Savage Company (Company Men Book 3)

by Crystal Perkins

  “The world needs you—and her—too much,” I say, guessing at why they don’t just turn things over to other people, and disappear.

  “Yes. I’m not complaining, but yes, we’ve given ourselves to the world, and it will be a long time before we can step back from that.”

  Before he can say anything else, there’s a knock on my doorframe, and I look up to see Noah standing there, with a blueprint tube slung over one arm.

  “Hey, am I interrupting?”

  “Nope. Just checking in. I look forward to hearing about what you’ve got from us once Haring approves it.”

  “Thanks,” I tell Matt, because having him give me total control over this makes it easier to get past what I foolishly lost. I shouldn’t need that, but I’m becoming self-aware enough to admit to myself that I do.

  “You deserve this, Haring. Don’t ever think you don’t, because while I want to give everyone I can a chance, I’m still a businessman at the end of the day. That means I don’t just give blanket trust to people, unless I know they’re going to do the job right.”

  “I appreciate your faith in me.”

  Noah and I both watch him walk out, because it’s almost impossible not to. “You ready to knock this out?” Noah asks, once he’s out of sight.

  “Let’s do this.”

  Hours later, we’ve got everything nailed down. After designing a big part of the new C&C building, Noah already knows nothing is impossible, and doesn’t blink an eye at the craziest of my ideas.

  “I’ll have the new plans for you by Monday. If you approve them, I’ll get the permits sorted, and we’ll start building.”

  “Sounds great. Thanks, Noah.”

  “You’re welcome.”

  I look around my office when he leaves, making sure I didn’t miss packing anything up. I haven’t been here long, and I knew we were moving, so I didn’t bring much in here. My one box will be retrieved by the movers tonight, while the security team watches over them. Tomorrow, I’ll unpack it in my new office, and start to make that place my own.

  Right now, I want to see my woman. We’ve had a whirlwind week of dates, sex, and fun. She’s working tonight at the bar, and there’s no place I’d rather be than where she is, so I make my way there.

  I don’t see her when I walk in, but I’m not worried—she’s probably helping in the back. When a half-hour passes, and there’s still no sign of her, I walk to the other side of the bar. The older guy on this side is the one who refused to serve me the night things started for us, and he seems to be her second-in-command.

  “Hey.”

  He looks bored as he meets my eyes. “What can I get you?”

  “I’m looking for Natasha.”

  “Some guys came in, and she left with them.”

  “What? Who was it?”

  “No clue. All I know is they mentioned Washington, D.C. They looked like the kind of guys you wouldn’t want to mess with, if you get my drift.”

  I have to grip the bar, so I don’t fall over. I get it. I more than get it. My past just reared its ugly head, and came for Natasha. I have to go back to the place I can’t safely go back to, in order to save her. There’s no other option. I love her, and I’ll die for her if I have to.

  8

  Natasha

  “Welcome home,” Satan says to me.

  It’s not his real name, but it’s how I’ve always thought of him. He’s nothing less than the Devil himself, living out his life on Earth. Terrorizing everyone who dares cross his path. He takes lives like they mean nothing to him, because they don’t. All that matters to him are power, wealth, and terror. I’ve lived in his world for too long, holding onto my humanity as best I can. Now, it’s all going to be over soon, and I can wipe the filth from my body, if not my soul.

  “What happens now?”

  “Lover boy is going to come looking for you.”

  “And if he doesn’t?”

  “He will. He was at the bar, and I’m told he looked like he was going to pass out when he heard you were on your way here, with some ‘bad men’.”

  He laughs, and it takes everything I have to force the smile onto my face. I have to smile when I want to throw up. I have to play this game, so he doesn’t shoot me dead, like the nothing I am to him when he isn’t looking for some entertainment. I won’t die before trying to save Haring.

