Page 11

Chapter Ten

Sawyer

I stared at my phone and tried to figure out why the fuck I wanted to call Fitz Morgan. The guy had been on my mind for three weeks, and I had no idea what to do about it.

The shit with Tim Walton’s parents had ended up being a fucking disaster. I was going to have to patch him in to keep him quiet, but the kid needed a family, and the Cowboys were a good one. I just had to convince the executive committee to get them to vote with me.

Gilly delivered a breakfast burrito to me in the clubhouse early on Wednesday morning. It was the middle of October, and we were getting ready to meet about the new executive committee positions we needed to fill.

“Thank you, Gil. How’s everything at the restaurant?”

He put the tray on my desk and took off the resin dome before he handed me a setup and grinned. “Everything’s good, prez. Can I get you anything else? Maybe something sweet?”

Gilly… Gilbert Tate… had worked with Arlo and knew how the club operated, though not all the gory details for his own safety. He was a sweet guy, and a few of the members were interested in him, but I had the feeling his heart was already spoken for, though he’d never said a word about who.

“I’m fine, Gilly. Thank you. Are you doing okay? Arlo okay?”

Gilly’s face turned bright pink, somewhat confirming my suspicions. “Arlo is Arlo, you know?”

I smirked. “Yeah, I figured. Thanks for bringing this over. You ready to prospect? We’re taking a vote in a couple of days.”

“Aw, thanks, prez, but I’m not cut out to be a Cowboy. I do appreciate the ask, though. Just put the tray on the porch, and I’ll pick it up before the end of my shift. Have a great day.”

Gilly skipped out of my office with a big smile on his face. He was a cute guy, and while he might not be club material, we’d always have a place for him in our ranks in case he needed it. He was family.

I finished my breakfast and picked up the tray to carry out. I opened the door of my office and strolled out to see Spider and Ders sitting in the club room when they should be at Tumbleweeds. I wasn’t thrilled.

“Again, with this shit? What do you think providing security at Tumbleweeds means?” I glance from one to the other as they’re both sitting at a table with two beers in front of them. It was one in the afternoon on a Wednesday. While it wasn’t as busy as weekends, we still had a good amount of traffic. Their asses needed to be at the dispensary.

“Look, prez, we don’t need both of us to be there on Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday. We deserve a break during the day, and the only people who are willing to give us relief are Boyd and Hammer. You don’t come help anymore.”

I grabbed Spider by the cut and pulled him out of his chair. “You think I’m not doing a good enough job? You come for me. We’ll take a vote tonight.”

We were both snarling, but before we could beat the fuck out of each other, Spider’s cell on the table buzzed. As I was having a standoff with my vice president, Ders picked it up and looked at the screen.

“Fuck, we need to get to Tumbleweeds. The silent alarm just went off.”

I shoved Spider away and headed to my office, opening the safe to grab my legal gun and the permit I had in a small bag beneath it. Derson stomped into the office. “Two cars?”

“Yeah. Are the cops there yet?” I didn’t check my own phone which was plugged into the charger on my desk. I didn’t wanna roll up in there if the place was crawling with cops.

“Not yet. Should we head out? We might be able to beat them there.”

“No. Let the cops get there first.” I hurried to my phone and called Hammer.

It went straight to his voicemail. Just then, I got a text message from the alarm company and Mouse.

A silent alarm has been triggered at your location at …

I clicked on the message from Mouse. He’d directed the video feed from inside the shop to my phone.

“Okay, there are four assholes holding our people at gunpoint.” We hurried down to the room where Mouse had all his equipment.

I didn’t knock. “What’s going on?”

Mouse was studying the large monitor on his desk, having pulled up all the cameras we had inside and outside of the dispensary. There were several vehicles in the parking lot, two of them blocking the entrances from the street.

Of course, a crowd was gathering around because it was in a strip mall off Decatur. Inside, two of the robbers were pulling out the trays of weed we had behind the counter and dumping them into trash cans while one of them cleaned out the registers.

“Keep watching this and recording what’s going on. The cops will need it. Start trying to track the license plates of those vehicles, please.” I pointed to the cars blocking both entrances.

I turned to Ders and Spider who were standing in the doorway. “Let’s go. No guns, no cuts, and no bullshit. The cops will get there any minute now. I want no trouble from our side.”

Ders and Spider nodded, and we went out to Derson’s SUV, all piling in and heading out for the fifty-mile drive. We wouldn’t have ever beat the cops to the scene, so it was better to let them arrive first.

We were ordered to stay in the parking lot of the dispensary while the officers questioned the customers who’d been in the store during the robbery. I turned to Hammer—because I had nothing to say to Boyd. “What happened?”

Hammer swallowed. “There were about five customers inside, so we were keeping an eye on them. Boyd was manning the booth to check IDs before we let them in, and I was sitting near the registers like always.

