“That’s information I’m not willing to share, but what I do want from you is to know what was in that package you gave Davey today?”
His frown slowly eased and relief crossed his face. “You’ve got nothing, have you?”
I quirked a brow. “You willing to take a gamble on that?”
The woman wiped the tears from her eyes as she watched me. “Tell him, Paul. Maybe he can help us.”
Paul stared at me for a long few moments and I recognised the hopelessness on his face. Whatever the hell was going on with them was clearly eating him up. Eventually, he blew out a breath and muttered, “Fuck.” Rubbing the back of his neck, he moved away from the woman and paced in the tiny kitchen. When his eyes found mine again, I knew he was about to give me what I needed. “I’m one of Jackson’s right-hand guys. When Davey discovered I was dating Marnie, Jackson’s ex, he blackmailed us. He knew that if Jackson found out we were dating, he’d lose his shit over it and God knew what he’d do to Marnie.”
He was right. I’d heard of Jackson’s inability to let ex’s go. Stories of him slicing a guy’s dick off over an ex had circulated, and while I wasn’t sure whether to believe it, Jackson was psycho enough for it to be true. “Or what he’d do to you.”
He nodded. “Right. But I’m more concerned for Marnie.”
“How long ago did you break up with Jackson?” I asked her.
“About six months.”
“And he’s got a new woman?”
She nodded. “He’s dated three women since me and has been with the current one for three months now.”
I processed that while thinking about the blackmail. “What was in that package, Paul?”
“Cash and drugs.”
“Fuck,” I muttered. “You’re stealing from Jackson to pay Davey?”
He shifted on his feet, looking uncomfortable, but not as uncomfortable as he should have been. Jackson would likely kill him for theft. “It’s what Davey asked for. I panicked.”
“Please don’t tell him,” Marnie begged, her eyes wide with fear again.
“Sorry, but that’s not an option here. If I were you two, I’d be jumping in my car now and leaving town.” Right up until the moment Paul had told me he was stealing from Jackson, I’d held hope they would escape his wrath. I no longer held that hope. They were screwed, but it was their own doing. People needed to think more about the consequences of their actions.
Paul’s anger unleashed itself and he came at me with a punch. I’d been waiting for it, though, and blocked him with ease. The guy wasn’t built for fighting.
I pulled him close, twisted him around and settled my arm across his chest to hold him in place. Squeezing him hard, I growled, “There’s no time left for you to be fighting, asshole. You’ve made your bed, now you gotta lie in it. I’ll give you the night, but first thing tomorrow morning, I’m taking this information to my boss.” I squeezed him hard once more as I asked, “You got that?”
I let him go and pushed him away. As he stumbled back to where Marnie stood, he choked out, “Yeah. Now get the fuck out of my house.”
With fucking pleasure.
I’ve got better things to be doing right now.
17
Havoc
It was close to six when I walked through the motel room door that night. Although it had been a long day, a sense of anticipation ran through me that I was beginning to associate with Carla. It had been years since I’d experienced that kind of feeling. I wasn’t sure what to do with it, so I tried to ignore it. Trouble was, that was a hard thing to do when your dick was loving the hell out of it.
“Carla?” I called out as I walked through to the bathroom.
She was nowhere to be seen.
I pulled out my phone and sent her a text asking her where she was. A second later, the sound of a text beeped from the bedside table on her side of the bed.
Shit.
Where the fuck is she?