  I can’t let him know this is more than a job for me. If he knows I fell in love with Haring, there would be no chance of either of us leaving this basement alive. As it is, I’m pretty sure the moment Haring enters this room will seal my fate, but I’m not giving up hope just yet. I can’t. Haring has come to mean everything to me, and I won’t lose hope for either of our sakes.

  “Good. This will all be over soon.”

  “You didn’t enjoy your time with him? My sources say otherwise.”

  “It wasn’t unpleasant.”

  “You’re going to be rewarded for your part in all of this.”

  Yeah, with a bullet to the head. “Thank you.”

  “You can relax in your room until he arrives.”

  “I’ll stay here; it’s better if I look tired, and hungry when Haring sees me.”

  “Very well. You are sometimes smarter than I choose to believe. Maybe I’ll even let you have a little more power when this is all over.”

  “Thank you.”

  He leaves, and I breathe the first full breath I’ve taken since the moment I was ordered to leave Vegas. I didn’t stay down here to look pitiful, but to scope things out. There are cameras on me, so I can’t be obvious, but knowing what I’m working with might save us.

  I stretch my arms as I pass the small table in the middle of the room. I bump it “accidentally” and realize it’s too sturdy to be of any help. The chairs won’t come apart easily, either, so they’re out. The room is all brick and concrete, which means no busting out that way. In the dark recesses, there are weapons cabinets made of steel, but they’re locked. If one was open, I could try for a gun, but I doubt I’ll get that lucky.

  There are windows, but they are high, and have bars over them. Basically, the only way out is up the stairs, and without a miracle, there’s no way we’ll make it out that way. I’m hoping for a miracle, but planning for a suicide mission. Mine.

  I will not let Haring get killed while there is still a breath in me. I will fight and die if it means he has a chance of getting out of here. I had a choice in all of this, but he didn’t. Even with that damn loan, and the power thrown around to help him, he doesn’t deserve this. He appreciates what he’s been given, and he wants to work hard to earn it. I know that now. I’ve seen the kind of man he is, and I love that man.

  I’ve seen many people die in this room—and others—who didn’t deserve it, but my hands were tied. They still should be right now, but I will not allow things to go down the way they’re supposed to. I couldn’t go on living if I did, because his life is my life too. It sounds dramatic, and like some Lifetime movie, but it’s my truth.

  I’ve lied, cheated, and yes, slept my way to where I am right now, but I don’t regret it. I can’t regret it, because that regret would cripple me, and I have to be the strongest I’ve ever been right now. I’ve earned myself a place of trust, and a tiny bit of power. Everything I did was to keep myself alive, but that doesn’t matter now. It was all for nothing if I can’t save the man I was sent to help kill. I never imagined he would be more than the man I saw on paper, that he would completely captivate me, and own me in just a couple weeks’ time, but he has.

  Satan warned me he was charming, but my love for him has nothing to do with his cocky attitude. I find him amusing when his ego comes out to play, but it’s the quiet moments, when he’s holding my hand, or feeding me Chow Mein noodles that made me fall for him. His love for his sister, and the care he shows me strengthened my feelings for him. It’s in his work, and his compassion for every person he crosses paths with. That’s the Haring Kingston I know and love. I’ll love him until my dyi
ng day—which I’m pretty sure will be today. If I can die knowing I saved him, all of this will finally be worth it.

  “He’s here,” one of the men yells down to me.

  Those words instill a chill in me, and a resolve. It’s time for me to be the best actress I’ve ever been. I’m shaking inside, but I force myself to walk confidently to the table, and sit down. I can do this. I have to do this. I will do this. For him, and maybe, for me too.

  Haring

  I was grabbed as soon as I got off the train in Union Station. I expected it, and I didn’t fight it, because I’ll do anything to keep Natasha alive. I don’t have any illusions that she’s safe right now, so all I can hope for is that she’s still alive.

  We pull up to a house I’ve driven by, but never been inside. All of my dealings with these people have been in my rink—their rink now. I was never invited here, and I never asked if I could have a look. When dealing with mobsters, the less you ask for, the better.

