Possessive Daddy Next Door

“How’s that going?”

“Not great, I guess. Nobody wants to pay American workers anymore. It’s horrible. I don’t know what’s going to happen.”

I let out a grunt and circle around the parking lot. It’s empty, so I park the truck facing the exit. If shit goes down, we can hop in the truck and gun it out of there.

Well, at least Delia can.

I leave the engine running and put a hand on her knee. She smiles at me and tilts her head. “What?” she asks.

“Nothing. I just want to look at you.”

She smiles. I lean toward her and kiss her gently on the lips. “It’s going to be okay,” I say. “They want this money, sure, but they really want peace with your mother.”

“I hope you’re right.”

I nod once and kiss her again. I don’t say that I hope the same thing. I hold her hand and we look out the windshield at the drizzle making slow patterns along the glass. We sit together in silence and I listen to her breathing. I want to kiss her again, hold her, pull her hair and make her gasp, but it’s not the time for that anymore.

Headlights pull up the driveway in front of us.

Two cars. We watch them in silence. Two cars drive up the meandering path and pull slowly into the lot in front of us. They park thirty feet away, but don’t kill their lights.

I squeeze her hand. “I’m going out,” I say.

She bites her lip and doesn’t answer.

I reach back and grab the duffel. It’s heavy as hell and I have to really heft it up into my lap. I kick the door open and hop down. Before I walk away, I look up at her. She’s smiling down at me like an angel, her pouty lips gorgeous, her eyes afraid.

“There’s a gun under your seat,” I say. “It’s a small handgun. Loaded and ready. In case you need it.”

I shut the door before she can respond and walk into the center space.

The headlights create a strange lighted bubble. The other car doors open and three men get out, two from one car and one from the other. I can’t tell what the makes or models are of the cars because their headlights make it hard to see, even with mine illuminating them in turn.

The three figures walk toward me. They step into the bubble of light and I recognize one. It’s Mikey, the guy that got injured during the last fight. He’s limping and grimacing, clearly still in pain from where I shot him.

The other two are new. They wear nice, expensive suits. They’re both average height, with dark hair and tan skin. One is smiling and the other looks like he’d rather jump off a cliff than be in this parking lot in the rain.

“Gentlemen,” I call out.

They stop. “I assume you are Max,” the smiling man says. He steps forward. “My name is Vince. These are my associates, Gage and Mikey.”

“I’ve met Mikey,” I say and look at the man. “Good to see you again.”

He glares back at me but doesn’t speak.

Vince laughs. “Poor Mikey. Didn’t know what he was dealing with.”

“Clearly.” I stare at the men and hold up my bag. “This is what we came for, isn’t it?”

Vince shrugs. “I guess so. No need to rush into business. I thought we might talk first.”

“We didn’t agree to that,” I say.

“Oh, come on.” Vince gives me a wicked smile. “You fucked us so hard, I’m just curious. How’d you pull it off?”

I stare at the man. “I just did my job.”

“You lied. You snuck. You slipped into our ranks and got our most important men taken away. You nearly gutted us.”

I smile. “I did my job very, very well.”

For a moment, his grin slips and a mask of fury replaces it. But he gets himself under control.

“We spoke with Mrs. Lofthouse,” he says. “And we made a deal. But I want to add something to that deal.”

“We didn’t discuss that.”

“No, we didn’t. But I’m adding it anyway.” Vince takes a step closer. I tense, ready for a fight, but he doesn’t make any moves. “You’re to stay away from Philadelphia. If you ever come north of fucking Virginia ever again, I will find out about it. I will hunt you down. I will send more men than just two dipshits next time. You hear me? The Lofthouse name won’t help you then.”

I incline my head. “I have no desire to come anywhere near you scum ever again.”

“Good.” He smiles and holds out a hand. “Money, please.”

I throw the bag toward him. It lands a few feet away on the ground. He walks over and lifts it up before handing it off to Gage.

Gage opens it, looks through, and nods. “All here.”

“Good. Well, this was easy. I almost thought you’d be stupid here, Max. You fucking cops always are. Can’t just do business.” Vince walks over to Mikey and puts a hand on his shoulder. “And now to seal the deal.”