Chapter Five
E than
I slowly make my way into the security building.
As soon as I walk into the room, I see Oliver’s face glued to the monitor in front of him.
We all have been waiting for the day when someone is fucking dumb enough to try and fuck with us, and I thought I was prepared for it.
I promise I was—until Jennifer. Now I just feel rage and worry.
It isn’t about the whole complex anymore for me.
It is all about her and needing to keep her away from her father and other men.
These fucking changes everything for me.
“Ethan, look,” Oliver gets my attention, pointing at one of the monitors.
I walk up behind him and look at the screen. There are four black SUVs parked at the corner of the street and two cop cars.
When Shawn, Emory, and I started expanding this place, we made sure to do everything legally to protect the women that come here, and part of doing things legally was going to the courts and making sure the police and other government agencies couldn’t come on the property and ask questions about the clients.
So far, the police have understood, and many of them are on Shawn’s payroll, but not all of them.
Some of them are shady as fuck and don’t like what we are trying to do here, and that is only because they get off on a lot of illegal sex shit, and they want it to continue.
They make money and get fucked for looking the other way.
It makes me fucking sick, but I’m not surprised. There are a lot of people that don’t agree with what we are doing here and would love for us to disappear. We have caused people to lose money and their business, so of course, they would be pissed.
“Did you call Shawn?” I ask, but I already know the answer. Of course, he called him, and if he didn’t, Shawn would be on his way anyway. All the monitors are wired to show him live video at his house. We are all always watching this place.
“Yes, he’ll be here any second,” Oliver says nervously.
“Okay.” I’m watching the guys talk outside of the SUVs. I don’t know who they are, but I can take a guess.
Jennifer has been fucking terrified, telling me that her father isn’t just going to let her go, and I believe her. So, if I had to guess, I would say that these men work for her father and are here to try and take her back, which is not going to happen.
Oliver and I both watch the monitor as Shawn pulls up in his black Mustang. A few cop cars are pulling up behind him. I know the cops. They are on our payroll. They keep an eye on this place alongside us.
“Let’s go,” I tell Oliver. I don’t give him time to respond. I turn around and walk back out of the open front door of the security building and start making my way down to the parking lot towards the front gate.
The men haven’t tried to get in yet, but I wouldn’t put it past them to try to find a way. These guys aren’t fucking stupid, though. If they did try, it would be at night and not during the day when others could see that they were trying to do.
Oliver quickly catches up to me and walks to my side as I watch the cops and Shawn get out of the cars.
They waste no time making their way to the men standing in front of the gate.
Oliver picks up his pace and puts in his code.
The gates start to open as Oliver and I both walk through, not waiting for them to completely open.
Shawn and the two cops stop in front of the men. Oliver and I stop at Shawn’s left side. Now that I am closer, I can tell these guys are gangsters with their clothing and tattoos. They don’t try to hide who they are.
But lucky for them, I don’t try to hide who I am either.
I watch closely as one of the men slightly turns around and opens the back door of the closest SUV, and a man calmly steps out. His longer black hair with a mixture of gray is slicked back, and he’s wearing a black suit, but I can see his neck tattoos.
I don’t think I have met this man before, but then again, over the years, I have met a lot of men that thought they were gangsters, and all of their faces are a blur because they don’t fuck matter and once, I end their life they are out of sight and out of my mind.
“Who’s the one in charge?” the man asks as his guy closes the door behind him. Shawn stands still, his hands forming into fists. “I am,” Shawn states calmly.
“Well, you have something that belongs to me.” The man keeps his eyes deadlocked on Shawn. I can feel my heart starting to race.
“No, I don’t think I do,” Shawn responds just as calmly as he did before. That is one thing my brother has that I don’t have—calmness. Over the years, he has been able to master it. I still have issues with my temper, but it is better than it was before.
The man takes a deep breath. I see irritation in his eyes. “I know she’s here. She has been sold to me by her father. I want her back,” he says, as if buying someone is fucking normal.
