Sex Fest [Cowboy Sex 8] (Siren Publishing LoveEdge)

by Natalie Acres

  “Guess they don’t know who did this?”

  “They know, man. They just can’t do anything to stop it now.”

  “Where’s Nory?”

  “She’s actually right here. Need to talk to her?”

  “No. Just making sure she’s safe.”

  “She is right now.”

  “Walk away from her so we can speak frankly,” Baron said.

  “Go ahead,” Reason muttered, clearly winded. He had terrible asthma. If he’d been out at the farms during the fires or even afterward, he was probably struggling today.

  “I’m here in Cali still. I was just talking with the McCoys this morning about taking Patience out of the country. The few times I’ve talked to her fathers, I get the feeling they think they can keep her safe. What do you think about that now?”

  “Baron, don’t bring her back here. You should call Kane and get the whole story. I’m getting the feeling that the McKays didn’t know the half of it until last night.”

  “I guess they know everything now, huh?”

  “And I’m willing to bet they’ll tell you to take their daughter and run. They can’t keep their own wife safe, much less their daughter. You’re not safe there that’s for sure, but it’s not any better here.”

  “What about Nory?”

  The phone fell silent.

  “Are you still with me?” Baron asked.

  Reason released a weighted breath. “She was born to a bastard, a bastard who owes millions to the wrong people. If her own father couldn’t protect her and he had the means to do so at one time, then Cartwells and McKays can’t keep the target off her back.”

  “You think they’ll eventually lose her.” It wasn’t a question.

  “I think they already have. They just don’t know it.”

  After Baron said his farewells to Reason, he called Joshua. He didn’t answer. Vicky and Aspen didn’t pick up either. He wasn’t about to try Patrick.

  Instead, he called Ansley. She was, after all, one of his bosses at Clink.

  “Hey, Baron.”

  “Ansley, I’m sorry to hear about the fires.”

  “Thank you. Is Patience okay?”

  “She is, but we need some time off.”

  “You’re running. Aren’t you?”

  Damn. Why did she have to ask? Then again, her phone probably wasn’t bugged.

  “Yes.”

  “It’s a good idea, Baron. Take as much time as you need.” She paused. “Then again, you didn’t have to ask me. Patience is your boss, too.”

  “Considering what I have in mind for my other boss, it was absolutely necessary to talk to you first.” A beat later, he asked, “How’s Trixie? Reason said their place was hit, too.”

  “It was the worst,” Ansley replied. “Their barns and fences are gone. Their guest house was burned to the ground, too.”

  “Damn,” Baron muttered.

  “Baron, this isn’t going away.” Ansley sounded frightened. “I don’t know how Joshua is playing this out to you but Ann’s husband Alberto was a thug wearing a suit. He might have been able to save some of us if he’d tried to pay these guys back, but—”

  “Wait a minute, that’s it.”

  “What?”

  “Does Alberto still have the money?”

  “Probably, but he’ll never come off it.”

  “I wouldn’t be so sure about that,” Baron said. “I’ll talk to you soon.”

  Immediately following his conversation with Ansley, he called Kane. “It’s Baron. We just heard. I’m sorry your son-of-a-bitch cousin-in-law decided to piss on everything you and your brothers have worked for. Now, if you haven’t had enough, go ahead and ignore this phone call, but if you’re sick and tired of protecting his daughter while your own daughters lose everything they hold dear, then listen to me. I think I have a way to buy us some time.”

  “Hang on, Baron.” A beat later, Kane yelled, “McKays! Get over here. It’s one of your future sons-in-law. No, it’s not the famous two. It’s the one with attitude.” He came back on the phone. “Hang on, Baron. I’ll put you on speaker.” Another minute passed before Kane returned and said, “All right, hotshot. How do you buy us some time?”

  “The good old fashioned way—with cold, hard cash.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  “I don’t like it,” Patience said, standing next to Drew’s truck. “Why did they volunteer you for this?”

