Chapter 8
EIGHT
VORTEX
Three hours into this damn stakeout, I’m ready to murder Havoc. He’s playing something on his phone that makes stupid beeping sounds, distracting me from keeping an eye on Earl’s house.
“Do you mind?” I hiss at him. “You could at least mute your fucking phone.”
“I use the sound cues to play,” Havoc answers. He glances out the car window at Earl’s home. “Seriously though, what do you expect will happen? Dear Uncle Earl hasn’t left the house all day.”
“It’s still early in the evening,” I say. “The whole point of a stakeout is to wait and see what happens. Not to sit outside someone’s house and play video games. Why did Caleb even send you with me? Shouldn’t you be keeping Seven company instead of being up my ass?”
Havoc glares at me. “He sent me so you could take your long-ass piss breaks. Which you already did twice.”
“I went and got us dinner,” I correct him, “since your stomach was growling even louder than that stupid game. And I could’ve brought someone else with me.”
Fucking Caleb. He might’ve thought that putting me and Havoc together would make us bond or whatever shit he’s got in his head, but he should’ve known that putting us in a car alone together for hours would be a bad idea.
“Didn’t even get us decent food. And…” Havoc trails off and sits up, staring out the window. “The garage is opening.”
I mentally curse Havoc for distracting me like this, but at least Earl is finally making a move.
I’m still not sure what Caleb wants me to find, but he’s certain Earl is involved in something worse than dodging alimony payments.
We wait for Earl’s expensive sports car to pass—he’s definitely the one driving—and follow him at a decent distance. Earl makes his way deeper into the city, away from Spade territory.
“You’ll lose him like this,” Havoc says as Earl makes a left turn on a yellow light.
I grip the steering wheel tighter. “I know what I’m doing,” I growl. “There’s only so many places he can be going.” It’s not ideal, but I’m not going to race through red lights and start a fucking chase in downtown Calamity City.
“You shoulda let me drive,” Havoc says once we’re back on track, Earl’s car visible a few cars ahead of us. “With how slow you’re going, he’s got time to, I don’t know, murder somebody in an alley and drive off without us ever knowing.”
I turn my head to glare at him. “Because Earl’s moonlighting as a serial killer,” I say sarcastically. “So that’s really what we’re worried about here.”
“I don’t know the guy! He’s part of the Spade family, so for all I know he’s a contract killer,” Havoc mutters. He points ahead to the bright lights of the nightclub on this street, one of Calamity City’s largest: The Club of Clubs. “Is Earl stupid enough to go in there?”
“Earl is stupid enough to do a lot of things,” I mutter. “Going in there probably isn’t even the worst of it.”
Fuck. I really don’t want to go into a nightclub, especially the Club of Clubs. It’s run by one of the other organized crime families in town, and they’re not any more pleasant when crossed than we are .
“At least it’s not the Diamantes,” Havoc grumbles.
I slow the car near the entrance to the Club of Clubs, its logo highlighting the people waiting in line. I spot Earl begging and cajoling the bouncer by the door.
Yep, he is that stupid.
“You ever been clubbing?” Havoc asks, then he laughs. “You don’t strike me as the type.”
“Yes, I’ve been clubbing,” I tell him irritably. “Back when I was a kid like you.” Honestly, I’ve never been the type to go to nightclubs, but I’ll be damned if I tell him that. I pass the door, heading into the accompanying parking garage.
I really want to know what Earl is doing here.
Havoc finally shuts the game off entirely and puts his phone into his pocket. He conceals the knife he brought inside his leather jacket before zipping it shut.
“I had a friend who liked going,” Havoc says. “But I lost touch with her when I joined the military.”
I park and glance at him, unsure of what to say to that. It’s never easy to talk about losing friends, but at least it’s a friend he lost touch with instead of a friend he lost while in the military. I still don’t know what his story is beyond him getting kicked out, and it’s not like I’m going to ask. I’m surprised he’s volunteered even this much.
“Yeah? Didn’t go without her?” I ask, getting out of the car. My adrenaline is already spiking as I try to think of how to find Earl without being spotted.
“When?” Havoc stuffs his hands into his pockets. “I joined the army, and when I got kicked out, I had to figure out how to get my life back on track. Spending a night partying wasn’t really on my mind.”
I grunt in acknowledgment. “Not much time to do that now, either,” I remark. Seven keeps the three of us busy — or exhausted — when Caleb isn’t doing the same.
