Hanging up the phone, she shook her head. “Motherfucker.”
Gage’s hand squeezed her thigh. “What is it?”
Both of them were now staring at her with concerned eyes.
“I need to meet with Ethan, Jonathan, and Sammy. We’ve got a fucking problem.” She tossed the blanket off her legs. It looked like this wouldn’t be a night off from work after all.
After the wedding, Layne had paid some of her grunt workers to go to Liam’s place, change the locks, and throw all his shit into a storage unit. Layne had been intending to go through her brother’s belongings to see if there was anything of value but hadn’t yet had the opportunity. The whole shitshow of her husband getting shot, getting stabbed herself, her Daddy getting drugged, her car gettingwrecked, and trying to keep her illegal business ventures afloat was a major time suck.
She called up her top associates and had them meet her, Joey, and Gage there at Southside Storage for an urgent debrief. Joey lifted the storage unit’s metal door; a single light bulb provided enough light to reveal the half-filled rental resting on a concrete pad.
“You think there’s something in here that’s useful?” Sammy asked as he walked into space with Jonathan and Ethan trailing close behind.
“I know there is,” Layne said as she waited for all six of them to be inside before pulling the garage-style door closed.
Jonathan picked up a dusty bobblehead figurine before tossing it back into a box. “Looks like a bunch of crap to me.”
Ethan sighed imagining that this was going to be a long night of digging. “Do you have any idea of what we’re looking for?”
Joey and Gage grabbed a chair, centering it in the open space.
Layne nodded. “I do, and it’s right here.” Her eyes scanned the interior of the unit before she looked at Jonathan. “Take a seat.”
“What?” He blinked a few times as he pointed at his chest. “Me? Why?”
Joey grabbed Jonathan’s shoulder and shoved him into the chair. “She said sit.”
Her associate stumbled into the chair, the confusion was as clear as day creasing over his face. Both Ethan and Sammy looked at one another, mirroring the same cluelessness.
“I want to make something very clear.” Layne pulled out her gun, tugging the slide back to load a bullet into the chamber. “I made it known when I took over the business that I would be setting some incredibly high standards. When those standards aren’t met, it does not make me very happy.”
She walked over to Jonathan and straddled his lap, putting the deadly end of the pistol right against his dick. Looking at her negotiator in the eyes. “Is there something you want to tell me?”
Ethan and Sammy took a few steps back, the look in Layne’s eyes gave them enough warning not to interfere. Their boss may have looked like an otherwise sweet girl you’d meet on a night out, but she sure as hell had her father’s commanding presence when it came to business matters.
Jonathan struggled to find his words, ultimately stuttering out, “N-no. No, of course not!” His eyes pleadingly looked to everyone else in the room there with them. “What the fuck is going on?” Looking for answers from anyone who would take pity. No one did.
Her hand grabbed his face with her other hand, squeezing it tightly so she could look at him. “I’m teaching a lesson in loyalty.” She jabbed the gun harder against his junk.
“Layne! Jesus! Stop!” Jonathan’s words mushed together by her fingers painfully digging into his cheeks. He began to push up from the chair, but Joey’s hands shoved down onto his shoulders from behind.
Layne calmly gave her order to the other two associates, “Sam, Ethan, please make sure Jonathan stays put while we have this conversation.”
Without hesitation, both guys came over and took Joey’s place. She wanted them to see what happened when she was disappointed.
“Jon, you’re a hell of a negotiator. You’ve helped close a lot of deals for me and smoothed over a lot of relations with other factions on my behalf. So, I want you to negotiate. Show me how good you are.” Her hand released his face, but she kept her weapon right where it was. The urge to prematurely fire it off right then and there was incredibly tempting given her newfound knowledge.
“You’re fucking crazy! Negotiate what?” He had the nerve to look ignorant.
Her words were void of any emotions as she gave a nonchalant shrug, “Your life. Why I shouldn’t blow your dick to pieces. I mean, I think it’s pretty damn obvious.”
Gage and Joey hung back, watching as Layne rightfully tormented the guy.
“Uh,” was Jonathan’s first word as he sat there with Layne sitting on his legs. “I love my dick. Like really love it. I don’t want it shot to shit. Layne, I don’t know what has set you off, but I swear I will do anything to help you out and make it right.”
Was he kidding her right now? Layne rested a hand on the back of Jonathan’s neck as she laughed darkly. “Holy shit, do you hear yourself right now?”
Nervously, Jonathan tried to read her laughter and gave a half-chuckle trying to find humor in the situation to placate her.