Chapter 15
Back in Los Santos-Rosa, I stepped out of the car with Tavi’s help. He pulled me into his arms, gently rocking me as we stood.
“Sweet girl, you’ve got this. And if you feel you don’t, then I’m just a few buildings over. I know today may seem scary since it’s your first day back, especially after being with all three of us, but this place misses you and I know you do, too. Getting back to normal is good. So, if anybody can knock this out of the park, it’s you. The quicker you can get this place back on track, the faster you’ll be able to follow your own dreams back in Seattle.”
I put my arm around his neck. “You’re so sweet. How’d you end up with Caesar as a brother?” I joked.
“He’s the same. Don’t you know? It’s just wrapped differently.” His hands gripped my hips, and my need flared. “Didn’t get enough?”
Tavi-bear turned me into a mid-day meal before we left the house. We’d come from the airport together and I’d had only a short amount of time to clean off the airport filth before I had to be changed and ready for work. Seeing how nervous I was, Tavi decided to put my focus elsewhere. His mouth can do tricks I’ve never experienced before. When he was done, he fucked me over the dining room table. So, I understood his question, but my needs grew the longer I was around the two of them.
“I thought I did. I could barely stand afterward.” However, the more I was with the three of them, the more sex I needed and more often.
“Now, look at you. Tell you what, if I get a break, I’ll come over and teach you something. All those books should inspire you. And as much as you like being there, I know you have fantasies about getting down on top of the books. Time to bring some of them to life.”
He didn’t know how right he was. There was a balcony that looked out over the store that I wanted to try. The broom closet… coffee bar… checkout register counter… book storage room… artifact room… computer stations… the romance section… Where didn’t I want to fuck?
“I’m holding you to it, Tavi.”
“Good. Have a good day at work. I’ll see you at close-up.”
I nodded, stood on the tips of my toes, and welcomed my goodbye kiss. “Um-I,” I paused, catching myself. I could do this. “I’ll see you later.”
“No doubt.” He hesitantly let me go, and I took a deep breath and walked inside.
Immediately, I knew I was in my haven. A welcome back banner was hanging up, and a cake was waiting at my counter. Crissy stood next to it happily, and a few of my regulars were here, including Ward. I hugged them all and tried not to mess up my mascara too badly. It was the start of a great shift. We had new books in, and I couldn’t wait to get caught up on the inventory.
We had coffee and cake around midnight and closed everything down at three a.m. Then it was time to clean up and put stuff away. I avoided the trash until everything else was done and there was nothing else to do. I grabbed it, went out the front door, and a man I’d seen before greeted me. He worked at Smoothe.
“Everything alright?” I asked.
“Yup, just here to handle my extra responsibilities.”
“What’s that?” I asked as I walked down the alleyway to put the trash inside. He followed, helped to lift the top trap so I could throw it in, and then walked back to the steps with me.
“Make sure you’re safe. I’ll be back in an hour to walk you down to Smoothe.” He waved before he turned around and walked away.
“They’re in big trouble later,” I mumbled to myself as I walked inside.
We finished up, and just like he said, he was outside waiting for me.
“What’s your name?” I asked him as we walked.
“Ronnie.”
“Well, Ronnie, what’s your actual job?”
“Security. I make sure that nothing happens that shouldn’t.”
When we walked inside, there was a man slumped down in the club”s front room. Someone had beat him to shit, and Tavi and Caesar were on their cell phones talking to what I assumed were different people. Noticing me, they looked at each other and then back to me. Both men told the callers they’d call back and hung up the phone. The spookiest thing I’d seen them do. Almost like they choreographed it.
“Uh, Ronnie, can we talk?” Caesar asked.
“Yup.” He looked at me before he followed him out of the room.
“Do I want to know what’s going on here?” I looked around the club, and it was empty. The sun shined through, alerting me to its rise.
“No. That’s not exactly ideal. Then you’d know more than you should. Can’t have you in jeopardy in that way.”
“Tavi!” Caesar yelled out. “Need you in here.”
“How about the two of you walk back out here, and she can go into the office.”
Caesar and Ronnie walked out, and Tavi walked me to the back.
Tavi pulled out a gun from his back. “Do you know how to shoot?”
“Yes, my father taught me.” And occasionally, I went to the shooting range to blow off steam, but he didn’t need to know all my secrets just yet.
