“I’m not one to pay for shit I can get handled for free. But if you paid some cop, I want to know how much.”
He smirks and shakes his head. “Don’t always have to pay people. Some of us still do the right thing for our friends without greasing a palm.”
“So, who is it I owe a favor?”
“Me, Cyrus, and his old Navy buddy Tank who works security at Hard Rock.”
“Sometimes, it’s easier to pay one person than owe three.”
“That would cheapen the favor.”
“I don’t do favors.”
He looks down. “We’ll see.”
“Okay, I’ve entertained your need to protect the virtue of your twenty-three-year-old daughter, but you’re overstepping.”
“Me and my brothers don’t overstep; we play whack-a-mole with issues. One pops up, one of us smashes it, and we get excited about the next. That girl thinks she loves you; you’ll have to learn how to deal with it.”
“I’m not sure I like you.”
He starts laughing like I’m joking. I’m not.
“Say that to her once, and you’ll be ejected like a pilot from a bad plane.”
I lift my chin.
He lifts his then pushes off the wall. “Well, it’s been one hell of a time. I’d ask you to join us, but you can’t. Secrets and shit.”
“You say it like it’s an option. I’m keeping secrets for her safety and for my daughter’s future.”
“You got a custody lawyer?”
“I have custody of my daughter. Legal custody. Uncontested.”
He looks back at me. “You might want to lawyer up, son. If she’s as bad as you make her out to be, she’ll try to fuck shit up.”
Did he just call me son?
“My bad.”
I’m saying shit out loud to him now? What the fuck!
He opens the door.
“Hey.”
He turns back.
“You make damn sure she’s safe.”
“You backing out now?”
I narrow my eyes. “Not a fucking chance.”
He purses his lips, and then his eyes smile. How do I know? She has the same eyes, just a different color.
I got your tell, Poppa Steel. I got your tell.
I grab my phone out of my pocket and send her a text.
Me: Have a good time with your family. See you in the morning. And hey, I like you a lot. ~ Tags
Bella: I’m not sleeping alone. I’ll text after I’ve tucked the ‘rents in for the night. And hey, I know. ~ B.S.
I’d love to close my eyes and take a power nap, but adrenaline is coursing through my body like never before. So, I decide to hit the hotel gym.
After two hours, my body is exhausted, and because of the endorphins floating around in there, my head’s in a better place.
Inside the elevator, I order room service, needing to fuel the bod in order to fuck her the way she likes to be fucked. Or maybe try to make love to her. Always thought there was a difference. I fucked her to own her, but she fucked me right back.
Stepping off the elevator, I walk down the hall, looking at my phone. When I see shoes of the very expensive sort, I look up.
“Do you have a minute?”
It’s David.
I nod. “Sure.”
“You mind if we talk inside? I don’t need the entire floor knowing I stopped by.”
I slide my key over the sensor then open the door. “Come on in.”
As soon as the door shuts, he pulls a file out of the inside of his jacket and tosses it onto the bed.
“What’s that?”
“Four and a half years’ worth of my daughter’s life.”
My fists clench at my sides.
He unbuttons his coat, takes it off, slings it over the back of the desk chair, and then sits. Pointing to it, he says, “Go ahead. See for yourself.”
“Don’t need to see shit. What do you want?”
“Same thing I’ve been asking myself about you for the past few months.” He leans back and crosses one leg over the other. “Why is a lowlife PI looking into my daughter and myself?”
“Digs is a good man.”
“You pay for what you get, I suppose.”
My blood starts pumping harder. “Good isn’t bought and paid for and bad isn’t born; it’s created.”
“So Mara’s shortcomings are because of me?” He points to himself.
“I’m not pointing fingers, just connecting dots.”
“You hire a man like Digger, with a low budget to work with, and the surface is scratched. With money, you can buy more information.”
“Good to know, but I’m having a hard time trying to open my mind up to your lesson when I have yet to figure out your intentions.”
“I’m giving you ten thousand dollars’ worth of information for free, yet you don’t seem to even want to look.”
“Don’t remember wanting ten thousand dollars’ worth of shit from you, so why don’t you just let me know what you really want?”
“I want a sick little girl to be healthy.”
“Luna is none of your concern.”
“I’m talking about Mara. There’re things you should know about her, and then maybe could walk away from the game you’re playing with her so she can focus on healing.”
“I’m not playing a fucking game. I just wanted to find the woman I married—at her insistence—and then bailed so I can move the fuck on with my life.”
He leans forward. “You sure that’s it?”
“Do I look like I have shit to lose from lying?”
“I’m sure that may have been how it started, but once you found out she was wealthy, you made some moves that are telling me otherwise. Like coming here.”
“So I could get her served and win this little contest so I can give back to the woman who took us in.”
“I just left her room. She’s been served. So, why are you still here, if not for money?”
“I don’t take what I don’t earn. I’ll win your contest, because I’m the best artist you have.”
The fucker shakes his head and looks at me like I’m some pathetic lowlife.
“She didn’t want the baby.”
Pissed at how he references the sole reason I’ve become who I am, I slam back. “And I never wanted yours.”
“I’m aware of the events of the night she was conceived. I didn’t even have to pay for that information. The question still remains: what do you want from her?”
“I want nothing but a promise that this is over and that she’s not going to ever try to fuck up the masterpiece I’ve created for my daughter about how she became.”
“Care to share that information?”
A knock on the door has my stomach immediately in knots. He doesn’t know about Bella, and he can’t.
“Open the fucking door, Tags!”
“Jesus Christ.” David sighs as he stands.
“Right fucking now!”
David whips the door open.
“What the fuck are you doing here?”
“The question is: what are you doing here?”
“Oh, please, David.” She pushes past him. “I’ve been cheeking pills since Mom died and you started drugging me.”