprised, but I am. I had wondered if you were all talk, but clearly you’re not. I’ll try to get my cousin under control. If I can’t, I’ll call my grandfather myself.”
Nico stood and Ryker shook his hand before Nico left.
Ryker sat back down and Mary Alice came in with two tumblers of bourbon. “We deserve this after putting up with that little shit.”
Ryker burst out laughing, which made Mary Alice jump backward in surprise. She set the bourbon down and crossed herself. “It’s a miracle! You laughed.”
Had he really gotten that bad? Ryker thought about how much he laughed the night before with Kenzie. It felt good, and he didn’t want to tuck that happiness back into the depths of his soul, even though he still felt as if he didn’t deserve to be happy.
“I have my very own angel,” Ryker said as he clinked his glass to Mary Alice’s.
“Then if I were you, I would lock that down with marriage vows so fast her head would spin. I knew Kenzie was a good one.”
Ryker smiled as he took a sip. Marriage didn’t sound so bad when it was to Kenzie, and he hadn’t even slept with her yet. He had it bad. Of course, he already knew that. That was why he was taking his time with her. He wanted to form a deeper connection before he made love to her, because that’s what he really wanted to do. He didn’t want to have sex with her. He wanted more.
His private line rang and Mary Alice tossed back the last of her drink. “I’ll let you get back to work.”
“Yes?” Ryker asked, answering the phone only a few had the number to.
“Hey, so we tracked the person who hired the hacker,” Kale said without any pretense.
“You know who it is?” Ryker asked as he set down his drink.
“We couldn’t trace the digital currency, but we did trace where the contact came from. Ryker, it came from your port office. Computer number B-17,” Kale told him as he rattled off the time and date of the dark web communications.