Chapter 21 Lennox
Lennox
THE ENFORCER
Iwatch Kage walk Wren towards the bar doors, middle finger thrown up behind him like the cocky fuck that he is.
I can’t even be mad at him for it, Wren does look good.
The way her ass peaks out from the bottom of her shorts, the fishnets only making the view even sexier.
I just know she’s going to have the attention of every man in that building and I’m not really in the mood for a bar fight right now.
Trying to hold down the rage that starts to bubble up at the thought of other men’s eyes on her, I follow behind Wren and Kage into the bar.
When I walk inside, Wren is already behind the counter making a drink. Kage is sitting at the bar watching her every move and I take a seat right beside him. Wren moves so naturally behind the bar, it has me wondering how long she’s been working here.
“You should have seen the way he put his hands on her today,” Kage whispers just loud enough for me to hear.
“He really fucking thinks she’s his property.
” I can see the way his fists clench, the minute control he has over his temper barely hanging on by a thread.
“He needs to be taken care of already, I just feel like there’s something that we’re missing.
There’s a bigger picture here and this is only a small piece of the puzzle. ”
“I’m done waiting for Jimmy to get back to us. Get him on the phone. Now.”
Without hesitation, Kage picks up his phone, the name Jimbo and a picture of a raccoon in a leather jacket holding a Red Bull lights up the screen.
“What the fuck is that?” I deadpan, not even kind of surprised that Kage would pull some dumb shit like this.
“What? It looks just like him.”
“We’ve never even met the guy in person.”
“It’s how I pictured him in my head.” I don’t even give him the satisfaction of responding, I just shake my head and look around for Wren, I need a drink.
“You’re gonna look at me and tell me that I’m wrong? AM I WRONG?” Kage yells, and I give him the most dumbfounded look I can muster.
“Are you seriously quoting that dumb youtube video again?” Kage just smiles at me and wiggles his eyebrows. “I can’t fucking stand you. Just call him.”
He presses call and after a moment Kage speaks up in a British accent. “Ah yes, Jimothy. Could you spare some knowledge?”
Kage doesn’t have him on speaker, and yet I can still hear Jimmy's loud response through the phone. “I could spare you a visit from the FBI if you keep disrespecting me with the sound of your voice.”
“Be honest with yourself, Jim. You love the sounds of my voice. That’s why we always have these chats late at night….when you’re all alone...just waiting for someone to show you some attenti—”
“Give me the fucking phone,” I cut him off, tired of this little game Kage always has to play. “Jimmy, we need you to find more information on that Richard guy. I’m getting impatient, and Dick is getting too…handsy.”
“What do you mean by ‘handsy’?”
We haven’t told Jimmy about Wren yet. Didn’t think we needed to. But it’s apparent now that she needs more protection than what we initially thought and it wouldn’t hurt to have an extra pair of eyes on her.
“He keeps laying hands on our girl.” The line is quiet for a beat, and I pull the phone away from my face to see if I lost him. “Jimmy.”
“When you say ‘our girl’? As in you’re sharing her?”
“Is that really important? That’s what you took away from that?”
“Sorry,” he clears his throat. “In all these years there’s never been a mention of a girl before. So, uh, he touched your girl. I’ll see what I can find. What’s her name?”
“Her name’s Wren. She works at a little dive bar downtown called Pour Decisions. I don’t have a last name, but I’ll text you her location in a minute.”
“...She’s your girl and you don’t know her last name?”
“Jimmy.”
“Alright, alright, I’ll see what I can find. In the meantime, I found Kevin. Full name’s Kevin Gibson. Lucero had a meetup with him scheduled a few days ago. Their little circle has been real quiet when he didn’t show. You’re gonna have to dig the motherfucker out of the cave he’s hiding in.”
I glance over at Kage who’s looking at me with a serious expression, the playfulness now completely gone from his eyes. This is the part that excites him the most—the hunt of unwilling prey.
“Shouldn’t be a problem.”
“Oh but it will. These guys are on high alert now. There's even been talk about breaking the big boss out of prison, so you’re gonna have to get creative, and you’re gonna have to do it fast. I’m afraid we don’t know what we’re dealing with here.”
“Who’s the ‘big boss’?”
“I’m trying to figure that out now. But until I do, you guys need to get to Kevin, and you need to do it quietly.”
“Let us know the second you find anything out. Make Dick a priority, I don't have much patience left for that fucker.”
“You know I will.” Leaving no room for goodbyes, Jimmy hangs up on me.
I hand Kage back his phone and take this time to send Jimmy Wren’s address.
I’ll feel better once I know he’ll be watching the surveillance cameras of the restaurant.
He may not know exactly why she's important to us, but I trust that he will keep her as safe as we would.
Almost immediately after I text Jimmy the address, I get a response back.
Jimmy: This is a restaurant.
Me: She lives in the apartment above it.
Jimmy: …Why?
Me: Does it fucking matter?
He doesn’t respond. Taking a deep breath to calm my nerves, I relay the entirety of the conversation back to Kage.
