Page 34 of Draco

Avy and I roll our eyes at each other, “Charming,” I mouth, my hand wrapped tight against Rupert's mouth and my knife at his neck in case he’s stupid enough to utter a sound.

“I don’t mind getting myself off,” Noni giggles like a schoolgirl. “I just like fucking. You can take me any way you want, but first I need a name, so I know whose name I’m screaming as I come.”

I shudder at the picture she is painting. Dog looks like he’s close to murder and Avy looks like she wants to hurl.

“Elliot, my name is Elliot Anders and if you play your cards right, little girl, I’ll keep you. I love a woman who knows what she wants.”

“Oh, Elliot, I am definitely a woman who knows what she wants,” Noni croons, pulling him into the room by his tie, his mouth fused to hers. Dog slams and locks the door behind them, then going behind our new guest, he presses on a nerve, and our new guest slumps down onto the floor with not a sound.

“Ugh,” Noni says, wiping at her mouth in disgust. “I need a bleach bath and for Rea to check for STDs after tonight. That was so gross.”

We get a good look at our new guest. Even crumpled on the floor, you can see he’s short and portly, his cheeks are a florid red and his black hair greased back. He’s dressed in a black suit with a burgundy waistcoat and shiny black shoes. The ring finger on his right hand has a ring with a crest on it.

Dog and Noni pull him up and situate him in the visitor chair. We tie him up and gag him in short order.

Looking at Avy, “You’re up,” I tell her.

She takes out her compact and checks her face, making sure she looks unruffled. Applying another coat of lipstick, she takes a deep breath before leaving us, with Dog following behind her.

Turning back to Rupert, I again ask, “Who was next on the list?”

He mutters something from behind his gag. Maybe he’s going to stop being so stubborn.

Taking the makeshift gag from his mouth, I wait for him to speak, “If I tell you, promise not to kill me.”

I shrug because I have no intention of killing him because I won’t have to. So, I’m okay making that promise. “I promise that if you tell me who is next, I won’t kill you,” I agree.

“It’s the family who owns the property next to you. The Crow Manor.”

Rupert's eyes widen as Noni and I start to laugh. “What,” he demands. “Why is that so funny?”

“You’ll see. You two are such fucknuggets. Don’t you do research before you hit your targets? Or are you just so arrogant you think nothing can touch you?” I ask. I’m interested in his answer.

“We check the ownership, but that is all. The less of a paper trail, the better. We would have asked for a meeting before making an offer.”

“That’s not what you did with me. You went after my business.”

“We don’t always use the same tactic. You were a woman on your own and if your business wasn’t making a profit when we asked for a meeting, you would have been more inclined to agree to a sale just to get everything to stop. But you ignored our emails and then upped security on your property and I’m not sure what you did with the people we sent to harass you, but they’ve disappeared,” he muttered a little sulkily. Like it was my fault I didn’t cave to their bullying tactics.

“So let me get this straight, all you do is search for a property, see who owns it, then depending on if it’s a family or not, you either threaten first or make an offer so low that the family has no choice but to decline the offer. After that, you up the threats until someone gets hurt, then you swoop in and take the property? You don’t first check who actually lives on the property before making a move?” Noni questions.

Rupert nods, he’s like an eager puppy now that I’ve promised not to kill him and as we have Mr. Anders tied up and incapacitated, Rupert seems almost keen to tell us how they work.

Noni shakes her head in disgust and curls her lip in contempt as she spits out, “You really are dumb fucks. If you’d done your research, you wouldn’t have touched Molly or Raven Roost Brewery with a ten-foot barge pole. I hope her man tears you apart. He’s not very happy you’re threatening his pregnant fiancée. Sucks to be you.”

There’s a knock on the door and Dog calls out, “It’s me, Noni. It’s clear out here and the boys are on their way.”

Noni opens the door to let Dog, now in his cut, back into the office. Avy follows him through carrying our property cuts and hands them to each of us. Navy and Cairo follow her in, also wearing their cuts.

I smirk a little as I swing mine over my shoulders, proud to be wearing it. I’d teared up a little when Draco had settled it on my shoulders just before Halloween.

“Oh Rupert,” I call out in a sing-song voice filled with glee as I turn to him. Making sure I have his attention, I tell him, “You really should have done your homework because if you had, you’d have seen that Raven Farm and Crow Manor are one family and together we all belong to the Crow MC.”

Throwing my head back, I laugh and laugh as the stench of urine fills the air.

That’s how my man finds us, me laughing my head off, Dog, Noni, and Avy grinning in delight.

Rupert Badger with his trousers still around his ankles and one hand impaled to the arm of his chair. Elliot Anders is only just starting to come around.

---