Phil wondered if she looked like him or resembled any of his family’s traits. Kieran didn’t, she looked just like her mother; had her personality and character too. She was better off raised away from this lifestyle, and not knowing the extent of his work.
As the day wore on, the guys noticed Phil’s distraction. He tried to keep it light, unnoticeable, but having such a bombshell dropped on him was hard to put off or hide. His boss, for all intents and purposes, Jager (or as he was called in their world, the ‘Authority’) had enough on his plate. He didn’t need to have anything else to worry about. Not that he would have cared, thought Phil. He’d been a shell of his former self as of late. His brothers were growing worried. The only thing keeping him somewhat sane was his two little boys.
He imagined meeting Tatum and flying there when his probation was lifted with his guys. This might be a good chance to get away from it all, Phil thought looking at his friend, whom he helped raise himself. This family needs to catch a break.
CHAPTER FOUR
The club and the girls kept Tatum busy. She threw herself into her work, maybe to prove that it was, in fact, her business. Or maybe it was just to keep her mind off of her biological father. She found herself thinking about the disastrous parts of not knowing about him all these years; her entire upbringing being a lie for her and the two men. Right now it was difficult to look at potential positives such as the fact that she did have a father and possibly siblings with nieces and nephews. She loved the idea of having small children in the family, but all she could think about was, ‘What if he had a load of children? What if she ended up dating a man who turned out to be her brother? What if she’d gotten married, had kids of her own, only to discover that down the road they were related?’
The books and screenings seemed to be the most time consuming and brain numbing aspect of her job. She didn’t accept just any girl to work for her. These girls had to be smart, in good shape and clean. The clientele who purchased time with them also had to stand up to certain standards: no serious criminal offences and STD free.
The process from booking to spending the night was a lengthy one. Tatum was intent on keeping the girls safe but also providing something that no one else could, pristine girls that typical men didn’t stand a chance with. They ranged from dancers to porn stars. You paid for what you got and business was booming.
It was about two weeks after her mother told her the news. The paternity test results had come back quickly and Tatum found herself scared to receive them. She’d decided that she was glad that she had a new father. She was anticipating meeting him, learning more about her heritage. If the results said that she wasn’t his, she would have been devastated, almost like losing a father all over again.
While she was unloading the dishwasher in the kitchen, the phone rang. She checked the number, didn’t recognize it and clicked ignore. Turning on the electric broom, she began making her way around the kitchen when she felt it buzzing again five minutes later. She answered, wiping her hair out of her eyes.
The line was silent for a moment before she heard a man’s voice. “Is this Tatum?” he said and she thought she detected an accent.
“Who’s asking?”
She heard him take a deep breath and then it registered to her. Her knees grew tingly and she had to sit. Folding her legs and sitting right on the floor she said, “Hello…?”
He laughed quietly. “I believe it’s your father speaking.”
Scottish. Definitely Scottish she thought. She knew he was waiting for a response. “I um… I don’t know what the protocol is in these situations,” she laughed, “I don’t know what to say.”
He laughed back. “Me either darlin’. How are you? Tell me something to distract from all this awkwardness. What are you doing? What do you look like…? Tell me that you know I had no idea about you.”
Tatum swallowed hard. His voice quivered at the last sentence and Tatum felt a longing that she didn’t know she had since finding out about him.
“I’m ok, given the circumstance I suppose. Right now I’m doing housework. I look like my mother apparently, but maybe I look like you too? I don’t know. I haven’t seen any pictures. And um… I know that she didn’t tell you either.” The sound of a motorcycle in the background had Tatum trying to picture where he was right now. She thought it must be warm, given he was in San Francisco. It was raining where she was, in Atlantic City.
“Should we send pictures?” he asked. “I’m not great with this texting bit but one of my boys here can help me. I’d love to see you.”
Tatum laughed. “That would be nice.”
He told her about his club, which sounded more like a pub than anything. Donna had told her about it as well. They operated an intense, illegal gambling ring out of the basement. Sports, black jack, poker, horse racing. Basically anything you could bet on. The local drug dealers used it as a hub for selling. Phil and his guys took a cut of everyone’s profits but of course he didn’t tell her that, leaving out the details that are best not spoken over the phone. He told her that he and a couple of his guys drove motorcycles, although he was fairly new at it. They were restoring an old Harley.
She did the same, telling him about herself. He knew Bill from past business dealings but had no idea he was married to Donna. His Donna. He knew about Bill’s daughter, heard stories about her ‘work ethic’ for lack of a better word.
Phil talked about his other daughter. Tatum’s new half sister named Kieran. A sister she thought. What would she do with one of those? She’d never really gotten along with females, ironically.
When they finally hung up, an hour had passed. Tatum felt as if a weight had been lifted off her shoulders, but there was still something nagging at her. She dialed the number and he answered before it had rung once.
“I want you to come out here and meet me,” she said before she had a chance to think things through. “Bring your guys if you want, I have fourteen rooms here.”
Phil was quiet for a moment, trying to hide his relief and excitement that she wanted to see him so soon. “I’d thought you’d never ask.”
