Page 148 of The Tempted

Chapter Twenty-Three

2015

I stood beside Jack watching Mike fire off at a paper mark, his bullets slamming into the heart of the target with hardly any effort at all. Victor wanted Mike to be able to fire a gun, in case a situation should arise at the club, so that Mike wouldn’t be a complete waste. He figured that at least he’d be able to save his own ass.

“The kid’s a natural, just like his old man,” Jack said, talking over the sound of the gunshots. I pulled off my protective earphones and tilted my chin towards the soundproof room, signaling for Jack to follow me. I could still keep an eye on Mike through the glass windows but I wanted to use this opportunity to speak to Jack alone.

He followed me into the room, closing the door behind him and we both faced Mike as we started conversation. He reached into his leather cut and pulled out an envelope, slapping it against my chest.

“What’s this?” I asked, taking the envelope, folding it in half before sliding it into the back pocket of my jeans.

“It’s Jimmy’s phone records,” Jack said, moving closer to the glass, eyes trained on Mike as he refilled his magazine of bullets. He knocked on the glass, causing Mike to turn around and Jack then pointed to the right of him. Mike nodded in response and loaded the gun with the correct bullets.

“Anything suspicious?” I asked.

“I didn’t check, figured it was best you do so that way if you find any red flags you can get right on it.”

“I know he did it,” I confessed. “I just need to find the proof.” I ran my fingers roughly through my hair.

“Has he been in touch?”

“No, Victor’s personally been calling me,” he groaned. “I don’t know I’m still leaning towards Victor being behind it. I know you say Jimmy has more of a motive and has been acting like a loose cannon.”

“Listen, I hope I’m wrong because Jimmy as the culprit doesn’t help me and my cause in the slightest. Victor isn’t going to bargain with me for Jimmy, he’ll order me to kill him,” I said, frustrated.

Jack looked at me long and hard for a moment.

“You want out, don’t you?”

“Yeah,” I diverted my eyes back to Mike’s.

“Not sure if I even get out that it won’t be too late.”

“She moved on?”

“No, she’s sick of my shit,” I complain as I shrug my shoulders. “Can’t say I blame her. One day I’m slamming the door in her face, the next I’m slamming her up against a wall, fucking her brains out,” I continue as I shake my head. “I tell her to stay away from me then I tell her I love her. I am fucking her up but I can’t stop because the minute she starts to listen to me, I start going fucking nuts. I think she’s going to find someone else and I can’t fucking watch her be happy with some other guy.” I turn and looked at Jack for a moment. “I sound like a real douche bag. I used to want her to move on and have a good life.”

“What happened?”

“I came home from prison and that same day she went into labor in my apartment. I had no choice but to drive her to the hospital. Everything was happening so quickly and before I knew it I was holding her hand as she brought her son into the world,” I explained nervously. “I don’t know what it was man, but I don’t want either of them to be anyone else’s. It sounds fucked up, but they were mine the moment that baby took his first breath,” I sigh heavily, reaching into my pocket and pulled out a key ring that contains one solitary key on it. I handed it over to Jack, seeing confusion cross his face before he took my offering.

“What’s this?” He asked, glancing down at the ring in his palm.

“That’s the key to Jimmy’s apartment,” I glanced at Mike noting that I didn’t have much time to get my plan across to Jack because he was finishing his last round of bullets. “Vic has asked me to ask you for protection the night Temptations opens. You agree to be on call and you send one of your guys to flip Jimmy’s apartment upside down. Make it like a break in, shit, make them take some shit, I think he has a coin collection worth something. Anyway, search the apartment for any evidence. Grab his laptop, maybe he googled directions to Danny’s house or maybe he searched the internet on how to wire an attic fan. He’s sloppy, there has to be something he left behind, the smallest thing.”

“And if there’s nothing?”

“There will be something,” I swallowed. “I’d bet everything I have on it.”

“You know I want to go in by myself, right?”

“As long as you can make yourself available should something go down, that way you are accounted for, I don’t give a fuck, do it,” I held his gaze for a moment before heading towards the door.

“What if you’re right and it’s Jimmy? Then how we going to get you out?” Jack asked from behind me. I paused, my hand on the doorknob and considered his question for a moment. I liked Jack, I liked him a real lot, especially since he was looking for another way to get me to cut ties with Victor.

“Let’s worry about finding who killed Danny, and then I will deal with my situation.”

“A deal is a deal, brother. You give me my brother’s killer and I help you get the girl. Think about it, find a way—

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