Havoc

Chapter 4

Grim

Her scent found its way into my dream, and one minute I was pointing a gun at a Stripe Back and the next he pointed one at Kenna. Everything inside of me hurt when the bullet drove through her chest.

My eyes opened, and I slid a hand under my pillow to check for my handgun. I blinked a few times and brushed the odd feeling aside.

Kenna was on her side facing me, her breaths even and deep. Her face looked stressed even in sleep, and I could only imagine what went through her mind when she rested. The brain was a tricky tool when not exercised correctly.

I studied her nose, her lips, her jawbone, her neck, and now I kicked myself that I’d given her something to wear. I just couldn’t stand seeing her in Dale’s old shirt. At least I’d given her a shirt with thin fabric so I could study the outline of her breasts. Kenna Lodge was gorgeous and fed my sexual appetite in just the right way. She was rare. She was dangerous. And she had just what I needed right now. I knew I had to be careful. Her warm hand brushed mine, and I felt myself respond. There was no way to hide how turned on I was that she was in my bed.

I ripped my gaze away and focused on the ceiling to control myself. It wasn’t easy, but I wasn’t totally insensitive. It was obvious she needed sleep, and I wasn’t about to be the one who woke her. Even if everything inside of me begged me to take her. This was new territory for me.

I’d never had a woman spend the night unless sex was involved, and if I woke in the middle of the night, I sent them packing. I didn’t like people in my space. I guessed that was where the boys got it.

Zhar sensed I was awake and lifted his head, and his eyes glowed in the red lighting along the base of the wall. A moment later, he let out a low whine, and I strained to hear what he’d tuned in to. I’d locked the elevator and wasn’t concerned, as I was on the top floor and there was zero way anyone could break in through the elevator doors. They only opened if you had the right card.

“No!” Kenna shot straight up in bed, and both dogs leapt to their feet. She sucked in a breath.

I gave a command for the boys to stand down. They listened, but both kept their eyes on her. Kenna looked around then slowly turned to see me awake. It was dark, but I could sense her fear.

“Sorry,” she whispered as she rubbed her head like it hurt.

“I was awake, anyway.” I turned the low lighting up a bit so she could take in her surroundings.

“Maybe it’s best if I go.”

“No.” I yawned uninterested in the idea.

“And if I wanted to?” She raised her chin, and I saw a tiny spark in her eye. I missed that spark.

“I’d chain you to the bed.”

“Right.” I reached over and pulled a chain from the bedpost and let the cuff dangle from it. “Why does that bring me comfort?” She rubbed her arms uneasily, and I could tell it wasn’t from the idea of being bound but from what was weighing on her. She slowly lowered herself to the pillow.

“Reach out and feel the back of the nightstand.” I felt her reach over, and when she did, I rolled over and put my hand over hers. “Feel that buckle?”

“Yeah.” Her glossy eyes blinked up at me. I could see the nightmare still cling to her mind.

“Unsnap, pull down, and it’s ready to fire.” She nodded. I moved her hand up and under the headboard. “That’s a Talon knife, sharp as hell. Just pull forward and it will release.” She nodded again, and I stared down at her worried expression. “You’re safe.”

“Okay.” She nodded a bunch of times, then I ran my hand down her extended arm, across her collarbone, and up her neck. I brushed her jawbone, and her gaze dropped to my lips. I pushed my interest into her hip.

I leaned down and caught her mouth with mine. It was a slow kiss, just lips at first, then my tongue danced with hers. Her hand moved up my side and into my hair while my hand was under her chin gently holding her in place. It felt different. She tasted just as she smelled, fresh but fruity, and it was fucking with my head. My normal instinct was to ravish, to consume, flood her body with pleasure and take whatever I wanted at the same time. But I felt an unusual need to be careful. Her body still needed time to heal, and her head was in a bad place. I couldn’t shake the feeling of being split down the center. I pulled back and studied her. Her confusion on what just happened mirrored my own.

“You should sleep,” I said quietly.

