“Of course. But, Corrigan? I can’t say I’m confident our prior business relationship can continue as is…not with my daughter in the mix.”
“I’m not sure what you’re getting at,” I say, although I’m pretty sure he’s suggesting I can’t be with his daughter if I want to keep our deal going.
“Our partnership can flourish into greater opportunities, but I’m going to have to ask you to end all contact with Sabrina.”
Chapter 30
Sabrina
I hear every word that my father says to Silas as I sit in the small office with the door open. It’s so typical of my father to act like this. He sends one asshole packing, and then morphs into the same controlling asshole that he just got rid of. This has to stop. I won’t stand for it this time. Charging back to the open warehouse area, I face off with him.
“Dad, you can’t do this again.”
“Leave it alone, princess.”
“Please.”
“I’ll deal with this, honey.”
“No, Dad. You won’t. You can’t make everything about business… I mean, how dare you propose that to him? It’s not right.” I step up beside Silas and squeeze his hand. “My decision to see him again or not, has nothing to do with your business dealings together.”
“Mr. Rizzo, I appreciate and respect the offer, but your daughter is her own woman,” Silas says, backing me up. “She can do whatever she wants, and if she chooses to associate with me and my club, it’s her choice. Everything else on the table has to do with me and my choice. I’ll think about it and let you know soon, if that works for you.”
“Mmm, a diplomatic reply.” My father strokes his beard and has an unreadable expression on his face. “How do you feel about that answer, princess?”
I thread my fingers more securely through Silas’s. “I need a moment with him, Dad.”
“I don’t know how much privacy you can get, given the venue, darling. But you’re welcome to give it a shot.”
I drag Silas into the small office. The questions flitting across his face only makes me more sure of what I want. “The timing kind of sucks for a conversation like this, but…”
Silas nods, but his eyebrows are still stuck in a permanent state of confusion. “Just say it. What’s going on?”
Running a hand through my hair, I glance up at the ceiling. “I’m not sure how to put this into words without sounding completely forward right now, but I don’t want to walk away without saying it. I want to know more about you, Silas. I want to be with you. This isn’t one of those ‘let’s be together forever’ things, because I don’t know that I can see that far ahead. The reason is pretty obvious, since well, look at who we are. But I want to try, if you’re up for it.”
He turns and rubs his jaw, then starts to light up a cigarette. He probably didn’t see this coming, yet here I am, dumping a massive bomb on him. And as usual, he goes radio silent. I just wished he’d say something. Anything.
“Silas? Are you just going to stare at the wall?”
He turns to look my way again, and takes a long drag on his cigarette.
Not a word.
Jesus, it’s annoying as hell, practically baring my soul to him and not getting an iota of feedback. I fold my arms. “I’m going to assume you’re thinking it over, all right? That way, I don’t have to bash your teeth in with my fist.” That gets a smile out of him. Except I wasn’t kidding about that. “While you’re in a listening mood, I’ve got another suggestion. Since I have your full attention, you know, as you refuse to talk?”
The man remains oddly silent, but presses his lips together after taking another pull of his cigarette, and gives me an attentive nod. I’m not sure whether to choke him or get close, so I start talking and don’t stop.
“Would you consider offering protective services to clients at the law firm where I work? I’m thinking that our divorce clients may be perfect as low-hanging fruit to start off. Kind of like your own security company. With simple state licensing…probably for Arizona and Nevada as you’re practically on the border. Maybe Utah too. It’s completely legal, and a good way to generate revenue while you’re sorting things out with my father. Think about it as a potential transition plan, and a win-win for everyone. You have some extra options for your MC, and my father won’t be able to dish out any ultimatums to you like he just did, because you won’t be relying solely on his business. No one will have any control over you, and my law firm provides referrals all the time. So why not to you? That’s how I see it, anyway.”
His jaw hardens. “It’s an interesting thought,” he finally says.
“Praise the Lord. The man speaks!”
He shakes his head. “You suggested the same idea to Axe, right?”
“Well, yes.”
“Why?”
“Because he’s smart, and keen to retire from illicit gunrunning.”
That earns me a spiteful look, but it’s worth it. He’s considering it, which is more than I thought possible. Silas surprises me by moving in closer, and kisses my forehead with a tenderness that makes my breath hitch. As quickly as he does that, he turns and heads out to my father.
“I’ll consider everything and let you know within a week,” he tells Dad.
“Fair enough.” My father takes his phone out of his pocket, searching for something on his phone. Then he looks over at me. “Sabrina, I assume you’re leaving with him. Is that what you were trying to tell me just now?”
“Yes.”
“Very well… I’ll accept it. For now.”
The answer throws me for a loop. That’s it? He’s agreeable all of a sudden? I expected to have to fight and argue some more, like I’ve been doing for years. But I won’t question whatever it is that’s caused my father to go so far as to agree, even if it’s temporary. Kissing him on the cheek, I whisper a word of thanks in his ear, and return to Silas. I follow Silas and Cole out of that warehouse with something I’ve never had before—a chance to start over with no secrets lurking around the next corner.
We stop at his bike. “So, where too, princess?” he asks.
