42. The Narcissist #2
Jordan gestures for me to follow him. We pass the bouncers who politely greet him while making our way upstairs.
There are three women who are currently cleaning the place, and I try not to look at them too much, too scared of what I might see in their eyes or that I won’t be able to hold up the pretense.
“Today is not a casino night,” he tells me. “As you already know. Instead, we open this part of our establishment.”
I knew it would be a full-fledged brothel, but seeing it firsthand is a whole different experience.
I pretend to be in awe while Jordan leads me through the whole upper floor, which actually consists of two floors.
It’s obvious he has money, as the place does look luxurious.
Luxurious for his customers; the women, however, don’t look too well cared for.
“How did you manage to build this up?” I whisper my question. It’s not even difficult to pretend that I am in awe. I am shocked enough to pull it off.
“Well, let’s say I know how to run a business,” he says. “The casino pays well. Bored lunas like to spend a lot of money, spoiled alpha’s children do, too, and then there are the warriors who want to prove themselves.”
“You really are a businessman.”
I am sure he is ripping people off somehow, but I don’t care about the casino much anymore. This here is the true intel.
“But money isn’t enough to build this up,” I say, gazing around. “Like… these women are gorgeous. And they are shifters, aren’t they?”
“Yes, we are a shifter-only place,” he says. “It gets too messy with human girls. They break too easily,” he pauses. “Not that she-wolves don’t break, but their wolves can heal them.” He laughs as if he just made a brilliant joke.
I fall into laughter as well while inwardly dying a little. What the fuck? She-wolves heal faster? I don’t even want to imagine what they are doing with these women here.
“They are beautiful,” I say, forcing myself to look around.
“What did you think?” he grins. “That I would just sell ugly bitches?”
“Well,” I pretend to be flustered. “It’s just… I admit, I am impressed.”
“I can see that,” Jordan nods, smiling contentedly.
Rose was right. Stroking his ego is clearly the best strategy, always. “How did you find these women, and how did you convince them to work for you? I mean, this is insane, and I mean that in the best way possible.”
Jordan puts a hand on my shoulder, leaning closer to whisper the next words. “If someone loses,” he says. “He might also be ready to lose his mate.”
So, the rumors are true. They are leverage, used as collateral damage. They are forced into this to save their mates’ faces; maybe some of them have lost money themselves. “This is insane,” I exclaim. “Disturbing, but also… amazing. It must have been incredibly difficult to pull this off.”
“No,” Jordan laughs. “In fact, it was easy. Some of these guys just love their rank, reputation and money. They would do anything to keep them, even pimping out their own daughters.”
“It also means no one will blab,” I say, looking around in fake awe. “Because if they turn around and try to betray you, you have their mates or daughters or I don’t know who else here. They can’t drag you down without dragging themselves down.”
“Exactly. And the funny thing is that they love gambling so much, they don’t stop even when their beloved family members are here.
You are quite sharp, Martin. I like that about you.
I’d hate working with an idiot. You are a quiet man, and I wasn’t sure if you would be ready to lunge into this and take such a huge risk. ”
“Anything for my pack,” I say. “And for Alpha Harry, and if I am being honest,“ I pause. “Also for me.”
“Good,” his eyes glint. “I like a guy with a goal. Jonah is the same. Now let’s go. I want to show you the rest.”
I feel sick, barely able to continue the tour, but I have to push through it.
Once done, Jordan and I return to the bar area. While I am wondering how to praise him any more despite wanting to throw up, he fortunately has some high-ranking customers coming. “I apologize for cutting this short, Martin,” he says.
“Don’t worry, please. I am honored you made so much of your time for me.”
“Next week,” he promises. “When you come with Harry, we will hash out the details. If you actually manage to get Harry—”
“I will,” I say with all the confidence I have.
Jordan’s eyes glint at my answer, and he smirks. “Then you, Harry and I will have a plan to think about. Forest and Rosea need to go.”
“We could fuse the pack with yours,” I muse, before pretending to startle. “Sorry, I was just getting ahead of myself. I—”
“I like how you think, Martin,” he says, squeezing my shoulder. “I can’t wait to have you on my team.”
With that, he finally leaves me and heads to his guests. I make sure to hang around for a bit longer, having one more drink and chatting with some regulars I now know, before finally, finally, I’m able to leave this shithole.
Once outside, the cold night air hits me, waking me up a little.
At last, I can go home. Part of me just wants to erase this from my mind and never think about it again, but I know it’s not an option.
In fact, this is the biggest chance we have had in a while to finally get both Jordan and Harry.
Besides, there are so many innocent girls in there who deserve to be saved.
The cool air has calmed me down a little, my senses sharper again. When I hear footsteps behind me, I don’t think much about it at first, until—“You!” A voice hisses.
I know that voice. Wait a moment…
Turning around, I am met with a fist, punching me so hard it knocks me over.
Fuck! As a beta, that shouldn’t have happened to me.
Before I can get up again, the guy kneels above me, punching me again.
I have not been training with Forest for nothing, though.
Grabbing his legs, I shift us both over, successfully getting him off me.
What I didn’t consider, though, was the small hillside next to me, causing both of us to roll downhill until we come to a halt on a patch of grass right next to a stream. My bones ache. Fuck this guy.