“Yeah, I guess we should.” She waited for me to roll back, then she pulled the covers up to her chin. When my head hit the pillow, I came nose to nose with Leal.

“Jesus!” I mouthed then glared at him. He stared just as hard back. I swore he cocked a brow at me. I wondered what went through his brain in that moment. “Go.” I pointed. He waited for a beat then did what he was told. His typical huff as he plunked back down in his bed was louder than usual.

We lay in silence. I heard Leal growl at Zhar. Leal hated it when Zhar touched his feet. I chewed on the inside of my cheek as I mulled over this odd situation. After a bit, I felt her body relax and her breaths came slowly. She’d fallen asleep. I forced myself to block out what had just happened between us. I didn’t like things I couldn’t explain, and I sure as hell couldn’t explain that. I needed control of my life. Fuck this. I got out of bed.

My phone lit up in my hand, and I read the screen.

Trigger: We need to talk. Meet me at the diner.

Grim: Give me fifteen.

I showered and changed, and as I entered the elevator, I called the boys. We made our way down to the lobby. They were well trained and didn’t need a leash when they were with me. They only used them when they were with Jesse or their dog walker, Darcy.

I’m sure we looked intimating to most, a fully tattooed businessman with two knee-high Doberman pinschers. My dogs watched and listened for things I couldn’t, and I liked having them with me as much as I could.

I let the dogs take the lead as I walked toward where Trigger said we should meet. His expression might look the same as usual to other people but to me, I knew something bad was up. The boys looked back at me, and I told them to sit.

“How bad is it?”

“Bad enough.”

“Hey.” Brick’s voice came from behind me. He must have followed me out of the hotel. “Trig, I heard you met with Simon? Did he find out anything on…?” Brick rarely spoke about his brother, but we all knew he would move mountains to spend even one day with him.

“Last known address.” Trigger handed him a piece of paper. “Call Lu. He’ll do a drive-by for you.”

“Yeah, okay.” He looked at us. “Everything okay?”

“No,” Trigger drawled, “but go do your thing.”

“Okay.” He didn’t ask anything else; he just held up the paper and left.

“Let’s walk.” Trigger pointed with his chin.

We headed out to the Strip toward Secrets. I needed to check on the progress of the kitchen, and the boys needed the walk.

“They know Luis is dead,” he drawled.

“That’s impossible.” I kept my head straight. No need to give anyone following us a reason to watch. “We covered all our bases on that one.”

“They fuckin’ know he was dead a month before Castillo went down.”

“Shit.”

“They got proof the DR were there.”

“What kind of proof?”

“A photo, maybe more.”

Fuck, this was bad.

“Okay, you guys were there. That doesn’t mean you know anything.” Trigger gave me a look, and I knew he was right. Trigger knew everything.

“Same city in Mexico as you were in and a rival drug lord of yours. It won’t take ’em long to put two and two together. It was either you or me.”

We went into Secrets in silence. It was coming together much faster than I’d hoped. Tupot, the owner of the construction company, finally got his act together after our persuasion tactics in the desert. Now his men worked twenty-four-seven.

As we approached the bar, the workmen scattered after one look at Leal and Zhar. Once we were totally alone, he took a seat, and I walked over to the bar and poured us a coffee from a big stainless coffeemaker.

“How’s Kenna?” Trigger sipped the drink I handed him.

“Struggling.” I shrugged. “She shared with me some of what really happened.”

“Oh?”

“Someone’s blackmailing her into spying on my family and yours.” I gave Trigger a wry look as he absorbed that information.

“Huh.” He stroked his chin, deep in thought.

“It explains why she’s been avoiding everyone. Even skipped a mandatory meeting.”

“Do you trust her?” His question caught me off guard.

“Do you?”

“I don’t judge based on havin’ a shit father.” Trigger still carried his heavy past. “When Minnie brought her around, I was skeptical, so I tested her, and she’s loyal as hell to us. Morgan and her are tight. He’s a good judge of people.”

“Agreed.” I thought about how scared she was last night. She even risked the dogs to talk to me.