I lead Havoc out of the garage and to the front of the club. The line is long, but this early in the evening, it at least isn’t stretching halfway down the block. I don’t have the kind of connections to skip it, which means I get to spend more time talking to Havoc.
He’s less annoying when we’re talking about something real, though.
We’re almost at the entrance when two young women approach us, wearing tight dresses and simple cardigans that can’t possibly help against the fall chill.
“Hey, papi,” the Latina woman says, smiling at Havoc. “You’re here for a good time?”
Her friend is a tall black woman with elaborately styled locs, and she hones in on me. “Looks like you’re all alone.”
“I’m not the papi, ” Havoc answers, grinning and pointing at me. “That’s my friend.”
I glower at him. “We’re here together, actually,” I say, trying to rattle Havoc.
Havoc rolls his eyes and waves the Latina woman closer. “Don’t mind him. He doesn’t know a good woman if she’s standing directly in front of him.”
The two women giggle, emboldened by his flirtation.
“We aren’t here to—” I start, only to cut myself off before I can finish reminding him that we aren’t here to socialize or party. “Jesus, Havoc,” I mutter.
The black woman squeezes in between us. “I haven’t seen either of you around here before, though, and I party a lot.”
Havoc nods in acknowledgment. “If I’d known this place had ladies like you, I might have come earlier. But nah, I’ve been out of town, and my friend has never had a good time.” He glances around, then leans closer to her. “Is it true that I can really party here?”
Her eyes widen, and she purses her lips. She shares a glance with her Latina friend, then nods. “Sure. Keep an eye out for the people with the glowing wristbands.”
The Latina gives an exasperated sigh. “What if he’s a cop, idiot?” She peers at Havoc. “You’re not a cop, are you?”
“Nope,” Havoc answers. “Just somebody looking for a good time.” The line shuffles forward a few more feet, and now we’re at the club entrance. Earl must’ve made it inside, somehow.
The bouncer looks at all of us. He’s got a fancy earpiece and his muscles make the suit bulge awkwardly.
“Cover charge is fifty for men. The ladies, and you, you can enter. White guy stays outside,” he says.
“How about the white guy pays double and gets in with the other three?” I suggest. I can’t let Havoc go in there alone. He’s already showing he’ll fuck everything up, given the chance.
The bouncer folds his arms across his chest. “No deal. This is an exclusive club, buddy, and you don’t fit the look.”
Havoc opens his mouth to argue, but the black lady goes up to the bouncer with a pouty expression. “Oh, come on, Harry. He’ll pay you double! Take the bribe and don’t mess up my fun time.”
He frowns at her, then meets my gaze again. I don’t know what their relationship is, but he grits his teeth and finally says, “Fine. One hundred and fifty for the white guy.”
I glare at him, but I pull the cash out of my wallet and hand it over, along with an additional seventy to cover Havoc and the women. “There.” I barely resist the urge to add, now move .
When we make it through the door, I’m blasted with the heat and humidity of hundreds of bodies packed together. The music is a dull drone in the background.
“Thanks, ladies,” Havoc says. “I’d tell you to save a dance for me, but…”
They both laugh, and the Latina woman shakes her head. “You’re too gay for that?”
“Just a bit. What gave it away?” Havoc asks.
“Please. If you’d been straight, you’d have grabbed my ass by now.” They both wave to us. “Thanks for letting us cut in line!” the Latina shouts before heading off to the main dance floor.
Havoc’s expression drops and he glares at me. “You’ve seriously never been to a club? You could have been friendlier to them.”
“We’re not here to be friendly ,” I retort. “We’re here to find Earl, and that means getting through that shit as fast as possible. I could’ve bribed him extra without dealing with the women.”
But I have a feeling that would’ve failed.
“Anyway,” I add before he can respond, “There’s no way he’s on the dance floor. So let’s have a look at where else he could be. You really think he’s using?”
“Caleb said he was in deep with somebody, and if you aren’t coming here for dancing or sex, the only thing left is, well, that.” Havoc heads in the direction of the bar, scanning the crowded floor.
Thanks to the woman’s tip, I’m keenly aware of the neon glowing wristbands I spot on some of the dancers. I would have assumed it was a simple accent piece.
I wonder how that works out for the innocent people who do decide to deck themselves out in glowing bracelets for the fun of it.
Havoc orders both of us drinks at the bar, which turn out to be simple ginger ales.
