Chapter 6
JOAQUIN
Morning came bright and early. Too early considering I hadn't gone back home to sleep.
Atlas and I had stayed at the club. It was still closed from two days ago, so the place had been a ghost town last night. Yet we'd kept enough staff and security to make sure no one got any ideas. We were as protected as we could be.
I'd just sat down with a massive mug of coffee when the office door opened. Beasty, Lake, and Kim breezed in looking like they'd slept on cotton candy clouds and had angels sing them to sleep. Must be fucking nice.
They seemed like they'd had a grand time while I sank into that beautiful part of my brain that housed my self-doubt and unworthiness.
Just seeing the vision Beasty was as she headed straight for me was a stab to the heart. The unworthiness was strong today.
Hell, it’d been strong since watching Beasty in that hospital bed. In the quiet of the room, all my past actions where she was concerned barged right to the forefront of my mind, reminding me of how perfect she was, and how perfect for her I was not.
After the life she’d lived, she deserved the best and I was too fucked up.
I recognized the spiraling for what it was, but I still couldn't make the damned thoughts go away. They were just the truth.
Beasty deserved much better than my ass.
"Why didn't you come back?" She scowled.
Atlas came out of the bathroom. He’d gotten a handful of hours’ sleep on the couch, so he wasn't death warmed over the way I was. They should just all be thankful I hadn't cracked open the liquor from behind the bar.
Twirling Beasty to face him, Atlas kissed the shit out of her. She let him and if I had to bet, her toes were curling in her fancy ass shoes Kim had picked out for her.
She turned around when he released her, zeroing in on me. I swallowed. It appeared Beasty wouldn't let a life-changing kiss distract her. Good to know.
"There were things to take care of here."
She narrowed her eyes. Beasty wasn't buying my shit one bit.
"What things couldn't be done today?"
Atlas mouthed, 'you owe me' over her head before giving me a shit-eating grin.
Just as easily, he dropped it and spun her around again.
"For one, the news doesn't wait on anyone, and if we wanted to get ahead of this and spin it into something realistic, and not the clear cover story it was, we had to be available.
Joaquin kept me company as I met with reporters. "
Some of the tension bled from her shoulders as she huffed. She bought it.
"But there was a paparazzi at the hospital. They must know something."
Atlas shook his head. "All the outlets I spoke to had no idea anything was amiss." His face firmed up. "Which is suspicious. If we'd been the ones to kick him out, we would have brought him here to be questioned, but the Network took care of it."
Lake grunted as he rummaged through his desk for something. "Guy says the man from the garage is awake. I'm going to question him while you guys sort your shit out. We're supposed to reopen tonight."
Yeah fucking right. We would, but it never ceased to amaze me how life continued no matter what.
"I'll go with you." Kim was already by the door, waiting. In fact, he hadn't come any further into the office as if he'd anticipated this.
I studied him and how very un-Kim-like he seemed. His eyes were dark, there was a tremor around his mouth, and none of his sweetness was anywhere to be seen.
"I'll go too." Beasty took a step toward him.
"Not so fast. The dancers are here and they need direction. That's you. But don't worry." Atlas slid a hand over her firm ass. "I'll keep you company since those assholes got you to themselves last night." He frowned as if he hated being away from her.
He did, and it was my fault. Just then, he shot me a look that said I'd be making it up to him.
I sighed. With Atlas, that could mean any number of unfortunate things for me.
"Damn it." Beasty cursed. "Fine. But we're going to wrap the meeting up as soon as possible. I want to look that dickhead in the eyes." She stomped to the door like she wasn't going to waste a second, and Atlas followed behind, watching her ass sway.
The rest of us didn't exist anymore.
"That's our cue." Lake pocketed the keys and joined Kim.
This was something I wanted to be included in. I might be fucked up over how I'd treated Beasty, but I wanted to know what happened just like they did. The only reason I hadn't questioned him last night was because we had actually worked when we got here.
When we exited the office and through the next door, Beasty and Atlas were already long gone.
Lake cast me a sidelong glance. "What's the real reason you didn't come home?" He asked without judgement and only a little censure.
"Give me a break. Someone had to make sure Snatched is ready to reopen." I faced forward.
He snorted. "Save that for Beasty. She seemed to believe it. But I know better."
Kim marched ahead of us on a one-man mission.
"Look, I don't want to hear it from you too. I got enough of a lecture from Atlas."
"You mean a torture fuck? Sounds about right. Why didn't you come home?" Lake just wouldn't let it go.
I shook my head as we reached the stairs to go to the Gray Room. "You should be more concerned about the change in Kim."
Lake studied our sweet friend, who took the stairs two at a time and had the secret door unlocked by the time we reached him. "I understand him. It's you who's acting like a dickhead."