She could hear the smile in his voice but also a hint of something else. Wariness?
“There’s a slight problem though lovey. I was in a bit of trouble. We all were and we’ve got the feds tagging us like we’re terrorists. We aren’t allowed to leave the state.”
Tatum’s heart sank. She shouldn’t leave yet either, not with the ink still wet on her inheritance. She thought for a moment. “I know people who will fly you out. If you don’t want to come, I understand. Just say so, but if you do, it won’t be a problem,” she said feeling hopeful since the first time she’d learned about him.
Phil thought it over for a minute. He didn’t want to meet her with the entire gang watching. He’d want at least a few days to himself. He’d have a little time to get to know her, be sure she could be trusted.
“They couldn’t keep me here if they tried then,” he replied.
Immediately Tatum called their ride.
Edgar manufactured and distributed cocaine from as far down as Colombia all the way up to the North West Territories. He was able to do so because he owned his own fleet of private jets and half of the police force from there to Canada. He was about as shady as they came, but he’d had a stiffy for Tatum since she was about fifteen years old. Besides that, her buyers were his best customers and he loved her girls.
When all was said and done, Phil was filling his guys in on the situation, telling them about his new found daughter and his plans for them to go in two weeks, if they wanted to.
Tatum began calling in her cleaning ladies to give the unoccupied rooms a good run through. It has been a while since this house was full.
CHAPTER FIVE
Donna kept her distance for the first few days after she told Tatum the truth. She’d almost convinced herself that it was for Tatum’s own good. Giving her time to process she told herself. She knew that she was really just too ash
amed.
Murder, theft, corruption. Those were things Tatum could look past, depending on the circumstance. Betraying family? Unforgivable. She didn’t know how she’d look her daughter in the eye again.
It had been years since Donna had lived in the main house with her husband and child, choosing the comfort and solitude of one of their cabins in the woods, away from the city and the drama. Once Tatum turned nineteen, she’d left, assuming her duty in sticking around until her daughter was raised was done.
The quietness of the cabin now seemed to smother Donna. Every creek and scratch had her jumping. She constantly looked around corners in fear of seeing one of Bill’s men with a gun pointed, waiting for her.
Logically, she knew that Tatum wouldn’t go to that extreme. She was her mother after all, however the years of dead bodies and severed limbs on their door steps and in the trunks of their expensive cars had Donna constantly on edge. Times like this, when her anxiety was up, it was a natural reaction.
A few more days she kept telling herself. I’ll visit her in a few more days.
CHAPTER SIX
When the day finally came for Tatum to meet her father, she was surprisingly calm. She had some butterflies, but sitting in the car on the landing strip, waiting for Phil and whomever he’d brought with him, she was bored. It was early morning and the rain from last night lay in puddles on the ground. The sky was pink and yellow; in the distance it held the promise of a good day.
Once the plane became visible the butterflies began to act up. The nervousness was growing as the plane got closer. When it finally came to a halt, the doors opened and the stairs unfolded, she was sure her heart was visibly beating through her shirt.
She’d opened the door and was sitting with her feet on the damp pavement, waiting for them to walk out. At first it was a bunch of Edgar’s men. Tatum’s knees began bouncing up and down slightly in anticipation. Rick and Marcus, another one of her henchmen, stood outside the car on either side of her.
“How do you know these guys anyway?” Marcus asked her, looking down through his sunglasses.
“They’re old friends of my mother,” was the only explanation she gave. She’d let Phil in on her plan to keep their relationship under wraps for a while.
When they started to walk down the stairs, she knew right away that they were the ones she was waiting for, though she had no clue which of the three men was her father. She and Phil never exchanged photos first or last.
They spotted her car and eventually her. One was as big around as he was tall, and he was very tall. His long, curly, grey hair hung limply past his shoulders and his sleeveless muscle shirt stood out in stark contrast to the weather. She assumed, given their line of work, this man was more of the enforcer type. If you didn’t pay up, he was the guy you’d see. The other was a younger guy, probably around the same age as her with tattoos on both sides of his neck. He was good looking and muscular, but not nearly as much as the first man and Tatum knew he wasn’t her father, and she was glad. The third was somewhat menacingly good looking. He looked as if he’d seen his share of horrible things, probably executed them himself. His light brown hair hung to his chin, accentuating his handle-bar mustache. Tatum thought he looked like a modern-day captain Hook and that made her smile. How could a man with a mustache like that have such a serious profession?
Tatum stood as they approached and wiped her hands in her jeans. She smiled nervously at them and knew which one was Phil as soon as he was about twelve feet from her. His eyes were glistening and he was wiping his hands on his pants as well. The other two men held back, offering polite smiles at her and an encouraging pat on the back for Phil.
He didn’t stop, simply hesitated a bit when he came nearer to her, twisting the side of his moustache a bit before he smiled. She couldn’t resist reaching out and hugging him. He wrapped his arms around her and held her tight, wanting to make up for all the time he’d missed. All the hugs he wasn’t there to give before now. They’d spoken everyday from the time of the first call up until last night.
