He walked to the bed. She jumped out of the bed and glared at him. “What makes you think I’ll even come with you? I’m not a child, Michael. You can’t hold Santa over my head.”
His smile taunted her. “I’m not going to hold Santa over your head. I’m simply going to tell you the truth. You try to put up a fight, and I’ll make sure The Skulls are hit at every angle with the law, the banks, and anyone I can bring to my power to make their life difficult. Killer is a criminal, and I’ll make sure he goes away for a very long time. It’s easier than you realize to get people put away. All it takes is a little nudge and a lot of money, both of which I have.”
The threat was clear. She jerked away from him when he made to kiss her.
“I can wait. It won’t be long before you get used to my touch,” he said.
In the next instance he left the room. Sandy stood outside waiting. She saw the other woman, who looked concerned.
“You may go in. Be warned, this will be the last time you get to see her.”
Sandy charged into the room, shutting the door behind her. “What the hell is going on?”
“He’s posting a guard at my door. I won’t be able to leave without him present. We messed up, Sandy. The moment the doctor signs me off he’s taking me away.”
“You’re an adult, Kels. He can’t do anything against your will,” Sandy said, stroking her hair.
“He can. He’s threatening Killer and all of the club. I can’t let them be hurt because of me.”
“Stop worrying. It’s time someone worried about you for a change rather than the other way around. I’ll talk with the others. Trust me, Kels. You won’t be leaving here with anyone but Killer.” Sandy kissed her head and walked out of the room.
Twenty minutes later a knock sounded at her door. A tall man similar to Killer in height opened the door. “I’m Ben, and I’ll be on your door. I don’t like stupid behavior, so do as you’re told and we’ll get on fine.”
Kelsey hated him on sight. What the hell was she going to do?
****
Zero stared across the parking lot to watch Michael Granito enter an abandoned club on the outskirts of the city. For a reputable businessman he sure looked out of place in the seedy part of town. Zero had been dropped off by Nash, and he was camping out in a worn down car where no one suspected someone to be scoping the place. Killer had stormed into the clubhouse threatening to kill the ass**le.
Tiny refused to give the order of taking a man out until they’d exhausted all of their contacts. Alex had travelled back to Vegas to get more hands on in the search for details.
Taking pictures, Zero was bored with staying outside of the warehouse when he could get closer. His orders were specific, get pictures but don’t get caught. He preferred to live dangerously, but with Tiny’s recent warning, Zero wasn’t in the mood to get the hiding of his life.
Once again Tiny had pulled him aside because of Sophia. He’d also noticed that often when she entered a room and spotted him, she turned around and left. Zero hated what he was doing, but he couldn’t stop it. Most of the time she left him alone, not speaking to him or moving away if he got too close. Shit, he needed to learn to stay away from the other woman. She was going to end up being the cause of him saying bye to life if he wasn’t careful.
A few more pictures were taken. Four men were stood in a circle, smoking, laughing, and cheering as they spoke. He took a swig of his bottled water, waiting for what was going to happen next.
His boredom complete, he flicked open and closed his cell phone, wondering if he should call and check in with Prue. The other woman had been a lifesaver, and he owed her a lot more than the money he sent her way.
Clicking her number into the cell, he paused as the door slammed open. Glancing through the hole in the door he watched one big giant man come out gripping the hair of a young girl. He tensed as the men moved out of the giant’s way.
“No, please, I just want to go home. No, please.” She was thrown to the ground. The big guy withdrew a gun, aimed, and then fired splattering the girl’s brains all over the rubble.
“What the f**k?” one of the men asked.
“She’s a bad investment. No bad investment makes it past the big man.” The giant walked away closing the door behind him.
Heart pounding, Zero wondered what the f**k Kelsey had stumbled into. The girl was a sweet one, and he knew she wouldn’t have done it on purpose, but still, they were all f**king dead if they didn’t deal with this shit-fest.
Three hours later, sweat poured down Zero’s back. The body had been dragged away, the section of blood-coated rubble removed.
There was no color in Michael’s cheeks as he stared down at the ground. Zero frowned. What the f**k was going on?
Once they were all gone, he pulled his cell phone back out of his pocket, dialing the club’s number.
“What do you have for me?” Tiny asked.
“Sir, I’m starting to think we’re in some f**king drama program or novel. You’re not going to believe the shit I’ve just seen.”
Climbing out of the car, he told Tiny everything he saw.
“Shit, Nash is on his way. Come back and inform the others. Shit is about to hit the fan, and I want everyone close when it starts to hit back.”
Closing his cell, Zero stared at the patch the girl had been. She didn’t look a day older than fifteen. He was once reminded of another young girl he’d helped away from men intent on hurting her. Zero had promised her brother he’d take care of her.
He hoped he lived long enough to uphold his part of the bargain.
Chapter Nine
“Fuck, I knew it. I knew the bastard was into something,” Killer said, slamming his palm on the table. Since being kicked out of the hospital he’d been camping outside trying to find a weakness in the f**ker guarding Kelsey’s door. He couldn’t believe Michael had put a guard on her door.
Sandy had already warned them all about what he planned to do with Kelsey when she got the all-clear from the doctor. There was only so much the doctor in control of the final decision could do before he let her go. All the club members were having a meeting with the hope of finding a solution to the problem. At the beginning of the conversation, Killer had had to convince all of the club that he wasn’t angered by Kelsey’s lies. He was more than happy to forgive if she was. The club didn’t like her lies but were willing to move on if he was. The women along with the men were all in the room. The sweet-butts were nowhere to be seen. This was club business, and they didn’t need the sweet-butts for this.