We both stand in relative silence, checking for Earl in this impossibly large crowd, when I notice several of the glowing wristbands going toward a back hallway. I tug on Havoc’s jacket and point.
He nods, sets the drink down, and starts walking in that direction.
It’s hard to be subtle with my size, and more than a few gazes turn in my direction. I realize when we get close that I have no idea what I’m doing. I’m not familiar enough with the club scene to do this properly. I could intimidate or beat the information out of someone, but right now, we need finesse.
I mutter under my breath, then tell Havoc, “Find out if they’ve seen him.”
Havoc nods and approaches the two guards. It’s hard to make out what they’re saying, but whatever it is has Havoc nodding and gesturing in my direction.
After a bit of back and forth, Havoc waves me over.
“I promised him we’d buy in bulk,” Havoc says. “We’re stocking up for our boss’s birthday bash, after all.”
I nod. Hopefully, nobody will question it when we don’t actually buy anything. I’m not going to give the Clubs even more money all because of Earl. “Yep,” I say, distinctly aware of how difficult it is to play nice in situations like this.
It’s so much easier when I can hold up my fists and get people to do what I want.
The guard opens the door for us, and I step in before Havoc.
“How come you’re so good at… all this?” I ask Havoc as we go down the stairs.
Havoc laughs. “Look. There’s a reason I hate the Diamantes, all right? I had to learn how to navigate their shit. This isn’t any different.”
I eye him, but we don’t have time to discuss what grievances he has with the Diamantes. Instead, I focus on the door at the end of the stairs. Another guard is waiting there, but he must’ve already communicated with the two we passed because he lets us in without a word.
It’s like a whole other club down here. There are couches and low tables, with women draped over men and everybody seemingly having a good time. At least one table has a line of coke on it, while small tablets get handed around.
Most of the partiers are white guys, and I’d bet a good number of the women with them are being paid to be there. Calamity City really is the city of every vice under the sun.
I spot Earl with two women around him… and a bulky black man on the other end of the couch, leaning in.
“Earl, you’re late on payments,” the guy is saying. “I can’t supply you with more.”
Earl leans his head against one of the women. “I’m going to pay! I told you, I’ve got a whole plan. My niece’s husband… and Dad’s going to call you up soon. Any day now.”
Havoc and I walk over, stopping across from the table.
“Earl doesn’t need more tonight,” I say. “Or ever. You got a club blacklist? Put him on it.”
Earl startles and sits up. “What? You’re… Uh, Caleb’s man. What wa s your name?” He glances over to the other guy. “What’s his name?”
The guy rolls his eyes. “I don’t fucking know.” He eyes me. “You’re with Caleb Spade?”
I nod and fold my arms, hoping I look menacing enough to make him think twice about getting in my face. “Vortex,” I answer. “And Earl is done with all this stuff.”
“All right, Vortex, nice to meet you.” The man stands up. “My name’s Martin, and I handle a lot of security around here. And the thing is, Earl is really trying our patience. So we’re thinking, he stays here while his dear old dad, or his brother, or his nephew for all we care, gather up the cash to repay us.”
Earl starts shaking his head. “What? No. I came to give you the, um, the interest payment!”
Martin scoffs loudly. “Man, you can’t do that. We lent you a shitton of money to get you that nice fancy car and the reno on your house. You remember what it was like before, when your ex had it all? But that was seven months ago, and you want to tell us you haven’t managed to drum up enough to pay it back? You been taking advantage of our ladies here, without returning even close to ten percent of what you owe us?”
My jaw clenches. This isn’t my area of expertise at all. I’m the muscle, the debt collector; I play the role Martin is acting out right now.
No wonder Earl is pushing to get more out of Caleb. We’d known it was bad, but I didn’t think it would be this bad. Either way, I know I don’t have enough cash to easily get him out of this. There’s probably nothing I can say or promise to make this simple, either.
“He’ll pay you back,” I say steadily. “But we’re not leaving him here.”
Havoc groans loudly, staring at Earl. “Are you kidding me? You’re from one of the richest families in the city and you had to borrow from loan sharks?” He turns to Martin. “Look, he’s a fucking idiot. Just let us take him and his family will ream him out. ”
Martin shakes his head. “No can do, man. The boss was pretty clear that this was his last chance.” He assesses us both more closely. “Unless you can pony up three million dollars?—”
Three million dollars .
My vision whites out as fury runs through me. After all the shit Caleb has done for this fool, he’d gone and borrowed three million dollars from the Clubs. I’d expected ten thousand, maybe a hundred thousand. But this much?