  “It was my idea, baby.” Baron cupped her face and stared into those loving eyes. “I’m a neutral party. Your fathers have pissed off pretty much everyone. Cartwells, because they’ve protected Alberto and his daughters, would probably be shot on sight.”

  “So how much time does this money buy?”

  “We’re negotiating the terms.”

  “How do you know they’ll let you go?”

  “Trust me,” he said.

  “You’re not asking me to trust you. You’re asking me to trust them.” She shook her head. “You don’t even know who you’re meeting, so how can I trust that?”

  “I know who I’m meeting. Hank Sarsarone will meet me at JFK. He won’t pick a fight in broad daylight with millions of dollars handed off in front of cops.”

  Plus when Hank realized who Baron was, he wouldn’t pick up the boxing gloves. He might just embrace him.

  “Well, gosh, I feel so much better now that I know you’re not only running the risk of getting killed but there’s also a chance you might get arrested.”

  “Patience, you’re overreacting. I know what I’m doing. Trust me. When I get back, I’ll explain everything.”

  “Explain it now.”

  “Honey, there isn’t time.” He turned to Mark and Spenser and gave them a well-understood glare. He needed them to run interference and reassure her after he left.

  “Damn it, Baron! I’ve trusted you. Don’t you see? I hired you based on trust, but I’ve always known there was something you weren’t telling me. Now, you’re taking off to handle mob-related business for my family and you act like it’s no big deal. Don’t you understand? I need to know you’re safe.

  “I need to know you can handle yourself and the only way I can know with absolute certainty is if you tell me what’s going on!” Her eyes filled with tears. She took a step back and crossed her arms. “If you can’t tell me the whole truth then don’t come back here. Go back to Clink when you’re done.”

  His lips twitched. He admired her spunk and her empty threat was sort of cute. Still, until he had time to sit down and tell her everything, he wouldn’t go there. He couldn’t explain his past until he made sure their future had a chance and the only way to do that was to handle the immediate obstacles in their present.

  He slipped a kiss on her lips and then shook hands with Mark and Spenser. “Take care of her.” He turned to Drew. “Ready when you are.”

  A few minutes later, they were hitting eighty miles an hour, speeding toward the airport. “You sure you know what you’re doing?” Drew glanced at him. “I mean, you’re meeting the king of mean and acting like it ain’t no big deal.”

  “It’s not,” Baron said, watching the buildings and signs flash before his eyes. “It’s almost like déjà vu.”

  “How so, man?”

  “I’ve been in similar situations before,” Baron admitted, dreading the flight back east.

  “Want to talk about it?”

  “No.”

  “How about we talk about making room in Patience’s bed for one more? And don’t tell me to talk to Mark and Spenser. It’s pretty plain who the number one guy is.”

  Baron slowly turned to Drew. “There isn’t any room in her bed.”

  “Chill, man. I’m just ribbing you.”

  “Good,” Baron said, not kidding in the least. “She has her hands full and if she doesn’t, she can let me know and it will be handled immediately.”

  “You go, stud!” Drew hollered, doing an arm-pump.

  “Watch where you’re going,” Baron said, point
ing at the mix of signs directing traffic to commercial flights or the private hangars.

  Drew sped down the ramp and then took a sharp right. “I’ve been here a dozen times, dude. I know where the McCoys keep their pride and joy.”

  At the mention of “pride and joy” Baron felt a twinge of guilt. He’d meant to have a heart to heart with Mark and Spenser. There were a few things he wanted to discuss, some issues they needed to iron out. He wanted to be a father and he was certain he’d be a good one. More importantly, until Mark and Spenser stopped traveling, he wanted to be the man Patience could depend upon, the man she turned to first when everything else seemed terribly wrong.

  Drew came to a screeching halt in front of the hangar. “Here you are.”

  A few hours later, he met his traveling partners in Chicago. After a short delay, Baron, Kane, Joshua, and Braden—always considered the brains behind the bunch—were en route to Detroit.

  “Does Alberto know why we’re coming?” Baron asked, referring to their stop in Michigan.

