Chapter 12
12
PHANTOM
“ B reaker,” I greeted our Sergeant at Arms when he walked into Mac’s office a couple of days after I returned.
“Hey,” he replied with a nod before taking a seat on one of the couches in the corner of the office.
Mac nodded at me, giving me permission to lead the meeting now that all of our enforcers were present.
I looked at Grey and sighed. “Tessa wants to give the money to her dad.”
His brows shot up, but he didn’t comment.
I rolled my eyes to the ceiling with my jaw clenched and gritted out, “She wants to clear his debt so he doesn’t end up hurt or worse.”
“Gonna do it?” Nova asked.
“Why not just mail the check to the jackass?” suggested Dom.
“You think he’d actually give it up or try to run away with it, which would get his ass six feet under?” I asked dryly.
He grunted in agreement.
“Gonna take the money straight to the bookie. And make sure he spreads the word that no one is to lend to him from now on. Tessa’s dad wants to get in trouble again, it won’t be here, where it could get back to my woman.”
“The shit we do for our women,” Patch groaned.
“Nova, Dom, Breaker, Grey, go with him,” Mac ordered. “Hack, I want you in contact with Grey. They balk at our show of force, Grey can threaten shit, and you can show ’em we mean business.”
There was a chorus of agreements, then we all arranged to meet at the garage in thirty.
“Scout, Knight, and I will cover you from a distance, especially while you have the cash.”
I nodded my thanks, then ran upstairs to talk to Tessa.
She was just stepping out of the shower, and I had to force myself to remember that my brothers were waiting, and I didn’t have time to fuck my woman right now.
“Got club business, sweet girl. I’ll be back in a few hours.”
“Okay,” she replied with a pretty smile.
She didn’t ask where I was going or what I was doing, knowing I couldn't answer. Her easy acceptance of my life just made me love her even more.
I strode over and gave her a panty-melting kiss, then growled, “I want you naked and waiting for me in bed when I get back.”
Tessa shivered, but her expression was sassy when she answered, “I might have stuff to do, Kian.”
“I’ll text you when I’m headed home.” I curled my fingers into the wet hair on the back of her head and yanked it back. “Naked. Bed.”
“And if I’m not?”
“Your ass will be so red you won’t be able to sit tomorrow.”
Tessa swallowed hard, and I almost grinned at the indecision in her eyes.
“Gotta go.” I gave her another quick kiss, then turned to leave but stopped when she grabbed my cut.
“Be safe and come home to me,” she said when I looked back at her.
“Nothing will stop me from coming home to you, sweet girl.”
By the time I got down to the garage, I was in a shit mood. The last thing I wanted to be doing was leaving my wet, naked old lady in our bed without me.
“Need to get this the fuck over with,” I grumbled. “Let’s ride.”
Hack had located the address for the club where Don Falco kept shop. It was a dirty strip joint on the outskirts of town. Just parking my bike in front of it made me feel slimy.
I waited for my brothers to dismount, then led the way to the door, passing by the line of scantily dressed women and greasy men. The bouncer was a football has-been who’d come by his muscles artificially. When he spotted us, he straightened to his full height—which was several inches shorter than most of us—and tried to look intimidating.
“There’s a line, assholes,” he grunted.
“Get the fuck outta the way,” I ordered in a menacing tone.
The bouncer swallowed, then glanced at our audience and tried again. “Get to the back of the line or leave.”
I closed the distance between us and looked down at him. “You see this patch? The one that says if you piss me or my brothers off, no one will ever find your body? I suggest you take a closer look, then back the fuck up and let us through.”
His eyes dropped to the Silver Saints patch on my cut, and the color drained from his face. He swallowed hard, then moved to the right, away from the crowd, unblocking the entrance.
“Smart move, dumbass,” Grey growled from behind me as we marched into the club.
A bottle blonde in a sparkly outfit that barely qualified as clothes was walking by with a tray. She stopped when she saw us and smiled in a way that made my skin crawl. I was definitely going to need a shower before I went anywhere near my girl again.
“Where is Don Falco?” I demanded.
“Who?” She blinked, trying to appear innocent, but she wasn’t a good enough actress to hide the world-weary look in her eyes.
Tired of all the bullshit, I pulled my gun from beneath my jacket and held it at my side, not threatening, but making sure she saw it. “Don. Falco.” I enunciated heavily as if talking to a kid.
Suddenly, Nova stood before me, holding out a wad of cash. “Maybe this will jog your memory.”
I grunted, frustrated with his tactics even though I knew he had the smarter play.
The woman bit her lip, then shrugged and snatched the money, tucking it into her bra. “I don’t know who you’re talking about, but you might find the rooms behind the VIP area more to your liking.” She pointed at a roped-off area, then walked off in another direction. I tucked my gun back into place and headed where she’d indicated.
Another bouncer stood in front of the secluded area, but with one look at our cuts and faces, he faked a cough and turned away. Stanchions held up the rope, so I shoved one out of my way and stomped through the darker area with booths where people were doing who the fuck knows what.
A security guy, almost as intimidating as us, guarded a door at the back of the room. When he saw us approaching, he put his finger to his ear and said something. Probably calling for backup.
Since we had no desire to fight unless necessary, I sped up and halted right in front of him, bracing my feet apart and crossing my arms over my chest. “Not here to cause trouble. Tell Falco if he wants McGuire’s fifty grand, he’ll call off the dogs and let us in.”
His gaze moved to the side, and his brow lifted when Dax showed him the black briefcase we’d brought. The guard pressed his finger to his ear again. “Never mind, Hank. Tell the boss someone is here to make a payment.”
He listened for a second, then opened the door and moved out of our way.
It was another dimly lit room, but light enough for me to see a small, dark-haired man in a cheap suit sitting in the middle of a half-circle booth. He sat leaning back with his eyes closed, but when we walked in, they opened, and he frowned.