I really should leave his ass here and hang him out to dry.
“Don’t carry that much cash on me at once,” I say with a shrug. “And he’s not worth anything to you dead. We can work on that payment plan once he’s out of here.”
“Three million?” Havoc exclaims. He goes over to Earl, grabs the collar of his shirt, and pulls him away from the two women. “We should be the ones beating you up.”
“Hey!” Earl shouts, pounding his fists against Havoc. “Stop that! I’ll tell Caleb!”
“You think Caleb’s going to give a fuck?” I ask in disbelief.
“Just for your edification,” Martin says, “He borrowed one million. But interest rates these days, they’re through the roof. I’m sure you know how it is.” He gives us a smarmy smile. “And before you complain about predatory practices or whatever nonsense, Earl signed that contract of his own volition.”
“Yeah? And how blitzed out of his mind was he when he did? On drugs you probably supplied to him?” I ask, not sure whether to be more pissed off at Earl or Martin and vacillating between the two.
“Are you telling me Leon Spade can’t pay off three million dollars?” Martin asks innocently. He shakes his head. “Man, the Spades are worse off than I thought.”
My hackles rise—and I notice that the room has slowly been clearing out. The women and partiers are gone, with only security left behind.
Great. Just great .
“Are you going to tell me that you can’t wait a little longer to get your money?” I retort.
“We’ve been waiting,” Martin points out. “Seven months. And your boy Earl, he keeps giving us the runaround.” He gets into a defensive stance. “But I’ll never turn down the opportunity to mess with the Spades.”
I’m not going to be the one to throw the first punch, but I’ll sure as hell finish this if it comes to it. “I am going to take this out of your ass,” I growl at Earl before adjusting my stance as well. “I should’ve left you here.”
Earl whimpers and shakes his head. “None of this would have happened if Caleb just gave me what he owes me!”
Havoc tosses Earl to the floor and lets out a disgusted sound. “Leave him here. I don’t give a fuck about him.”
I glower at Havoc. “You may not care about him, but the Spade family does.”
As much as they care about anyone, at least, which… Caleb would be happy to leave him here if it wouldn’t mean his grandfather breathing down his neck over it.
“He comes with us,” I say firmly.
Havoc shakes his head and steps over Earl. “Do whatever you want. I’m out of here.”
I growl at him. “Stop walking, Havoc.”
Havoc ignores me and continues toward the stairs.
Martin blocks Havoc’s path. “I don’t think so, brother. You waltz in here, making demands, and think you can leave like that? No.”
Havoc closes his eyes, takes a breath—then punches Martin in the face.
Any chances of talking our way of this are gone, and it emboldens the guy closest to me to throw a punch at me. I catch his hand and twist, forcing him back, even as another tries to get the upper hand on me while I’m distracted. I think there are five of them in total, and they split their attention between the two of us.
“What the fuck, Havoc?” I shout while I dodge my attacker .
Havoc ducks down and roundhouse kicks the bruiser rushing at him. “I didn’t sign up for this shit! This is way above my paygrade!”
“Then ask for a goddamned raise when we get back!” I yell at him. “Stop bitching and fight .”
“I am fighting! You’re the one who was standing around talking!” Havoc yells back.
“I’m not—” I begin, but I have to stop to dodge an attack.
Havoc kicks a guy in the knee, and the guy stumbles into me. I grunt and shove him at my other attacker.
“Watch what you’re doing, idiot!” I shout at Havoc. I dodge a punch, but somebody else manages to clip me in the shoulder.
“Don’t get in my fucking way then!” Havoc shouts back. “I really should have bailed before we ever got this far. You suck.”
“I suck?” I repeat in disbelief, grabbing the guy who’d managed to get a hit on me and shoving him back. “What, are we five now?”
The sounds of grunts and flesh on flesh fill the room, along with Earl’s pathetic pleading. It’s even worse because no one’s even paying any attention to him, and it’s more distracting than anything else.
The small space of the room benefits us somewhat because it means the Clubs can’t gang up on us all at once, but it does lead to me elbowing Havoc a few times, and both of us tripping over furniture. I can feel the bruises piling up on my body, and my vision starts to blur from sweat or worse.
“I can’t believe I miss the military right now. At least there I had competent allies.” Havoc complains, right as he takes a punch to the gut. He recovers by grabbing the guy’s arm and shoving him straight into a guy who was about to kick me.
