| |
I shouldn’t have let her sleep in my bed. It was a bad fucking idea. How could I sleep next to that smoking hot girl and not touch her? I’ve just made my life even harder for myself. Why couldn’t I keep my damn hands off her? I had been doing so well, ignoring her, until she started jerking me off this morning. That was too much, it put me over the edge, and I was already on the verge of losing, just clinging on by my fingertips.
When I put my hand between her legs, she was so wet and she came so fast. The desire to fuck her this morning was almost unbearable. But fucking El Patron’s daughter would start a war that I just don’t need or want. Now I have to make sure that I keep fighting that temptation until he gets back and I can return his daughter to him.
Everyone is already there when I slot my car between Sepp’s and Dylan’s. My crew are waiting for me on the bank of the canal.
‘What time do you call this, bro?’ Bram complains as I walk up to them.
He and Dylan are both dressed in workout shorts and T-shirts, as they’ve come straight from the club. D’s got his hands shoved in his pockets and looks up at me from under his eyebrows as I approach.
‘I had to play fucking Tetris with the appointment book all morning to make this meet,’ Bram continues, and Dylan puts a hand on his shoulder to tell him to back off. He can read my expression better than any of them.
‘What the hell happened?’ Carl has a habit of getting straight to the point and this is no different. I like that about him, cuts through the shit and says it the way it is. As a kid, Carl was never as much of a fighter as me and Bram. He was always way more interested in number games and computers. When it comes to accounting, he can clean money faster than an industrial-strength washing machine.
‘I woke up last night to find one of Bana’s men with a gun to El Patron’s daughter’s head.’ I run my hand over my tight jaw remembering my anger as I squeezed the life out of him. ‘It was Solo Galkina.’
‘We saw him yesterday, right? He was the one at the meet?’ Bram asks.
I nod.
‘So, Bana’s still got a fire burning for El Patron?’ Carl says.
‘Could be.’ I slide my hand through my hair. None of it sits quite right.
‘Why, though? El Patron killed Boris Banasinski, so Bana kills El Patron’s wife. They should be even. Why would he go after his daughter as well? All these years later?’ Dylan asks.
‘I don’t know.’ I walk to the canal edge, pick up a stone and throw it into the murky water. ‘Could Bana have known I was there?’ I turn to look at them.
‘We’re the only ones who knew where you were,’ Bram says.
Dylan shakes his head. ‘We’re not the only ones who knew.’
I look at my friend; his blue eyes are clouded.
‘Who else knew?’ I ask him.
‘El Patron.’
‘El Patron.’ I repeat his words and add, ‘And fucking Joaquin Gonzales.’
‘But why would El Patron try to kill his own daughter?’ Sepp tugs at his tie. ‘It’s freaking hot out here today. I’m sweating my balls off.’
‘You wanna try going for a run in this weather,’ Bram says.
Sepp shakes his head. ‘Nah, I’m fine in the air-conditioned office.’
‘Maybe El Patron or Gonzales tipped Bana off. I guess he was pissed we made him agree to twenty per cent,’ Bram says.
‘But why would he go after Dale? If Bana’s pissed off with us, why drag El Patron into it? And would El Patron really risk his daughter getting killed in crossfire?’ Dylan asks.
I shrug. ‘No fucking idea, but the whole thing stinks.’
‘When is El Patron back?’ he asks.
‘I don’t know, exactly. I called him last night, told him what had happened, expecting him to get the first flight back, but he says he’s got stuff to do.’ Saying it out loud, it sounds even more off than it did last night.
‘Maybe something’s going down. Maybe Bana has got cause to want to bump the girl,’ Carl suggests.
I look at Bram. ‘Have you heard anything on the street?’ My brother’s got good connections with people who know what’s happening, he’s often the first to hear if anything’s going on.
‘No.’ He shrugs.
‘Ask around. If there is something, I want to know. We’ve got that delivery coming, so be careful. Take extra protection. If something’s going on, we don’t want to get screwed over in the process. There’s a lot at stake with that arms deal.’
I rub my eyes. I don’t trust anyone right now. For all I know, El Patron set me up as the protector of his daughter so I would side with him in his turf war against Bana. I hate that I’ve allowed myself to be dragged into whatever’s happening.
‘See what you can find out. I want to know what the hell is behind this.’ I nod, signalling the end of the meeting, and each of them turns to leave.
‘Want to stop by the bar?’ Sepp asks, as we walk to our cars. He’s in charge of getting our new place, the Highbar, up and running.
I can see he’s keen to discuss stuff, but right now there’s too much other stuff on my mind. I can’t focus on business, not until I find out what was behind the hit on Dale.
‘Yeah, I do want to come by, Sepp, but I can’t, not now.’ I have to get back to her. I’m uncomfortable leaving her alone so long. ‘I’ll let you know; tomorrow, maybe.’
He nods and shakes my hand.
‘Where is she now?’ Bram asks, coming up to me beside my car.
‘My place.’
He grins. ‘Should I stop by? Help comfort her? She must be pretty shaken after last night.’
‘I’m not sure your sort of comfort is what she needs right now.’ I put my hand on his shoulder. ‘But thanks for the kind offer.’ I refuse to let myself be wound up by my brother.
‘You should see that girl, man,’ he tells Sepp.
‘Drop it, Bram,’ I warn, ‘or I’ll give you the same treatment I gave Solo last night.’
‘Dressed like that?’ Bram nods at my suit.
‘Even in this I’d take you down easily.’
Bram huffs; I’m right and he knows it. My brother is an excellent fighter, one of the best. But I’m better.
‘Slater’s got a bit of a soft spot for old El Patron’s little girl,’ Bram tells Sepp. ‘And I can’t blame him. Wait till you see her.’
‘Bram. Goodbye.’ I give my brother a playful shove in the direction of his car.
‘Let me know when you want to drop by the bar. I’ll meet you there.’ Sepp gets into the car with Carl and they drive off.
‘D? I need you to do something for me,’ I tell Dylan, who’s leaning on the bonnet of my car.
‘What’s that?’
‘I need a burner to start with, and I need someone to stop by El Patron’s to pick up some of her shit.’
Dylan glances at Bram. ‘Me and Bram can go later. But we’ve got to get back to the Take Down now, we got clients waiting. Follow us to the gym and I’ll give you a phone. And what about your class tonight? You gonna take it or you want me to?’
‘I’ll do it.’ Teaching a fight class will be a good way to help me unwind, take my mind off everything that’s going on. I slide down into the driver’s seat and start the engine, and follow D and my brother to the fight club. I wait as they go inside, then Dylan comes out with the phone in his hand. I roll down the window and he leans on the top of the car as he gives it to me.
‘Thanks, D. I’ll send you a message about what needs picking up from El Patron’s.’
‘Sure. Hey, Slater? You OK?’
‘Yeah.’
I run a hand over my jaw and consider telling him about what happened with Dale this morning but decide against it. Nothing happened. She slept in my bed, that’s all, and I got a bit carried away, but there’s no need to make it into something more than it is.
‘It’s just all this stuff is making me uneasy.’
‘Yeah. We’ll start asking around and get it figured out.’ Dylan’s expression is serious, but it gives me confidence.
‘Thanks, D.’
He nods, taps the roof, and I drive off.