“You can’t keep paying off detectives to look the other way. Eventually, that puts your ass in a sling and by proxy the family,” Dillon warned, his face a mask of control. The only indication he was pissed was the subtle tensing of his jaw. “Maybe it’s time to shut down this little playground of yours until you can figure out who’s been shitting in your sandbox.”
“Screw that,” Vince shot back with a growl. “No one’s forcing our hand. We’re fucking Buchanans. We run this town. No one is going to tell us how to run our operations.”
“It’s too hot,” Dillon disagreed, looking to Nolan for back up. “Maybe it’s time to let the authorities in on this. We could have a bigger problem than bad PR for the club and the family name. What if this sick bastard is a true sociopath? We don’t have the necessary skillset to take down something like that.”
“Says you,” Vince retorted coolly. “I have a gun. Maybe I’ll just shoot the sick freak and drop his body down a mineshaft.”
“Come on,” Nolan exploded, exasperated. “What the hell are you talking about? Killing people? That’s not our thing and never has been. I agree with Dillon, we need to talk to the cops. Let them handle this shit.”
“Do you realize what will happen if cops start sniffing around the club? They’ll do more than shut it down,” Vince argued hotly. “They’d likely arrest us all on a myriad of lovely charges not to mention we’ll likely get sued by every over-privileged pervert on our roster for having their identities revealed in public documents. We promise — no, we guarantee anonymity to our members — if we lose that, we lose more than our reputations, we lose everything.”
As outwardly calm as Dillon was, Nolan was his opposite, fairly vibrating with agitation. “Vince, I have a family. A wife and daughter. I can’t have this kind of scandal.” He gestured to Dillon. “And what about Penny and the baby? They’re going to get dragged down by this, too, if word gets out.”
“Don’t you think I’ve figured that out,” Vince said. “Why do you think I had her brought here and not the hospital? Hospitals have a mandatory reporting system. They would’ve taken one look at her injuries and the next call would have been to the cops.”
“On the surface, it’s good thinking but what are you going to do with her after she’s healed? You can’t keep her indefinitely and you can’t keep her from going to the authorities herself.”
“I’ll pay her off,” Vince answered with a shrug. “Everyone has a price. I’ll find hers and get her to sign a legally binding contract that keeps her quiet.”
Nolan groaned. “Shannon’s not going to like this.”
“So don’t tell her,” Vince said, disgusted at how quickly his brother had become pussy-whipped by his new wife. He slid his gaze over to Dillon. “And that goes for Penny, too. Besides, Penny is about to pop and doesn’t need the stress.”
“Don’t tell me what my wife needs,” Dillon warned and the two shared an electrically charged look that snapped with danger. At one time — seemed like an eternity ago — Dillon hadn’t been the only Buchanan between his wife’s lovely thighs but they weren’t allowed to talk about that now that Dillon had staked his claim permanently.
“Chill, Dillon,” Nolan said, rubbing at his forehead. “The last thing we need is you two jackasses posturing and whipping out your dicks to see whose is bigger. We need a solution — and fast.”
“No comparison. Mine is bigger,” Dillon answered with a shrug. Vince glared, temporarily distracted by the urge to indeed, whip his cock out and show up his older brother but he tamped it down forcibly. Now was not the time. “How bad is the girl’s injuries?” he asked, returning to the issue without a blink.
“The doc said she’s pretty badly bruised, including a bruised kidney, but no broken bones, which was something of a miracle given how hard she was beaten.” Vince stopped, before revealing the doctor had said that she also suffered a few superficial vaginal lacerations that suggested forceful penetration, likely digital. He didn’t know why he held back. Perhaps not with Dillon, but with his twin, Vince had always shared everything. Maybe it was some latent sense of chivalry or the fact that he felt mildly protective of the girl, but either way, he kept the most damaging information private. “She has a black eye and a busted lip but the doc said all her injuries will heal with time.”
“Thank God.” Nolan heaved a sigh of relief but he still looked as panicked as a time traveler who’d just been told they’d been given free passage on the Titanic. “You going to keep her here?”
“Yeah, I figured that was best.”
Dillon agreed. “If you’re determined to go the route you’re on, it’s best to keep the situation, and her, contained. I have a few guys I can put on this who will keep a low profile. Maybe if we giftwrap this fucker to the police they won’t have cause to look too deeply into the case.”
“I don’t like this. Maybe Dillon is right and we should think about shutting down the club. I haven’t told Shannon about the club yet and I’m not looking forward to that conversation.”
Vince stiffened. “And why is that?”
“Because I’m not that guy anymore who revels in the kind of thing that happens at Malvagio and I think it’s time to distance myself from it.”
Vince stared, unable to believe the words falling from his twin’s mouth. They’d built Malvagio together. Now he was acting as if it were diseased. “Well, if that’s the way you feel, then I guess it doesn’t matter how I handle things, then.”
“Of course it matters,” Nolan answered irritably, completely missing the point of the rebuff. “I don’t want anything to come back to bite Shannon or Aubrey and a place like Malvagio isn’t something you keep around when you have a lot to lose.”
“Go home to your little family,” Vince couldn’t help but sneer. “Don’t worry your precious brain about it.”
“What’s your problem?” Nolan asked, offended. “Until you know what it’s like to fear losing the very thing that makes life worth living…don’t fucking diss me.”
Vince shook his head, not interested in having this conversation when he knew it was pointless. He looked to Dillon. “What about you?” he asked. “Is it too hot in the kitchen for you, too.”