Page 10 of The Midnight Delivery

ROUND FOUR

Damian Wolf. The Hunter. My literal fucking fantasy. As I walked down the street, and back to where I’d parked the rental car, my mind was racing. If Derekwashis manager, then he had to be close. The prize was hours away, and this could be the chance we needed. Killing two birds with one stone could happen if things played out the right way.

I opened the car door, sat in the driver’s seat, started the ignition, and pulled away from the gym. OPD’s presence was minimal at this point, so they were no longer an immediate threat. I was sure I’d be hearing from the detective again at some point, but that would be a different story for another day. I maneuvered the car across the street and down an alley, careful to pull back far enough where I wasn’t obvious, and cut the ignition. I’d seen plenty of cop shows on television growing up, so I was familiar with the concept of a stake-out. I glanced at my watch and noted the time. Even though it was becoming a factor, if my plan was to have any chance of success, I needed to be patient.

It became apparent when the OPD had gathered everything they could from the scene. A few of their officers spilled out from the gym, got into their various cars and drove off, leaving nothing but a mess of police tape behind. I wasn’t the alone in my thinking as a few moments after the last cop pulled away, Derek came from around the corner and entered the gym. The sun was moving closer to the horizon and would soon set. If I was going to do anything to tip the scales in our favor, it would have to be now. Time was no longer an ally.

I sucked in a breath, opened my car door and headed out into the afternoon sun, crossing the street with determination. If Tony Schmitt could be negotiated with, perhaps Derek and Damian would also find some common ground with us. I didn’t know what I was going to say, but I had to say something. I stepped onto the curb and paused as two men entered AJ’s gym. One made eye-contact and the way he eye-fucked the shit out of me sent a chill through my body negating the heat from the day. They entered and I held my breath. What else could go wrong? Who were these men, and why were they here? I didn’t recognize either of them from our underground fight scene, and neither of them looked to be fighters anyway. If they were promoters, they would have to be local, or up and comers.

Then a thought flashed in my mind, and I pushed open the doors to the gym with a reckless abandon. The two men stood in front of Derek in the middle of the gym with their backs to me, and one of them appeared to be none-too-pleased by the way he cursed. As I entered and drew closer to them, Derek gave me an almost imperceptible shake of his head. I was undaunted. If my intuition was right, this would be tricky, but could prove to be very necessary.

“Eric is going to like this shit,” I heard the one who wasn’t happy saying as I moved close. “Not at all.”

“Who the hell is Eric, and what isn’t he going to like?” I chimed with boldness.

The two men spun on their heels and faced me with wide eyes. The one who eye-fucked me outside remained silent, while the other who had spoken with Derek looked me up and down. He seemed more respectful as he wasn’t eye-fucking me as he examined me. He narrowed his eyes and furrowed his brow, before he chuckled. “Who’s she?” He directed to Derek.

I’ve been in my share of dangerous situations, and the one thing I’ve learned is that fear is not a friend. I thrust my hand forward. “I’m Ariana Munoz. Who are you?”

The eye-fucker scoffed at me, but speaker tilted his head and then smiled. “Okay,” he responded. “Okay,Ariana Munoz.We were having a conversation; do you mind waiting outside while we finish?”

“Yes,” I answered and kept my face as stoic as I could, “I do mind, actually.”

The smile on speaker’s face disappeared. “Lady, I do my best to be respectful to others, but the men I represent don’t give a fuck. Now, we have business here that needs to be addressed, business you’re interfering with. So, I’ll ask you again to leave. Now.”

“Story of my life,” I answered with a shake.

“Lady, now I’m not going to be nice. Get the fuck outta here, or— “

“Wait, Steve,” Derek interjected. His eyes were closed, and he rubbed the middle of his forehead. “That’s AJ’s niece.”

“Really?” Steve asked, and the smile returned. “Well, what do you know? How fortunate is this?”

“I don’t know,” I said. “Fortunate for me, or for you and the men you represent?”

“Oh, definitely for the men I represent,” Steve answered. The three men had stood in an alignment similar to a triangle. An alignment Steve broke as he stepped into my space, and put his mouth beside my right ear. “Your Uncle AJ had accrued some...shall we say, substantial debts? Debts that now have passed to you. Debts that have to be paid, or my employers are not going to be as happy as I appear to be right now.”

Eye-fucker stepped to my left, as Steve leaned back.

“You’re mistaken,Steven,” I said with slow, even breaths, and waved upstairs. “The fortune is all mine. Step into my office. We need to talk.”

#

THE ENTIRE TIME I’Dspent with Steve in my uncle’s office, I had my phone open to the dating application. I sat in the same seat Alejandro once occupied, and kept my phone below desk level as Steve and I ping-ponged back and forth until he finally acquiesced.

“I don’t speak to middle management,” I’d told him. “Either get the decision makers on the phone or get the hell out of here.”

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