Page 51 of Filthy Hot

I will just endure, and once I come out on the other side, I can work on myself and heal.

CHAPTER

TWENTY

GNAW

“They are strong,but we are stronger.”

I’m sitting at a pub table, my iPad in front of me, along with my phone, and I’m researching the Southern Mafia, along with the Xavier fucker, when Brew sinks down across from me. There is a moment of silence after he’s spoken. Lifting my gaze, I look up at him.

“Tell me what you’ve discovered,” I demand.

He smirks, although it does not reach his eyes. Searching his gaze, I give him a smile as he continues. “They’re big, but from what I’ve discovered,” Brew begins, “it seems as though they think they’re bigger than they are. I’ve already called in at least three members from each club that is part of us. Then we’ll outnumber them.”

“Then what is the big fucking deal? What are they trying to accomplish?” I ask. “Because right now, I don’t see how they will win anything. How they will succeed in anything. And I still don’t know why those women were there and what they were doing,” I state.

“I can answer that,” Clink announces as he makes his way toward the table.

I watch as he pulls up a chair. The sound of the feet scraping against the concrete floor makes my ears almost fucking bleed. Leaning back in my chair, I watch him and wait for him to tell me what the fuck he’s got answers to.

“Those women were there as their whores. They were being paid.”

“Being paid?” I ask. “Where are they now?”

Clink is silent before he clears his throat. He doesn’t want to answer me, but I should probably know. This involves my woman. Because she could be one of those women. Maybe that’s why they took her.

I am so fucking confused about this whole thing, and I have a feeling Dennis is the key. He’s playing both sides, or at least he was. This isn’t something that is simply black and white. I’ve dealt with enough of those situations before to know that that is not what this is.

Dennis is involved, and my woman is gone. The rest is equally as important, but those are my focus. Clink leans back in his chair, his gaze searching my own for a moment, and then he lets out a heavy sigh.

“I had no choice,” he begins. “My initial thought was to just let them all go back to their homes. It’s what I thought I was going to do. But after talking to them, I discovered that they are very much loyal to the Southern Mafia, and I was afraid they would go to the cops.”

“Where are the women? And does Atomic know?” I ask.

Clink nods his head, clearing his throat before he speaks. “Atomic knows,” he murmurs. “The women are in our warehouse.”

“What the fuck are we going to do with them?” I ask.

He shrugs a shoulder. “They’re worth something to the Southern Mafia,” Brew says. “They don’t know we have them, either. I’m pretty sure they haven’t thought about them, or they think the bitches are dead.”

“Trading six cunts for my woman?” I ask. “You think they’d bite?” I ask.

Clink shrugs a shoulder. “I think they might. Those cunts make them a hell of a lot of money. The Southern Mafia might be in a few different games, but the skin game is their most lucrative.”

“Isn’t it always?” Brew asks with a chuckle.

He’s right. Skin always makes money. We’ve never done it, and as much as we want to pretend it’s a moral thing, it’s really not.

Selling skin is just a lot of fucking work. We don’t want to be responsible for those women. The drop-offs and pickups are quite enough for us. I don’t even understand why Nash and his men down in Corpus would want anything to do with a strip club. That is a layer of drama I have no fucking desire for.

“It is,” Clink agrees. “But it’s a lot of fucking work. I seriously wouldn’t give a shit if the Southern Mafia came to Texas just for that purpose, but that’s only a portion of the reason.”

“Got no fucking desire for that shit,” I grind out. “But is this why they took my woman?” I ask. “To make her part of their stable?”

Brew speaks next. “I’m sure that’s exactly what she was meant to be, but she won’t be. They get back at us and have someone freely earning for them. But it doesn’t matter what they want. We’ll get to her before that,” he states very matter-of-factly.

I wish I could have as much confidence as he does right now. But I don’t. I am feeling very fucking stupid but also extremely defeated by this whole thing. I want Kyle back with me, and rightnow, I’m not sure we’re going to get to the bottom of this, let alone ahead of it. But that’s the fucking goal.

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