  “We’re letting you handle Alberto,” Joshua replied, watching Baron suspiciously.

  “Why?” Baron could play the game. He’d been playing it since he’d been a child hustling for his next meal.

  Joshua frowned. “You seem to know a lot about the Sarsarone organization. We’re hoping if that’s true, you’ll be able to convince Alberto to see things our way.”

  “Is there anything we should know before we get to New York?” Kane asked.

  “Hank Sarsarone had a first cousin in Philly by the name of Leonardo Sarsarone. His friends knew him as Leo. In any event, Leo hated my grandfather but loved my mother. In fact, most of the Sarsarone family met my mother at some point and time. I can’t be sure if she ever met Hank or if they met, what he thought of her, but I’m certain of one thing—he and Leo were like brothers.”

  Joshua and Kane swapped glances. Braden arched a brow.

  “I know what you’re thinking. It’s a small world. As far as I know, no one in the Sarsarone organization ever knew I was working at Clink.”

  “I doubt that’s true now,” Kane said.

  Braden handed over a manila folder. “Pictures of our families and all of Clink’s bartenders. You’re in there, too. Oddly enough, Kellan isn’t.”

  Baron dragged his hand around his jaw. “Kellan’s more and more mysterious all the time.”

  “Tell me about it,” Kane mumbled. “We don’t know if they have names or just snapshots they’ve grabbed. For all we know they sent us copies of their photographs just to let us know that they’re watching us and know who we have on staff at Clink.”

  Baron scoffed at how Clink’s ownership became a collective effort whenever there were life-altering problems. If the older Cartwells and McKays would butt out of Clink business and keep their dirty works on Cartwell and McKay property, then Clink would probably keep its proverbial nose clean and operate under the radar. Instead, the older generation often insinuated Clink belonged to them, so when problems arose, the first stop for their enemies was the fetish club.

  Baron bit his tongue and didn’t mention the obvious. Enough blame had been passed around.

  Soon, they’d land in Detroit and when they did, a few things would become apparent to the others. Baron didn’t see Alberto Baldini in the same light as the Cartwells and he wouldn’t give the asshole a free pass. In fact, he’d already decided how to grab the guy’s attention.

  * * * *

  “Whoa! Whoa! Whoa!” Joshua tried to stop him but he owed Alberto two more, one punch for each of Alberto’s daughters. When he’d thrown the fifth one, he let Joshua and Kane pull him off the bastard.

  “What the fuck, Kane?” Alberto held his jaw and groaned.

  Baron snarled. “That’s for your daughters. I owe you one for your dead wife and housekeeper, too, but since Kane seems to think their deaths were accidents, I just hit ya for the living.”

  “Who is this guy?”

  “I told you on the phone. He’s a friend.”

  Alberto stumbled backward, trying to catch his breath and wipe blood from his lip at the same time. For a fifty-something-year-old man, he’d taken the punches like a champ, proving he’d been on the receiving end of a few.

  “What the fuck do you mean, bringing somebody like this to my home, my country?”

  “Save that cockamamie bullshit mob boss crap for someone who doesn’t know better.” Baron ignored the surprised looks from Joshua and the Cartwells. “I’m here to collect.”

  “To collect?” Alberto shot them a bloody and quite sinister grin. “And what exactly are you collecting?”

  “I’d love to have the entire amount due Hank Sarsarone, but since we both know that’s never going to happen, I’m here to collect as much as your youngest daughter is worth to you.”

  “They’ve been hitting us hard,” Kane explained. “They’ve burned our barns and our fences. They’ve hit the club. They’re coming after our families.”

  Alberto looked surprised but not necessarily empathetic. He stared at them blankly before he asked, “What do you want me to do about it?”

  “Do you realize this is because of you, Alberto?” Braden narrowed his eyes. “Or are you too narcissistic to care?”

  “How much have they asked for?”

  “They want lives—specifically Nory’s—but I’m going to New York City to buy us some time.” Baron snarled. “And they want every last penny but we’ll make up the difference with decent behavior.”