“That depends.”
“On what?”
“Are you going to say something about…about everything I said inside?”
He climbs onto his bike and puts one hand out to help me on. “I chose you first.”
That’s all he says. And it’s enough for me.
“Take me back to the MC,” I tell him.
I never expected to hear those words leave my own lips. Small miracles happen every day, even for me.
On our return to the club, Silas helps me off the bike, then surprises me by throwing me over his shoulder. Caveman style. I kick around and protest a little, but the cheers and whistles from his members as he enters the clubhouse reminds me that it’s their way. Plus, I kind of like it. He carries me all the way upstairs into his room like this, only letting me down to deposit me on his bed.
“Was that some kind of MC rite of passage or something? I ask, half-laughing and still slightly dizzy.
“I guess you could call it that. Listen, Sabrina.”
Silas paces across the room, eating up the floor in large strides. Whatever he’s about to say, it’s weighing on him. I brace for what he’s about to tell me, my stomach twisted into knots.
“You need to know that if you stay with me, any visions you had of a certain type of life is gone. There’s no white picket fence with me. You’re mine, and that means I’m responsible for you. The violence you’ve seen around your father’s organization isn’t much different from what you’ll see here. And don’t think for a second that your old man is done trying to control you. More likely than not, he’ll be back. You need to know there’ll be a target on both our backs and it may never go away. Can you live with that?”
“I was born a target, Silas. It’s not much different from how it’s been every day of my life. All I’ll say is I’m not fragile… I’m not running from who I am. I don’t want normal. People like
us don’t ever experience normal.”
He takes a seat on the edge of the bed next to me as if buckling under the actual weight of the idea. “So, you understand it won’t be all rainbows and unicorns, whether the MC transitions from current business operations or not. Whether we try out your security patrol rent-a-biker idea or not.”
“So you were listening.” I run my hand through his thick mess of strangely silky hair. “As long as I’ve been with you, you’ve kept me safe. I appreciate that you’ve done that, and I just need you to know that I can also protect myself. The type of life I’m choosing is one where I decide what matters to me. What I do and how, where I go and when, who I’m with… and I want you.”
He slides his hand into my hair, and I grab his cut as he closes in to kiss me hard. Pulling back, I look into his eyes. “Make love to me.”
Smiling, he leans back onto the bed, and his body covers mine. His eyes and every inch of his body scream the words he will probably never say out loud.
Chapter 31
Silas
I wake up with a start, then remember I’m not sleeping alone. Glancing over at the woman in my arms, I pull her against my chest and she moans something in her sleep. Moonlight streams in through a space in the closed curtains, falling across her pale cheek.
She’s mine and she knows it.
And I don’t want it any other way. Sabrina adds a degree of complexity, uncertainty and chaos into my life, but she’s worth it.
Leaving her to rest, I get up, take a shower and head downstairs to call an executive meeting. We need a conversation about starting up a security team. Axe is already in my corner. That’s a given. The four of us assemble in the meeting room and work through the usual process before I put the item on the table.
“This is your one chance to have your say.” I open the floor to the others and relax in my leather office chair at the head of the table.
“What happens if she wakes up one day and dumps your sorry ass?” Tate asks, glancing up from the table with one eyebrow raised.
“The agreements aren’t with her,” I answer.
“They’re between the company we set up and the individual clients who hire us,” Axe tells the group and turns to Tate. “You should be asking how we can do something similar for our other charters. You’re the one with the tech skills.”
“Oh, like a franchise or chain? I’d be all over that. I’m not saying I’m down with a firm yes, but I can be persuaded.”
Cole adds, “I like the sound of no more time behind bars. Forget about prison food, I’m too old for prison ass. I much prefer my wife’s. I’m in.”
“And no more prison cock for Tate,” Axe adds with a grin.
There’s a knock on the double doors to the meeting room. Everyone looks around with curiosity because our members all know they’re not to interrupt us when these doors are closed. Unless it’s a life or death emergency. Everyone knows these rules. Even Cindy.
“Not now,” I shout, my mind still on the vote.
One of the doors swing inward, and Sabrina pops her head into the room. Fuck, I need to have her read a copy of the by-laws if she plans on toeing the line.
“We’re busy, Sabrina. It’ll have to wait.”
“Not if you’re busy talking about what I think you’re discussing. In which case, you’re all going to want to hear what I have to say.”
Tate mimics a whip crack noise. The rest of the men guffaw like it’s the best joke they’ve ever heard.
I’m not laughing.
Neither is Sabrina. She steps into the meeting room and leans against the wall with her arms crossed. Her face and body are all business. It’s sexy as fuck that she’s already pushing some boundaries around here.
Cole motions to her. “You’re already here, sweetheart. Enlighten us.”
“Thanks. I was on the phone catching up with Jordan. He sends his thanks, by the way. I got him while he was at brunch celebrating his new-found freedom, thanks to you. By the end of that call, he managed to wrangle over a hundred and fifty thousand dollars’ worth of security business for your startup. So, interested in hearing more?”
That statement gets all our attention.
“Go on,” I tell her and give her a wink.
