Chapter 21 Zeth
Zeth
I last twenty fucking minutes before I feel the urge to smash up the apartment.
It’s already fucked from last night, though, and Ganya’s been shooting me the shittiest looks since he arrived to start the cleanup.
Looks like my guests had a blast, not that I would know.
I hid in that dark room for hours, waiting for her, not even faintly interested in joining in with them.
So unlike me. Ever since Sloane appeared back on the scene, everything’s been completely fucked up.
It’s all her fucking fault.
And the woman had the gall to throw shit at me? I should have tossed her ass out first thing when I’d kicked everyone else out. Nah, scratch that. I shouldn’t have let her fucking stay in the first place.
“Is there anything you need me to do this morning, boss?” Michael, stealthy assassin that he is, has let himself into the apartment without making a sound.
I drag my hands through my hair, scowling out the window over the city.
Why do I do this to myself ? I’ve been just fine.
More than that, I’ve been completely fucking happy.
I ran as fast as I could two years ago after I slept with Sloane because I knew.
I fucking knew this would happen, and now look at where we are.
“Yeah,” I sigh. “Send out an email to the group. Let them know all future gatherings have been canceled until further notice.”
This is such bullshit. She’s ruined the whole thing. Because, now, when I think about screwing someone who isn’t Sloane, it feels flat. Pointless. I’m not in love with the girl. I’m not. There’s just something about her that I need.
I forget about the skyline and focus my foul temper on Michael. He’s not big on words. I like that about him. Today he doesn’t need to say anything, though. His thoughts are right there on his face, plain as day. Bastard thinks this is hilarious.
“And you can wipe the smirk off your face, too,” I snap.
“I’m not smirking, Zee. Just observing something I never thought I’d witness.”
“What are you running your mouth about?” I could happily go for a fight right now.
Smashing my fist into something would go down just great, but Michael is just being Michael.
Besides, we’re too evenly matched for a quick brawl.
It would take a lot to ground him. He grins at me like he knows exactly what I’m thinking.
“Just this girl. And you. And canceling your monthly parties. Says a lot is all.”
“It doesn’t say anything. Just quit… quit smirking! Have you heard from Rufus?”
Michael buries his smile and becomes all business. “Yes, actually. He said a report came back from one of Jacob Dixon’s guys. A girl matching the description you sent out works out of one of the Black Talons’ compounds.”
“Works?” I know what that means. Jacob Dixon, head of the Black Talons, is one of the biggest pimps in California. His compounds are known all over the country—hell, all over the world—for the depraved shit that goes down inside their walls.
Michael nods. “Works.”
Present, not past tense.
Shit. I should just unhear this information. Jacob’s not a guy to be fucked with, and if Sloane’s sister has been based there for the past two years, then she’s definitely not the same girl Sloane remembers. She’ll be someone quite different by now.
“Benji sent me a shot he managed to snap off when he was there yesterday. Wanna check it out?” Michael asks.
Benji used to be one of Charlie’s boys before he got sent away in disgrace after royally fucking up an armed robbery he committed on his own time.
Three blocks from where he lived. Charlie thought that was stupid. No shitting where you eat and all that.
“He took a picture? Crazy son of a bitch. Jake’ll kill him if he finds out he’s pulling that shit.”
Michael shrugs. “Kid’s been working for the Talons here and there.
They trust him more than most of the other grunts they’ve got running for them.
” Michael talks as he flicks through his phone.
He finds what he’s looking for and shows me.
On the screen is a blurry shot of a young girl with a mass of thick, dark, wavy hair.
A loose T-shirt swamps her small frame. Her face is only half turned toward the camera, but it’s Sloane’s sister all right. I blow out a sharp breath.
“Is it her?”
“Yeah. Sure is.”
“How’d you want to proceed?”
“Fucking carefully.” Charlie and Jake were rivals once upon a time.
About three years ago, Charlie disappeared for a week, told me to stay home, which was weird enough, and when he came back, things were roses with the Talons.
I’d been suspicious as fuck at the time.
A sudden peace like that is usually birthed out of business, and Charlie’s drugs and guns move south, not north.
I’m not some stupid kid, though. I’ve learned to keep my trap shut instead of asking dangerous questions.
“We go down there, Charlie’s gonna know about it. ”
Michael considers this. The guy’s more than just muscle. His brain is damn lethal, too. I might not appreciate or even like it sometimes, but he always has good advice at the ready, especially when it comes to stuff like this.
“Tell Charlie you’re going down there to visit family. Make sure he knows you’re not running your parties anymore. Leave it a couple of weeks, and it’ll make sense that you go see Jacob. He’ll assume you’ve gone there to get your dick wet.”
I grunt. Charlie knows the only family I have in the world is the deadbeat wife of the uncle who used to beat my ass raw. Sure as shit isn’t any love lost between me and her, but it might work. Maybe. If I can spin it the right way.
“You wanna take a team down there with you?” Michael asks.
“Fuck no. If I show up with a pack of boys, we won’t even get through the front door. No, I need to keep this small.”
“You could take a girl?”
I arch an eyebrow at him, pressing my knuckles into my lips. “What do you mean, take a girl?”
“He’d be expecting that. Sounds like Charlie sends girls to him all the time. He picks up virgins mostly, but occasionally he’ll collect a girl with a little experience. Jacob passes them on for profit down in L.A.”
I could say Charlie sent me down there with a girl?
I think about that, and my stomach twists.
The first person who comes to mind is Lacey, but I would never, ever, ever ask her to do that.
Ever. She’s already fucked up enough as it is.
No, the only other option would be Sloane, and that’s just as unacceptable.
Even if it’s only an act and no one is supposed to touch her, it’s too risky.
What if it goes wrong? What if Jacob wants a taste?
I wouldn’t tolerate that. We’d both fucking die.
“Won’t work, Michael. We’ll need to find another way. ”
He doesn’t argue the point. We stand in leaden silence for a moment before he tucks his hands into his pockets. “Okay, then, boss. Anything else for now?”
“Yeah. There is.” Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fucking fuck. This is the worst idea I’ve ever had, but… Nope. I don’t even have an excuse. I’m just an idiot. “I need you to go see someone for me.”
“The girl from last night?”
“Yeah. Her. I need you to give something to her.” I put together what I want Michael to deliver, and he leaves.
The moment the front door closes behind him, I want to chase after him and punch him in the mouth for not pointing out how moronic I’m being.
He’s usually really good at that, but this time he just accepted what I told him and left.
What the hell does that even mean? Instead of chasing after him, I pull out my phone and call him.
I watch him down on the street as he feels his cell ring.
He stops and looks back up at the window, pulling his phone out of his pocket and answering.
“Change your mind?”
I clench my jaw, closing my eyes. This changes everything. “No. Just don’t leave her side until she does what I have asked, okay? Do not let her out of your sight.”