CHAPTER TWO
CASH
I kept checking the time on my phone, counting down until class ended. Usually, I found my marketing classes interesting. Today I felt impatient, wanting to be anywhere else.
We were meeting the Sinners in the cafeteria in fifteen minutes. Daire had been adamant this morning that we were getting out of this favor we owed them. A debt was a debt. If it wasn’t this, it would be something else. Maybe something worse. If that was possible.
I hated how close Clover and Blaze had come to danger last night. We’d come so close to losing both of them already. This was no time to take chances. However, we owed the Sinners. We couldn’t simply refuse to pay up. They had the ability to destroy our lives with a few clicks.
When the clock hit the top of the hour, the professor dismissed the class. I shot out of my chair and bolted for the door. Moving fast, I raced out of the business and marketing wing, crossing into the hall where Clover’s criminal psych class was located.
She waited outside her classroom for me. My mood immediately perked up at the sight of her. There was a reason I called her Sunshine. Clover brought a much needed light to our lives. Just one look at her chased the shadows away.
“Hey, beautiful.” I greeted her with a kiss, holding on a little longer.
Someone passing by told us to get a room. Without breaking the kiss, I held up a hand, flipping the middle finger.
“Mmm, you smell good,” Clover murmured, pressing her face to my neck. “I love that cologne.”
She had no idea how easily she got under my skin. I’d have loved nothing more than to take her somewhere private and make her scream. Too bad we had a meeting now.
Slipping her small hand into my much bigger one, Clover smiled up at me. “How was class?”
I shrugged. “It was class. The usual. Probably not as interesting as yours.”
“Yeah, too bad it was so hard to concentrate. I can’t stop thinking about last night.” She peered up at me with those enchanting blue eyes. “Do you think there’s any chance the Sinners will let us get out of this?”
“Honestly? No. I think Daire will put up a heck of a fight though.” I pulled Clover out of the way as a few guys from the football team passed us, jostling and shoving each other as they shouted about an upcoming game.
“I don’t think so either,” she said, tossing her blonde waves out of her face.
When we reached the cafeteria, Riot and Felix were already there. They’d wisely chosen a table in the back corner where nobody would overhear our conversation. Blaze strolled up from a different direction, joining us as we approached the table.
Felix nodded a greeting while Riot motioned for us to take a seat. “We’re just waiting on Scratch. I assume Daire is coming?”
From what I’d heard, Scratch’s real name was Damian Sullivan. I had no idea how he’d earned the nickname, and I didn’t really care. Riot’s nickname was self-explanatory. Nobody got a name like that without a good reason.
“Yeah, he’ll be here any minute.” Blaze motioned for Clover and me to take the remaining seats at the table. Since nobody sat at the next table over, he swiped the chairs, cramming them in at our table.
Riot had no interest in forced conversation. His attention was on the roast beef sandwich in his grasp. Fine with me. I wasn’t especially eager to be friends with these guys. Ours had been a business arrangement. Best to keep it that way.
When Daire arrived, he held a tray of food. He placed it in front of Clover. “I wasn’t sure what you’d like, so I grabbed a few different things.”
She eyed up the salad, fruit cup, and chicken sandwich on the tray. “Aww, thanks, Daire. That’s really sweet.”
It sure was. Not like the Daire Keller I knew at all. This woman was changing him for the better. I liked it.
Scratch ambled up a few minutes later. He took the remaining seat next to Felix. Tension settled over the table.
“First of all, no business talk on a regular phone,” Riot said, getting right to the point. “We use burner phones for a reason. I’d advise you all to do the same. Now what would you like to discuss? Did you get into the club?”
“Yeah, we got in,” Blaze began, glancing at Clover. The two of them shared a knowing look. “The shady shit goes on in a back area that’s accessed by a keycard. We managed to catch the door when a waitress entered. We saw enough to know there is definitely snuff content being made there.”
“It’s too dangerous,” Daire jumped in. “I’m not sending Clover back in there. Find another way to get your footage.”
Riot took another bite of his sandwich, eyeing Daire as he chewed. “You owe us. You agreed to do this. We need cameras back there. It’s the only way to accurately identify those running things.”
“Then find someone else to plant them. You obviously know how dangerous this is since you’re not doing it yourself. We’re out.” Daire settled back in his chair, holding Riot’s piercing stare.
A faint smile crossed Riot’s face. “You owe us a favor, Keller. You’re lucky we’re only calling in the one after everything we’ve done for you guys. Clover is only sitting here right now because of our help. You’re not getting out of this.”
I’d kind of expected this reaction. The Sinners had named their price. Now we had to pay it.
Daire’s jaw clenched. His temper was always halfway to explosive. Losing his shit on the Sinners wouldn’t help us get out of this.
“We don’t want to send her back in there,” I said, trying to keep the vibes calm. “They were almost caught. There’s no easy way into the back. Are you sure there’s no other way to handle this?”
Felix shook his shaggy blond hair out of his eyes. “Hey, if you have any ideas, we’re all ears. If we can get a visual on the people in charge, we can run it through a database that will pull up any matches. Like a driver’s license. We need names and addresses. We need identities.”
