“Fuck me,” I say breathlessly. I kiss Wren on her cheek and smile at her before I lock eyes with Keir. “Look after my daughter.”
“Our daughter,” he corrects.
“Yeah, yeah…” I brush him off and walk to Roberto, smiling.
“Let’s go make some money.”
Probably I should have asked more questions, did more research, and that was a stupid mistake.
However, no matter what I had to win this argument.
Women are just as powerful as men, and our daughter will be too. Of that I have no doubt.
Seeing me wiping my mouth with my hand, Roberto offers me a handkerchief to finish the job. I take it and stand straight, shoulders back. I threw up, and I’m sure they all heard it, but I’m appreciative none of them have commented.
The funniest part? The guy whose finger just got chopped off seems more concerned for me than himself.
“He said he’ll pay,” I tell Roberto, waving the handkerchief at the man in question.
“He’s been saying that for months. The boss extended his time and today is the due date.”
“You can take what I have,” the guy moans, the agony on his face palpable.
I’m with Roberto and two other men—Keir’s men who do the dirty work.
“It’s not enough. We opened your register.”
The guy huffs as he shivers from looking down at where his finger is now located on the floor. “I have a safe.”
“Where is it?” Roberto looks surprised. “You never told us this before.”
“Because you’re monsters,” the guy with the missing finger replies through gritted teeth.
“Well, mister, it was you who made a deal with the monsters, right?” I state not needing a reply.
He bares his teeth at me as the two men—let’s call them Ren and Stimpy—start throwing things around this man’s store.
“I didn’t have a choice!” he screams. “We never do.”
“You always have a choice,” Roberto answers. “You just chose wrongly.” He smiles, showing his teeth.
One of the guys finds the safe, and within minutes has it open.
Wow, that’s a cool trick.
“Jimmy can crack anything,” Roberto says, answering the look of awe on my face.
And he has a name!
“He’s a cousin of Keir’s,” he points out. “But Francis…” he points to the other dude who’s now pulling a huge amount of bills from the safe, “… he’s Paige’s cousin.”
Of course, he is. That would explain why he didn’t want to listen to anything I said earlier and would only listen when Roberto barked an order.
“You guys are close with their family,” I ask him.
“Yes,” he answers categorically, then looks back to the owner of the shop.
“Pete, we’ll be back next week, and payment will be made. Or… you lose the hand. Understand?” I say while taping the barrel of my gun against his temple while bending down so we’re face to face. Pete’s wide eyes swing to me, then back to Roberto.
“You just took all of my money.”
Roberto taps his shoulder. “I’m sure you can make more.” He walks off, smiling.
I look directly at Pete. “You should probably listen. I mean… I think they weren’t as mean today because he isn’t here.” I give the word ‘he’ extra annunciation, then shrug and walk off after Roberto.
“Where to now?” I ask.
“The club.”
“Which one?” Roberto eyes me as he holds open the door.
“Oh, that one.” He nods as I get in. I haven’t been there since the night Dillan was shot. And if I am being perfectly honest here, I’m not sure I’m ready to go back, but I can’t back out now.
Jimmy and Francis sit silently as we drive.
I check my phone to see if Wren is okay, but Keir hasn’t messaged me, so I call him and he answers straight away. “How are we doing today, boss lady?”
I roll my eyes at his words. “How is Wren?” I ask, ignoring his question.
“After you tell me how you are.”
“I’m fine. Now, how is she?”
“She, as you put it, is fine.”
Out of the corner of my eye, Roberto’s watching me so I turn to him. “Have you been telling Keir how my day is going?”
Keir laughs through the phone.
“Yes. He asked.”
“How many times?” I ask Roberto.
“Four… so far.”
“Now, if only he cared this much for people like he does his business,” I sass, knowing he can hear me. “Next time, ask me, asshole.” I hang up the phone and turn in my seat to look straight ahead.
“If I may…” Roberto says.
“You may not,” I snap, not caring what he’s about to say, as we come to a stop out front of the alleyway that leads to the club. It’s also the alleyway where Dillan lost his life.
I hate that he’s no longer here.
Yes, I may not love him anymore, or possibly never truly did love him, but a part of me believed in him, even if he didn’t believe in us.
Roberto and the other two men exit the car, leaving me alone inside for a moment. I eventually slide out and walk to the door where they’re all waiting. They’ve been pretty good all morning because I haven’t gotten in the way, but I can tell Francis doesn’t seem too impressed that I’m here or that he has to wait for me.
As soon as we enter, I walk down the stairs to find someone I did not expect to.
Paige.
Her long, dark hair is slick and straight, and her dress hugs her body as she sits there talking to someone. When her eyes find mine, she offers me a smile that I know is fake. Just as she is. Two men are chatting not far away from her, not concerned that she’s here or that we are.
“What are you doing here?” Roberto asks, his eyes flicking to Paige, then her men. If I remember correctly, one is her brother.
“I had plans to meet Keir. Did he forget already?” She lifts her hand, and that’s when I see it, a large diamond on her finger. She makes sure it shines bright for all to see as she moves her hand around in the artificial light. I try to give her no reaction because that’s what she wants. But seeing that ring, looking at it with my own two eyes, I’m not going to lie and say it doesn’t hurt. A lot!
“You knew he wasn’t working today.”
“Oh, yes, that’s right… he let her play boss.” She pushes her long hair over her shoulder in some sort of sexy gesture which just comes off as her being a cunt. “Didn’t, like… your husband die here or something?” she questions.
Ignore, ignore, ignore…
… brush that shit aside.
The bar owner watches us from his perch on a nearby stool.
“Can’t believe you came back. How desperate are you, even after he chose me over you?” She chuckles, and again, I say nothing.
Ignore…
… shrug that bullshit off.
“Jake.” Roberto steps forward and shakes the hand of the club owner. The owner speaks quietly to him and pulls out a large bag of money. Roberto mentioned they offer protection here, and the owner pays handsomely to have Keir’s name associated with this club.