Chapter 55
Dax
The last fucking thing I need is to go home to a pissed-off wife. This might not take a few hours, but I still bought myself some time.
It doesn’t take long to get to the county jail, a few towns outside of Shadow Cove. It’s a gray, unfriendly building, shrouded in the night sky. It sits on top of a hill, and I drive a sedan to the back of the building.
Preacher is in his van, and I note he has two laptops monitoring inside the jail. Ripley stands by the back door. I walk past him and follow the guard down to the prison's basement.
As we paid for, the cameras are off, and Paul Wolzki sits at a table, looking a bit rough. His chin is bruised, and his left eye is swollen shut.
I sit across from him. He swallows and looks around the room.
“I don’t know you,” he says, practically on the verge of tears.
“But I know all about you, Paul.” I hold out my hand.
Ripley puts a folder in it. I place the pictures of him getting arrested and the cocaine found in his car.
“And so do the cops. You have enough coke here to land you in jail for the next two decades.” I lean back and whistle.
“And it’s not your first offense, is it? ”
Paul closes his good eye shut, and tears slip out.
“But I’m not one to kick a man when he’s down.”
“What do you want?” he croaks.
“You’re going to give the police a bigger fish. You’re going to give them the Brennans.”
“They’ll kill me.”
“Hell, I’ll kill you.”
“He’ll kill you, Mr. Wolzki, but I’ll take out your entire fucking family.” I sigh when Steel Titan and his brother Stone enter the room. Stone follows behind his brother, and Steel drags a chair and drops his hefty weight on it. “Tell him, Stone.”
Stone, dressed in expensive khakis and a white button-down shirt, drops a folder on the table. He opens it and removes more than a dozen pictures of Paul, his wife, children, and extended family.
“Amelia. You’ve been with her for twelve years now, but you’ve cheated on her about six times.
You even fucked her sister.” Paul inhales in shock.
“She’s your second wife. First is Judy.” He takes out a short, stout woman standing on her front lawn smoking a cigarette.
“And your weird as fuck son, Paul Jr.” Stone whistles.
“Maybe I’ll kill him anyway because he’s a real incel.
It’s a shame. Maybe if you spent more time with him and not—”
“Stone, you’re getting off track,” Steel chastises.
“I don’t like this guy,” Stone tells his brother. “Who sleeps with their wife’s sister? A man with no family values doesn’t deserve mercy.”
“I agree, but that’s not why we’re here, brother,” Steel admonishes.
Stone takes a deep breath before he continues.
“My point, you piece of shit, is that I’ll take out every single member of your family, including your grandparents.
I’ll annihilate your entire line. There will be no more little Wolzkis, and I’ll leave you for last.” Stone bends down and gets close to Paul’s ear.
“And I’ll make it hurt. Maybe I’ll cut off your dick and send it to your wife’s sister. Give her something to remember you by.”
Paul begins to weep. Stone slams his hand on the table. “Shut up, now. All’s not lost. Give us what we want, and you and your family won’t meet a very violent and painful death. This isn’t about you, Mr. Wolzki.”
Paul weeps and shakes at the same time. Snot slides out of his nostrils, and he begins to choke.
“Keep crying like a bitch, and it will be your head I slam on this table next.” Stone straightens and smooths down his shirt. “I already can’t stand you, and you’re starting to piss me off.” He looks around and points at me. “Hunt. Talk to this clown. I’m done.”
I take a breath before speaking to the blubbering idiot in front of me, and wonder why spineless men like him get into this game. “Can you stop being a fucking pussy for a minute?” I snap. He does his best to shut up, but his soft cries still fill the room.
“You see? That’s why I can’t stand this fucking clown,” Stone grumbles.
“Tomorrow, a lawyer will visit you. You’ll tell him everything you know about the Brennans and their operation. They will make a deal with you, and you’ll accept it. You do that, you live.” As much as I hate this man, I put a reassuring hand on his trembling shoulder.
“Your entire family will,” Stone interjects.
“Now what?” I ask a couple of hours later in the rundown convenience store.
“Now, they get arrested, and we’ll take care of the rest. There will be no more Brennans,” Steel says.
Stone is sitting down now and no longer speaking. Steel is back in charge. Fucking weird ass family.
“The Brennans might have you investigated, Hunt,” Steel says.
“There’s no way they will track anything back to Hunt,” Preacher chimes in. “I made sure of it. Besides, our dealings were short-lived. The Brennans will be dead, and the focus will be on that, not us.”
“Great, and we can get back to business,” Steel stands, and so does his brother. “Anyone smoke? I need a cigarette so fucking bad.”
“No, we don’t fucking smoke,” King says with an edge of disgust. “Are we done here? I want to get home to my wife.”
