2. Tate
CHAPTER TWO
TATE
I hide the mischievous smirk until my back is turned and I’m walking away from them. I know one of the girls was turned on, and if I had the time, I’d have ventured down that road.
I’m pissed because they caused a scene in my club when I’ve got bigger issues going on. Like who’s been selling dirty ecstasy in my clubs. I’m not against drugs. I have my own cocaine and weed production, but the difference is, I know mine is clean and of the highest quality, and I certainly don’t deal it in rival clubs. That’s why I sell so much of it and have people coming back, but even then, I don’t distribute it in my clubs. The fact some brave fucker is doing just that grates on me all the more. I need to find the fuckers lurking in my clubs and figure out who is pulling their strings. It’s been happening for weeks now, that we know of, but the pricks have always escaped before we could grab them. It’s like they know what moves we’re making before we do, and that doesn’t sit right with me. Something more has got to be going on that I don’t know about, and when I do, the fuckers will pay.
With blood, pain, and suffering.
I storm through the back hallway and find Rick, my right-hand man, but more importantly, my best friend and the most loyal person I know, waiting outside my office.
“You need to get your dick wet,” I tell him as I stroll past him and enter the office.
“She fucking slapped me, Tate. Full-on slapped me. I didn’t see it coming. She’s lucky I didn’t throw her over my shoulder, take her somewhere private, and slap her ass raw.” I sense the frustration in his tone as he slams the door. He slides onto the leather sofa along the wall, sighing heavily, while I sit at my desk.
“What are you more frustrated about? The fact she slapped you and you couldn’t put a bullet in her, or that you wanted to fuck some sense into her and didn’t?” I hide my smirk behind my hands as I lean my elbows on the desk.
“Both.”
“Your tiny dick couldn’t handle her.” I chuckle a small laugh.
“You and I both know my dick is not tiny.” He arches his brow.
“I don’t need to recall those images.”
Rick is talking about the time we got caught doing surveillance on a rival gang about ten years ago. We were only twenty-two at the time. I had my own gang, but nothing like I have now. Now, I have an empire and I’m the king. The other gang stripped us naked and tortured us for six days straight. Hence the scar on my brow, along with many more, and Rick has his own reminders from back then. We were eventually found by my father and his men, he had help from Jodi once her guilty conscience kicked in, and we vowed never to talk about what happened in that basement again. Their revenge will come one day, and they won’t see it coming. When I finally get some leads, that is.
“Moving on... did we get anything from the surveillance cameras last weekend?” I ask, getting straight to business.
“Nothing. We had the whole system upgraded a couple of days before that, and they were still fine tuning them.”
“So, you’re telling me they sold eighteen grand’s worth of ecstasy in my fucking clubs in two nights when the cameras just happened to be out of service?” I lean back in my reclining chair. “Nothing from the other clubs either?”
“Nothing. But it's not like you can be in multiple places at once. It’s as if they knew which club you'd be at.”
I bang my fists down on the desk. “No fucking shit. I want to know how they knew, and I want the information yesterday. This isn’t a coincidence. Someone has to be feeding them information. Find out if we have a rat.” I stand, pace a little before pressing a button on the phone, then perch myself on the edge of my desk. “Bring me two whiskeys. With ice.”
“You do know you’ve got a mini bar over here.” He points to the corner, where there’s a bar filled with alcohol.
I shrug. “And?”
“Never mind. I’ll work with Clint on rat duty.” Rick knows not to push me when I’m worked up.
Less than five minutes later, one of the waiters knocks and delivers the drinks, making a hasty retreat. I take a swig, letting the bitterness melt away at least some of the tension, even if it’s short-lived thanks to Rick and his mouth.
“What do you plan to do with the two girls from earlier?”
“Nothing. I can’t see them coming back after tonight. I gave them a warning; they’d be crazy to try anything again. What harm can two petite women do?” I laugh.
“You’re laughing now, but trust me, it’s the small ones you have to watch out for.”
I can’t help but laugh louder. He said it so confidently. “Thank God I have you watching my six, then,” I joke.
The drink-tipping brunette from earlier pops into my head. I remember the tight black number she was wearing and the strappy killer heels I imagined wrapped around my neck as I fucked her right on this desk with no mercy. I’ve never had a woman react that way towards me. Usually, they throw themselves at me, but not her. She’s got a fighter’s streak inside her, and I’m all for it.
I wonder if she fucks as dirty as her mouth is.