Chapter 2
TATUM
The fucking air con in my car died on the way to Billy’s.
Worst timing—it was shaping up to be the hottest day on record in Sydney.
By the time I arrived, any feelings of dislike I already had towards Earl were magnified, because heat and me did not go well together.
I was hot, sweaty, and cranky. And most of that crankiness was directed towards Earl, with the rest aimed at Billy.
So when I ran into Earl on the way to Billy’s office, I stopped and gave him a piece of my mind.
His shifty eyes met my gaze before instantly roaming my body. Nothing unusual for Earl. He was a piece of shit as far as I was concerned. I managed Billy’s girls at the club, and they all thought he was a vile human because of the way he treated women.
I didn’t even bother calling him out on his behaviour; Earl was the sort of man who didn’t care about anyone but himself. Instead, I cut straight to the point. “You paid Dustin to deliver your drugs last night.”
He took his time finishing up with my body before looking me in the eyes again. “Yeah. And?”
Fucking asshole.
“And that will never happen again.”
Amusement crept over his face. “Really, Tatum? You think you have any say over what I do? Sweetheart, you’re just here to keep the bitches in line; don’t kid yourself that anyone but them listens to you.”
Fucking small dick energy. I stepped closer to him, crowding him, noting the flare of surprise in his eyes.
“You should take more care with what you say, Earl. Those bitches pay your fucking wage. Also, if you actually knew what my real job is here and what I do for Billy, I guarantee you, you’d watch your words more closely. ”
He tried to throw off more bullshit masculine dominance. “I know what you do for Billy, and I’m not impressed. Like I said, I’m not here to listen to you, so if I want Dustin to do a job for me, I’ll fucking ask him to do a job for me.”
“No. You. Fucking. Won’t. Dustin cleans. That’s it. You go anywhere near him again, you won’t just have me to answer to.” I took a step away from him. “And get your fucking eyes off my body. I’m yet to meet a woman who wants your disgusting eyes on them.”
As I stalked away from him, he called out some derogatory remark about my vagina, which I ignored.
Fuck him; I was done letting Billy off the hook where he was concerned.
If I had my way, Earl would be gone by the end of the day.
I didn’t always get my way, though, and sometimes I had to work really fucking hard for it.
I figured on this occasion, I’d be working hard for it, so I suited the fuck up as I made my way to Billy.
“Tatum,” he barked as I entered his office. “Shut the door.” Something had him worked up. Billy was an asshole a lot of the time, but he was especially agitated today.
I closed the door and said, “What’s going on?”
He shoved his fingers through his hair. His face was alive with anger. “That motherfucker, Parker, fucked with Savannah last night. I need you to deal with him, because if I do, he won’t ever step foot in my club again, and un-fucking-fortunately I need him to.”
Parker was one of our whales. His fortune was in the millions and he spent most of his nights here, sharing that fortune.
This news of him fucking with Savannah surprised me; I’d never known Parker to cross any lines with the girls.
However, Billy didn’t get on with him, so I doubted he was thinking about this as rationally as I was.
“What did he do?”
“He put his fucking hands where he shouldn’t have.”
“Where?”
“I don’t fucking know where; all I know is that Savannah is refusing to come in for her shift tonight if he’s here, so clearly some filthy shit went down.”
Savannah was one of Billy’s golden girls—his loyalty to her was absolute. She was also one of the girls who put up with a lot from our customers, so if she was upset, something had definitely happened.
“Okay, you know I’m the first one to stand by our girls, but Parker has been coming here for years, and regardless of the issues between you two, we’ve never had even a hint of a problem with him where the girls are concerned.
So I’m going to tread carefully here and get to the bottom of exactly what happened. ”
Billy took a moment to think about that and then nodded. “However you tread, make sure this is sorted by this afternoon. I want Savannah on her pole tonight, and I want that smile of hers plastered across her face while she’s up there.”
“Will do. And now we need to discuss Earl and the fact that you need to pull your head out of your ass and get rid of him.”
He leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms, settling in for a fight. “I’ve told you before that he brings in too much money to get rid of.”
“And I’m telling you that at some point, easy money becomes hard money. There’s something off about him, Billy, and I’m concerned your club is going to suffer the consequences of whatever that is. Also, Nitro’s gunning for you because of something Earl pulled last night—”
He cut me off. As much as he and Nitro had their differences, Billy tried not to piss him off because if my man was pissed, I was too, and that wasn’t something Billy ever wanted. “Fucking hell, that’s what he called me about this morning? What the hell did Earl do?”
“He used Dustin to deliver his drugs. The drugs he’s selling out of your club. Without your consent.” We’d discussed this in the past also, but for some reason I couldn’t fathom, Billy overlooked it too.
“Fuck,” he muttered. Uncrossing his arms, he stood. “I’ll talk to him and tell him if he ever uses Dustin again, he’s gone.”
I didn’t respond to that, but rather, lifted my brows questioningly, letting him know I was looking for more than just that.
Billy proved me right in my assumption that I’d have to fight hard to get what I wanted. With a shake of his head, he said, “Don’t push me, Tatum; you won’t like where it gets you.”
Suit up, Tatum.
“Right back at you, Billy.”
His eyes darkened with displeasure. “What the fuck does that mean?”
“It means that if you push me, you won’t like where it gets you. And not listening to what I’m telling you is pushing me. My instincts for assholes are never wrong, and right now they’re screaming at me not to trust Earl. I won’t stick around forever waiting for you to come to your senses.”
The displeasure in his eyes deepened. “You’re threatening to quit?”
“I can’t work with him anymore.”
“You fucking hate ultimatums.”
He was right; I did. But we all did shit we hated every now and then. “I hate Earl more.”
“Jesus fucking Christ, Tatum. You know I need you. But I also need the cash he brings in.”
“That’s a story you tell yourself. You get rid of him, and I’ll make sure that cash doesn’t dry up.” I cocked my head. “And since when do you run on fear? Man the fuck up and start making better decisions for your girls. I’d be more worried about losing them than losing Earl.”
The last thing I heard as I left his office was him muttering about how hard I was squeezing his balls.
That wasn’t an odd occurrence around here.
I’d learned a long time ago not to give Billy an inch.
I took care of all his dirty secrets and run-ins with the law; he needed me more than I needed him.
I made my way outside, but as I walked past the office the managers used, I heard Earl talking in hushed tones. When I heard him mention King, I came to a stop and listened in on his conversation.
“Can you do it tonight? I want King taken care of as soon as possible, and I don’t want him knowing it’s coming. He should never have crossed my brother.”
Silence then, before he talked again. “My snitch says King will be at the clubhouse tonight. He’s meeting someone there at six. Get it done then, and let me know as soon as he’s handled. And if he’s still breathing when I wake up tomorrow, there will be hell to fucking pay.”
More silence before—“For fucks sake, Ian, if you can’t do it—”
Whoever he was talking to cut him off. He listened for a moment before snapping, “Good. You get this sorted, there’ll be a lot more work for you.”
I’d heard enough, so I continued making my way to my car.
Once I was in it, I pulled out my phone to call King.
He didn’t answer, so I left a voicemail.
I then called Nitro, but he didn’t answer either.
After leaving him a message also, I pulled out of the car park and drove to Parker’s place.
It was far too fucking early on a Sunday morning for this.
He’d likely be passed out after last night, but I was on a mission to sort Billy’s problems out. And I needed Parker to help me do that.