Chapter 4 #2
“There’s no way you could’ve known.” I dropped my hands to my lap and sighed. “I’ve made such a mess of things. I don’t know what I’m going to do.”
“Nothing. You’re going to do nothing.”
“But...”
“You didn’t know who the guy was. You just wanted to let off a little steam, and that’s what you did. Leave it at that.”
“I wish it was that easy.” I leaned closer to Braylon as I whispered, “Sex with him was unbelievable, like really, really unbelievable, and I can’t even look at him without thinking about it.”
“Unbelievable? Hmm.” My heart literally stopped beating in my chest at the sound of Country’s voice. “Glad to know you enjoyed it. Maybe we should try again sometime.”
I whipped around in my seat, and just as I feared, Country was standing in the doorway, smiling like the Cheshire cat.
I was completely mortified and wanted to crawl into a hole and die, but sadly, there was literally nowhere for me to hide.
I couldn’t let him think that I was talking about him to one of my employees, so I was left with only one choice.
I had to lie. “I hate to burst your bubble, but I wasn’t talking about you. ”
“Yeah... If you say so.” His smirk faded as he said, “The guys wanted me to let you know that we’re heading out for a bit.”
“Oh, okay. Any idea when you’ll be back?”
“Can’t say for sure.”
“But you’ll be back, right?”
“Yeah.” Country’s tone was soft and reassuring as he said, “We’ll be back.”
“Okay. I’ll see ya when you get back.”
He gave me a quick nod, then turned and disappeared down the hallway. I leaned back, making sure he was gone before turning my attention back to Braylon. “How much do you think he heard?”
“Enough.”
“Damn.” I let out a groan. “I just can’t win.”
“Well, he’s clearly interested in hooking up again.” Braylon shrugged. “So, it isn’t all bad.”
“You aren’t helping.”
He chuckled as he said, “I had to try.”
“Yeah, thanks.” I rolled my eyes, then stood. “Wonder where they ran off to.”
“I don’t know. If it was me, I’d be checking out the surrounding area, but it’s hard to tell with these guys.”
“You’re right about that.” I shook my head as I started for the door. “I have a feeling they’re going to give me a run for my money over the next couple of days.”
“I certainly hope so, or they aren’t the men we thought they were.”
“Very true.” As I started down the hall, I shouted, “Let’s hope Riggs was right about them!”
I left the office and went to start getting dinner prepped for the night.
Since the weather was nice and not too cold, I decided to use the picnic area out by the old church to grill burgers.
I asked Lumley, one of our workers, to gather some wood for a fire and place it by the pit.
Thinking it would be a good place for us to talk, I moved some chairs over and got a cooler of beer, then placed them around the fire pit.
Even though I had no idea how long they would be gone, I decided to go on and start on the burgers while Braylon and Lumley started the fire.
As I hoped, the guys returned not long after I’d finished grilling the burgers.
They all gathered around and made themselves a plate, then carried it over to the picnic tables.
We sat down to eat and I was expecting them to start talking, but none of them said a word—not to me or to each other.
I wasn’t sure what was wrong. It was a perfect night.
It wasn’t too warm. It wasn’t too cold, and the food was really good—even if it was just burgers.
I thought someone would eventually say something, but no such luck.
The silence was starting to get to me, so I tried to open the line of communication by saying, “I was thinking we could use this time to talk a little.”
None of them said a word. They simply gave each other an odd look, then continued eating. Hoping to get at least one of them to open up, I asked, “So, none of you have any questions about Langford Manor or the products we have to offer?”
“It’s too soon for questions,” Hawk answered. “We still have a lot to see.”
“Yes, you definitely do. I was just wondering if there was anything you saw today that...” None of them seemed to be paying me any attention, so I decided to just rip off the Band-Aid and discuss the elephant in the room.
“I know the cards are stacked against me here, and I have no one but myself to blame for that. I used my father’s connection to you to gain access to Menace’s computer, and then I used what I found on the hard drive to lure you into a meet.
I’m sure that makes you think I’m not trustworthy, that I broke some unspoken code, but I had my reasons for doing what I did. ”
“Those reasons cost you our trust, and if you don’t have trust, you don’t have anything.”
“I understand, but I didn’t do anything you wouldn’t have done if you were in my position.
” I reached into my pocket and pulled out the flash drive I’d used to access Menace’s hard drive.
I put it on the table and slid it over to Hawk as I said, “That being said, here is everything I got from Menace’s laptop... It’s the only copy.”
“And you think giving me this makes things right?” Hawk shook his head. “Cause it doesn’t.”
“No, I didn’t think it would, but I’m hoping it will be the start to making things right.”
Hawk lifted the flash drive as he asked, “What exactly were you able to find on Menace’s laptop?”
“Enough.”
“That’s not an answer.”
“I get that you are concerned that I might have something to use against you, but that’s not why I did what I did.
I was only looking for things that would help me determine whether or not your club would be the right fit for my business.
” Sensing that it wouldn’t help my case, I didn’t want to go into lengthy detail, so I simply told him, “I did that by watching your security footage. I know you have your girls selling coke in your clubs... I know you’re careful, really careful, and that’s why you’ve done so well with it.
I also know you have a secure holding place at a storage lot that’s run by a woman named Ada May.
I did a little digging and discovered that you have several other Ruthless Sinner chapters throughout the country—including Idaho, Kansas, Nebraska, and North and South Carolina.
States where marijuana is still fully illegal, but you also have chapters where the legal status is mixed.
In other words, you have plenty of options for distribution. ”
“Looks like you’ve done your homework.”
“Again—I only did what you and your brothers would’ve done if you were in my position.” I took a moment to catch my breath, then added, “Look, I know right now I don’t have your trust, but if you give me a chance, I’ll do whatever it takes to earn it.”
Hawk nodded, but he didn’t verbally respond.
None of them did. They simply sat there in complete and utter silence, making me question whether or not I’d ever be able to regain their trust. We all went back to eating, and just as everyone was about to finish up, Country looked over to me and said, “I have a question.”
The other brothers looked over at him like he’d lost his mind, but he didn’t seem to care. Relieved to have one of them open up a little, I quickly replied, “You can ask me anything.”
“I’m just curious... you say your stuff is good, but exactly how good is it?”
“It’s the best around. Seriously, you should try it.” I leaned forward and smiled. “All of you should.”
Country looked over to Hawk and Menace. When they gave him a nod, he turned back to me and said, “Bring it on.”
And just like that, our night took a totally different turn.