Ants crawled over my skin at being examined so closely. Who the fuck was he to judge me when he spiraled plenty in his own harmful ways.
"What's that supposed to mean?" I called to his back after stopping in my tracks. I jumped to catch the door before it closed. Inside the antechamber, Guy was rising from his desk and shutting his laptop.
"Glad you made it in,” he said to Lake. “I gave him water only, that way you'll have about a week with him if that's what you want." He dipped his head in greeting to the rest of us, not that Kim cared. He was already working on the next door.
"He's awake?" Kim glanced over his shoulder after he unlocked it. "Why didn't we come earlier?"
"Because I wasn't going to leave Beasty in the hospital. She's more important than this cocksucker. And when we got home, I did need sleep to deal with this. If I learned anything the last time, it's that I don't function well without it." Lake reached over Kim's shoulder and pushed the door open.
Lucky fucking him for self-growth.
They filed in and I followed.
The room stank of piss and shit with a decent amount of sour bile too. Fucking gross. I was glad this room was concrete and could be hosed down. The flickering light overhead was doing its thing, buzzing softly as the man handcuffed at the table had his head flat against the surface.
Lake slammed a hand down, and the guy jerked up.
I couldn't say I was shocked at the state of him. I'd seen the footage of Atlas wailing on the man.
His face was a bulbous, purpling mess. One eye was completely swollen shut with broken blood vessels around his nose and dried blood on his chin and cheeks. From the neck down, he looked normal.
Kim walked around the table, studying him with a dark smirk. My own turmoil took a backseat as I watched just how different Kim was today. Even with all the different ways he played people, he’d never given off this kind of dark energy.
He slowly pulled the chair away from the table, not bothered by the grating scrape of metal on concrete. When Kim swung it around, he straddled the seat, folding his arms over the back.
"Do you remember me?" His voice was low and melodic.
The man grunted. Not showing as much fear as he should.
Between Lake and Kim, there wouldn't be much for me to do so I found a place against the wall.
"Should I?"
"Now you're just playing dumb. Which is quite a feat, considering you don't have two brain cells to rub together." Kim stretched his arm out and tapped his fingers on the table.
The man didn't take the bait.
"What's your name?" Kim asked.
Lake was happy to let Kim lead as he typed on his phone. The man didn't answer, instead laying his head back down with a thump.
Then Lake's phone dinged.
While reading his text, Lake said, "Unfortunately, our facial recognition software didn't find anything. Probably because of the swelling Atlas was kind enough to give you. I can tell from your build and size, you're not Donnie. I do know Danny was there."
That got a reaction from the man. He tensed.
"I know Danny was there, Gio called him by name." Kim twisted his lips to the side. “I thought you might be Donnie, but seeing you now, I can tell you're not. I only have two questions for you, then as far as I'm concerned, your usefulness to us is done."
He paused, but the idiot didn't speak.
"What's your name, and why did you come to Snatched?"
The guy started laughing until it was a full-blown wheeze. "I'm not giving you shit. You might as well kill me."
Kim straightened up, a dark fire burning in his eyes as he glared at the man.
"You won't die. Not until we know why you came after Beasty."
"Who?" The man actually sounded genuine. "Oh, the bitch. Weird term of endearment, but bestiality was never my thing." He shrugged.
Kim exploded out of the chair with a bellow, snatching the man's hair and slamming his face against the table. His nose crunched and goosebumps traveled down my arms. That had to have hurt like a motherfucker. "Tell me why you came!" he yelled.
The man groaned.
"You're not one of the men Gio showed us pictures of." Lake crossed his arms, like he was itching to deliver the pain.
Yet there was no denying he was a Pesci. His Peaky Blinders outfit was a dead giveaway. And his shoulders had the same slope. He had to be a cousin or someone blood related. They were too similar.
"That fucker Gio will get what's coming to him." The man grinned when Kim tipped his head back. Blood stained his teeth, making him one of the ugliest bastards I'd ever seen.
"Why?" Kim changed his questioning.
The man didn't say a thing, just kept smiling. So Kim slammed his head down again. When that had no effect, Kim stepped back and kicked him in the ribs while releasing a scream of rage.
"He's not going to give us anything useful," I said in faux lightness to Lake as Kim raged on the guy.
"No, he's not. I didn't figure he would. At least not today." Lake sat in the opposite chair, gripping the edges until his knuckles turned white. He wanted his turn. Badly.
"So what are we going to do with him? Kill him?" I asked.
Lake gave a shake of his head as Kim threw his weight into a punch to the man's chin. He grunted.
"No. Because he might give us answers eventually. And he still serves a purpose."
"What purpose is that?"
A slow grin spread over Lake's face. "An outlet for Kim's anger. And a punching bag for Beasty if she needs it."
I couldn't say I hated the idea. But it did fuck all to solve our problems.
Damn it.