Page 30 of Lane (East Dremest Mafia #5)

LANE

There once was a boy who had a godfather he hardly knew.

The boy thought of him as a distant uncle.

Every time he visited, he spent more time with the boy’s father than anyone else.

As time went on, the godfather was around less and less.

The boy grew into a man and the godfather stopped coming around.

The man didn’t know nor care where the godfather went.

He truly didn’t give a shit, especially since he didn’t want anything to do with his family outside of his mother.

Years went by, and the godfather appeared again.

The man didn’t know what the fuck was happening.

Words slid from the snakelike—not literally—tongue of the godfather about how the man and the man’s boss owed him twenty million dollars.

The man would have laughed in the godfather’s face if he didn’t have a gun pointed at his head.

Even then, he would have probably laughed if one of his boyfriends wasn’t there, along with the friends he’d made.

The godfather left after threatening the man, the boss, and everyone in their lives. The man didn’t know what to do except for one thing. There was no way in the ever-loving hell he was giving that asshole a fucking dime.

Oh, and there was no happy ending for that piece of shit. There would be for the man. He controlled his destiny and he’d be damned if that motherfucker took his happiness away. The godfather needed to die. They just had to find him first.

The end… for the time being.

“Why won’t these people leave me alone?” I groaned from the front seat of the Navigator.

Raiden and I had just left one of Jordan’s buyers and put a new deal in place, which was very lucrative for my boss.

It still felt weird referring to him that way, although that was who he was.

“It’s like someone pulled Ulrich from the bowels of the earth.

He should have gone after Edison, not me.

What the fuck have I ever done to him? Nothing. That’s what.”

Raiden reached across the center console and put his hand on my thigh. “You haven’t, but we still have to deal with him.”

“With bullets, knives, and maybe some of Sheldon’s poison.”

“I don’t think you’ll need the poison with all the bullets and knives.”

“Good point. I knew I kept you around for a reason.”

He gently slapped my thigh. “Smart-ass.”

“Damn right.” I looked out the window at the other side of Dremest going by.

It wasn’t much different than the eastern side.

Buildings, cars, and people all over. After securing the deal, we were heading to Untouchable, the club Dexen owned.

I’d never been in it and was excited to see what all the fuss was about.

Jordan’s partner, Vail, worked there part time as a chef. More when his brother-in-law was sick or couldn’t make it in. Jordan and Hartley had memberships.

The club was exclusive. Only the wealthiest in and around Dremest could afford the fees. Raiden and I would be entering without memberships. If I liked what I saw, I might just buy us some. Alton too.

Dexen had information he wanted to give us. With Ulrich employing a skilled hacker, it was better for Dexen to tell us in person, which meant a trip to the club.

“If I enjoy what’s inside, will you get a G-string and shake your ass for me at home?” I asked. “Al already has those sexy silk panties. With both of you in something hot, I’ll probably come without either of you touching me.”

“I don’t dance,” Raiden said, and made the turn for the road the club was on.

“There’s a first for everything.”

“Keep dreaming.”

“Boo, you’re no fun.”

Raiden parked and shut off the SUV before turning to me. “Look all you want, but you will never have a private dance from anyone in that building.”

“We have to get something straight. I don’t want anyone grinding on my cock but you and Al. Also, I have zero interest in other men, outside of appreciating how good they look. Seriously, Ray, I don’t want them.”

“I’m glad. Let’s get this over with.” It was obvious he wasn’t thrilled to be here. He’d been before as one of Jordan’s guards, so he knew exactly what went on inside. I didn’t want to think about the hurt Raiden must feel being here after losing his dad, who used to work in this very building.

The outside of Untouchable was solid black and a few stories high.

It sat on the edge of the city with the name of the club on the front of the building in cursive letters.

I hated learning cursive. It was only good for signing my name and reading it when other people wrote it.

Too bad they didn’t spend much time teaching it to kids in Dremest anymore.

I only knew that thanks to Ava, the girl Vail had custody of.

I’d been in their home one day and heard extensively as Jordan spouted why cursive should still be taught.

Hartley called him old. Jordan growled. Vail laughed. Ava rolled her eyes. Good times.

Raiden stayed close to me as we walked up, his gaze sweeping the area, which was smart. I was too focused on getting inside.

At the door were two men who eyed us like we were about to take them out.

“ID,” one of them said.

Reaching into my pocket, I pulled out my wallet and handed over my license. Raiden did the same with the other guard. They looked them over and nodded. One lifted his phone to call inside and tell them we were here.

He hung up and said, “The boss would like to remind you he’s allowing you to keep your weapons. If you fire at anyone, know that he’ll fire back. He doesn’t miss.”

“A threat before the show. Can I have that back now?” I took my license from his hand and scowled at him. He wasn’t the only one who could have an attitude.

He opened the door, allowing us entrance.

The hallway that greeted us was dark, the walls painted gray. It set the mood I guessed. A man stood off to the side and asked if he could take our coats. Both Raiden and I declined. If I had to leave here fast for whatever reason, I didn’t want to leave anything behind.

