Total pages in book: 36
Estimated words: 33767 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 169(@200wpm)___ 135(@250wpm)___ 113(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 33767 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 169(@200wpm)___ 135(@250wpm)___ 113(@300wpm)
“Why’s Thorn continuin’ to let them in his clubs if they’re causin’ so much trouble?”
Rocket shrugged. “Bidin’ his time. Waitin’ for an opportunity to take the fucker out when he wouldn’t get his club in the crossfire. We’re doin’ him a fuckin’ favor.”
“What’s the plan?” I was sure Rocket had already gone over everything with Scrub and Knox before I got there, but I still needed to know.
“I’d make some smartass remark about how you’d know if you weren’t upstairs bangin’ your woman, but I’m pretty sure she needed to know she’s yours.” He smirked. “She good?”
“As good as can be. She’s healed physically. Still got a few bruises but nothing lasting. The emotional trauma’s another story. And I’m not talkin’ about only the beatin’. She’s got a lifetime of physical, emotional, and sexual abuse to overcome. The main thing is she needs to feel like she’s in control of what happens to her body.”
“I trust you’ll take care of all that?”
“I will. I’ll get her any help she needs, and I will always respect her wishes. She may never truly get over everything she’s lived through, but I will absolutely be by her side every step of the way.”
Rocket nodded. “Good. See you do. Now, as to this little adventure, Ripper and Crush are workin’ together to make sure the cameras everywhere over several blocks are take care of. Commercial and private. There will be no evidence we were ever even in the area.
“Once we get to the Playground, Lock and Thorn will take us up through the back of the club to the private room he’s letting Alfonso and DeLuca use. We’ll take care of them there.”
“What about his security?”
“Both men have two bodyguards a piece. Lock says they’re pretty attentive, even at the club. Venus is supposed to be takin’ care of ‘em.”
“Venus.” I shook my head. “The woman Piston claimed?”
“Yep,” Rocket chuckled.
“One woman. Takin’ on four mob body men? I know she’s a badass, Rocket, but if she can’t contain this…”
“This was Thorn’s suggestion. Venus is still part of Bane and he trusts her. Worst case, she fucks up and we have to split up to get Alfonso and DeLuca. Might get ‘em. Might not. But this means almost as much to Thorn as it does to us. It’s in his best interest to take these guys out.”
I shrugged. “Guess that’ll have to be good enough.”
“Good.”
The rest of the ride was done in silence. We each had a piece, but if things went right we wouldn’t use them. Last thing we wanted to do was discharge a firearm in a crowded club. Not only would the chance of collateral damage be unacceptable, but we didn’t want to draw attention to ourselves.
We left Knox in the SUV three blocks away from the club. Several city lights were out in two separate directions from our location going to the club. No doubt Ripper and Crush’s doing. It gave us an alternate route to and from the club so we could stay in the shadows.
As we approached the back, we met Venus as she strolled out of the building like she didn’t have a care in the world. She was dressed in her ever-present pink. This time with pink dreadlocks instead of the long curls she normally sported. The woman was tall and solidly built, but compact. Muscular without being overly so. She had the body to back up any skills she had. Definitely not a woman to fuck with.
“Way is clear. You have at least half hour before bodyguards miss check-in.” She nodded at Rocket but didn’t break her stride. “See you back at club.”
“Ain’t going back to Bane, Venus,” Rocket said.
“Me neither.”
I missed a step. Rocket looked over his shoulder and narrowed his eyes.
“I got a bad feelin’ about that,” I muttered.
“Yeah.” Rocket shook his head but kept moving. I thought I saw him fighting a grin, but it could have been a scowl.
Once inside, the driving bass of the music pounded through me, even away from the main room where the speakers belted out a rhythm. I was wrong. We could probably have a whole entire fire fight upstairs, and no one would notice.
Lock met us and jerked his head for us to follow him. He took us up to the third floor. The music wasn’t as obnoxious but still ever present. He took us to the end of the hall where Thorn stood outside the door. Two men lay at his feet while Blood, the sergeant at arms of Bane, and a couple other men were busy packing them into bags to be moved out.
Scrub moved around us to Blood’s side and the two men conversed while Thorn and Rocket greeted each other.
“They’re so high I doubt they’ll give you much trouble.” Thorn shook his head. “I really expected gettin’ rid of these guys would be harder than this. I’ve got everyone in my club in the immediate vicinity staked out around both here and in the blocks surrounding the club, as well as Alfonso’s headquarters. All his underbosses and capos are where they’re supposed to be with the appropriate number of men with them.” He shrugged. “They must have a really poor opinion of us.”