  I want to run inside now, but with guys surrounding me, that’s not possible. Luckily, they’re walking briskly, and we’re inside within seconds. He’s waiting for us. The man who I sold my soul to, before my sister and friends took it back for me. Now, he’s got the woman I love, and I’d kill him right here on the spot if I had to.

  “So good to see you again, Haring.”

  “Where is she?”

  “You were warned what would happen if you set foot on this soil again.”

  “Where. Is. She?”

  “The beautiful Natasha is downstairs, waiting for us.”

  He motions to the open door to his right, and I don’t hesitate. I jog down those stairs, and there she is. Natasha is sitting at a table, looking tired, but safe.

  “Are you okay? Did they hurt you?”

  “I’m fine.”

  The man I hate above all others speaks from behind me. “Of course, you are. Why would I hurt one of my best employees?”

  No. “What?”

  “She works for me, and she did a wonderful job. After all, you’re here.”

  “What is he talking about?”

  “I’m sorry, Haring. There was nothing else I could do. I had to do my job.”

  She says those words in a monotone voice. Her eyes are blank, and her words stab through me like a knife. Natasha never cared, and she’s been setting me up since the beginning. I fell for the wrong woman, and now I’m going to die. In this moment, I want to die. No, that’s not true. I want to forget I ever met her, but I want to live. As painful as it is, I would never choose death.

  “Don’t feel bad, young man. She is very good what she does, in and out of bed.”

  He says this while caressing her cheek with the back of his hand. She keeps her eyes on me, and I see a flicker of regret before the blankness returns. She looks like a shell of herself, and I want to run to her, and take her into my arms. Even after everything I’m finding out, and knowing she betrayed me, I want to comfort her.

  “Why? Why are you doing this? You got your money, and my rink.”

  “You were to be an example to others I borrowed money to, but your friends were too powerful to let that happen.”

  “You think they’ll let it happen now?”

  “No one is here to save you. By the time they realize what happened, it will be too late. Your body needs to hang outside the precious roller rink you love so much.”

  “Killing me will only bring their wrath to your doorstep.”

  “Perhaps, but I’ll take my chances.”

  “Good luck with that.”

  “Cocky until the very end.”

  “Wouldn’t be me, if I wasn’t.”

  I see the gun raise, and catch me in its sight. I see the hand slide the safety back, and I watch the finger flex against the trigger. I’m frozen, knowing there’s nowhere for me to go. This is the end. Until it isn’t.

  “Run, Haring!” Natasha yells, as she slams into the man she works for, causing the bullet to hit the ceiling. “Run, dammit!”

  I hear more shots, and grunts as I finally move. Before I can make it to the stairs, the door opens, and Reina’s there, followed by my sister and some of her friends. Their guns are blazing, and I duck under the stairs until the bullets stop. It’s only then that I turn around.

  Natasha is the only one standing, and her hands are up in surrender. I don’t know if they are going to shoot her, but no matter what, in the end she tried to save me. They need to know that.

  “No! Don’t shoot her! She’s Military Intelligence,” Jake says, speaking before I can. He’s shielding her with his body, although she’s not cowering behind him.

  “What? You know her?” his wife, Isa, asks.

  “Yes. We used to work together.”

  “Neither of you felt we needed to know this?” Reina asks, moving to stand in front of them.

  “I wasn’t going to blow her cover, and get her killed.”

  “But my brother was expendable?” Matisse asks, coming to my side.

  Natasha shakes her head. “I knew you’d come for him, and if you didn’t, I was prepared to die to save him.”

  “She tried to get me out,” I tell them, and then it comes to me. “At the barbeque, you were both tapping your legs as you sat next to each other. Was it Morse Code?”

  “No, it was our code. Morse could be picked up by anyone, so we developed our own for each other years ago,” Jake tells me.

  “You were one of his women, weren’t you? You got a ‘Jake necklace’.” Isa states it, but we all know it’s a question. One I’d like to hear the answer to, even though I shouldn’t care.