“His friends know what he’s been through. A few of them want to make sure nothing like that happens to them. So that was just from talking to Jordan. I have several other potential clients I’m sure would be interested in your help. What I’m getting at, gentlemen, is you have the potential to generate a lot of legitimate business in a reasonably well-respected, growing industry. Mind you, much of it would be in Las Vegas, but it’s close enough. That’s pretty much it. I just figured you’d like to know that you’ve got some firm options available to you before you vote.”
Axe presses his lips into a thin line. I know that look. He’s fighting to hold back his excitement about this. “Sure,” he says. “That’s definitely helpful.”
“Great!” Sabrina steps into the doorway again and gives us a wave. “Enjoy the rest of your meeting, guys.”
I’m impressed. And hard as fuck. Who knew being proactive could be so fucking sexy?
That’s my woman.
No one around the table can ignore the potential and that’s it’s close enough to grab a hold of. My boys are just as bowled over that Sabrina went to such lengths to set things up for the club to make a smooth transition. She broke our rules coming in here, but no one gives a fuck about that anymore.”
“She’s got my vote…twice,” Axe says. He leans back in his chair and crosses his feet on the table, linking his hands behind his head. “We need more broads like her around here. They can take over while we play cards, drink until we’re shit-faced, fuck sack demons and go for a ride every now and again.”
“It’s a no-brainer, Si.” Cole is on board. “I’m old school and even I vote yes. Let’s step the fuck away from the weapons business…except for the ones we’re packing.”
“Sounds fucking good to me.” I turn to Tate. “Well, brother?”
Tate puts on an unreadable expression. Usually, the guy’s always wearing a psychotic smile, like he’s planning someone’s murder. I have no idea what he’s thinking now.
“Whatever I say, I’m still outnumbered, Pres. The vote can pass as it is, so why wait on me? I won’t make or break this venture.”
“You’re a part of our executive. This decision is too important to go by majority rule. We need this to be unanimous.” I hear my voice deepening on the tail end of the sentence. I hate admitting it, but we need his agreement. “Just spit it out, Tate.”
“To be brutally honest, I don’t like it, Pres. There are way too many unanswered questions, and it relies on a chick for a business partner. One with seriously powerful ties to the mafia. Loyalty and family go hand in hand, Si. But I see why everyone’s excited about taking this direction. Cole just got hitched, Axe has always been a pussy about doing time, and you…well, you’re responsible for all of us. When it comes down to it, I’m with you a hundred and ten. No matter what direction we take. I’d just like your girl to prove herself with cold hard service contracts before too long.”
“Does that mean you’re in?” I ask to confirm.
He nods. “That half a mil in cash she mentioned about the reward for Jordan would come in handy too. We should ask her back in here to walk us through how to claim that money.”
Axe gets up to call her but he doesn’t have to go very far. Sabrina’s a few tables away from the meeting room doors. Probably listening in on the voting. He motions to her with his index finger and she steps into the room again, leaning on the same spot beside the door.
“Yes?” she asks, looking at me.
I raise my eyebrows, waiting to give her a chance to explain herself.
“I was just, I figured I’d wait… Dammit, okay. I was snooping,” she admits. “Claiming the reward is pretty simple. I’ll find you his father’s contact information. Jordan will confirm your
role in rescuing him. It’ll be a couple of weeks. On the other business, it’s just a matter of setting up a company, licenses for staff, indemnity insurance… it’s not as difficult as I’m making it sound. Don’t worry, I can help with the paperwork so you can start the gig with Jordan.” She backs away through the door. “And I’ll just get out of your hair right now.”
Tate gives her the thumbs up. “Sounds simple enough. I’m in too, boss.”
“Great,” I say once the doors are closed. “Okay, the final vote is unanimous. We’re moving on to greener pastures with the security business. Motion passed. Let’s ask the officers to weigh in on the vote and be done with it.”
Axe gives me a loud slap on the back that echoes through the room. “Time to celebrate going legal and shit!”
“Tate, as you were grumbling the loudest, and good with tech and websites and paperwork, consider yourself the de facto VP of business development. You can think up some options for company names while you’re at it. Meeting fucking adjourned.”
“No problem.” He gets up and heads for the door. “I’ll do us proud.”
“I’ll help, before he comes back with a bunch of fucked up names,” Axe heckles him as he follows him out of the room. “Beaver Dam Security is not an option, Tate. I don’t give a fuck that we live in this town.”
Cole waits for them to leave and stares at me as though he can read my mind. “I need a fucking drink.”
“You’re sure about this, VP?” I ask, locking onto his stare.
“I’m sure. Wouldn’t have given a ‘yes’ vote otherwise. It’s not about that. Look, we need a sit-down with the Mongols and Los Diablos. It was too fucking easy for them to fall in line with Giovanni and turn on us. We weren’t on the best terms with them, but hell, the Vasquez I used to know would have picked up the phone and warned us. The way I see it, Padrino may have run Giovanni out of town, but anyone can take his place. If we’re going legit, we need an understanding with both MCs. Call it a truce or whatever you want. The fighting has to stop.”
Outlaw (Satan's Saints MC) Page 16