“Don’t hesitate. That’s the first rule. If anybody comes through that door that isn’t us, you shoot to kill.”
“Who else would come in?”
“If you’re not comfortable with this….”
“I’ve got it.” Confident in my skills, I had it.
When the door closed, I focused on listening for footsteps. I could hear raised voices though I didn’t know what they were saying. They were out there for a while. Tired, I looked around the room to give myself something to do. It was neat in here. Accounting books that lined the shelves, a fancy computer system, and even a wet bar. Bourbon filled the fancy glass bottle, and glasses were set neatly on the mini shelf above it. Though the office had a relaxing feel, everything still had its place. Contemporary with clear-cut lines, very similar to their home. Was that because of Tavi, Caesar, or both?
I jumped at the sounds of shots, catching me off guard. Soon after, I heard lots of shuffling outside the door, and more men were present. As I waited, I made sure the gun was ready to fire as I focused on the door. I was alone for hours, nothing ever came through that door, it remained eerily quiet on the other side which made me relax. Being sore won, so I took my medication, lay on the couch, and passed out.
Strokes to my hair woke me. I jumped, but Caesar’s face calmed me immediately. “I could have killed you,” I mumbled, drowsily.
“You mean, you killed that sleep. You would have been dead by now. Know how to shoot that thing?”
“I do. Do you?”
“Mhm… I need to take you home.”
“You do. Everything okay?” I asked him because he had worry lines on his face.
“Yes, and no. You don’t need to worry about it, though.”
“If I can help, tell me.”
“I’m not sure you can.”
There was a knock on the door, and then Ronnie entered. “Caesar, that car is out front again. I’m almost positive that he’s looking for Ward.”
“And that’s why Ward needs to stay away from here.”
“What about you and Tavi?” He asked.
“I’ll handle it. I’m busy right now.”
“I know, but if we’re going to make this look like a break-in that neither of you knows anything about, you need to get the fuck out of here, now.”
Caesar sighed and stood. “Come on, baby girl. It’s time to go.”
We went out the back door and through a side alley I didn’t know was there. An SUV waited for us, and we climbed inside. Tavi was already inside waiting for us, and the car pulled onto the main street behind a car. Sirens came from somewhere, and the other car started up then pulled off. We followed it for a while until it stopped at a light near the river. Shots rang out from inside it, and we pulled over before they could make us out.
Tavi was in the front recording it on a phone. A man got out and fired at the back of the car until it blew up. Like it was something he did every day, he walked over to an unfamiliar vehicle that seemed to wait for him and drove off. Caesar took pictures of the plates, and then we followed them. He went to a warehouse, and the car disappeared inside and didn’t come back. We waited only fifteen minutes, but nobody exited.
“Get us out of here.” Caesar directed the driver.
At the house, I didn’t wait for them to explain. I don’t think I needed any information. I’d never seen that man before, and he didn’t look like he worked for Tavi and Caesar. But they said that the guy was out to hurt them. Seems like he didn’t care about anybody, not even himself if he was killing people and blowing up things in broad daylight.
Caesar turned to us and exhaled.
“I think we need to go to Seattle for a while. Sam I know you have some other things that you need to handle while we’re there so we’ll stay out of your hair.” He said. “Torin has a place there and you can visit us when you have time. Meanwhile, you never saw a thing back there, got it?”
I wish that were true. I’d never seen a man that calm while destroying something so precious as life. Even though I’d seen everything, there was no way that I was ever speaking on it. Was I surprised by the drama happening in Smoothe, yes and no. Ward was a businessman, so was Tavi and Caesar. Professionals. It didn’t elude me that they were hustlers because of the way they moved. Added guards, tight security, and I’d seen the kind of money they made. This wasn’t a pipedream that somebody threw a small amount of money at for it to succeed. No. Plus, I saw the kind of cars they drove, and I’d also seen Domino sometimes. His father was an old school gangster and though I’d never seen him before, I’d heard the stories. And he was cool with Ward, that wasn’t a coincidence.
My father was into the streets so I’d learned a lot about it from him. So no, the things I’d seen didn’t scare me. It only made me remember that it always lurked in the background. I hadn’t expected it to land on my front doorstep though. I had some thinking to do, maybe going to Seattle was the best thing to do right now. California felt much too dangerous suddenly, and I’d stalled enough. It was time to go make my plans.