“You never answered my question.”

“I know,” I huffed then shook my head and went with the truth. “I do trust her.”

“Good.” He seemed pleased by that. “The fuck are they blackmailing her with?”

“Minnie knows.” I shrugged. “Whatever the fuck it is, she won’t share it with anyone else.”

“We could take her to my slaughter room.” Trigger chuckled, and I joined in.

“Tempting.” I rubbed my head. “How bad could it be? Can’t be half as bad as the shit we’ve done.”

“My favorite was Tampa two years ago.” Trigger smirked.

“It’s amazing how quickly someone can swim when they’re floating with chum in shark infested water.”

“I was referrin’ to when we drag raced the owners of that night club on the Formula One track.”

“Bodies and asphalt are a delightful combo. Those were some good times.” I laughed.

“Fuckin’ right. So,” Trigger leaned back, and his cut flexed against the chair, “we got two shit situations on our hands. What to do?” I looked pointedly at my mug.

“Switch to whiskey?” We both grinned.

Later that afternoon, after Trigger left and Jesse arrived with some of my security, I got a bit of paperwork out of the way. I liked the quiet of my new office and was glad it was almost finished. While I sifted through some emails, one caught my eye. It was from one of my contacts in Mexico. Jerry Cano was a mafia drug lord in Rosarito. I stayed with him from time to time, posing as his daughter Talya’s boyfriend. We had a good thing going, Talya and I. We even had Martin Castillo fooled. Jerry was the one who asked me to do him the favor of killing Castillo. I clicked on the email and scanned it.

Grim,

Since you left without notice, things haven’t gone to plan. I understand and respect why you had to leave, but I need you back to help us continue our original plan. – Jerry.

I cursed and quickly called him. On the second ring, he answered, and I could already feel the tension in his voice.

“I guess you got my email?”

“I did.”

“Things are bad, Grim.” He paused, and I heard a door click shut on his end. “We weren’t able to step into Castillo’s position and merge our businesses. Someone was ready for it, and now we’re at war for territory. There’s a new player.”

“Who?”

“I’m not sure yet, but I thought you might be interested in who the middleman is.”

“I’m listening.”

“That Italian guy.”

“Who?” My mind raced with who the hell that could be. The only Italian that came to mind was my friend Elio Capri, but I knew it wouldn’t be him.

“You know, Rosa Coppola’s right-hand man, Tieri.” Rosa Coppola was one of the last remaining heirs to the Rome syndicate, and Tieri was someone who had a lot of information about Elio. He was a threat not easily dismissed.

I blinked a few times while I absorbed the information. Rosa Coppola… The last I heard of her guy Tieri, he was in Canada.

“What proof do you have?” I felt my phone vibrate and pulled it away to see Jerry had texted me. A bunch of photos popped up. I clicked on the first one and saw Tieri having dinner with a man I knew all too well. I swiped through the others. All were of Tieri with family members of those we’d killed when we took out Martin Castillo’s empire several months ago.

“Shit.”

“So, you can imagine my concern when I recently got these photos, then add in that my business partner up and left for America without so much as a warning. I’m not a happy man.”

“You know why I left. I won’t explain a second time, Jerry.” I tried to curb my temper. I’d been honest with him about my father once I found out he was sick.

“I’m sympathetic as to why you left, Grim. I am. You know me, I appreciate the importance of family. Where my concern lies is in how hard it’s been to reach you.”

“I have a lot going on here.”

“As do I here, and I try not to point out that we still have eight months left on our contract. Your role was important here, Grim. We were building an invisible empire right under his nose. We waited until the time was right, we made our move, then you left. Now things are falling apart, and I need you. No one can see things the way you can.”

I rubbed my face. I certainly didn’t need this right now, but I had to admit he was right in everything he said. “I’ve been knee deep in shit here. Our contract was to move the drugs from you to Vegas. You make top dollar on all our deals. Yes, it benefits us both, but I stepped in and helped you out when you needed it, and also dealt with Castillo as a favor to your family. But let me remind you, I don’t work for you. My business is here.”