“The lock on the back door must be broke because they came in through the back and caught me by surprise. They were screaming for everybody to get down, so we all did, and then they went to that pretty girl, Becca, and ordered her to open the safe. I tried to tell them that the safe was new and nobody knew the combination except you, Ders, T-Roy, and Hobie.

“They argued with me. Boyd came out of the booth with that damn pellet gun we keep back there, and he shot one of ’em in the shoulder. They left out the way they came, and Boyd followed them, but he ain’t come back. They got outta here with a lot of product and all the money in the registers. They were all wearing masks, but I gave the cops a description of them as best I could. They want the security footage.” I nodded and took Hammer over to a chair. He looked pretty shaken-up and I was worried about him, with his bad heart and all.

I walked over to the head dick in charge. “I’m Sawyer Abbott. My club owns this store. What can you tell me?”

“Officer Crane.” The Las Vegas cop was wearing military-style fatigues that they wore all the time for reasons I didn’t know. There were armored vehicles in the parking lot, so at least they were taking it seriously.

Officer Crane led me around to the back of the building. “From what we’ve gathered so far, the back door was unlocked and the suspects came in by just turning the knob.”

I was sure my eyes were as big as silver dollars. “Unlocked? That’s impossible. There’s a button under the counter by the register to let someone in through the back door after checking the camera. Do you think one of my people had something to do with this?”

The cop blew out a breath. “I really don’t know, so let’s not jump to conclusions just yet. We need to find Mr. Townsend, who has disappeared according to Mr. White. He said Mr. Townsend went chasing after them, but he hasn’t returned.”

Fucking great. Now we have a missing asshole. “My IT guy will get you the footage in a few hours. Do you have any idea who it was? Is there a gang targeting dispensaries in the area?”

“You have insurance, Mr. Abbott? How are your sales? Is this the only dispensary you own in Nevada? Where do you get your marijuana from?” The way he was staring at me had the hair standing up on the back of my neck.

I faked a smile. “I have all the proper paperwork inside on display as required. Our weed comes from our licensed cultivation facility not far from Pahrump. I have those licenses inside as well.”

“Okay, Mr. Abbott. Let’s go in. We’ll take your statement in a bit. Can you get the licensing papers together for us? We’ll need those.”

Yeah, just for you to lose that shit? “I’ll get you copies immediately. Those papers don’t leave this store.” Fuck you!

After giving my statement, which was ridiculous with me having to account for every minute of my damn day. Like I’d rob my own damn store and then show up here to meet with the cops?

I left Ders and Spider to deal with the police and drove out to the East Adkisson house to find TJ Middleton. I needed to follow up on shit with him. I’d spent far too much time daydreaming. I had responsibilities.

I got out of my truck and walked around to the back door of the house to see Bess Carroll outside having a cigarette. When she saw me, she grinned. “Hey, Bones.”

I nodded. “TJ here? He owes me a conversation.”

“Finishing up something. I’ll get him for you in a second. How’s everything going at the other house?” Bess stubbed out her cigarette and put the butt in the ash can.

Nobody smoked inside. We didn’t want the fucking buildings burning down like the other house had the previous year, though that had been an “electrical fire,” according to the fire marshal of Nye County. That was probably after a hefty donation to his bank account by the new blood in the Scorpions. I’d have to deal with those fucks eventually.

“Business is steady, just like here. Emily busy? That john ever come back?”

Bess grinned. “Nope, and she hasn’t been in much demand. Maybe you wanna talk to her first?”

I knew this shit was trouble. “Yeah, go get her.”

Bess went inside through the back door, and I went to the fridge on the enclosed back porch and grabbed myself a beer that we kept out there for club members only. We didn’t have a liquor license, so we didn’t serve customers, but if they brought their own, we didn’t object.

I went back outside and sat at the picnic table. When the back door opened, I turned to see Emily step out. She was wearing a sheer dress with not much under it. I wasn’t interested, but I could see where some guys might be.

“Hi, Bones. What’s up?” She dropped the seductive smile and stiffened when she saw me, which told me maybe Bess didn’t tell her who wanted to see her.

“Just checking on you. Bess says you’re not very busy. Everything okay?”

She glanced at me before she looked down at the patio. “I, uh, I’m not sure what’s going on. Some of my regulars have canceled on me lately.”

I nodded. “Were any of your regulars a friend of Charles Smith?” If she couldn’t see it, she needed to take another look.

“I didn’t know Charles—”

“Don’t lie to me, Emily. The guy said he knew you. Were you snaking around a truck stop or did you do him at the Skylark?”

Her face paled. The woman had to know I wasn’t stupid. If she didn’t, she was about to learn it.

“I—I met him at a casino on The Strip on my day off. A few of us girls went to celebrate Lena’s birthday.” She began tangling her fingers together nervously.

Lena Charms was another one of our employees. She was a beautiful young biracial woman who came to work for us a year ago. She was working toward graduate school, and she made bank for the house. I vaguely remembered a request for permission to leave the house on the Sunday before Labor Day to celebrate Lena’s birthday.

