Chapter Two #2
What was that saying? If it sounds too good to be true, it’s probably because it is. She straightened her back and fought against the blazing heat rising to her cheeks. She had misinterpreted Rogue’s kindness when it was something far more sinister.
“How many?” Rogue snapped.
Keely cleared her throat. “I’ve had one or two with customers.”
Rogue grabbed his glass, drinking the last of its remnants and placed it back on the table.
“I’ve heard your name way too many fucking times.
Most staff, I never hear theirs once, but you?
” He scoffed. “Since you appear to be the only fucking idiot in this place who doesn’t get it, let me fucking explain. ”
Keely clamped her lips together, trying to keep control of her emotions. It was a feat. Name calling was always a trigger for her. She was long past her years of being bullied, but she remembered the trauma she was left with.
“You don’t get promotions unless you do your fucking job.
And even then we expect you to do it well.
We don’t hand out shit to the worst staff, we do it for our best, which isn’t you.
The only reason you got this job was as a favor to Kill.
And the only reason you get to fucking keep it is standing next to you.
” Rogue pointed at Jared. “But I’ll say it’s good having you here so we can use you as a fucking example of what not to fucking do if you want to advance here. ”
The balcony was silent. Keely lowered her eyes to the floor, refusing to make eye contact with anyone. But she felt all eyes on her. It took every ounce of her control to batten down her emotions and not react. It would’ve made his day, possibly his week, if she ran out of the balcony crying.
Trey was the first to speak. “Go back to your bar, Keely.”
She didn’t have to be told twice. Keely had no idea how she’d get through her shift without breaking down. Rogue took that conundrum out of her hands.
“No!” he shouted. “You’re outta here until I say you can come back.”
Fuck! This was the worst possible scenario. If she wasn’t working, then she wasn’t getting paid. She couldn’t afford that.
Jared grasped her arm and walked her to the stairs.
She pulled away from him but heard his footsteps following close behind.
When she reached the floor, Sloane and Dahlia were standing in the doorway to the hall.
She dropped her chin to her chest doing the walk of shame. She felt a hand slide over her back.
Their sympathy was appreciated, but nothing could be done to change the outcome.
Rogue had spoken, and his word was gospel at the Bowery.
As she made her way to the break room, his words repeated in her head.
Knowing everyone, including Caine, had heard it had her stomach twisting in knots and her face heating.
She was seconds from tears. If she could just…
Too late.
Keely didn’t bother wiping her face. Her focus was on getting her stuff and leaving as quickly as possible. She opened her locker and stilled when she heard Jared’s voice.
“Give it a few days. He’ll calm down and be pissed off at someone else. In the meantime, if you need money…” Jared left it open ended. This wasn’t the first time he and Killian had offered to help with her finances. As if this day couldn’t get any more humiliating.
She grabbed her jacket and slipped her arms through the opening, flipping her hair from the back of the collar.
When she turned around, Jared straightened, scanning her face. His eyes softened, whispering, “Keely.”
“I did it to myself. Yet another” —she bit her lip trying to hold back her tears. She failed and they streamed down her face— “Fuck up. ’Cause that’s what I do, Jay. You know it, Kill knows it, now everyone in this building knows it.”
Keely rushed past him and down the hallway to the back exit leading to the parking lot. She ignored her name when she heard Sloane and Dahlia call out. When she reached the lot, she jogged to her car and got in. Her phone immediately started to ring, and she blindly muted it.
Keely left the Bowery with only one thought in mind.
Fuck you, Rogue!
****
Fucking asshole.
Caine knew his place among the Underground, and speaking on someone else’s behalf wasn’t part of it. He had no stake in this game, and if he was being honest, she’d brought it on herself. This woman seemed to encounter chaos at every turn. There was only one common denominator.
Herself.
Still, Caine had a strange reaction to Keely’s berating and more so, to her embarrassment. I don’t fucking like it.
“Was that necessary?”
Rogue angled his head. “Yeah, Trey. It’s fucking necessary. Her ass should’ve been canned a month after she started. I don’t have patience for stupidity.”
Caine clenched his jaw and rolled his neck but remained silent. Rogue taking a dig and insulting Keely shouldn’t have mattered to him. Oddly, it did.
Trey scoffed and gave a small shrug. “What exactly do you have patience for?”
“Fuck off, Trey.” Rogue turned to Nash. “Why the fuck is Killcreek taking the lead over our men?”
Nash stared back at Rogue in silence. They all had their place and position, and Nash knew better than anyone of his own. However, unlike Rogue he handled himself in a different manner. The way Keely had been treated wouldn’t sit well with Nash. Or me.
Caine clasped his hand over his wrist and straightened his back. A soldier’s position.
“This is Inez’s deal. Of course, Killcreek will take the lead.”
“I don’t fucking like it,” Rogue snapped.
No shit, Rogue. He wouldn’t like anything that involved Killcreek. Caine wasn’t privy to the exact details of the deal gone wrong between Rogue and the MC. But there had been ongoing animosity for years stemming from it.
“Well” —Rogue spread his arms— “Let’s fucking hear it.”
“I’ve met with Anders and offered him a proposition.
It was actually easier than expected to convince him we’d be cutting Inez and Killcreek out of the deal.
