Chapter 9 #3
His eyes shift to the door, looking for a way out. I kick it closed and grin back at him like the psychotic motherfucker I am.
“He asked you a question.” Bodhi stands over him, staring the thug down with a coolness that would turn most to stone.
My boot connects with his shoulder, forcing him back to the floor. “Answer me.”
“The club owns her. There’s no walking away. This isn’t a charity. She came to us for help — we gave it. But every girl who knocks on our door knows what it costs. You understand that… right? It’s business.”
“Business, yeah, I get that.” I nod, playing along as if I understand his predicament. If she really did come to him, she has more explaining to do than she knows, putting herself in such a dangerous situation for a little money. “What work exactly was she doing for you?”
His eyes light up in a way that fills me with disgust. “Whatever the boys needed.”
Bodhi steps in beside me. “Might want to be more specific.” His finger hovers over his phone, taunting him.
He grins when he really shouldn’t. “The girl has good assets.”
Bodhi’s boot connects with his nose, the crunch of bone so damn satisfying, not to mention surprising. Physical violence is usually beneath him.
“What the fuck,” he cries, glaring back up at the two of us.
“Using her body to pay off her debt to the club?” I motion to the camera set-up, knowing by the slimy look on his face that he’s got something to do with it.
He nods, looking like he’s about to piss himself.
Yeah, I bet he enjoyed this job right up until he laid eyes on us.
“The club has a few creative ways to help girls pay off any debts, Dax is real good like that,” he splutters, blood spewing from his broken nose.
It’s surprising he can still talk, but the fucker is tougher than I gave him credit for.
“Hear that, Slater? How kind of him, helping out the less fortunate with such lucrative work. What’s your cut? Bet a girl like Elsie makes good money with a body like hers. Or do you just like to watch the clips?”
“She’s a top earner, that’s why the club is pissed we can’t find her,” he whimpers.
Sweat trickles down my spine. I can’t hold back much longer.
This fucker has taken advantage of her and for that he’s going to pay dreadfully.
I move quickly, reaching behind the man and pulling him up by his arms. “I want you to call your prez or whoever is in charge and give ‘em a clear message from me.”
Bodhi pulls out my checkbook and scribbles out fifty thousand dollars. It’s hardly going to leave a dent in my bank account, and if it gets them off her back, it’s worth it.
“Go on,” I say when he’s staring up at me like he’s lost.
Bodhi moves in closer. “He said get out your fucking phone.”
With a shaky hand, the man pulls his phone free and dials a number. “The girl’s not here. She sent a couple of heavies who have a message for you,” he grumbles down the line. Then holds the phone up for me.
A smile twitches onto my lips. “Elsie James’s debt has been paid.
I have the check. She will be set free from her debts to you, and if any of your men want to know who to take up this matter with in the future, you can tell them to come and see the Thrones,” I sneer loud enough for him to hear me on the other end of the phone.
“What the fuck does that mean?” I hear the man seethe down the line.
I give Bodhi a malice-filled smile. This is the shit I live for, and knowing this man intended to hurt our birdie gives me even more reason to thirst for his blood.
“No. No. No,” the man pleads with me, but it’s too late for him.
I pull the trigger, sending a bullet into the man's crotch first. He screams in pain, dropping his phone as his body crumples to the carpet below. Dramatics that work as such a nice warning for the dude on the other side of the phone.
He cries out in agony as Bodhi gathers his fallen phone. “It means she’s no longer your problem to deal with. You want your money, come and collect it. Oh, and maybe send a clean-up crew, this apartment reeks of dead biker.” He disconnects the call.
The thug’s eyes meet with mine. “I helped…”
I collect a handful of his shirt, forcing him to look me dead in the eyes. I want to be the last thing he sees before he dies. “Shouldn’t have fucked with what’s mine.”
I feel Bodhi shift beside me, then a splattering of crimson flies over the dirty carpet as the man’s lifeless body falls, Bodhi’s bullet getting him through the skull.
“That was too quick for scum like that,” he mutters as he tucks his gun away.
“You should have let me toy with him. I had a whole plan and everything.”
“It will send the message we need. You feel like playing a little game with the Southern Breakers, knock yourself out. Let me know how quickly you empty their bank accounts.” I grin at him then tuck the check into the dead thug’s pocket.
He chuckles out a laugh. “Child’s play. I’ll have all operations shut down by the end of the week.”
I grin back at him, surveying the scene around us. “Let’s get back to birdie. That girl has some explaining to do.”