  “I turned down the necklace, but yes, we were once intimate. It was a long time ago, and we realized very quickly that we were better off as friends.”

  “It’s okay. I mean, I know he wasn’t a virgin when we met, but I wanted a frame of reference for all of this.”

  “I would’ve kept her secret, regardless,” Jake states, and I can tell he means it from the fierce look in his eyes.

  “Thanks, Jake, and thanks for getting them here.”

  “We came for my brother, not you.”

  “I am well aware of that, Matisse. It’s what I planned on.”

  A staring contest begins between the two women I love. Yeah, I still love Natasha, because love isn’t something you can just turn off. I’ll never trust her, or believe what we shared is real, but my heart still beats for her, and only her.

  “My mother will be here momentarily,” Jake tells us.

  Natasha looks to the ceiling. “We’ll have to be de-briefed; my boss will insist on it.”

  “Liz?”

  “No, Reina, I don’t report to her. My boss is her second-in-command, James Kanta.”

  I see a look of pity cross Reina’s face, before she responds. “Oh.”

  There’s so much in that one word. So much I want to know, and so much I shouldn’t care about. Natasha just gives her a grim smile in return, before turning to hug Jake. He hugs her back, and I feel a stab of jealousy. Isa and Jake are insanely happy together, but he had my woman before I did. I don’t care how long ago it was, or how short-lived their affair was; it happened, and I hate it. I hate him a little, even though we’ve become friends. If I thought my life was fucked up before, it’s nothing compared to what I’m going through now. Un-lucky me, yet again.

  9

  Natasha

  “You’re lucky Jake Mason saved you,” James tells me, looking like the smug bastard he is.

  “I’m not sure what you think I could’ve done differently.”

  “You put everything at risk for Haring Kingston.”

  “I never once jeopardized my mission. I was sent in to take down Satan, and I did. Even if I’d died in that damn basement, I had enough for you to take him down.”

  “Possibly.”

  “Don’t try and bullshit me.”

  “Excuse me? Last time I checked, I was still your superior.”

  This asshat is not superior to me in a
ny way. He sucked a lot of ass on his way to where he is now, and if you sniff him hard enough, you can smell the shit that’s still stuck to his nose. Bastard.

  “What do you want from me?”

  “Is there anything left in there for us? Six years of living the life of a mobster. You had to become one of them to survive.”

  “I was never one of them.”

  “No? You didn’t kill alongside them? Break bones, and steal by their sides?”

  “I did what you ordered me to do, and you know it.”

  “There’s a fine line, and I’m not sure you didn’t cross it on your own.”

  “I’m not going down without a fight,” I warn him.

  “No one is talking about taking you down, Natasha. I do believe a vacation is in order, though. Go lie on a beach somewhere, and allow yourself to relax.”

  “No thank you.”

  “It wasn’t a request.”

  “I’ll take your vacation if I have to, but I’m going back to Las Vegas.”

  “Are you sure that’s a wise idea?”

  No. “It’s really not your problem, is it? I’ll be on vacation.”

  “Two weeks, and then we’ll evaluate where you are.”

  “Aye, aye, Boss.”

  He lets me go, and I’m not surprised to see Haring in the hallway when I walk out. “Is there somewhere we can talk, Natasha?”

  “Yes.”

  I lead him down to my own office. I haven’t seen it in a very long time, but it looks just as I left it, only with more piles of paperwork added to the mix. I know a staff assistant has gone through it all, and taken care of anything time-sensitive, but it’s still weird to see so much work waiting for me.

  Most are cold cases, because that was my specialty before it was believed I could go out into the field, and take down a mob family. There were many days I wished someone else was picked, but now I know I wouldn’t trade it for anything, because I wouldn’t have met Haring. No matter what happens, nothing can take away the memories we shared.

  “What was a lie?” he asks, once the door is closed. I turn off the sound in here, not caring if we’re seen, but wanting a little slice of privacy for our words.