by Levine, Nina
More silence before—“For fucks sake, Ian, if you can’t do it—”
Whoever he was talking to cut him off. He listened for a moment before snapping, “Good. You get this sorted, there’ll be a lot more work for you.”
I’d heard enough, so I continued making my way to my car. Once I was in it, I pulled out my phone to call King. He didn’t answer, so I left a voicemail. I then called Nitro, but he didn’t answer either. After leaving him a message also, I pulled out of the car park and drove to Parker’s place. It was far too fucking early on a Sunday morning for this. He’d likely be passed out after last night, but I was on a mission to sort Billy’s problems out. And I needed Parker to help me do that.
3
Tatum
“Jesus fuck, Tatum,” Parker said twenty minutes later when he answered his door, looking like he’d barely slept. “It’s fucking Sunday morning.”
I entered his house without invitation, pulling my sunglasses off as I said, “Yeah, and you and I have some stuff to discuss, so maybe you’ll wanna make yourself a coffee because I need you fully awake for this. And no, I don’t want any.”
Parker was mid-thirties and as arrogant as they came. Unless you compared him to King, that was; that man had no fucking equal. So I treated Parker in much the same way I treated King and any other arrogant asshole I did business with—with unwavering confidence that I was right. And I did my best to boss them into what I wanted. I knew they’d fight against giving me that, so I always went in asking for the world like it was mine to take. Usually they compromised enough that I was happy with the outcome. Except King. Fucking difficult man. But for all his self-importance, Parker had never given me grief over anything.
After he grumbled some more, he made coffee, and I got straight to the reason I was there.
“What happened with Savannah last night?”
He looked up from what he was doing with the coffee machine. “You’re going to have to give me more than that. A lot of things happened with her last night.”
I sat on the stool across from him at his kitchen counter, keeping my eyes trained on his. I needed to see the truth of whatever he said in his eyes. “Did you touch her? And when I say touch, I mean a lot more than the usual stuff we tolerate at the club.”
He placed both hands to the marble countertop. “Yes.” His voice was firm, honest, like he had nothing to hide. Before I could ask another question, he continued, “In answer to your next question, I’ve had my hands all over her for the last month, so this isn’t anything new. But I’d prefer you keep that bit of information between you and me. Billy doesn’t need to know that Savannah has broken his no-fraternisation-with-the-clients policy.”
I frowned. “So you two are what, dating?”
“I’m not sure either of us would call it that, but I’ve spent every night with her here, yes.”
“So what happened last night? Because she’s refusing to come in to work tonight if you’re there.”
He held my gaze for another few moments before dropping his head and muttering, “Fuck.” When he looked back at me, he said, “We had a misunderstanding, that’s all. It’ll be fixed today.”
“What kind of misunderstanding?”
“Must we get into this?”
“Yes. I’ll be visiting Savannah next, so I need to know what I’m dealing with.”
He studied me silently for a beat before saying, “It’s a good fucking thing I like you, Tatum, otherwise you’d be out on your ass right about now.”
I arched a brow. “Start talking, Parker. I don’t have all day.”
He removed his hands from the counter and carried on making coffee. “One of the other girls cornered me and kissed me. Savannah caught it. As you can imagine, she wasn’t happy about it. We argued and she told me we were done.”
“But you’re not done? Have I got that right?”
“I’m far from fucking done,” he growled.
“Okay, so I’m seeing a problem here, and it’s the reason why Billy has his rule about no fraternisation. You want Savannah, but you also want the other girls—”
“No, I only want Savannah.”
“Yeah, well your actions don’t line up with that. I’ve seen you with the girls over the last month and they’re all over you.”
He drank some of his coffee. “They’re all over me because Savannah likes that. She likes to watch. I discovered last night that she gets territorial when she finds me kissing someone though. That won’t happen again.”
Fucking hell, this was a headache I didn’t need today. Motioning at him, I said, “I changed my mind; I need coffee to deal with your shit.”
He looked less than impressed at that. “I don’t recall asking you to deal with my shit.”
“Unfortunately, I have to. If not me, you’d have Billy banging down your door.”
The scowl he hit me with was dark and dirty. “I promise you, if that asshole turns up here, he’ll wish he didn’t.”
I nodded. “You see my dilemma here. I’m trying to keep him away.” I exhaled my frustration. “Look, I don’t really give a fuck what you do, but this shit Savannah is pulling today can’t happen again, and it’s my job to ensure that. So you and I are gonna talk some more and figure this out.”
He shook his head with his own frustration before stalking to the dining table behind me. Grabbing his phone, he dialled a number. When the call was answered, he said, “Savannah, get your ass dressed and get ready for my driver. I’m sending him over to pick you up so we can fix this problem between us.”
I heard her fire back at him, but couldn’t make out what she said. She was pissed, though; I could hear that clear as day.
“You’re being unreasonable—” he started.
She cut him off because he stopped talking abruptly.
“Savannah—”
Cut off again.
“Fuck,” he muttered when she finally let him get a word in, “do you have any fucking clue how tight your hold on my dick is? Get dressed. Edward is on his way. We’re sorting this out today. And you won’t be leaving here until we’re back on the same fucking page.”
