Chapter Two. #2
“No!” I exploded. “You won’t throw away your future because I can’t provide properly for you.”
“Magic, that’s old-fashioned. We can both share in the bills; we’re in this together,” I said.
“Honey.” Magic cupped my face. “The bar is doing shit. It’s barely breaking even, and it’s taking whatever savings I have to keep it open.”
“Okay, we can cut back on stuff.”
“No. I won’t allow you to sacrifice for me. Baby, this is a stopgap until I can return to the bar. Once the bar’s back under control, money will flood back in. But until then, I need something to keep us afloat,” Magic argued.
I recognised that look on his face. Magic was digging in his heels, and now it was a matter of pride.
While Magic was a modern man who supported women working and having the same rights as men, he was also old-fashioned.
He believed he should pay the bills, and if not all of them, then at least half.
If I argued, I’d hurt Magic and insult his masculinity at the same time. That wouldn’t do.
“How about I manage the bar? If you can’t go near it and you’ve said you’ve seen Rutter there twice when you tried to sneak in, how about me?” I suggested.
“No!” The refusal was instant.
I bit my lip. There had to be a solution.
Magic breaking the law didn’t bother me as much as it should.
Possibly because he treated me like I was something precious, and I’d not known that feeling before.
As long as Magic wasn’t beating up old ladies and robbing young kids, I didn’t really care.
Maybe it was warped—the illegal fighting hadn’t worried me, but this did.
I got up and curled onto Magic’s lap. “Let me help.”
Magic’s arms wrapped around me and hauled me in tight. “I am.”
“Magic, please. At least let me check on what’s happening at the bar,” I argued gently.
“I already know. Without me there, degenerates have moved in. Stan said the regulars have drifted away.”
“So, what do we do, Magic? You can’t be seen there, Rotter will throw you back inside,” I muttered as I played with his necklace.
“God knows, baby, I really don’t,” Magic murmured. “But for now, I need extra work.”
Magic phrasing it like that didn’t lessen the fact that he was doing something illegal and doing it for us.
I felt awful. Magic had too much pride to bend, and I couldn’t force my will on him.
We were sharing this apartment because Magic usually lived above the bar.
And of course, those assholes had banned him, which meant Magic would have been homeless.
“What about the MC? Could they do anything?”
“I won’t ask. Club life is difficult, Jody. They owe me markers, but using one for a job is pointless. I don’t want to join an MC and be governed by its rules. I trialled as a prospect once, it doesn’t suit,” Magic said.
A smirk crossed my face. “You punched someone out, didn’t you? And you prospected for the Riders of Vengeance.”
“Yeah, and not Riders, another club,” Magic admitted.
“Magic, you need to play nicely with others.”
“The fuck I do,” he retorted, and that was the end of the conversation.
Magic – March 2008
“You said fifty k, that’s five thousand short,” I announced to Guy.
He scowled at me.
“Count it again.”
“Magic, deliver the fuckin’ money,” Guy ordered, and I shook my head. The two men with him became alert as I dug my heels in.
“And get a bullet for my trouble? No. Count it again, and if it’s still wrong, I want you on film admitting it,” I stated.
“Your job is to deliver, not argue,” Guy snapped.
“I ain’t delivering a bag five thousand short. Not happening. Now count, or I walk.” I folded my arms across my chest, and Guy frowned. While Guy was a big man, he didn’t match my six-foot-seven.
Guy re-counted again, and it came up at forty-five thou. I yanked my phone out of my pocket. “On film, Guy. I want the amount recorded that I’m carrying.”
“Fuck you, Magic. I’ll replace it,” Guy hissed.
I was unsure what had happened. Either Guy had tried to skim, or the cash had been skimmed before it reached Guy, and he hadn’t checked. One of Guy’s guards looked overly interested, and I wondered if he had anything to do with this.
“You want me to deliver? From now on, we count it, and I record how much I’m carrying or hire a new delivery boy,” I said.
“You don’t have a dog in this race, Magic. Got no right making demands.”
Fuck this shit. I turned on my heel and began to walk away.
“What are you doing?” Guy yelled.
“Find yourself someone else. I’ve been doing this for four months and had no problem until now.
Ain’t me causing the fuckin’ issue either.
You messed up on your end and didn’t check the cash.
That isn’t my fault, and I’m not taking the rap.
Your mistake is treating me like I’m brain-dead,” I retorted and kept walking.
“Magic! I’ll inform Rutter about your extracurricular activities,” Guy threatened.
Angrily, I spun around and headed straight for him.
His two guards backed away, making me inwardly laugh.
“You tell Rutter, you’ll end up behind bars too.
I’ve got friends who’ll ensure that. Don’t fuckin’ threaten me, you motherfuckin’ asshole.
That nice house of yours, the pretty wife, those adorable kids, I can make life turn bad in an instant.
I may be an ex-con, but I ain’t your fall guy. Get me?”
Guy blanched, as I knew he would. Idiot liked to think he was the big guy around town, but he was anything but. “I’ll give you another ten per cent.”
Ten per cent was nothing to be sniffed at. “Get the dough,” I ordered.
◆◆◆
Mathews’ moneyman counted the money as his thugs watched me closely. “Any issues?” he asked mildly.
“The cash is here, isn’t it?” I replied.
“Yeah. But you’re a little late.”
“Traffic.”
Mathews eyed me. “No trouble with the delivery then?”
Something told me Mathews knew, but I played dumb. “Not at my end.”
Mathews smirked. “I admire loyalty, Magic. A man such as you understands loyalty and when to keep his mouth shut. Learn when to open it, however. You don’t work for Guy, do you understand that?
Guy’s nothing. He works for me, which means you do too.
There’s space in my business for those who recognise their place.
Things like money being short because a cocky asshole didn’t count it on receiving it. ”
Guy had a snitch, and I bet I knew who.
“Anything to say, Magic?”
“I’m paid to deliver fifty k. I do that. Internal politics don’t mean shit. This ain’t my day job.” I folded my arms across my chest, and Mathews smiled coldly.
“Last chance, Magic.”
For a moment, hesitation ruled, and then I shook my head. I was no snitch. A flash of approval flitted across Mathews’ face.
“Nice. I can respect that. Your silence bought you a pass. Just remember, your loyalty is to me. You won’t be dealing with Guy again. Salvos will be your contact now,” Mathews said.
Guess Guy would pay the price for being lax.
A bit extreme over five thousand, but this was how these guys operated.
An easy money drop-off was turning into something darker.
These were mob or mafia, and extracting myself would be difficult.
I knew how they worked. Once in, only death or wit sec was an out.
“There is a barbecue at the construction company’s yard; we’ll be expecting you… and your woman,” Mathews said. There it was: the order. Mathews smiled coldly and turned away. “You’re dismissed.”
Shit.