“That’s enough, doll,” he grunted. “You can finish paying me later.”
My lips curled in disgust when another girl, dressed similarly to the first—but much younger. Young enough to turn my stomach if my guess was right—climbed out from under the table and wiped her face with the back of her hand. This douche was centimeters away from eating a bullet.
“Gentlemen. You have money for me?” the man—Don, I assumed—asked.
“Southeast corner,” Breaker murmured in my earpiece. “Only man sitting.”
He reported our position to Scout, who covered us with a sniper rifle. Since the windows were tinted, Breaker had given him a way to distinguish Falco’s heat signature. We all wore a special beacon for him to recognize us, but this way, he’d be able to distinguish the boss from his three henchmen in the room.
“Arthur McGuire. He owes you fifty grand, right?” I clarified.
“Fifty thousand, one hundred and twenty-two dollars and thirty-five cents. To be exact.”
I rolled my eyes, and Dax tossed the briefcase onto the table.
“Every penny he owes is in there.”
He reached for the cash, and suddenly Nova was at Falco’s side, clutching his arm so hard he winced.
“I’m gonna need something in return for collecting your fee,” I told him.
“I didn’t ask for a bounty hunter,” he sneered. “I’ll take it out of McGuire’s ass.”
“Shut the hell up and listen,” Nova growled. “If you’re smarter than you look, you’ll hear him out and hope our favor will be reciprocated.”
“Fine,” Falco whined. “But let me go.”
Nova waited for my nod, then released Falco but didn’t move away.
“Once we’ve cleared Arthur’s debt, you agree not to take another bet for him and spread the word that no one is to lend him money or allow him to place bets with them either. Blacklist him.”
“And what do I get?”
“Grey here”—I indicated my brother with a jerk of my thumb—“won’t make you bankrupt. And Scout”—I pointed at the window behind me—“won’t put a bullet in your skull.” Today .
“You’re bluffing,” Falco stated, but his eyes were unsure.
“I’m a Silver Saint, motherfucker. I don’t bluff.”
A shot pierced the glass—without breaking it—and lodged into the leather booth less than an inch from Falco’s head.
“What the fuck?” he screamed, scrambling out of the booth. His pants were still unzipped, so his flaccid member flopped out, but he quickly shoved it back in before zipping up his fly.
I’d been sorely tempted to cut it off.
He glanced around for his henchmen, then deflated a little when he realized they wouldn’t be any help. My brothers had subdued them with a needle in the neck while Falco had been focused on me and the briefcase.
Grey held up his phone, showing Falco the screen. “That’s your account, right? The one that used to have ten grand in it?”
“Used to—what the fuck? Where’s my fucking money?” Falco shouted.
“Relax, asshole,” Grey grunted. “You’ll get it back when we leave. But if you don’t follow through with our favor, you’ll be broke in minutes.”
“I can’t control what other bookies and loan sharks do,” he muttered.
“Better figure out a way, Falco,” I growled as I grabbed my gun and pointed it at his forehead. “Or you won’t have to worry about being broke for long. I’ll find you and blow your motherfucking brains out. Understood?”
Falco swallowed, then pressed his thin lips together into a flat line before nodding in defeat. “Now give me my money.”
I used the barrel of my weapon to shove the briefcase across the table. Grey tapped a button on his phone, then showed it to Falco again. “Put most of it back,” Grey drawled. “Took a son of a bitch tax.”
“Fine!” Falco spat. “Now get the hell out of my club.”
My brothers and I headed for the back exit, but I stopped and turned around at the last second. “I might need another favor.”
Falco glared at me but didn’t reply.
“Say I wanted a night with someone…innocent…young…” I was barely able to force the words out.
He stared at me for a long moment, then queried, “How young?”
My eyes flicked to the bottom of the table, and a creepy smile crawled across his face. “If you’re willing to pay, I’ve got anything you want.”
I forced a conspiratorial smile, then let the door slam behind me after walking out into the back alley.
“Mac?” I asked.
“You have my permission,” he growled.
I turned my attention to Grey. “Give him forty-eight hours, then I want him bankrupt and arrested. You can’t find enough shit to get him put away, you let me know, and he’ll meet with an unfortunate accident.”
Grey jerked his chin up in acknowledgment. “Good as done, brother.”
The interaction with that fucking sicko had made me feel like I was covered in grime, and I was dying to get home to my woman.
“Dax, Nova,” Mac said into our earpieces. “Go see McGuire. Give him the last few thousand and tell him about his new future. Warn him to get his ass in gear and to never, ever touch another woman with force. Phantom, go home.”
A part of me felt like confronting Tessa’s dad was my obligation, but Mac had given me an order—he’d really given me an out—so I hurried to my motorcycle and drove like a bat outta hell to get back to my Tessa.
I didn’t want to face Tessa while I felt so dirty. So I took a long, hot shower in one of the other bathrooms, scrubbing everywhere twice to rid myself of Falco’s filth, before returning to my room.
A wide grin spread across my face when I walked in to find Tessa lying on the bed in a green lace teddy that matched her gorgeous eyes.
“You look sexy as fuck, sweet girl,” I growled as I shut and locked the door behind me. “But you still disobeyed me, so after I fuck you in all that pretty lace, I’m gonna rip it off and spank your ass until it’s cherry red. Then I’m gonna fuck you again while I stare at my handprints on your milky skin.”
After I did exactly what I promised, I made love to her, slow and sweet.
“Did everything go okay with the money for my dad?” Tessa asked while we lay wrapped around each other in bed.
“Taken care of.”
“Thank you, Kian,” she whispered, her jade orbs filled with love as she gazed up at me.
“You know I’ve got you, sweet girl. Always.”