After he ended the call, texted his driver to collect Savannah, and came back to me, I said, “I’m not sure why you don’t have a wife, Parker. Your way with women is smooth.”
He looked anything but calm, which was a contrast to any other way I’d seen him look before. Savannah appeared to have him wrapped around her finger without even realising it. “I’ve never had to deal with a woman like Savannah before. She’s infuriating some days.”
“Okay, enough of the Savannah talk for now. We’ll wait for her to arrive before we get into that again. I have something else to discuss with you.”
“Jesus, Tatum, it’s too early for this. Can we discuss it later?”
I ignored his request. “Am I correct in my assumption that you aren’t a fan of Earl’s?”
That dark scowl returned to his face. “You are correct. I have no idea why Billy keeps him around. He treats the girls like shit and he doesn’t treat the rest of us much better. If it weren’t for the girls and you, I would find another club to make my home.”
“Good, because I’m going to need you and your money to get rid of him.”
“My bank balance isn’t going to like this, is it?”
I smiled. “No, but you’re going to love what I give you in return for all that cash.”
He drank the rest of his coffee. “I’ll make coffee while you share your plans to drain my account.”
“It’s simple really; you’ll pay a weekly fee to the club and in exchange I’ll set you up with your very own private playground. It’ll be the kind of access to anything and everything in the club that every other man there would kill for.”
“How much are we talking?”
I reached for his phone and keyed in the amount. Saying the number out loud made it sound far worse than just showing him.
Parker didn’t agree. “Fuck. I’m going to
want my own private fucking pole for that. Not to mention a long list of other shit.”
“Send me your list. We’ll negotiate.”
As he made coffee for us, he grumbled, “Whatever Billy’s paying you, he needs to double it. And tell me, how does this get rid of Earl? The only reason I’d agree to this is to see the last of that piece of filth.”
I gave him a quick rundown on Earl and why he was still a staff member at Billy’s. Talking about him reminded me I needed to still get hold of King, so once I’d finished, I lifted my phone and said, “I need to make a call.”
He nodded. “You do that. I’m going to take a quick shower before Savannah arrives.”
I ran my eyes over the crumpled clothes he wore. “Good idea. And perhaps while you’re doing that, you could figure out how to get your point across to her without ordering her around.” I wasn’t convinced he could fix this situation today if he continued to behave the way he had on the phone. And I really needed this fixed today.
“Anyone ever told you you’re a ballbuster?”
I gave him a pointed look. “What do you think?”
He left me, grumbling about my way of dealing with things.
Once I was alone, I called King again. And again, it went to voicemail.
“King,” I snapped into my phone, “Call me back. I have information you need today.”
I then called Nitro again, but this call also went to voicemail, so I left him a message too while wondering why he wasn’t answering. It was unlike Nitro to miss my calls.
Parker took his time upstairs, so I was still alone fifteen minutes later when Savannah arrived. The anger she radiated told me how displeased with Parker she was.
“Tatum,” she said, confusion on her face, “What are you doing here?”
“Billy told me you’re refusing to work tonight if Parker is there, so I came here to take care of that. Billy was under the impression Parker did something to you last night, but that’s not the real story, is it?” My tone was hard. It had to be, because while I always took my girls’ backs, I also had to manage them. And sometimes what they needed was some tough fucking love.
Her mouth pulled into a thin line. “Technically he did do something to me last night.” Oh, she was pissed off all right. Parker had a lot of work ahead of him.
“Yes, but what he did had nothing to do with your work. And all this bullshit going on today is the reason why we have the don’t-fuck-the-clients rule, Savannah.”
She pressed her lips together harder and crossed her arms. “I’ve never agreed with that rule. And if Billy has a problem with the fact I slept with Parker, he no longer needs to worry about that, because Parker and I are done.”
“I’m pretty sure you’re not. And because I know an infatuated man when I see one, I know there’s no way to stop this relationship between the two of you, so I’m going to have a conversation with Billy about it and clear the way for you to carry on.”
Her anger to deflated a little. “You think he’s infatuated?”
Ignoring her question, I continued, “In return for me doing that, you’re going to make a commitment to me today that regardless of what happens between Parker and you, you will never pull this shit again. If he so much as looks at one of the other girls and you’re not happy, I don’t give a fuck; you will come to work and you will do it with a smile. You will leave your baggage at the door and collect it on your way out, but you will never bring it inside the walls of Billy’s again. Are we understood?”
She stared at me defiantly for a few moments before backing down. Uncrossing her arms, she said, “You know, there was no need for any of this; I would have gone to work tonight. You know I would have.”
“Yeah, I do, but I needed you to know I won’t stand for these games. You’re a fucking adult, Savannah, so act like one. You don’t like what your man does? Tell him; don’t use other people to send your message.”
“He’s not my man.”
Parker’s presence filled the room before he even spoke. “Yes, I am,” he growled, “And we’re going to spend today ensuring you never forget that fact.”