“Okay, so is that the only time you saw him? What’s the rule about tricking on The Strip?”

“Oh, I don’t trick on The Strip, Bones. We went on a date to Orchids, the supper club in Summerlin, the next time he was in Vegas. We communicated by text to get to know each other between his trips to town. He lets me know when he’s in town, and we get dinner or go dancing together on my nights off. He wanted to see me on Thursday night, but I told him I had appointments I couldn’t cancel. He got mad and hung up on me, so I sent him a message that he could come to the house where I live.

“I hadn’t exactly told him I was a sex worker, so he got upset after I told him I’d have to charge him if he wanted to see me. Finally, he calmed down enough and made the appointment with Bess.

“When he got here, he thought I was kidding that I’d have to charge him, and the two of us got into an argument in my room. He lost his temper and lashed out. I’m sorry he caused a problem. I won’t see him again.”

That didn’t make me happy. “Emily, did you have sex with him other times that we didn’t know about? Did you not have sex again until Dr. Rains came to test you?”

She hung her head, just as I suspected. “I was careful. I used protection, Bones.”

I took a gulp of my beer. I never liked having to get rid of someone, but rules were rules. “I appreciate that, but you know the laws surrounding our work and that we abide by them stringently. You know we could have gotten our license jerked, and then what, Emily? I can’t trust you to follow the rules, so I’m afraid you’ll have to leave. I’ll give you until tomorrow to empty out your room. Bess will have your check ready in the morning.”

“Please, Bones! I won’t do it again. I have nowhere to go. This has been my home for the last six months since I got out of rehab after my arrest.” She started crying, but that shit never worked on me.

“I’m sorry, Emily, but it’s a deal-breaker. We have too much at stake to risk our license over one employee who thinks the rules don’t apply to her.”

Standing up, I finished the beer and took it to the recycle bin by the house. “Tomorrow, Emily.”

I went inside without another word. I didn’t hear a compelling enough case not to fire her, but maybe it was time for an example so the others didn’t think they could skirt the rules, too.

A few guys were chatting with some of our employees in the lounge. Bess was signing someone in at the front desk, so I waited until she finished. I hadn’t seen Ricky Marlow, a member of the Cowboys who was supposed to be providing security at the house, so I slid my phone out of the pocket of my jeans and dialed his number.

“Yeah?” It was Rick.

“Where the fuck are you?” I was at the end of my patience with everyone.

“I’m out at East Adkisson as scheduled. I got a text from Hobie about the robbery at Tumbleweeds. Did they wipe us out?”

I could hear his voice echoing down the hallway as well as over the phone. I ended the call and waited for the fucker to see me standing to his right. When he stepped into the lounge, I saw his hair was wet and a wild mess. I didn’t move, surprised when TJ came down behind him in about the same shape.

“Just the two people I was looking for. Gentlemen, let’s take this outside.” I turned on my heel and headed out the back door, stopping to get myself another beer.

When TJ and Ricky joined me at the picnic table, my eyes fixed on Ricky. He’d been patched into the club under Dad while I was in the Army, though he never wanted any responsibilities as far as the executive committee was concerned.

If I sent out a message for volunteers at The Roundup or at any of our businesses, Ricky would show up without being asked a second time. His day job was lead mechanic at a car dealership on Durango. He wanted to keep club business as far from his job as possible, asking us not to bring mechanic work to his shop, and I didn’t hold it against him.

“So, what’s this little clusterfuck?” I motioned my finger between them.

TJ shoved his hands in the pockets of his track pants, but I kept my eyes on Ricky. “You pay him?”

“It’s not like that, Bones.”

I turned to TJ. “What’s it like?”

“We were strategizing.” TJ wouldn’t meet my gaze.

I chuckled. “About what? How Ricky was gonna pimp you out without me knowing it?”

Ricky shook his head. “No way, Bones. The kid’s a fighter. I’m just trying to coach him up a little. There’s a fight at the Ace of Spades Casino in Green Valley, and I have a guy who’s a promoter who comes into the shop. He’s hungry for unseeded fighters to put up against his carded fighters. TJ could be a sleeper, and if we bet on him, we could make a lot of scratch—which I’m guessing we’ll need since we just got robbed.”

“You coach him up with your dick in his ass? Tell me you wore a goddamn condom, Ricky, or I’ll beat the fuck out of you.”

Ricky stepped over to the table. “I swear to god, it wasn’t like that. The kid’s incredible, and we worked on a few tricks I know, which is why I’m so sweaty.” Ricky lifted his T-shirt to show me marks on his ribs that looked painful and would definitely bruise.

“So, what’s up with your wet hair?” I studied one and then the other. Was I an asshole for pushing them to admit they’d fucked? Probably. They both seemed nervous, and I was immediately suspicious.

“We made a video of the two of us sparring for me to show the promoter. Jimmy Germaine is hungry for guys who nobody knows, and the kid is prime. He has opportunities. Just wait. You’ll see.”

Yeah, I guessed we’d all see.