“You left us vulnerable, Grim. I thought you’d see this all the way through until we were on top.”

“And I had every intention of doing that, but my family takes precedence over everything. That being said, I know Elio Capri will be very interested to hear Tieri is back. Let me make some calls and see what I can do.”

“I’d appreciate that,” he huffed.

“Leo will be there soon. He’ll fill in for me.”

“Right.” Sarcasm dripped from his voice, but I chose to ignore his rudeness.

I knew what they’d sacrificed in order to make their plan happen, but it wasn’t on me to fix. It was their show, and I’d helped in whatever way I could. I also knew I needed their drugs to keep my clients happy.

“I’ll be in touch.” I hung up and thumbed over to Elio’s name.

The foreman knocked on my door, and I held up a hand for him to hold on. He stepped back, but I could see his shadow under the door. It must be important.

“And to what do I owe the pleasure of hearing from you, Mr. Gates?” Elio’s thick accent purred over the phone.

“I’m going to jump right into this, Elio. Are you still in Los Angeles?”

“I am.” His voice sharpened as he took in my tone.

“Call your pilot, because Tieri’s in Rosarito, and he looks to be planning some kind of retaliation for what we did.”

Silence.

“Send me what you have.”

“Already have. Keep me in the know. Jerry’s losing it over there.”

“Grazie. I’ll look into it.” He hung up.

“Jesse, I need to get back to Indulge.” I grabbed my things and called for the dogs to follow us to the elevator. The foreman seemed to have disappeared. Once we were on the lobby floor and the doors parted, I was faced with the last fucking person I wanted to see in my new hotel or anywhere else.

“Grim! It’s been a minute.” Sonny Conti gave me a big fake smile. “I’ve got someone I’d like you to meet. This is a friend of Cameron’s.”

Who the fuck allowed them in here?

Jesse moved with me as I stepped out, and I heard the doors close behind us. He tensed with his hand on his gun, and the dogs were ready. I knew any of them just needed my command. It was tempting.I looked at my security team hovering uncertainly near the entrance.

“Sasha Landry.” The man held out his hand. “Nice to meet you, Mr. Gates. Cameron was just telling me you’re looking for a chef for your new hotel.”

I didn’t offer him my hand. “You don’t look like you cook, Mr. Landry.”

“Ha! Me, no, no. My cousin just left his job in Paris and is looking to relocate here in Vegas. Sonny overheard and offered for me to tour your new hotel, take some pictures, and send them to him.”

“Did he, now?” I glared at Sonny, who had zero fucking business telling him he could do that. “Well, just now, I have somewhere to be. If you don’t mind, we’re still under construction.” I pointed at the entrance then snapped my fingers, and the dogs moved closer to my legs. I hit the screen to lock the elevator doors. Not that anyone could get off on my office floor, but I felt it made a point. “If you leave your information with my men, I’ll be in touch.”

“Ah, sure.” He stepped back as Sonny pushed by him and made a move to go around the dogs.

“Do say hello to Kenna for me.” He laughed, and I whirled around so fast Leal let out a loud snarl. “Easy there, Grim. We’re just due for another dinner. She is, after all, my hostess, and I do love that she’ll do anything for her clients.”

“She’s not your hostess,” I corrected him, “as I’m sure you remember the conversation my father had with your father, Victor. Ms. Lodge has a number of clients, and although she brought you to us, she can’t personally handle every one of them.”

“We’ll see about that.”

Jesse put a hand on the back of my shoulder and spoke quietly. “You’re only putting a target on her back. Sonny didn’t give a shit about Kenna until you stepped in. The guys’ll watch them.”

The urge to rip through that asshole’s chest and snap his rib bones made my fingers itch. I spun around and walked toward the doors. Jesse was right; he was just baiting me.

Jesse went to speak to the security team, as he knew I was furious and might fire the whole lot of them.

“Sonny told them they had permission to come look. They won’t fall for that again.”

