Nathaniel
“AYE!” I HOLLERED over at the man who I’d come to see and he’d tried to shuffle his ass away from me. “This muthafucka must’ve lost his damn mind.”
I looked around for a way to get his attention because I was two seconds off running him down in my truck.
I’d come back to the bar in the daytime to see what I could dig up about the men who’d been trickling into the area causing problems. I didn’t have any practice that I needed to be at BCL for and Charisma was holding down any walk-ins or calls that would come.
James and Bradley were both on the property keeping watch to ensure no one else jumped out of the woods at her.
I’d gotten new cameras installed the day after she had that run-in getting to the storage facility.
I was almost certain that she didn’t realize how bad she’d been shaking when we rode up on them.
It was why I was off my horse with my gun ready to end the life of the man who’d put that fear in her features.
“Frank!” It was the last warning I was going to give him before I attacked.
“I ain’t doing nothing wrong, Nate, I swear!”
I hopped out the truck, my boots crunching on gravel and found an empty whisky bottle on the ground. I balanced it in my hand to gauge its weight. I guessed the right amount of force I would need to accomplish my goal before I threw it the fifty yards or so to hit my target.
It struck him square in the middle of the back knocking his tubby ass to the ground. “Ow, Nate! What the fuck?”
I jogged over to where he’d landed with a frown on my face. I could’ve hit his ass in the head but I didn’t want a murder charge. And for right now this asshole was innocent. If I found out otherwise, that might change.
The heat of the day hadn’t reached its zenith but he was on the ground sweating like a stuck pig. “You must’ve forgot my Black ass played baseball, huh?”
Roping and riding weren’t the only talents I had. Back in high school I’d been part of an all-star team that had won state three out of the four years I was on varsity.
I grabbed him by his collar and rolled him over on his back. His hands went up immediately and I laughed cause he reminded me of a roly-poly. “I haven’t done anything, Nate, I swear.”
“Yeah, I know you haven’t. I got plenty of eyes on your spot so you can’t play around with me.”
“Then what is it that you want from me?”
“I want information.” The piece of shit acting like he was innocent was who I thought was the former owner of the bar.
Local cat that wasn’t part of Black Gold Valley but had been around long enough that we knew who he was.
The so-called sale of his business had really been some tax loop-hole bullshit he’d done to get the police off his trail if he ever got caught selling pussy out the back like Midnight Donuts.
“You’re trying to act as though you’re some good guy but you haven’t even gone to the police about what’s going on.” Hamish had the nerve to be looking at me like I was just as guilty as he was.
“You want to know why I didn’t?” I found it funny that Charisma hadn’t posed this same question. It was clear she gave a fuck but I just took it as her trusting me to handle it for them the way I handled it for her.
She bout to make me marry her.
“Why? You want to have the upper hand over people.”
I yanked him up onto his feet with a grin.
“Partly. But when you see people getting in trouble for prostitution it’s always the women.
If you were forcing girls to do shit out of your establishment, that’s more than enough reason to have you arrested for trafficking.
But so far, we see that you’re running a legitimate business; you just allow some bullshit to happen on the side.
” I needed to ease his mind but I still had every intention to fuck his shit up when we had all the information that we needed.
The girls were going to be offered jobs elsewhere but aside from locking them up, they still had freewill.
I needed to feel out their situation and Hamish was going to help me do it.
“So why are you out here busting my balls?”
I yanked him toward me, and let my disgust at his weakness shine through just enough so he would stop asking me stupid questions.
“Because my girl got caught up in your shit. And the price for me not ending your fucking life and torching that pile of wood you just put into a shell company? Your unyielding cooperation with whatever I need.”
My words sunk in, the realization I had knowledge that wasn’t available to the everyday man unless you had connections making the sweat even more profuse along his forehead. “How do you know—”
“Don’t ask how I know. Just understand that however you think I’m moving, I’m already a few steps ahead of you. You have no idea how easily I could end everything that you have. And that’s without getting my family involved.”