Another guard opened another door—this was getting tiring—and Raiden and I finally stepped into the main part of the club.

The lights were low like I knew they’d be, but they were bright where they pointed at the stage and the man on it. The way the man moved, goddamn, he was flexible. He did this bend and twist thing, that if I tried I would definitely hurt myself.

“Who’s that?” I asked Raiden.

The man on stage had light-brown hair and a lean body. He had nothing on but a tiny hot-pink G-string. He bent and dipped and gyrated. Jesus. I bet he was amazing in bed.

“Hale Pierce. He’s in a relationship with another dancer and that big guard over there by the entrance to the hall we need to go down. Come on. We’re not here for the show.”

“But look at how bendy he is.”

Raiden took me by the elbow. “Move, Lane.”

He led me to the guy, who glared at us like he could incinerate us on the spot with just a look. Red hair, sharp eyes, and a clean-shaven jaw with muscles popping under his shirt, I could see the appeal.

“Simon, it’s nice to see you again.” Raiden extended his hand, and they shook, the guard’s eyes softening a bit.

“You too. Please know you and your family are in our thoughts.”

“Thank you.”

“Hi, Lane Everhart,” I introduced myself.

Raiden had to speak to more people than I could count after his dad’s death.

Losing a parent was horrible. He didn’t need to feel that agony every time he came here.

Enter me and my need to draw Raiden’s attention back to the topic at hand. He’d said distraction was his friend.

I shook Simon’s hand. “Your partner is beautiful.”

“Thanks, we don’t share.”

“Can’t take a compliment without immediately thinking I want to fuck him.

Got it. Just so you know, I ride Raiden’s cock and my other boyfriend’s on the daily.

You don’t need to worry about me. I was simply complimenting his performance.

” I smiled. I really wanted to add for him not to be a dick, but I kept it to myself.

Fighting with him and Dexen wasn’t on today’s agenda.

“Sorry. If you saw the shit I did in here, you’d be on the defensive too.”

“Men are always hitting on your guy, huh?”

“Guys. They’re both dancers not only on stage, but they give private shows.”

“I could see how that would be tough. I’d take off Ray’s balls if he did that. Literally. I have knives.”

Simon chuckled and met Raiden’s eyes. “I should have known you’d find someone to match your level of violence.”

“He keeps me on my toes.”

“I bet he does. Dexen’s waiting for you in his office.”

“Thanks.”

I grinned as we walked by. He wasn’t nearly as bad as he seemed.

Another guard stood outside the office we were going into, but we didn’t stop to make small talk with him.

Instead, we were ushered into Dexen’s space.

Why were there no windows in here? It looked like a comfortable room with a leather couch, a rug, throw pillows, and a desk.

The lack of windows was concerning though. Didn’t he miss the daylight?

The door closed behind us, blocking out the noise. I opened my mouth to see if I could pop my ears then realized it was the soundproofing. It threw me a bit.

“Sorry about that.” Dexen smiled. “I’m used to it but not everyone else is.”

“My ears feel weird. It’s the same when I use noise-cancelling headphones. Too quiet too fast.”

“Let’s have a seat so we can talk. It won’t take long.”

We sat on the couch, me in the middle. I turned slightly so Raiden was at my back, and I could face Dexen.

Dexen held a folder. “I did some digging outside of the normal channels. If this guy really has his hands deep in hacking like he says, we can’t do what we normally would. Apparently, he’d been moving a lot. If I had to guess, he was following you.” He handed me the folder.

I flipped it open and saw the list of transactions Ulrich had made.

From Florida, where we first entered the country to North Carolina where I first met up with Jordan, but these were dated before that day.

They kept going until I went to Pennsylvania with Jordan.

The transactions were in and around Dremest.

“He knew where we were the moment we were back in the U.S.,” I said. “He could have come at us at any point to ask for the money.”

“Why would he if he could go after someone much bigger and much wealthier? Edison was a small fish compared to Jordan. Back in the day, Edison was bigger. Recently, he was nothing but a loud mouth with some firepower and barely enough money to function.”

“That motherfucker.” I should have known better. He learned how to be a snake from my pretend father.

“If you read through the rest of the pages, you’ll find trends to what he does. Where he likes to eat, what he’s bought. We even managed to find his illegal purchases, which wasn’t easy.”

“How?” I asked.

“You’ve met Greer. He’s a tech genius. Normally, he wouldn’t hack into anything, but having the two men he loved most, as well as his brother and his partners, shot at ignited a fire in him. Greer wants to take this asshole down as much as the rest of us do.”

“Please thank him for us,” Raiden said. “This will definitely help.”

“No thanks needed. I cared for your father. He was more than an employee. He was a friend.”

Raiden nodded but said nothing else.

I had to spend time reading through the pages with Jordan, Raiden, and Reghan, then we’d fill Alton in. He wasn’t directly involved, but he still deserved to be aware of what was going on, especially due to my and Raiden’s involvement.