Stone shakes his head in disbelief. “How the fuck did that happen? Steel, did you know that beautiful Black queen he’s married to is the sheriff’s daughter?” He shakes his head again.
“Of course, I know. He got a good one, despite the irony.” The brothers both chuckle.
If there’s one thing King won’t abide by, it’s anyone talking about his wife. It doesn’t matter what they say. Just mentioning her name is enough to set him off.
He stands, but neither Stone nor Steel flinches.
“Don’t talk about my wife again.”
“Oh, calm down. I’m a happily married man.” Steel waves King off. “Stone, however.” He cackles.
“I’m in my forties. What would I do with a young girl like that?” Stone shrugs.
“Not a fucking thing because I’d rip your head off before you can get near her.” Stone stands at King’s threat. Despite his age, Stone is not only strong but also a skilled, well-trained fighter. King fights like the street man he is. Either way, it would be a blood bath, so I stand between them.
“King, go home to your wife. Stone and Steel, quit poking the bear. Trust me, you don’t want any of that,” I warn.
King storms out, and moments later, I hear the loud rumbling of his motorcycle.
“That guy really needs to calm down. Not good for his blood pressure,” Steel says.
“If we’re making this thing look like a murder suicide, we’ll have to take care of Wolzki, too. Nip this shit in the bud.” Stone slaps his brother on the shoulder in approval.
“That’s on you.” I raise my hands.
“Your fucking idea, and now you want to take yourself out of it,” Steel laughs.
This is why I didn’t want to get involved with drug traffickers. Despite all the promises, shit always turns south. My operation works because I’m not violent, but dealing with them is payback for making the mistake of working with those freaks. “Just Paul. I don’t hurt women or kids.”
“Do we look like monsters?” Stone asks, affronted.
“Kinda.” Instead of being offended, Steel lets out a loud belly laugh.
“Paul Junior is an adult, and I’m not too keen on incels. I have a young daughter to look out for.”
“Stone, you fucking homicidal maniac, your daughter will never cross paths with that lowlife. Our beef is not with him.”
“The ethical criminal,” Steel taunts.
“On that note, gentlemen, I need to get home to my wife, too. Good night.” I stand, ready to leave them and this night behind.
“Another beautiful queen.” Steel shakes his head as if he’s confused. “Is that how they make them in Shadow Cove. Does she have an older cousin or aunt for Stone?”
“Gentleman, I would not wish one of you on my worst enemy. Good night. Stay away from Shadow Cove and its women.”
It’s late when I make the trek back home. I tiptoe through the house, careful not to make any noise.
Finch wakes up from her doggy bed in the living room.
“Finch.” I rub behind his ears. “Did Mommy walk you? Shit. I should have told her—”
“Don't refer to me as Mommy to that beast.” My wife stands a few feet away, looking like a bronze in a long robe, hopefully with nothing under. “Selene walked and fed her.”
I never thought I’d be thankful for Selene, but I am, though no one will ever know it.
I open my arms and wait for her to come to me. It takes a few seconds, but she comes, and I wrap them around her.
“I’ve been worried out of my damn mind,” she admits. “How does Eden do this?”
I rub her back and enjoy the feel of her soft body against mine. I kiss her forehead.
“Everything is fine. You don’t ever have to worry. My businesses are not violent. They’ve never been.”
She doesn’t seem appeased by that.
“What—”
“I can’t talk about it, sweetheart. It’s better for you that way.”
“I don’t want that kind of marriage. I want to be your partner. I want to know things.”
I rub my hands over my face and sigh. I’ve never had to deal with this shit before.
I’ve always done what I wanted and didn’t need to answer to anyone, but I’ve also never been married before.
It’s been ten years since I was in a committed relationship.
She ended things to attend graduate school out of state.
After that, I focused on work. I worked with the Titans and made more money than I could have anticipated. Then, I moved my operations to Shadow Cove. Everything was fine. The business was running like a well-oiled machine for years. Then, Cori decided to stalk me.
“Is there anything to eat?” She takes my hand and leads me to the kitchen. Once I’m seated, she rubs my shoulders while I lean into her. My stomach growls, so she leaves me and pulls out Tupperware containers from the fridge.
She plates leftovers and sits with me while I eat.
“I can’t tell you everything, but I want to meet you halfway.”
“Thank you.”
“I’m in the midst of cleaning up a bit of a mess. That’s what I was doing tonight.”
“Is it handled?”
“Plans were put in place. I promise it will be fine.”
“Okay,” she says, and I sigh in relief. “I’d much rather talk about your bridal shop. Let’s tour the place tomorrow. I’ll call the contractor, and you can tell him what you want.”