Page 15 of Givin' Me Fitz!
Fitz got in, and I closed the door. He started the truck and rolled down the window. “Is this a fancy place we’re going to?”
“Not too much, but they have those white tablecloths.” I patted the door. “Don’t be late.”
He backed out of the driveway, and I waved goodbye.
Once Fitz turned the corner at the end of the street, I went to the garage and began carrying Aunt Janice’s furniture back into the house. I hoped he’d be happily surprised when he showed up to move in.
It was the oddest thing that had ever happened to me. I was attracted to a guy who I wouldn’t ordinarily be attracted to. He was older. He was also sexy as fuck.
What the hell am I thinking?
Chapter Six
Sawyer
After I finished hauling and assembling Aunt Janice’s furniture for Fitz, I got into my truck and drove out to the East Adkisson house to check on TJ. The parking lot was busy, but it was Saturday. It was exactly what I hoped to see.
I stepped out of the truck and walked to the front door, ringing the bell so George Phillips, our guy who guarded the East Adkisson house during the day, didn’t shoot me. When Hannah Graham, the assistant at the house, opened the door, I saw George behind her, his hand planted on his gun.
I smirked at him. “Nice to see you’re on the job.”
“Bones! It’s good to see you. Can we get you a room?” Hannah’s suggestion was tempting, but I had other things on my mind.
“Thanks, Hannah, but no. I’m here to see TJ. Is he around?”
“Yeah. Let me contact him for you.”
I followed Hannah into the living room where eight guys were slobbering over three of our girls and two of our guys. I didn’t interfere with the brothels. The folks who worked there knew the business better than me, and I was smart enough not to piss them off.
Our priority with the men and women who worked for us was to ensure they were healthy, happy and safe, wanting for nothing. They paid us a percentage of their take which we used to take care of them in return.
Unlike the mob, we didn’t kick up to anyone. The guys and gals got a better deal with us than they did with the other houses in Nye County, which made for some jealousy and occasional retaliation if a worker from another house decided to come work for us.
That was why George lived in a small casita behind the house at East Adkisson, and the club members took turns giving him time off and watching out for things at the North Woodchips property. That was why Miri was there on Thursday night. I needed to talk to her about leaving early and not calling me so I could have sent someone to relieve her.
We were still deciding what to do with Wheeler Pass since the house caught fire thanks to the Scorpions. It had taken a chunk out of our income, but replacing the house—which couldn’t be a permanent structure—was tricky. If there was enough of it left and it was stable, we could get a remodel permit instead of a new construction permit, which Nye County wasn’t currently giving out for brothels. I’d need to get someone smarter than me to maneuver the law. That would need to come up the next time we had church.
“TJ’s in his room, alone. You want me to get him to come here?”
I lifted my hand. “I’ll go to him. Text him it’s me knocking.”
Hannah nodded, pecking out a message to him. I headed down the hallway where the rooms were located. When I arrived at TJ’s room, I listened for a minute. There was the sound of a television, which I hoped meant he hadn’t been sleeping.
I knocked twice on the door before it opened. “Boss. Come in.”
TJ stepped out of the way and allowed me into his room. He took a seat on the bed, and I walked to a chair in the corner.
After I sat, I stared at the young guy. He was so young, and I couldn’t put together why he was at Cowpokes in the first place. Didn’t he have a family out there? Was there nobody he could depend on or discuss big life decisions? I still called my folks on occasion to talk things out, and I was thirty-five years old.
“Kid, tell me what’s going on. You’re not the kind of guy who beats the fuck out of johns, and you don’t go against the rules and head to Fremont Street. Tell me why you went to The Old Strip. Were you tricking there? Are you taking outcalls downtown? Because if you are, you can’t work here.”
TJ sat up, jutting his chin out as if it would prove to me that he didn’t need anyone. “I’m not tricking anywhere but here, Bones. I signed a contract with you, and I’m going to honor it. What I was doing at the Blue Diamond has nothing to do with Cowpokes, and I’d rather not bring my fucked-up mess into the house.”
I glanced at the floor and shook my head. Such a cocky guy. Reminded me of myself when I was younger and my dad was the president of the Cowboys.
“I appreciate that, TJ, but I can’t say I’m satisfied with your answer.”
TJ turned away from me. “Sorry, but that’s the only answer you’re gonna get.”