“Allies?” I bark out a laugh as I spin around to face another attacker. “Is that what you call people who turn on you when you need them most?”
“Will you two fucking shut up?” one of the goons yells. “My nanna complains less than you two.”
“You stay out of this,” I snap at him .
“Your nanna probably fights better than you do,” Havoc counters, rushing forward to punch that guy.
I’m out of breath, but so are most of the others. Three of the goons are on the floor or in chairs, out for the count. I feel a surge of adrenaline. I can’t believe the two of us have managed to even the odds already.
I turn so I can attack Martin?—
And freeze when I see a newcomer standing by the stairs. He’s a tall black man with a well-trimmed beard and short, curly hair. His teal suit is impeccable on him. Martin is standing next to him, whispering something in his ear.
The others notice him a few seconds after I do, and the goons all turn to him.
“Boss!” they all say.
This is Virgil Club, the current de facto head of the Clubs organization.
“Oh, don’t stop on my account,” Virgil says, smiling slightly. “It looked like you were all having fun.”
Fun. Right.
I’m still breathing heavily, and I take a step back as I take up a warily defensive stance again. I don’t know if he’s going to sic his goons on us again or if we have a reprieve, but I’m not going to be taken off guard.
Havoc follows my lead, tensing up.
Earl whimpers and crawls forward a few steps. “Mr. Club! You have to save me!”
Virgil gives Earl a disdainful look. “I don’t think I do, Earl.” He turns his attention to me. “You’re Caleb Spade’s man?”
“Yes,” I tell him, breathless but as authoritative as I can muster. “We’re just here to get Earl out of your hair so he can get his debts settled.”
Somehow.
Virgil nods. “Well, I won’t stop you.” He steps aside, to my confusion—and the confusion of all his men .
Havoc grabs Earl by the back of his shirt and hauls him upright. “All right. Let’s get out of here, Uncle Earl.”
I’m not going to look a gift horse in the mouth. I follow up at the rear, staying partially turned so no one is directly at my back. The hair on the back of my neck stays standing anyway as I anticipate some turn of events that makes this go from bad to worse.
As we pass Virgil, he says, “Tell Caleb he owes me a favor.”
My hackles go up, but I know I’m in no position to argue. “I’ll tell him.” Caleb isn’t going to like owing the Clubs anything, especially for the price of getting his uncle out of this, but there’s not much I can do or say.
Havoc keeps shaking Earl as he drags him through the club. I don’t breathe easy until we’re outside, in the cool night air once more. Havoc leads us all around the corner, away from prying eyes.
“Okay, okay, you can let me go now!” Earl says, trying to get away from Havoc.
Havoc gives me a brief glance. “Earl got beat up by the Clubs, didn’t he?”
I look at Earl’s unblemished skin. “Yeah. Good thing we got there before they could do any lasting damage.”
“Uh, what?” Earl trembles and shuffles as far away as he can.
That doesn’t stop Havoc from landing a blow on his jaw.
“You stupid motherfucker,” Havoc hisses at him. “Did you gamble away your fucking brain or something?”
Earl cries out and turns to me. “Vortex! Vortex, stop him!”
“Havoc hasn’t done anything,” I say mildly, crossing my arms against my chest. “Because of the two of us, you got off easy with the Clubs.”
Caleb might not approve of this — or at least, that’s what he’s going to have to say — but I can’t say I blame Havoc for wanting to get some of his frustration out on its source. I should stop him, and I will, but I don’t want to.
Yet.
Havoc gets another two heavy blows in before he throws Earl to the ground and kicks him. “You’re driving straight home and you’re going to tell your dad or whoever to pay it all back. Next time, we won’t be there to save your hide.”
Earl nods fervently. “I will! I promise! Please, just let me go!”
We watch him scurry off. Once he’s gone, Havoc leans heavily against the brick wall.
“Fuck,” he mutters. “I need a shower.”
“Me too,” I answer quietly. I clench and unclench my fists. “You want me to drop you off at your place?”
After a few seconds, Havoc answers. “I want to see Seven.”
I want to see Seven, too, and irritation bubbles up within me at the idea of relinquishing him to Havoc after this difficult night. “You’ll have to share,” I say curtly.
“That’s fine.” Havoc pushes away from the wall. “Let’s go.”
I nod, falling silent.
I have nothing else to say to Havoc. There’s plenty to tell Caleb, but… For now, I can only think about seeing Seven.
It has to make this shitty day better.