None of us needs to ask who he is talking about. We all know it is Jennifer. My heart sinks. I knew they wouldn’t let her go.
“And who the fuck are you?” I demand, taking a small step forward. Shawn reaches out his arm, stopping me from moving any further. I take a deep breath as my own hands form into fists.
The man turns and looks at me. I watch him look me over, his eyes going back up and locking with mine. “I am Tristan Pierce, and who are you?” he asks in an amused voice.
The way this man stands and talks already has me fucking seeing red, and I know he knows that. I can see it on his face. He is getting the reaction he wanted. The reaction he came here for.
But he will not get the person he came here for.
I will fucking kill anyone that tries to get to Jennifer.
If he wants her, he is going to have to go through me.
I can tell by his body language that he is used to getting what he wants.
He is one of those men who just look at someone and see them submit.
I am not the submitting type. I never have been and never fucking will be.
“Ethan Raven,” I mutter through gritted teeth.
The man slowly nods. “I have heard of you. I knew your father,” he says in an amused voice.
That doesn’t fucking surprise me. There are a lot of scrum bags that knew my father.
Most people know my last name because of him, but over the years, I have made a name for myself, and people fear my last name not because of my father but because of me.
“A lot of men knew him,” I state as calmly as I can. I don’t fucking like this. I don’t like that these men are this close to Jennifer and what we have created for others to feel safe.
“Yes, that is true. I have heard a lot about you, Ethan,” Tristan says, making my heart race more. He is too fucking calm. This is wrong. All of this is fucking wrong.
How the fuck has he heard of me, but I haven’t heard of him?
“I think it is time you leave,” Shawn says, taking Tristan’s attention from me back to him.
He takes a deep breath. I look at his men. Each of them has their hands on the guns on their hips. All of them are ready and waiting.
Tristan allows a small chuckle to leave his lips.
He thinks he is so smart and badass that we’ll just submit and give him what he wants, but he is wrong, so fucking wrong.
He hasn’t met men like Shawn and me, and he will learn fucking quick that we don’t submit to scum.
We don’t submit to anyone. We don’t give a fuck who they think they are.
“I will leave you when you hand over my fiancée,” Tristan states, looking at Shawn.
“What?” I can’t hide my surprise and worry. The fuck does he mean, fiancée?
Tristan turns back and looks at me. I watch a smile forming across his lips.
“Her father sold her to me this morning. She is now mine. Hand her over to me,” Tristan states as if he just made a normal business deal.
The fuck? Hand her over. What the fuck makes him think I would ever do that?
He must not have heard too much about me, or he wouldn’t be acting like this right now.
“We don’t know who you are talking about,” Shawn says harshly.
Tristan chuckles again as he looks back at Shawn. “Don’t fucking try and play games with me. I know that Jennifer is here,” he says with so much confidence it makes my heart stop and makes my blood boil. How the fuck is he so sure she is here?
Someone had to have told him. There is no fucking way he has seen her. We would have seen him watching her. The scene was clear when Shawn and Emory brought her here, and I have been watching the property every fucking second since she has stepped foot on it.
There is no way he can be certain unless someone fucking tipped him off. The town knows what we do here. We don’t hide it, but we make sure that no one actually knows who is or is not here.
Someone we have trusted has fucking betrayed us, and I am going to find out who the fuck it is, and they will pay for their betrayal. They will pay with their life, but that is another problem that I will have to deal with later. Right now, all my attention needs to stay on this asshole.
Hearing her name leave his lips makes my heart sink. I feel my blood boiling more at the thought of him touching her and using her. He will not get fifty feet anywhere near her.
Before any of us can say anything, the two cops standing next to Shawn take a few steps forward.
“This place is protected. You need to leave before we remove you,” they tell Tristan.
Tristan turns and looks at the cops. He takes a deep breath.
“I don’t want to hurt anyone, but I will if I must. You have one week to bring her to me. If you don’t, you will feel what it’s like to lose everything and everyone you love. Don’t make me do this,” Tristan threatens, his words echoing inside my mind.