Her own father had never held her like this. She couldn’t remember a time when they’d actually hugged. He’d certainly never cried upon seeing her before. She imagined that when Donna gave birth to her, he shook her hand and then went to smoke a stogie with his boys.
Phil let go eventually and moved to look at her. With his hands on her shoulders he looked at her eyes which were similar to his own and now just as tear-filled as his, and said, “You’re the most beautiful thing I’ve ever laid eyes on darlin’….” taking a deep breath he continued, “I’m so so sorry I haven’t been there. I truly didn’t know.”
He brought Tatum in for another hug and they stayed that way for a moment or two more. When they let go, Phil led her over to his guys.
“Tatum,” He said. “This is Sugar and Gary.”
Sugar leaned in and shook Tatum’s hand. He smiled at her, revealing long perfectly white teeth. As far as criminals go, sugar was basically the opposite of the stereotype, aside from the neck tattoos. He looked like the type of guy who liked to snuggle and watch romantic comedies.
Gary, being more of the poster child for retired WWE fighters, wrapped her in a bone crunching embrace. He kissed her on the cheek and Tatum was surprised that given his size and appearance, he smelled amazing.
The four of them got into the back of Tatum’s Hummer. It was custom built by one of her clients who owned his own dealership and garage. He’d made the windows bullet proof and turned the back seat into more of a limo-style: three seats faced the correct way while another three faced the back.
Tatum crawled into the seat next to Phil, leaving Rick and Marcus in the front. They knew before they even took the car out of park to put the partition up, leaving the backseat sound proof.
He wrapped one arm around her and held her hand while they chatted, talking about their lives and her plans for them while they were there. Tatum was shown more love and affection from a father in those thirty three minutes it took to get from the airport to her main club than she had received in her entire life.
He pulled a small box out of the inside of his leather jacket. “I brought you something,” he said as he laid it in her hand. “It was my mothers, your grandmothers.”
Tatum opened it and found a beautiful antique emerald ring. Immediately she took it out and put it on her right ring finger.
“It’s beautiful,” she said, and she meant it. She’d never known either of her grandmothers. This tiny piece of silver or white gold (she couldn’t tell) made her feel more connected to Phil than she ever did to Bill.
“I have to stop into one of my clubs for a minute to handle something. I uh- have a surprise for you guys too. I hope you’re not too tired?” she asked.
“One of your…strip clubs?” Sugar asked with a half smirk.
Tatum simply smiled back at him knowingly.
“I think we’d have to be dead to be too tired for that,” he replied and Gary patted him on the back.
They walked in, Phil still holding onto Tatum’s hand. She led them to the main stage and sat them front and center. Immediately one of her waitresses came over to them. Gary gave her a once over and decided that he approved. He leaned in close to her when ordering his beer and rested his hand respectfully on her waist. Naomi seemed to enjoy the attention. Not that she wasn’t used to it. Her uniform of a thong and nothing else practically begged for it.
Phil glanced around and couldn’t help but be filled with pride for his newfound daughter. The club was unlike anything he’d ever seen, and he’d seen more than his share of strip clubs. It was enormous, with three stages spread out. Mini-bars placed on either side of each one and security everywhere. It was clean too; no weird smells or spilled drink stains.
And the girls were immaculate. Just like they stepped out of a Beyonce video.
Tatum asked where the rest of the guys were. Unable to peel his eyes away from the dancer on stage, Sugar replied “They had to wait for a co
uple of days. Phil wanted some time here with you before they came, and your friend couldn’t fit them all until Monday anyways.”
Tatum nodded and looked to see one of her guys walk through the kitchen door. She knew that his arrival meant her meeting was soon going to begin. He scanned the crowd for her and when he saw her, he motioned his head to let her know that what she was waiting for was in the kitchen.
“I’ve got to take care of something for a bit guys. I’ll just be in the kitchen there if you need me, but for now I have something for you.” She motioned for Naomi to come back and escort the men to another room.
Phil held back a minute, and pulled Tatum’s arm. “Is everything ok? Do you want a hand with something?” he asked.
She looked deep into his eyes. She knew what she had to do tonight. Would it be easier to just let him see her for what she was really capable of this first night? Deciding to leave it up to him she said, “It’s um… pretty serious. I don’t know what you’re used to, or… what you can handle, but I’ll leave it up to you,” she said, still looking him in the eye.
It registered to him. He knew she had to get her hands dirty. He’d heard of her reputation through Jager. He told Phil stories he’d heard of ‘Bill’s’ daughter. How she was as ruthless as she was beautiful. If that was the case, Phil thought Tatum was capable of anything.
He smiled at her to let her know that there wasn’t much he hadn’t seen or couldn’t deal with. He motioned for her to walk and she turned, giving him a wary look before smiling back and rolling up her sleeves.
When they walked into the sterile kitchen, Phil noticed that there was no food being prepared just yet. There were half a dozen men standing around a young woman with mascara stained eyes and tape over her mouth. Her hands and feet were bound to the chair she was sitting on.
Altering Authority Page 2
