Chapter 15
FIFTEEN
S liding the BMW into a parking space in front of a small house, Kent watched as two men walked outside. He easily recognized one as the man he would be protecting; the other, he couldn’t get a good look at with the hoodie hiding his features.
His jaw tightened. Why did they always think they didn’t have to play by the rules he had explicitly given when he agreed to act as a go-between?
Kent waited until both men were inside before he showed his displeasure.
“What’s he doing here?” he asked Mica, who had taken the seat up front next to him while the hoodie was slouching in the back seat.
Mica gave him a cocky grin. “He’s with me.”
“No shit,” he said sarcastically. “What did you not understand about it being just you and me?”
“Brody’s my protection. He’s cool.”
“I’m all the protection you’re going to need unless you’re planning to fuck the Phantoms over.”
“Do I look stupid?”
“Do you really want me to answer that asinine question?”
The grin disappeared from Mica’s face. “I’m paying you a shit ton of money to work for me. I say Brody is going. If not, I can handle this deal myself.”
Kent didn’t waver at the threat. “Both of you get the fuck out of my car,” he ordered harshly.
Mica’s cocky attitude disappeared. “Let’s talk about this. Brody knows how to handle himself. He won’t do anything stupid.”
“I don’t care if he’s chill or if he knows how to handle himself.
Wraith won’t care, either. We agreed to come alone.
Wraith is only bringing one other person as well.
If we bring another person, he will just leave.
He won’t stand around and argue with you.
Then the deal won’t go through,” Kent told him in a cold, precise voice.
“Fuck!” Mica snarled, his complexion growing ruddy with anger. “Go back to the house, Brody, and wait for me there.”
When he checked in the rear-view mirror, Kent saw Brody was about to argue.
Kent forestalled him.
“I’ll have him back in an hour,” he said firmly. “I’ve never had a problem making transactions with the Phantoms. If we play by the rules, the deal will go down without a hitch.”
The bodyguard was pissed, but he did get out of the car.
With Brody gone, he still didn’t put the car in gear.
“Show me the merchandise.” Holding his hand out, he waited expectantly for the bag Mica was holding tightly on his lap.
“Why do you need to see it?” he countered.
Kent gave a mock laugh. “If you think I’m going to hand over a bag to Wraith without double-checking the merchandise, then you’re insane.
We aren’t fucking trading Pokémon cards.
You try to pull the wool over Wraith’s eyes, they’ll pull real fucking guns on you and fill you with real fucking bullets.
Then he’ll fill me with lead just to show everyone not to mess with him. You get my fucking meaning?”
“Yeah, I get it.” Mica handed him the black gym bag.
Unzipping the bag, Kent looked inside. He picked out a gleaming necklace, then unzipped his leather jacket to tug on his thin chain until a small jeweler’s loupe slid out from underneath his black T-shirt.
Putting the magnifying glass to his eye, he studied the diamonds in the necklace before putting it back in the bag and taking another piece from inside.
He studied the yellow diamond flower bracelet under the microscope and estimated the value to be over eighty grand.
Together with the necklace, the two pieces alone were at least two hundred grand.
Dropping the bracelet back into the bag, he was about to zip it back up when one piece caught his eye.
He pulled out a delicate, pink diamond and pearl flower pendant necklace and raised it to the scope, then lowered the necklace and admired the fragile beauty of the design. Keeping the necklace in his hand, he zipped the bag closed before he gave it back to Mica.
“What the hell? Give it back!” Springing toward him, Mica tried to take the necklace from his hand.
Kent shoved him away. “The necklace is my fee.” Putting the car in gear, he pulled out of the parking spot.
“Ice said he would take care of your end of our deal.”
“Relax. I’ll handle it with Ice.” Shooting him a quick glance, he saw Mica was positioning himself to grab for the necklace again. “I’ll make sure Wraith knows I took it. It’s all good.”
“How’s it good? I’m not going to bite the loss of that necklace. It’s twenty thousand dollars!”
“Retail,” Kent corrected him. “We both know you didn’t buy it legally, did you, Mica?” Giving him a sardonic look, he slid the necklace into his jacket pocket.
Mica’s mouth snapped shut.
“Don’t worry; you won’t lose a dime. Wraith will give you the same amount he offered for the merchandise without the one I took.”
“All I heard from both Ice and you was not to try to pull one over on him. Now, all of a sudden, you want me to stiff him twenty grand?”
“I plan to tell Wraith I took it.” Kent pressed a button, raising the volume of the music. “Buckle your seat belt; I don’t want to keep listening to that fucking binging for the next five miles.”
Kent could feel the rage rolling in his direction as he drove to the meeting place he had arranged with Ice.
He pulled into the deserted factory parking lot just as the sun went down.
The metal gate blocking the parking area had been opened, allowing them through.
The lot was the size of a football field and didn’t have any place where anyone could hide other than the dilapidated brick factory.
Jackal had been staking the factory out for the last two days after checking that it was empty.
Two men on motorcycles were waiting in the middle of the lot. Kent stopped in front of them and put the car in Park .
“Don’t open your mouth. And keep the bag until I tell you to give it to Wraith,” he instructed Mica before getting out of the car.
“How will I know which one is Wraith?”
“Believe me; you’ll know,” he answered, getting out of the car and motioning for Mica to get out, too.
Walking forward, Kent drew to a stop before he reached the motorcycles. Neither of the two men sitting on the bikes got off.