He looks pissed off and I don't blame him. Every time we get a step closer to unraveling this mess, another player is added into the game. Who the fuck is the ‘big boss’ and how did he land himself in prison? We thought we were getting closer to the man in charge with this Kevin guy, but if the boss is in jail, there must be a whole team running the operation. There’s no way someone behind bars is able to manage a whole skin ring.
What we thought was a small ring, just became a whole lot larger.
The thoughts are whirling in my head as Wren finally walks up to our spot at the counter. “Are you two planning a murder or just whispering sweet nothings in each other's ears?”
“Little bit of both. But mostly murder,” Kage smirks. “Why, you wanna join?” He lifts his brows like the idea of Wren murdering some sick fucks excites him, but she just laughs him off. She has no idea of the seriousness behind his words.
“As fun as murder sounds, I have several tables to take care of and not a lot of help so do you guys want to order some drinks?”
Just when I’m about to tell her we’ll pass on the drinks, Kage chimes in. “Baby, there’s nothing else I’d rather be doing than watching your fine ass bent over this counter all night with some beers in your hands—”
“But,” I cut Kage off. “We have some important things we need to deal with tonight. Thanks for the offer, sweetheart.” I pull the keys of her car out of the front pocket of my suit pants and hand them over to her.
“Thanks for bringing my car back. You really didn’t have to do that, I could have Ubered back. What do I owe you guys?”
Kage’s response is quick as lightning. “Give me your phone.”
“What? Why?”
“This is how you can repay us,” his voice low and to the point. “Let me see your phone, little bird.”
She’s hesitant at first, but she pulls her phone out from her back pocket and hands it to him. Kage starts typing something in her phone, the silence thick between us, until Wren speaks up. “Important things, huh? You guys gonna let me in on your little secret?”
“Oh you’ll find out soon enough, gorgeous,” he purrs, his voice filled with lust, and winks. “There,” Kage hands Wren back her phone. “Now you have both of our numbers, if you ever need anything.”
Taking the phone from Kage’s hand, she scrolls through her contact list. “Monster Cock? Are you fucking kidding me?”
I roll my eyes. Of course he did, because why wouldn’t he?
“If you keep scrolling, you’ll find Nox. You’ll know it’s him.”
“I don't even wanna know.” I murmur.
Wren continues her scrolling and then clasps her hand over her mouth, stifling a laugh. Fucking hell.
“What? What is it?” She shakes her head at my question like she doesn’t want to tell me but Kage speaks up.
“Go on, little bird, tell him his contact name.”
“...Sexy Little Cuck Gremlin.” Kage and Wren both start busting up laughing, no longer able to control their laughter. I stand up from the barstool and start walking out, Kage’s inherently annoying whining sounding off behind me.
“Aw c’mon Sexy Little Cuck Gremlin! Don’t you want to stay and watch? Or are you that excited to ride bitch on my bike?”
Kage’s yells catch the attention of all the patrons inside the bar. As I make my way to the door, all eyes are on me, silent giggles filling the bar. I hold my hand up behind me, flipping him off as I push open the door.
Fucking Kage.
I’m not exactly thrilled with the idea of riding on the back of Kage’s bike, but we have shit to do and not a whole lot of time to do it. Seconds after I walk out the front entrance, I hear Kage’s footsteps behind me as I make my way towards the singular bike parked out front.
“I’m not gonna ride bitch with you, I’ll just call Jimmy and have one of his guys come pick me up.
Just meet me at the house,” I yell back over my shoulder as I type out a message to Jimmy.
I’m not going to deal with Kage’s bullshit today.
If he wants to mess around and play games that's on him, but I’m not going to be the reason our mission fails.
“Oh c’mon, Nox. Quit being a big baby. Get on the back of my damn bike and hold me like you mean it,” he pouts, looking like a damn child. And he says I’m the baby. Is he serious right now?
“I’m not fucking playing around with you, Kage. Too much is on the line and we’re just wasting time dicking around.”
“Are you saying you want my dick?” Fucking hell.
He knows exactly how to get under my skin.
Bringing us up in any capacity has my brain short circuiting in the best way, but also the worst. He knows how it affects me and how our whole situation makes me feel.
He does everything in his power to force me to face the reality of it.
I’m just not ready yet. I need more time.
And with Wren thrown into the mix, I really don't know how to feel about everything.
“See, this is exactly what I mean. You’re always fucking joking at the wrong times. And then you expect me to take you seriously about us,” I shout, throwing my arms up in the air. Kage looks at me as if I punched him right in the stomach and it fucking shatters me.
“There is no right time with you, Nox. Always so serious all the goddamn time. Would it kill you to crack a fucking smile every once in awhile?” he all but yells, getting on his bike and strapping on his helmet. “Now, get on the fucking bike because you’re the one wasting our time.”
“You’ve got some fucking nerve, Kage.” I retort, keeping my voice low.
He doesn’t answer, just revs the engine and waits for me to hop on the back of his bike.
And I do. Because this mission is bigger than us and all the fucked up confusion constricting my heart.
But most importantly, because I fucking want to.