Page 17 of The Cleaner

“Mav, fuck, man, where are you?” Emmanuel asks, sounding panicked.

“Driving Lisa home,” I say, glancing at the woman in question, who’s tense as a fucking bow. “Why?”

“Tommy is looking for you,” Emmanuel says. “He and his boys are out looking for you.”

Fuck. This is not what I fucking need right now. “Christ, where are they?”

“Dunno,” he replies unhelpfully. “But I wanted to call you and warn you. Jer’s on the warpath and he’s wanting everyone to be on the lookout for Tommy and his boys.”

Tommy Jennings is a forty-three-year-old wannabe gangster who’s pissed that Jer’s recruited more men, which means our patch is bigger and better than ever before. Tommy believes thisis my fault as the new recruits have joined since I have. I call bullshit, but whatever. If Tommy’s looking for a fight, then he’ll get one. But first, I need to get Lisa home. The last thing I need is for her to get caught up in this bullshit.

“Thanks for the head’s up, Man. I’ll call you in a while.” I hit the end call button.

“Are you in trouble?” Lisa asks, and I’m surprised to hear her voice is calm and stable.

“Don’t worry, everything will be fine.”

She releases a heavy breath and I aim my grin out the front window.

I stop at a red light close to her house. I’m on edge since Emmanuel’s call. Tommy is unpredictable and the fucker doesn’t give a fuck about collateral damage. I drum my fingers against the steering wheel as I wait for the red light to change to green.

I reach for my phone and send a text to Jer, letting him know that I’ll be home in about fifteen minutes. Once I’m there, I’ll call him.

The sound of squealing tyres hits me, and I lift my head and realise there are two cars in front of me, blocking my car from going anywhere. Christ. Tommy and his shit heads have found me.

I take a deep breath and climb out of the car, needing to ensure that no matter what happens, Lisa isn’t brought into this. “Stay in the car, Lisa,” I order, my voice firm as I walk toward the men who have now stepped out of their vehicles. Tommy stands in front, his sneer evident as he cracks his knuckles menacingly. His cronies flank him, eyeing me with malice.

The street is eerily quiet, the only sound being the distant hum of traffic in the background.

"Well, well, well, look who we have here," Tommy sneers, his eyes glinting with rage. "Maverick, thought you could run and hide from us, huh?"

“Really?” I drawl. “You think I’m running and hiding?” I can’t help but laugh at his words.

His face reddens, his eyes practically bulging out of his face. “You think you can just waltz in here and take what’s rightfully mine?” Tommy spits out, his words dripping with venom. “Jer made a big mistake trusting you.”

Does he think this is the first time I’ve heard that shit? No one knows what I’m capable of. No one knows what I’ve done, the people I’ve killed. I’ll always have my doubters claiming that I shouldn’t be so far up the ranks within the gang, that it’s nepotism at its finest, but I don’t give a fuck about those people.

“You really want to do this shit?” I growl, watching as his cronies step closer. “You think the four of you can take me?”

Tommy chuckles darkly, taking a step closer. “You think you’re better than me?”

I stare at him, my gaze unwavering. “I don’t think it, Tommy, I fucking know it.”

With a swift movement, Tommy lunges at me, aiming for my throat. I dodge just in time, his fist grazing my skin as I sidestep. His cronies move in, fists clenched and ready for a fight. Adrenaline courses through my veins as I assess the situation, calculating my next move.

As Tommy regains his balance, I deliver a powerful punch to his gut, causing him to double over in pain. One of his lackeys rushes at me from the side, but I anticipate his move and quickly sweep his legs out from under him, sending him crashing to the pavement.

Tommy rights himself and charges at me again, this time with a ferocity I didn’t know he had in him. He lands a blow to my ribs, knocking the wind from me. I dodge the next blow andfollow it through with a punch of my own. My skin is red and raw from the blow, but I smile as I watch Tommy spit out blood and teeth from his mouth.

Tommy tackles me, sending the two of us sprawling to the ground. My back crashes against the hard ground, and I have no fucking doubt that I’m going to have a fucking road rash on it come morning. Tommy grabs a fistful of my tee, trying to pin me down, but he’s too old and slow for that to happen. I kick out at him, my foot connecting with his chest. I use as much force as possible and it sends his ass crashing backward.

My ribs are smarting. I have a feeling one or two are bruised, maybe even broken. Fuck.

The sound of a car revving catches my attention and I watch in fascination as Lisa races toward Tommy’s fucking men. I’m shocked to see her take all three out as she perfects the most spectacular doughnut. I gingerly rise to my feet and move toward the car.

“You okay?” she asks as I slide into the passenger’s seat.

“Grand. How the fuck did you learn how to do that?”

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