We drove back to Indulge in silence. I stared out the window and thought about what Trigger had told me, what Kenna shared last night, how I needed to deal with Jerry in Mexico. Sonny hovering around added fuel to the fire.

“You okay, boss?” Jesse pulled me from my thoughts. I nodded slowly, the need to break things building. “Elio’s plane just took off. He said he’ll touch base once he’s in Mexico. He should be here within the hour.”

“Good.” My mind slipped away.

“Winner, winner, winner!” The announcer tossed my hand in the air, and I heaved to catch my breath. My opponent, who’d taken seven and half minutes to bring down, lay in a blood pool on the mat. “Ladies and gentlemen, the winner of the Lost Lives Tournament iiissss, The Vegas Reaper!”

I dodged between the ropes and jumped to the floor and caught the towel Ricky tossed at me. He slapped my shoulders in pure joy. “I knew you’d be a champion. You’re a born fighter, Grim. There’s magic in those fists of yours.” We pushed through the doors and almost into the arms of a woman in a bright blue dress.

“Whoa, there, Mr. Gates.” She laughed and held up her hands, palms out. “Claire Cost. Congratulations on your big win. If you’d please follow me, we’ll get the paperwork out of the way.”

I followed her down the hall where she opened a door, stepped through, and waited for me.

“Nice to see you again, Mr. Gates.” The Italian, Mr. Capri, sat at a table and waved at a chair. “So, we meet again. I’m not surprised.” He chuckled.

I stayed standing. I didn’t want to have another conversation about any plans he might have for me to throw a fight. Claire handed me a check, and I took it with a nod. Then I turned and shook my head at the well-dressed Italian.

“I told you once, I won’t throw any fight. I respect and appreciate the opportunity you gave me here, but I’m in it to win. It’s why I do it.” I set the check on the table.

“You don’t want the twenty grand?” He studied me.

“I didn’t do it for the money.”

“So, why do you do it?”

“Let’s just say I like to inflect pain without consequences.” Mr. Capri looked over my shoulder, and his face morphed into a satisfied smile.

“Well?” A deep voice came from behind me.

“You were right on this one, Trigger.” He laughed. I turned to find the now familiar tatted-up biker who had talked to Ricky at the start of the tournament. He’d had front row seats at every fight. “Grim Gates, please meet the owner of the Lost Lives competition, and the president of the Devil’s Reach motorcycle club, Trigger.”

“Nice to meet you.” I reached out for a handshake, but he nodded instead, and I dropped my hand. I turned to Mr. Capri. “What was he right about?”

“We’re looking for someone we can trust, someone who can fight but not be bought or swayed in some way. So far, we haven’t been disappointed.”

“You didn’t bite when I offered you information on your competitors.” Another guy in a leather cut stepped up. The name Brick was stitched on it. “Even Rail couldn’t get ’em.” He pointed to a guy who puffed away on a cigarette. “He tried to bribe your trainer.”

“He’s smarter than that,” Ricky chimed in. “I trained him to fight here,” he held up his fists, “and here.” He tapped his head.

“We’ve established you’re here for the right reasons, so why do I feel like there”s more?” I cocked my head at them.

“We”re looking for a full-time fighter, a ringer, if you will.” Mr. Capri moved around the table and leaned against it. “Someone who will fight once a week against any challengers. It’s a way for us to make some money, of course, and to keep the tournament out there in front of people. It sounds like it could be a good fit for you. A way for you to have an outlet for inflicting pain without consequences.” He smiled.

“And one that won”t land you behind bars either,” the president of the Devil’s Reach MC drawled.

That piqued my interest, and I took a moment to study the guy. Trigger. Then it hit me. I remembered that name. I’d heard about his days in the ring. He was a ruthless fighter. It was rumored he’d black out when he fought and often didn’t even remember the fight.

“Trigger will work with you when you train here, and when you’re in Vegas, Ricky can take over.”

“So, what do you say?” Brick grinned. “Wanna come play in the Devil’s playground?”

“When do we start?” I felt my addiction takeover.