Savannah’s eyes flared with heat, at which point I knew it was time for me to leave. Parker would take care of this situation from here.
I met his gaze. “Send me your requests for your playroom at the club. I’ll have it set up next week for you.”
“And Earl will be gone by the end of next week?”
“If I have anything to do with it, yes.” If King has anything to do with it, he’ll be gone by tomorrow. I figured this would likely be the case, so my proposal to Parker had little to do with getting rid of Earl, and more to do with helping Billy’s stress levels over his finances.
Parker’s hand curled around the nape of Savannah’s neck as he said, “Good.”
I watched her react to him and wondered how the hell she thought he wasn’t her man or that they were done. The way she responded to Parker was the way I responded to Nitro; he only had to be in the same room as me, and everything else disappeared except my need for him.
“I’ll see myself out.”
With that, I left the cool air of Parker’s home and stepped into the diabolical heat of Sydney. Instantly, sweat formed on my skin, agitation gathered in my chest, and disorder claimed my thoughts.
I couldn’t fucking function in this heat.
And why the fuck hasn’t King or Nitro returned my calls?
Today started as a good day but was turning into a clusterfuck of irritation and frustration and too much goddam heat to think straight.
4
Tatum
“Roe, is Hyde home?” I asked my cousin forty minutes later. I’d left Parker’s home and driven to the clubhouse to look for King, but he wasn’t there. No one who knew anything was there, so I’d called Monroe to see if Hyde could tell me where King was.
“No, he’s out with King. Why?”
“I’m looking for King but can’t get him to answer his bloody phone. I also can’t get Nitro to answer his phone. Can you call Hyde and ask him to have King call me? Tell him to tell King I have information he needs today. Not tonight, today.”
“You sound frazzled. You wanna come over?”
“No, I just wanna go home, have a shower, get in the air con, and be with my man. I might just stab someone if I don’t get out of this heat.”
“Okay, yeah, don’t come here if you’re in that kind of mood. No one needs to be with you when you’re feeling murderous. I’ll call Hyde. You go home. Maybe have some Milo.”
Monroe always helped shift my shitty moods. I laughed at her Milo reference. “I’m not even sure if Milo can help me today.”
“It’s worth a shot. I’ll check in on you later to make sure prison isn’t in your future.”
“Love you, Roe.”
We ended the call and I left the clubhouse to drive home. By the time I arrived there half an hour later, after getting stuck in traffic, my tolerance for heat, people, anything, was at dangerously low levels. Today was a shitty day for the air con to die in my car.
Stomping inside, I came to a halt when I discovered Nitro’s niece, Renee, sitting on the couch, crying. Her messy hair, mascara-stained face, and slumped shoulders drew me to wrap my arms around her. “Who’s ass do I need to kick?” I asked as she clung to me and sobbed harder.
She didn’t answer me for a long while. Instead, she cried it out, not letting me go. This was unusual for Renee. She was as stubbornly independent as I was, and didn’t easily ask for help or share her burdens.
When she finally shed her last tear, she looked up and said, “Zed broke up with me last night.”
“Oh, babe,” I murmured, wiping her tears, “I’m sorry.” My heart cracked right alongside hers at this news. Zed was her first love. The guy she’d trusted enough to open up to; the guy she’d given her virginity to; the guy she’d secretly dreamed of a future with.
My words set her off again, and she buried her face in my neck as more tears
fell. I tightened my arms around her, vowing to do whatever it took to get her through this. I remembered how broken I was after my first love trashed my heart. And how long I’d stayed broken, especially since I didn’t have a mother who’d been there for me. Renee had her mum, but Marilyn’s mental state was so up and down that I wasn’t sure how much support she could offer her daughter.
When Renee was able to stop her tears again, I suggested, “How about I make us a Milo and then we can talk if you want to. Or we can just sit here and think nasty thoughts about boys who break our heart.”
A small smile flittered across her face. “Can we do all that? Milo, talk, think nasty thoughts about boys. I mean, do you have stuff to do today?”
I smoothed the hair off her face that had stuck to her tears and gave her the kind of smile I wished my mother had been able to give me when I was her age and heartbroken. “I have nothing to do today. Well, except at some point I really need a shower. And I need to get in touch with King. But other than that, we can do all those things all day if you want.” I glanced around the living room, noting the silence in the house. “Is Nitro home?”
She shook her head. “No. He wasn’t here when I got here.”
I pulled out my phone and called him again. When he again didn’t answer, I left another voicemail. “Nitro, why aren’t you answering my calls? I really need to get hold of King, so maybe you could take a minute, pick up your goddam phone, and call me back?” God. Men. Fuck.
Renee’s eyes widened. “Ah, okay, what’s going on with you? I don’t think I’ve ever heard you talk to Nitro like that.”
I threw the phone down and raked my fingers through my hair. My sweaty fucking hair that I could cut off right fucking now I was that bothered by it. “This heat is far too fucking much. And I’ve been chasing King and Nitro, and they aren’t fucking answering their phones.” I held up my hand defensively as I heard the words coming out of my mouth. “I know I’m being demanding, but too fucking bad. I blame Earl.”