Fuck. I didn’t see any other way around this. Blaze and Daire were silent. They had nothing.
After the silence stretched on uncomfortably long, Riot shrugged. “Sorry, guys. It is what it is. You’ll have to go back in.”
Daire shot to his feet, a hand clenched into a fist. Grabbing his arm, I forcefully sat him back down.
Refusing to stay quiet, he snarled, “If anything happens to Clover, I will personally kill all three of you.”
Unfazed, Riot dropped a piece of bread crust onto his disposable plate, wiping crumbs from his fingers. He stood up, grabbing the plate. “Sure. Whatever you say. Get a damn burner phone.”
He sauntered away, his buddies right behind him. Daire shot daggers at their backs as they went.
“Fucking dicks,” he muttered. “I swear they chose this favor just to fuck with us.”
Clover placed a hand over his. “It will be okay. We’ll figure this out.”
“I don’t want you going back in there. It’s too risky.” Daire brought her hand to his lips, kissing the back of her knuckles.
“Hey, guys.” Raina Monroe’s voice preceded her moments before she plopped down into a free chair. “How’s it going?”
Havoc took a seat beside her. He held a tray with some pizza and a chicken salad wrap. Raina helped herself to the wrap.
Muttering something about needing to get to class, Daire quickly vacated. He paused to kiss Clover briefly before disappearing. His quick exit came as no surprise. He and Raina had a history that had followed all of us. I couldn’t pretend that I hadn’t been involved the night we grabbed her, although Daire had done all the dirty work and loved it.
Clover claimed that Raina was over it. That seemed to be true. However, her guys hadn’t let it go. They never would. I sure as hell wouldn’t if I were any of them.
Havoc watched Daire leave, his eyes narrowing. Yeah, that grudge wasn’t going anywhere.
“Thought I saw the Sinners sitting here,” Raina said, taking a huge bite of her wrap.
“Yeah, they were.” Clover popped a piece of cantaloupe from her fruit cup into her mouth. “We were discussing the favor we owe them. We were hoping they’d let us out of it, but no such luck.”
“What favor is that?” Raina glanced about at the three of us. “Unless that’s none of my business.”
Blaze shrugged. “I doubt it matters if you know.”
Raina listened attentively as Clover told her about last night. Her eyes widened several times. She broke in here and there to ask about the sex club itself and the activity inside.
“Wait, so there are people tied up right there in front of you?” Raina gaped in wonder. “People are just fucking all over the place? Damn, I didn’t know we had a place like that here.”
“Yeah, there’s a whole floor where pretty much anything goes.” Shooting a glance at Havoc, Clover giggled. “There’s even a forced orgasm setup. The person is strapped down with a vibrator between their legs.”
Havoc immediately perked up. “You don’t say.”
“Girl, no,” Raina protested. “Don’t tell him shit like that.”
Taking a bite of pizza, Havoc said, “I think I’d like to see this place for myself. We may have to pay it a visit.”
Raina perked up. “Oh, we should go with you. We can have your back while you sneak around for the Sinners.”
Clover’s expression soured. “I’m not sure that’s such a good idea. There’s some really bad shit going on there.”
Lowering her voice, Clover told them about the murder she’d witnessed. That did nothing to deter Raina. If anything, it encouraged her.
“Okay, we are definitely coming along,” she insisted. “When do we go?”
Clover munched a strawberry, her brow furrowed. “Are you sure you want to come? It might get crazy, especially if we get caught.”
“Hell yeah, I want to come.” Turning to Havoc, Raina wiggled her brows. “What do you think? Doesn’t it sound like fun?”
“Anything you want, Bad Girl. I’m still hung up on the forced orgasm aspect. I can’t wait to make you crazy.” Havoc leaned in, nipping at Raina’s earlobe.
Laughing, she shoved him away. “All right, settle down, pervert. I guess we should go shopping first, Clover. Maybe get some wigs and stuff to hide our identities. Might be safer that way.”
“That’s probably a good idea,” Clover agreed. “I’ve already been in there looking like myself.”
While the ladies planned a shopping trip, Havoc pointed at me. “I forgot to tell you. I have the tracker you asked for. I’ve been carrying it in case I ran into you.”
Reaching into the pocket of the jacket he wore, Havoc produced a small, thin metal bracelet. It looked just like the one Raina wore around her neck. He handed it to me. I turned it over a few times, impressed with its strength despite its appearance.
“How much do I owe you for it?” I asked.
Havoc shook his head, waving off my question. “Don’t worry about it. Consider it a gift.”
Clover stopped talking, her attention now on the tracking bracelet in my grasp. “Is that for me?”
I held it out to her, hoping she wouldn’t be pissed. “It is. I thought it would be safer than nothing at all. Especially with this favor we owe the Sinners. Can’t be too careful.”
Clover took the tracker from my hand, examining it closely. “I want to be angry. I feel like I should be, but honestly, after what happened with Brady, I think you’re right.”
Blaze and I exchanged a look. He slumped in relief. We’d all been worried about losing her again. That wasn’t a chance I wanted to take. I wished we could keep her safe all the time. Unfortunately, that wasn’t possible.
But I would do the best I could. We all would.