Page 199 of Fury

“Nina’s my old lady now, Reich,” Catch said. “You got something to say to her, you say it to me. Otherwise, you’re done.”

“Watch how you talk, asshole!” shouted Led.

“Done? Done? What the fuck? Done?” Reich turned to me, his face red. “You gonna let your boy talk to me that way?”

“She caused a ruckus with my club and Butler’s. But all the drama’s over now.” I shot Butler a look.

Butler raised his hands in the air. “I know I’m done.”

“Neens, you need to come home with me and your sister and let us take care of you,” Reich said. “You need to be with your family, with people you trust.”

“I’m her family now,” Catch said. “This is where she belongs. With me.”

I pulled in a deep breath at the confident, firm tone in his voice.

“You told your sister about this?” Reich ignored Catch. “We thought you were coming home with us today. You’d said—”

“I’m staying here with my old man,” Nina said.

“Your old man, huh? I’ve heard that shit before.” Reich glanced at Butler who made a face. He didn’t give any fucks.

“You need to hear it now,” she said. “I’m with Catch, and I’m staying with him here in Nebraska. I love him, and I’m pregnant with his baby. I’m not going back to Ohio with you and Deanna. This is my home now.”

“No.” Reich shook his head, his teeth dragging against his lip. “No! Your sister’s waiting for us back at the motel. She’s waiting for you to meet her there, like you said you would. You lying, cheating little—”

“Yeah, she is a cheating skank. I hope you’re proud of her,” Butler muttered.

“You’re such a cocksucker!” shouted Led.

“Shut the fuck up right now! All of you!” Catch said.

“This ain’t right,” said Reich through gritted teeth. He was a simmering iron cauldron of outrage, animosity, and desperation.

“You know what’s not right?” Butler held up a flash drive. “This.”

The color drained from Reich’s face. “What the fuck are you doing?”

“The right thing, imagine that?” Butler’s eyes flared.

“You’re nothing but a two bit thief!” Reich’s voice seethed.

“I am,” said Butler on a dry laugh. “I wanted your cooperation on a deal for my club bad enough to force you. Bad enough to steal from you, blackmail you. I followed your invisible trails and found out your little secrets. You knew that if I told Finger what you’ve been doing, he’d wipe the floor of the Flames’ national clubhouse with your ass. And you’d not only be out but shamed, backs turned on you. Power taken away. Money gone. And where would the great Reich be then? I don’t think those VIP clients of yours would come to your rescue, do you?”

“Clients?” I asked.

“Yeah, politicians, big-business millionaires, crime lords, a few celebrities, too.”

“What are you talking about? Drugs, weapons?” asked Catch.

Everyone was listening, eyes glued on Butler.

“Drugs were only the party favors here, the thank-you-for-your-business swag,” Butler continued. “No, Reich catered to one of a kind personal tastes. Snuff films, kiddie porn, gay porn, sex slaves—male and female. All made to order according to clients’ likes and dislikes. Reich here is a first rate entertainment mogul. Huge moneymaking business, and all of it going into a single pocket. His. I know the Flames have a history with a lot of that shit—legendary, in fact.”

“We shut it down decades ago after too much heat with the FBI.” I stated the obvious for my men, making my point clear.

“Well, news flash—Reich, your national VP, quietly resuscitated it all on his own. Only, this time, underground, way underground. And this here”—Butler waved the flash drive that he and Nina had stolen from Reich—“this little stick has the private information of every client on it. Not just names, dates, places, but also all their extra-special tastes and quirky preferences. You can imagine, if this shit got in the hands of, let’s say TMZ, right? The backbone of this business is keeping the info-sharing down to the barest minimum. Reich is their only contact. No go-betweens, no secretaries. Just him. It’s key for their confidentiality and his offshore bank account, of course. This shit gets out, he’s gonna be burned to the stake in more ways than one.”

“That’s my business! Mine!” Reich shouted. “You’ve got no claim on it.”

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