Page 41 of Givin' Me Fitz!
If he had, I was gonna kick his ass. After the robbery at Tumbleweeds, we needed that kind of attention on the club like we needed a hole in our heads.
He chuckled. “No. I mean, not that I know. I asked our IT guy to do a little digging into TJ because the arrest didn’t make sense to me. When I talked to TJ, he seemed like a responsible guy. I couldn’t see him beating the hell out of a john. Here.”
Fitz pulled out his phone and pecked a few things before he placed the device on the screen of my poker machine. “Take a look at this.”
After Fitz touched the screen, I saw TJ outside the Blue Diamond Casino. He was talking to a guy in a leather studded jacket. I touched the screen to pause it. “Who’s that guy?”
“Jimmy Germaine. Apparently, he’s a lower-level fight promoter. He works at Boxed In where TJ spars on occasion.” Fitz touched the screen again and the video continued.
Jimmy Germaine sounded familiar, but I couldn’t immediately come up with how I knew the name. I watched the whole fucking mess that got TJ arrested. How the cops had taken him to jail and how the guy he’d beaten the fuck out of was carted off to the hospital. When I saw Ricky Marlow, I stopped the video again.
“What’s wrong?” Fitz’s face showed concern.
“That’s one of my club brothers. Ricky Marlow. He came to me a few days ago about TJ fighting in a match at Ace of Spades Casino in Green Valley. He mentioned Jimmy Germaine. What the fuck is going on?”
“I’m not sure, Sawyer. What I think happened at the Blue Diamond and what really happened could be miles apart. We identified Jimmy Germaine and the colors on the back of the cuts. One is your guy and one is a Scorpion. The faces and the names we couldn’t figure out.
“I was planning to reach out on Friday. My guy at Sparks says it might be a scam—maybe TJ agreed to take a dive, or Romero Garza is going to, but I’m worried about what will happen to the kid if he doesn’t do as they say.”
He was earnest in his assessment, which fueled my concerns. “Did you find out anything else you’d like to share?”
“TJ’s grandfather lives in Mesquite.”
Mesquite?Fucking Mesquite?That was Viper Kings’ turf. They were a Dominican club that had set up shop in Mesquite on the Arizona line to run drugs for the Corsican Cartel. All those motherfuckers were ruthless.
“Fuck. That’s not good. I need to talk to TJ again. I have a feeling that’s what he meant when he said they’d hurt someone he cares about.”
I should have known there was more to it than that shit Ricky said about the club betting on him to make a bunch of money. Ricky was up to something, and I didn’t have any faith that it was something I’d support.
“Do you know when the fight is? I’ll go with you to Mesquite to talk to the grandfather if you want.” Fitz’s steady gaze let me know he was sincere.
He meant that he’d go with me, and I wasn’t sure why. “Why would you do that?”
Fitz sighed. “Look, Sawyer, I really like you, and I don’t want to see you or your club hurt by some bullshit arrangement made behind your back. How well do you know the guy who was at the Blue Diamond when your worker was arrested?”
“Clearly, not well enough. I’ll have to ask some questions around the clubhouse.”
“You wanna move over to a table and get something to eat?” Fitz wore an eager expression.
With Mouse’s rules in the forefront of my mind, I almost said no, but I’d already said no to him once, and I wasn’t about to give him the impression I wasn’t interested since I’d finally pulled my head out of my ass. “Yeah, sure.”
We both cashed out our tickets, tipped the bartender, and moved over to a table for two. A plucky young lady with a big smile brought us menus. “Anything to drink?” We ordered sodas. I had a long ride out to Pahrump, so I couldn’t drink anymore beer.
After we ordered wings to share, the server walked away. Fitz grinned. “So, you didn’t want to go to the party tonight?”
I laughed. “Not at all. Kids are cute… as long as they’re not mine. I’ll happily pay for any party I don’t have to attend.”
Fitz’s deep laugh lit my insides. God, I wanted to take him somewhere and kiss every inch of him. He was temptation on two long legs, and I was ready to crawl across a field of cactus to get him to go out with me.
“I found out the fight at the Ace of Spades is November 22. That gives us a few weeks to check into things and keep your employee from making a grave mistake. You got time on Sunday to take the ride across the state?”Please say yes…
Fitz’s smile was intoxicating as his gaze settled on mine. At this point, I wasn’t above begging him to come with me.
The server delivered our food and we dug in. After we finished, Fitz insisted on paying the bill. For some odd reason, I liked it. He grinned as he put cash in the folder and handed it to the server. “You okay to drive home? You can come to my place and sleep if you’d like.”
It wasn’t exactly the invitation I’d hoped for, but it was sweet. “I appreciate the offer, but I’m fine to get home. Call me about taking the drive to Mesquite.” I left the tip and followed him out.
I walked Fitz to his shiny truck and stood next to him as he fished out the keys. “Thanks for whatever surprise I have waiting for me. I enjoyed spending time with you tonight. Our shared disdain for Halloween is funny. I’ll call you about Sunday. It was good to see you, Sawyer.” I nodded, surprised when Fitz stepped closer and kissed my cheek.
