Page 92 of Lawless in Leather

Phil frowned at her, brows drawing so close together that she wondered if the extravagant hairs ever tangled together. The expression made him look like a bushy-faced bulldog. Not attractive. “I’m a busy man,” he said. “You gonna tell me why you’re here?”

“Sure,” Raina said. “It’s like this, Phil. I’d like for you to stop trying to drive me out of my club. And in return, I won’t sue your ass for harassment and vandalism.”

Beneath the red patches on his cheeks, she saw Phil turn pale. Bingo. Phil had a guilty conscience.

“I don’t know anything about any harassment,” he sputtered.

“Are you sure about that, Phil?” Raina asked. “Because Mr. Coulter here has been telling me all about some fascinating innovations in security technology. Did you know they can even get fingerprints off things like scraps of paper? Like, say, a half-burned firecracker.”

Phil bristled. “What’s a firecracker got to do with me?” Then he frowned. “Did you say Coulter?” He jerked his head at Mal.

“Oh, didn’t I introduce my adviser?” Raina said. “Phil Longoria, this is Malachi Coulter. He owns MC Shield, among other things. Maybe you’ve heard of him.”

Phil’s eyes widened. “You’re one of those guys who bought the Saints.”

Mal nodded. “That’s correct.” His tone wasn’t friendly.

“What’s a guy like you doing working security for a two-bit burlesque club?” He pronounced the word burlesque like he really wanted to say hooker. Or something worse.

“Perhaps you hadn’t heard, Phil. I’ve been doing some work for the Saints. I’ve always been a baseball fan,” Raina said.

Phil had gone another few shades paler. “You work for the Saints?”

“Yes, she does,” Mal said in the deadly deadpan voice. “And at the Saints, we take the welfare of our employees and contractors very seriously. Particularly when one of the incidents Ms. Easton is referring to took place on Saints property. That’s the sort of thing we dislike. A lot.” He smiled then. The expression was more disconcerting than his serious face had been. It involved a lot of bared teeth. Phil shrank back in his chair a little.

“You can’t prove anything,” he said desperately.

“You really want to make that play?” Mal asked. “Perhaps this is the part where I mention that MC Shield is one of the biggest security outfits in the country? And the fact that I’m ex-special-forces. You really think I can’t take down a two-bit little property shark like you, Phil?” He leaned forward, smile now distinctly unfriendly. “So tell me, Phil. Which way do you want to do this? The easy way or the hard way.”

“I’d be happy with the hard way,” Raina chimed in. Yanking Phil’s chain was proving quite entertaining. She’d obviously watched far too many gangster movies.

Phil, however, didn’t seem very happy about it. “What’s the easy way?”

“Raina?” Mal said.

She straightened in her chair. “Well, that would be the one where Phil signs another contract with me. One your lawyers draw up to say that if he sells my building I have first right of refusal at a reasonable market value set by three independent parties and get at least twelve months’ notice if I decide not to exercise that option.”

Phil turned a truly impressive shade of purple, “You can’t do that,” he sputtered.

“Yes, she can,” Mal said. “And said contract will have an additional clause that says I have second right of refusal with the same terms.”

Raina turned her head toward him, mouth falling open. “It will?”

“It will,” Mal confirmed.

“Okay,” she said. Happiness bloomed through her. Mal would buy the building if she couldn’t. She wasn’t so sure how she felt about that, other than pleased that it had obviously pissed Phil off even more than he’d already been. But the fact that Mal was willing to do something like that for her was definitely a good thing. A very good thing.

She smiled at Mal, trying for a Marly-style killer smile. “Phil, what do you say? Do you want make a deal today or let Mal go to work and find out all the loose ends that are going to lead back to you? Because now that I think about it, some of those nephews of yours look about the right height for the guy we have on tape interfering with my truck. And throwing firecrackers. Do you think they love their uncle Phil enough to go to jail for you? Or do you think they might start talking as fast as humanly possible to save their scrawny asses?”

Phil looked like he was going to explode. For a minute she thought he was going to keep fighting but then he deflated like a popped balloon—or one of her poor truck’s tires—and leaned back. “Fine. I’ll sign your stupid contract,” he said.

“Good,” Mal said. “I’ll have something couriered to you tonight. If I don’t have it back on my desk first thing in the morning, then I’m going to start digging, Phil. And it will be a very deep hole you’ll be standing in.” He stood then. “Come on, Raina, Phil needs time to find a pen.”

Raina followed him out of the building and back down onto the street before she starting laughing. “That,” she managed between sputters, “was kind of fun.” She gained control with an effort and then tilted her head up at him.

“I don’t need you to buy a building for me, you know. I can do it myself.”

“I know you can,” he said. “But it never hurts to have a backup plan. If I end up having to buy it because Phil tries to pull a fast one, then you can just buy it off me, when you’re ready.”

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