Honor

I took a step away from her and smiled at her again. “Either option you pick, I’m taking all that money you’ve been skimming from your boss at the bank, after I let the oh-so-helpful boys in blue know about your sticky fingers.”

She gasped and let her head thunk back against the door. “You can’t do that! I need that money. I’m getting divorced thanks to you and now I have to pay all the fines for the accident. I won’t make it. I’d be better off if you did just kill me.”

I lifted an eyebrow at her dramatic wail. “Suffering the consequences of your own terrible decision making probably feels worse than death, but it isn’t. For once, do something smart and just go.”

She gave me an appraising look and sniffled a little. “Would you really make me disappear?”

I gave her a sharp nod. “I would. I know people in places where no one bothers to look. Where you ended up would feel like a death sentence and every single day you would wish you had made a different choice. You’re annoying and dangerous. I don’t want you around my city or the people in it.”

Her bottom lip moved like she was about to cry, but I didn’t buy the show for one second. I reached for the door and my hand grazed her hip. I saw another plan hatch in her eyes but pulled the door open behind her and moved her out of my way before she could even try to come on to me.

“You have until tomorrow to decide what to do. Don’t bother looking for the stolen money. It’s already gone.” At least it should be if Chuck had passed my message along to Stark before he left the club. Having a computer hacker around was proving to be well worth the investment.

I shut the door behind me as she was sputtering about how there was no way she could leave without money or help. She was also calling me every nasty name in the book.

As I headed back to Chuck’s SUV I thought he would be so proud of me. Sure, I had manipulated and threatened, maybe even used a little bit of force to make my point with the obnoxious woman, but I hadn’t actually hurt her and I gave her an out. It was up to her to take it or leave it. If she didn’t, I would do what had to be done.

That was something a real boy would do . . . well, a real boy who had to keep control of the underground empire that powered this cesspool of a city.

Chapter 13

Keelyn

Things went back to business as usual when Nassir came back from whatever mysterious errand he’d had to run. He returned looking unruffled and as polished as always. He also deflected any and all of my questions about where he’d been and what he’d been up to. He made it very clear where the lines in this fledgling togetherness were going to be drawn. He would give me all of what he had, but if he thought that any of his actions or practices would make me a person of interest to the authorities or put me in some kind of compromising situation, he wasn’t going to utter a peep about them. It annoyed me and frustrated me, but then he reminded me that if I wanted to know about all the things he had done to get to where he was now, I would have to listen to all the stories filled with horror and death from his past.

He also told me that if something happened to him I was the one that was left in charge of the club. The club that provided so many jobs and so much income for the people of my city. I reeled a little that he said this so calmly, like I was the clear choice to take over for him. Me, not Race, not Chuck . . . but me. His partner in so much more than business. His equal in so many ways. I needed to keep my hands clean and head clear, so I agreed to stop pestering about his bad-guy stuff as long as he promised to let me know if shit was really going to hit the fan so I could grab a shovel and get ready to dig. He solemnly agreed and then dragged me out of the city and up into the Hill so he could buy a new car.

I asked him why he didn’t just buy one from Bax. After all, the guy had the sweetest rides around in both the Point and the Hill. Nassir gave me a look out of the corner of his eye and chillingly reminded me that he had been responsible for getting Bax’s girlfriend abducted by a bunch of thugs, even if he had done so at the behest of Bax’s brother in order to set Novak up, and that he had also put Bax in the center of the fight ring with more than one dirty fighter. Bax was only as civil as he had to be and Nassir said he wouldn’t put it past him to put him in a car that either exploded if it went over fifty miles an hour or one that would fall apart as soon as he drove it off the lot so Bax could shake him down for more money. He also tilted his narrow and perfectly sculpted nose in the air and told me when it came to his ride, he wanted refinement and handling more than noise and speed. He wanted something that looked good and made an impression over something that was powerful and annoyingly American. His words, not mine, but they made me laugh under my breath.

Sometimes I forgot he was from somewhere else. Sometimes I forgot that he had an entire history before the Point. Before me. But then he would say something like that or mutter things in a different language when he was distracted and I would remember he was exactly like the vehicles he preferred. Imported. Fast. Showstopping and extravagant. He wanted something that made an impression and I didn’t bother to tell him he could be in a minivan and achieve that. In fact, as soon as he climbed out of the Honda he had a swarm of salesmen all over him, buzzing around like well-dressed bees.

Nassir grabbed my hand and pulled me past them. I could feel their eyes following us, trying to figure out the dynamic between the two of us. I would bet good money that even though my shoes cost a fortune and my outfit was chic and reasonably respectable for our errand, they all still thought I was one of his working girls. Everyone knew Nassir liked money and knew how he made it. While he radiated quiet dominance and authority, I knew that I radiated sex and all the things good girls didn’t talk about when anyone else was around. I also knew that this constantly made people underestimate me.