“Who are you?”
I battled the urge to quip I’m Black Man and just leaned back and smiled broadly. “I’m just good old Nathaniel Chisholm-Love. That’s it that’s all. But that encompasses a whole lot that you don’t want unearthed. Now, on to what I need from you.”
“What is it?”
“I want you to keep an eye out for someone for me. I have a feeling he’s going to be coming to see a few of your girls and I need whatever information out of them I can get.”
“Who?”
“Roll back your tapes and see who I had issues with. When you see his face you’ll know who I need dirt on.
Whatever girl he takes a shine to, I need her to reach out to me.
” I pulled out my wallet and handed him a brand new card that Charisma had made.
I wasn’t worried about her knowing I was reaching out to the women at the bar.
If she had questions I’d tell her what was up.
“And if I don’t?”
My hands went into the pocket of my jeans so I didn’t wrap them around his neck.
“If you don’t then the IRS get the dossier I have on you and all your financial dealings.
I’m not sure whose money you’re washing through this bar but they would be none too pleased to see that you’re getting so much interest from the FEDS.
And to think that you brought it all on yourself by not turning over some dickhead that harasses your workers off the job.
Think about what you want out of life, Ham.
I’m not the type of man you want standing across from you on the battlefield.
I only give one warning, heed it now.” My face transformed from a scowl back to my customary smile.
“Oh, and pay my girl what you owe her for her one night of work. Make sure you include some hazard pay and some fucking hush money. And get better security ‘round this muthafucka. If you gone have them selling ass, make sure they’re protected. You ‘bout the sorriest madam I’ve ever seen in my life.”
His agreement wasn’t needed because I knew he wasn’t stupid enough to go against what I said.
I’d still have a few of the hands I trusted to come by and see what was up with the place.
Bradley was one of the first people to tip us off that something was wrong so he wouldn’t be out of place if he came in for a while.
I hopped back in my truck with only one thing on my mind: Charisma. I couldn’t wait to get back to the ranch and see what new find she had for me today.
By the time I got back to BCL, I was damn near geeked to lay eyes on Charisma but she wasn’t in the office.
I checked the storage barn thinking she was there and found it empty too.
I almost got worried before James told me she was out near one of the old oaks that separated the business side from the living quarters.
I walked the trail thankful for my hat to block the sun that was still using its rays to whip people’s asses from thousands of miles away.
It got me thinking that Charisma didn’t have a hat and I was going to need to rectify that soon.
I saw her and the site was enough to halt my steps.
Her purple tipped fro was braided back into two thick French braids that hung down her chest. She was sitting on a blanket with her eyes fixated on her paper as mine were on her.
There was my Charmy. Charming was a descriptor but it was based on actions.
This girl simply being alive had me feeling like I owed her all of my worldly possessions.
She was Charmy. The embodiment of the adjective and personification of her name.
The warmth that came over me as the thoughts ran through my head had nothing to do with the thinning of the damn ozone layer.
It was all because this woman’s aura was beckoning me forward and I refused to ignore the invitation.
“What are you working on?”
She jumped and it was clear I’d startled her which wasn’t my intention. Charisma put her pencil down and tried to close the book she’d been working in but I held up my hand hoping to stop her.
“Did you need me?”
That was such a loaded question that I couldn’t quite answer the way my soul was demanding so I took the easy way out.
“No, I was just looking out for you and I saw you over here. What is it that you’re working on?”
Charisma glanced down at the notebook but seemed hesitant to share. To show her I wasn’t playing, I sat down on the blanket close to her but far enough away so that she knew I was serious about getting an answer. She rolled her eyes as she smiled but kept the notebook closed.
“I’m just doodling.” The way she folded her lips showed she was nervous but I didn’t understand why she would be. Unless she was drawing some Nate + Charisma shit. And even then it would show she was feeling me the way I was her.