Page 48 of Inflame Me
We all knew this day was coming. Blaze had these two assholes, father and son, who used to rape her repeatedly. She got away and disappeared here to Sumner, but they found her and tried to take her. That didn’t happen. There was a huge fire fight, and we took those assholes out, instead. The problem is, those two fuckers ran with one of our major distributers that we do runs for. With them gone, I have no doubt they are losing money.
Tug’s eyes could burn wood. Blaze is his ol’ lady, and he would do anything to protect her. “Yeah,” he says, staring right at Pops.
“Calm your shit,” Pops demands, but Tug doesn’t move an inch. “The assholes actually thanked us.” My eyes shoot to Pops. What the fuck? “Yep, said that Santos and Frank were two assholes that they were ready to get rid of.”
“Then what’s the problem?” this comes from Becs, VP of Ravage.
“The guys who took over want to be compensated for how much cash they’ve lost.”
I close my eyes. Fucking hell.
“And how much?” Dagger asks.
“Well, that’s the kicker. We either pay them two hundred thousand dollars, or some of us go work for him for a week.”
What in the Sam hell is going on here?
“You mean they want us to go up there so they can beat the hell out of us?” I ask.
“Pretty much,” Pops says.
“No fucking way any of us are going up there,” Dagger says, stroking his beard. “They’ll have bullets in our heads before it’s time for us to leave.”
I shake my head. “No fucking way,” I agree.
“All right, you want to tell me how we’re going to come up with that much cash?” Pops asks. “And what’s to say that, if we give them the money, they won’t ask for more in the coming years?”
True. Pops is right. There is nothing stopping them from coming back over and over with this shit hanging over our heads.
“Why don’t we just go to the source? Go to Ralphie. Tell him how they are fucking his shit up and work with him. Let him handle these assholes,” Cruz throws in.
That shit could actually work.
“We need to find out if, their numbers got fucked up, when we took out Santos and Frank, or did they keep it business as usual?” I tell them, looking at Buzz.
“I’m almost through the last of the codes for the computer.” He’s been working relentlessly to break codes to get access into a computer that we believe will tell us who in the hell has been fucking with us this entire time.
“Take a break and get this shit together. I’ll call Ralphie and set up a meeting. We’ll all go, but it has to be soon,” Pops says as he stands. “All in agreement?”
All hands rise as the gavel gets slammed down. Buzz is the first to break off as others follow.
“What’s the verdict with Ralphie?” I ask GT, Tug, Dagger, Becs, and Pops, the only ones left in the room.
“Toss up. He’s a bastard, so no matter what, he’s not going to make it easy. As soon as Buzz has information, I’m calling,” Pops answers dismissing us.
I rub my face with my hand. Fucking hell. Walking out of church, I head to the panic room. I need to take care of Sandra and shut her up once and for all, so I can get back to Tanner.
I LIE NEXT to my mom on the bed, replaying what I just witnessed in my head over and over again. If Rhys didn’t think twice to put his hands on that woman, would he do that to me? After what happened with my mother, I can’t deal with a guy like that. While I may feel safe and protected in his arms, the fact that those hands could hurt me at any time is like a knife to the gut. He has scared me from the moment I met him, with the tattoos lining his body and the stare that could kill something by just a single look. It’s definitely not something I want in my life.
What life? Dagger and Rhys say we have to stay here, but shit. How much longer? Mom seems to be getting better, so we need to just cut our ties and leave, get away from this place. Listen to me. I sound just like my mother. Running. Since when did I turn into that woman? I’m not. I’ve always faced things head on and figured out ways to make things work.
I’m sure Rhys has an explanation. Right?
A slight tap comes to the door as it opens. “Hey, can I come in?” Princess asks, carrying a little boy.
“Sure.” I sit up as my mother stirs.
“Who’s this?” my mother asks.