For hefty compensation, we’ll facilitate and accompany Anders on the transport through Ghosttown.
I told him it was the only way we’d allow it.
It also gives us full control over the product in the event Anders gets cold feet at the last minute.
But I don’t anticipate that. We have an insider on his crew working under us. He didn’t hesitate making the deal.”
“But transporting through Ghosttown?” Trey narrowed his gaze. “That will not happen, correct?”
Nash shook his head. “No. They’ll get as far as Turnersville, and we’ve scouted out a location to use as a detour where Killcreek will be waiting.
We’ll have Caine and Ridge driving the transport truck and Cyrus, Jared, and Jessie escorting Anders and his crew.
Once they arrive at the location, Killcreek will take over from there.
It’s a solid plan with minimal risk for our guys.
We all get paid, Killcreek gets the product, and Inez gets her revenge. Everyone wins.”
Except Anders and his crew. Taking out someone higher in the ranks always came with risks. Anders had spent the last decade working his way up. By all accounts, he was making a name for himself. Then he made the grave mistake of trying to cut Inez out of a deal inside our state.
Anders obviously discounted the connections the Underground had that surpassed state lines.
The manufacturer had reached out, covering his own ass.
Smart move. Most states respected jurisdiction.
Every so often, someone would try to cut corners and slip in, but it never fared well.
Especially those who made the attempt in Oz’s state.
It was a war no one wanted to start with the Underground.
“And the insider?”
Nash’s jaw squared, and he drew in a breath. “Zeke.” The venom dripping from his tone left no question of Nash’s thoughts on the man. That sentiment was also shared by Caine.
Zeke worked under Anders and was considered a fairly trusted ally who was moving up.
Killcreek had taken Zeke on, offering him protection and a place within the club if he worked with them to enact the plan.
Zeke was left with few options. The Underground and the MC had so much on him, he could never freely go back to Anders without suffering a fatal finale. Killcreek used that to their advantage.
“This deal could’ve been planned out without him,” Trey said, and Caine agreed.
Caine understood the logistics, but the idea of working with a man like Zeke set his blood on fire. Caine was no saint and had more deaths under his belt than most people in the Underground. However, not one of his victims was innocent. Zeke couldn’t say the same.
Months earlier, he’d attacked Charley, Nash’s woman, twice.
That didn’t sit well with any member of the Underground, including Caine.
But for the time being Zeke was allowed to live.
Until he no longer served a purpose. Then his day would come, and Caine could only hope he’d be an active participant in Zeke’s ending.
“It wasn’t my call. It was Ace’s.” Nash straightened, clearly aggravated by the whole topic.
Trey nodded, seemingly letting it go.
When Nash stood and adjusted his jacket, Caine was prepared to leave, taking a step closer toward the stairs.
He subtly glanced over the railing, peering down to the floor below.
The staff was prepping the club to open.
There were lots of people milling around, but he was searching for one in particular. Keely was nowhere in sight.
Who the fuck cares where she is? Keely was of no concern to him. Well, she shouldn’t have been. Caine rolled his shoulders, focusing on the only thing that mattered. My job.
He and Nash walked downstairs, through the bar, and out the front door.
“Well, that went as expected.” Nash’s tone was laced in sarcasm.
Caine’s lips twitched, but he didn’t respond. As they headed to the car, he noticed Jared walking toward them. He gave a sharp nod as he passed. Caine expected them to walk on by, but Nash suddenly stopped, and Caine followed suit. His boss turned slightly.
“Is she okay?”
There was only one woman Nash could be referring to. Oddly enough, Caine found himself invested in the answer. She’d taken quite the verbal beating from Rogue. She hadn’t broken down, but Caine would’ve bet she’d been on the verge.
Jared turned, grasped the back of his neck, and gave a small shrug.
“She’ll be fine.” Jared paused, glancing across the street. “Keely has the unfortunate tendency to learn things the hard way.”
It was an interesting perspective and play on words. Most people would’ve thrown her to the wolves, siding with Rogue. Clearly, she didn’t have the best work ethic.
Nash nodded, and they parted ways. There was something in the way Jared spoke of Keely. A familiarity that went beyond superior and employee. He’d only seen her a handful of times and never with Jared. Had he missed a connection between the two? Caine clenched his jaw. Why did he even care?
I fucking don’t.
Caine grabbed the keys from his pocket, tapped the key fob, and the doors unlocked. Unlike Oz, Rogue, and Trey, Nash had always refused security opening his door for him. Nash also sat in the front seat.
Caine got into the SUV and started the engine, glancing over at the entrance to the Bowery. Jared was pacing in front of the door with his phone held up to his ear. Another man walked out and stopped a few feet away, and Jared held his hand up.
Caine rarely went to the Bowery and didn’t know much of the staff, but he’d seen the redhaired man behind the bar with Keely when they’d initially arrived. Jared pulled the phone from his ear, tapped the screen, and walked toward the other guy.
“Keely’s brother.”
Caine jerked his head to Nash. He hadn’t realized he’d been staring until he was called out.
Nash gestured to the two men. “Jared is probably giving Killian the details.”
Caine slowly nodded and put the car in reverse, backed up, and drove down the street. He subtly glanced over at Jared and Keely’s brother. They seemed to have been in a heated argument. If he had to guess, Killian was not happy with his sister.