Page 137 of Control Freak

He said it matter-of-factly. It wasn’t snarled like a threat. It didn’t need to be. The words carried weight because this was a man who could back up what he said.

Curtis gave him an uneasy look. “I got the message. So, what now?”

“That depends,” I said. “Are you going to stay away from Shiloh?”

“Yeah,” Curtis said. “He won’t ever see us again. You have my word.”

“But what about the money?” Brick protested. “He still owes us 20K, man!”

Curtis shook his head. “Learn when you’re outmatched, Brick. It ain’t worth the trouble we’ll find here.” He turned back to me. “Let us go, and you won’t ever see us again.”

“I’m glad you see it our way.” I tossed my keys at Bailey. “Move my car.”

“Really?” Bailey grinned and handed Taz over to Flynn, who looked even bigger while holding a tiny dog. He jogged over to the GTO and slid into the driver’s seat.

Once it backed off the road, Gray rounded the tow truck and flipped the switch that would tilt the truck bed so we could unload Brick and Curtis’s car.

While Gray worked on getting all the safety chains disconnected, Shiloh took a step forward.

“Hey, Curtis,” he called. “Just so you know, I really don’t have that money. I never did.”

His lips quirked. “Yeah, I figured that might be the case when I saw you with Sugar Daddy here.”

I rolled my eyes as Axel snickered at the nickname. I’d never live that down now.

“What do you mean?” Shiloh asked.

“If you had all that cash, you wouldn’t need him, would you?”

“Jimmie’s a liar.”

“Yeah, and he’ll pay for that,” Curtis said. “I don’t know when or how, but he’ll be sorry he fucked us over.”

“As long as you leave me out of it,” Shiloh said. “I never want to hear his name again.”

Curtis tipped his head in a nod. “Fair enough.”

We watched as they climbed into the car and drove off the ramp. As soon as they hit the asphalt, they whipped thecar into the open lane and sped down the highway, taillights disappearing into the distance.

“Think we’ll see them again?” Gray asked.

“I hope not,” I said tightly. “But there’s no guarantee they won’t try again. I’m sorry, Shy. I wish I could do more.”

“You did more than I ever could have asked,” Shiloh said. “All of you. I’ve never had anyone stand up for me like this before.”

“Well, I wouldn’t worry too much about those guys coming back,” Axel said. “Dalton just texted me. Turns out, they’ve got warrants out in St. Louis, so he made a call to the authorities there. There’s going to be a nice welcome brigade waiting for them.”

“You mean…”

“They’re getting arrested as soon as they get home,” Axel confirmed with a grin. “This time with serious drug charges.”

“So it’s really over?” Shiloh asked, a hopeful note in his voice.

“It really is,” Axel said. “Unless you want to add to their charges? Stalking and extortion, maybe? Assault too.”

Shiloh shook his head. “Not unless they need me to put them away.”

“From what Dalton said, they’re looking at serious prison time either way.”