Feeling Mica come to his side, he could practically smell the fear coming off the nervous man.
“Wraith,” Kent greeted the president of the Phantoms.
“Creed. Been a while.”
“Yes, it has.”
Indolently, Wraith rose from his bike. Kent noticed Wraith hadn’t changed physically since he had last seen him four years ago. At six foot three, they were the same height, yet Wraith had a more muscular build, and his features hinted at the cruelty he was capable of.
Kent looked toward the other man as he stood, coming to stand next to Wraith.
“How you been doing, Sandman?”
“Terrific.”
If the Grim Reaper had a physical body, Kent imagined it would describe Sandman.
The Phantom’s enforcer’s ominous presence would make anyone he came into contact with worry if they were right with God.
When you looked into his dark brown eyes, you would swear they were as black as his soul.
He was a couple inches taller than Wraith, and his body wasn’t as muscular, yet Kent had seen him fight three men at once using movements that had sent his opponents broken to the floor, wondering what had happened.
Side by side, they looked dangerous and intimidating. Together, they looked as if the gates of hell were about to open.
Out of the corner his eye, he saw Mica look as if was about to piss himself, if he hadn’t already.
Kent almost smiled at the fear on his client’s expression. Mica was watching Wraith respectfully, easily recognizing the power the man exuded.
“I expected you to bring Freddy.” Kent narrowed his eyes at the old factory.
“I expected Jackal.” Wraith shrugged. “I guess we’re both surprised.”
He wasn’t going to be side-tracked. “Where’s Freddy?”
Wraith lifted his brows. “Where’s Jackal?”
He had better things to do than engaging in a pissing match with Wraith.
“Fine.” Conceding that they each had someone out of sight watching their backs was a given, he turned toward Mica.
“Where’s the phone?”
Mica reached into his pocket to take out the disposable cell phone.
“Pull up the account you want the money deposited into,” he instructed Mica.
Kent saw the amusement on Wraith and Sandman’s faces at Mica’s shaking hand as he keyed the numbers into the overseas account he had set up for the buy.
“Give me the phone.”
Mica was so nervous he practically threw the phone at him. Sweat was beaded on his forehead.
Jesus. This guy was an accident waiting to happen. He could see now why Ice had pulled him into the transaction—to protect his own interests and to keep this goober from getting killed.
Palming the phone, he carried it to Wraith and handed it over.
After keying in a series of numbers then filling in the amount, Wraith gave the phone back. Kent walked back to Mica and handed him the phone.
“You good with that?” he asked.
Mica cleared his throat before answering. “Yes.” His voice came out sounding like a squeak.
“Then press Accept ,” Kent instructed him.
Mica raised fearful eyes to his, shot them to Wraith, then back to his. “What about the necklace?”
Wraith’s arms crossed over his chest. “What about what necklace?” he asked silkily.
Mica wasn’t as stupid as Kent thought; he was covering his ass.
Kent took the flower necklace out of his pocket, letting it dangle from his fingers.
“Why wasn’t it in the bag?” Wraith’s stoic expression didn’t change.
“My cut,” he answered, placing the necklace back in his pocket.
“Ice is the one paying you, not me. Put the necklace in the bag.”
“No. The necklace is worth about ten grand, which covers the time it took me to boot Sarge out of my car.”
A cold smile played around Wraith’s lips. “You must be slipping if it took you that long to recognize Sarge as one of my men.”
“Brody is a Phantom?” Mica asked hoarsely, his gaze switching back and forth from him to Wraith.
Sandman gave Mica a pitying look. “How in the fuck did this fuckwad keep from being jacked?”
The answer was simple. Ice. No one fucked Ice over.
The Predators and the Phantoms were rivals, but they had a healthy respect of the damage they could inflict.
If it came to a head-to-head battle, the Phantoms could win, yet the damage would be catastrophic.
Wraith was a good leader and wouldn’t risk the brothers’ lives on the slim chance they would win.
Ice had made the Predators a club to be feared, yet they had a problem—they had allowed themselves to have weaknesses.
That hadn’t always been the case, but now they had wives, children who could be used as bargaining chips to destroy the club.
The Phantoms didn’t have those weaknesses; they were ruthless, merciless, and had a cunning that could rip a man to shreds before they knew what was happening and their body parts were spread before them.
“Ice has taken Mica under his wing.”
Wraith’s interest was piqued by the revelation. “Why?”
Kent shrugged. “Doesn’t matter. We’re making money, and that’s all we should give a fuck about.”
Wraith dropped his arms, boredom settling on his face. “Let’s finish this up before you take another fee out of the Phantom’s cut.”
“I can accept?” Mica asked warily.
“Jesus,” Sandman muttered.
Kent took the bag from Mica. “Go sit in the car. I’ll be there in a minute,” he directed him.
Mica didn’t have to be told twice.
Wincing at how hard Mica slammed the car door, he turned back to the Phantoms.
“It’s his first time.” Kent walked forward to hand Wraith the bag.
“No shit.” Jeeringly, Wraith took the bag from him. “You should advise him to get a regular job. He’s not cut out for this shit. He’s lucky we don’t fuck him up just for fun.”
“I’m sure he’s figured that out.”
Carelessly tossing the black gym bag to Sandman, Wraith turned back to him and gave him a discerning stare. “You look good, little bro.”