  “You?” He laughed. “And why would you think you’re important in this matter?”

  “Leonardo Sarsarone from Philly was a friend of my mother’s.”

  Alberto stilled. His face paled. He dotted his lip a couple of times as if to buy additional time to think. “Who is your mother?”

  “That’s not important.”

  “On the contrary, if you’re here with my wife’s cousin, you’re a player and I want to know how you fit in all this.”

  “You don’t deserve that much,” Baron said, unwilling to feign respect for a man who had abandoned his family and placed his daughters in tremendous danger.

  He sneered. “Wait a minute. I know who you are.” He doubled over with laughter. “In fact, I’ll lay odds on the fact that I know who you are but you don’t even know who you are.”

  “What are you talking about?” Kane asked, his gaze working from Baron to Alberto then back to Baron again.

  Baron wasn’t about to stand there and let this lame prick talk about his mother. He’d always suspected his mother of cheating on his father with Leonardo Sarsarone but whether she did or did not wasn’t the issue there. This man owed Hank Sarsarone a lot of money and he was going to pay enough to get the Sarsarone family to back off the Cartwells and McKays.

  “I want ten million dollars,” Baron said.

  “Just ten million dollars?”

  “I could’ve asked for half a billion. From what I understand, that’s about what you took from Sarsarone. Either way, the Cartwells and McKays can’t keep their own families safe and your daughter, too. They have to cut Nory loose.”

  “And you think this would bother me?” He laughed. “Perhaps Kane didn’t tell you. I’m not exactly catching nominations for Father of the Year.”

  “Yes, I heard.” Baron backed him against the wall. “From what I hear, you’re nothing more than a worthless piece of shit. You’ve talked about your family. You’ve left your daughters to the wolves. You offered to trade one for the other and you pretty much turned your back on every person who has ever counted on you as a father or as a friend.” He turned to Kane. “In fact, for the life of me, I can’t understand why you help this worthless man.”

  Alberto studied Kane. “So you brought a young pup to tell me how you really feel. Is that it?”

  “No. I came to let you know that Baron can walk in and negotiate for time and right now we need that, Alberto. And if you don’t give him half that—because I know you well enough to know
you don’t have ten lying around but five would be pocket change—then yes, we are cutting Nory loose. We have no other choice.”

  “You’ll be signing her death certificate.”

  “And her father had her grave dug a long time ago,” Joshua said, glaring at Alberto as if he hated him.

  “I never asked you to get involved, McKay.”

  “You didn’t exactly ask us,” Kane pointed out. “You used my love for Ann against me and we were dragged into the center of your business before we knew what was involved.”

  “Do you have the money or not?” Braden asked.

  “No.”

  “Kill him,” Kane said, turning back to the plane.

  Baron grabbed him by the shirt and threw a few more punches.

  “Wait! Damn it, Kane! Wait!” Alberto writhed under Baron’s body weight, struggling to break free. “I can get it.”

  Kane grinned. “I never doubted it for a minute.”

  An hour later they were back in the sky flying to New York City. Baron’s knuckles were pretty banged up but he’d survive. He knew what he was fighting for. More importantly, he knew who would be waiting for him when his task was complete.

  “Thank you for doing this,” Joshua said.

  Kane and Braden swapped glances. Braden said, “Yes, thank you.”

  “It’s not over yet,” Baron said, looking out at the plane’s wing and thinking about what Alberto had said. He’d said, “…I’ll lay odds on the fact that I know who you are but you don’t even know who you are.” What had he meant by that?

  Flying the rest of the way in silence, he thought of his childhood, how much he’d enjoyed time at Uncle Leonardo’s compound, the trips to Philly which had always been full of adventures. He missed Leonardo and often thought about him. He’d loved him like an uncle but perhaps he had been his mother’s lover more so than a family friend or a surrogate uncle.

  On the ground at JFK, he shook hands with Kane, Braden, and Joshua, grabbed the duffle bags stuffed with cash, and exited the McCoy jet. A limousine drove him to the first hangar, where another limousine awaited.