Cooper shrugs, focusing his dark gaze on Dino. The horndog leans back in his chair and glances around.
“Do you guys have good spaghetti around here?”
Rafael gestures for Cooper to focus on the job since Dino clearly isn’t.
“Our territory runs into Northern Tennessee, just before you reach Nashville,” Cooper says, and I wonder if I should take notes. “We’ve never had problems down that way until recently. Now all my people are ending up dead, missing, or in jail on petty charges. I found out a new sheriff named Black has taken over Common Bend.”
Rafael glances at an uninterested Dino before focusing on me. “What Cooper needs is for you to find out if the sheriff is dirty or just a Dudley Do-Right.”
“What if we find out he’s clean?” I ask, feeling very female in a room with too many large men. Tawny, at least, has the benefit of disappearing into the corner near the filing cabinet. “I’m not killing a goody-two-shoes cop.”
“I’ll do it,” Dino blurts out. “Cops bug me.”
Cooper frowns at Dino. “You’re only going down there to find out what his deal is. If he’s dirty, I want to know if he’s working alone or who his allies are.”
“So no killing?” I ask rather than calling bullshit on this entire meeting. “Why not use local people?”
“Sheriff Black will round up any of my people who show up in town. Besides, we have territorial concerns.”
Rafael leans over to explain. “The surrounding towns are controlled by other factions. One of them is a club run by the Reapers’ friendly adversaries. The Rutgers would love to find a reason to snatch up Common Bend and push the Reapers out of Tennessee. Cooper figures you two will make less noise than his people.”
“I might, but Dino isn’t exactly subtle.”
The Italian Sausage shrugs. “No one likes the shy type back in Jersey.”
“You’re not in Jersey anymore,” Cooper growls.
For a few seconds, I get my hopes up that Cooper will kick Dino’s ass. Once Rafael sighs, the men’s tension fades. The big man to my left won’t allow the other big men to fight. What a shame.
Cooper forces his angry gaze off of Dino and looks at Rafael. “I have a contact who will give you safe harbor. He runs the town next door to Common Bend.”
“Can we trust him?”
“No. Hayes doesn’t play well with others, but he wants the sheriff gone. He’ll help until he decides he doesn’t want to help anymore. No telling with the guy.”
I wish Troy were my partner on this job. Instead, I’m stuck with Dino, who plays with his phone rather than pay attention. Rafael ignores Sausage, again focusing on me.
“Cooper has cars, cash, and weapons for you. If things get dicey, he’ll send his enforcers. If it gets really dicey, I’ll call in the rest of the Houston team.”
“For a recon mission, huh?” I say, standing up. “You boys are full of shit, but I’m a big believer in being a team player.”
“And you?” Cooper asks Dino.
“I go wherever Apples goes.”
Cooper rolls his eyes and gives Tawny a grumpy look. They share a silent conversation I don’t care about.
“Well, nice meeting you, Cooper,” I announce. “I’m meeting Harlow for dinner.”
“I’ll go with you,” Tawny says.
I narrow my dark eyes at her. Not knowing any better, she narrows her dark eyes at me. Normally, I’d do a little ovary measuring, but I really want away from Dino, who is staring at my ass again. I can feel his gaze burning through my jeans.
“Let’s go,” I say, walking out of the back office with her close behind me.
Tawny pauses when we get outside. “I only have my Harley. Did Vaughn take your bags to the apartment?”
“Yes, but I’m not riding bitch on your hog.”
“Why not?” she asks, climbing onto the Harley. “I’ll ride real slow for you.” I’m ready to complain until she says all I need to hear to change my mind. “Dino’s on his way out.”
Climbing on behind her, I sigh. “What was the point of having you at this meeting?”
“I’m good at reading people, and Cooper wanted to know if he could trust you and Dino.”
“Well?”
“I’ve got a good feeling about you both.”
“Even Sausage?” I balk while the Harley roars to life.
Tawny glances back at me and smiles. “He pays more attention than he lets on. Don’t let his bullshit fool you.”
I tighten my grip on her as we race away from the office and Dino. Tawny’s words give me hope that this assignment might not be so bad. In fact, Dino might even be a fun partner if he stopped trying to hump me constantly.
4
~ Minka ~
Stuck Between a Fucking Rock and a Fucking Hard Place
I manage to dodge Dino all evening in Ellsberg, and we take separate cars the next day. Even with him following me on the road, I still somehow feel him looking at my ass the entire two-hour drive. Before we check into the first of the hotels we have reservations at, I decide to drop in on our helpful host.
Angus Hayes’s office is a small building in the middle of an industrial area of White Horse, Tennessee. The parking lot is empty except for two cars. One is a monster truck horror show. The other is a tiny blue compact with flower decals in the back window. I sense the latter doesn’t belong to Hayes.
“Let me do all the talking,” Dino says while we walk to the front door.
“No fucking way. Just shut up and let me handle everything.”
“We’ll see who wins this round.”
Inside the office, we find a woman crying behind messy brown hair. She’s sitting at the front desk, and her name plate says “Donna.” Not great with crying women, I awkwardly wait for her to pull her shit together.
“Hey, doll, why the tears?” Dino asks in a sexy, smooth voice. “Is someone giving you trouble?”
Donna looks back at the office door belonging to the boss.
“He yells,” she whispers. “I don’t like yelling.”
On cue, a booming voice yells, “Donna, send in the fucking outsiders!”
Crying, Donna hides behind her hair again. Dino hands her a tissue and whispers something reassuring. She nods but seems unconvinced.
“Save it, Romeo,” I mutter, walking away.
Dino follows behind me, and I can feel his gaze on my ass. Glancing back, I frown hard at him. He grins back and wiggles his eyebrows.
I open the door to a small office complete with wood paneling and shag carpet. The place looks like a 1970’s relic. Who gives a shit about the décor when there’s an honest-to-goodness giant puffing on a cigar behind the desk?
I thought I knew big guys, but Angus Hayes is a fucking tank. Owning the room isn’t even an option since he literally breathes it in. Next to Hayes, Dino is a twerp. Well, a nearly irresistible twerp anyway.
“Don’t even think about it,” Dino says to me while we stand in the doorway. “His dick would tear you apart. Not worth the risk.”
My mouth opens with a really snappy response ready to go, but he interrupts me.
“Fine, fuck him. I only ask that you wait until I’m done with your pussy so that I don’t get the ruined remains.”
My snappy comeback never materializes as we take our seats. The dark-haired Hayes glares at us with his raging, nearly-black eyes. In another world, I might find this jackass attractive, but Dino has blinded me to other men.
Like a drill sergeant, he doesn’t remove his cigar before barking at us. “Why in the fuck are you fuckers dressed like that?”
“We’re incognito, big guy,” Dino says, adjusting in his chair like his dick isn’t fitting right in his stupid dress pants.
“Please ignore him, Mister Hayes.”
“Kiss ass,” Dino mutters.
“Would you two shut the fuck up?”
“Hey, this is a lady over here,” Dino says, jutting his thumb at me.
“Don’t defend me, Linguini. I can h
andle my own shit.”
“I was raised to be a gentleman.”
“Where’s the fucking off button with you two cunts?”
Frowning at Hayes, I kick his desk. “Watch your mouth. This idiot might be professional enough not to shoot you, but I’m starting my period soon, so all bets are off.”
“Sexy,” Dino says, and he isn’t kidding. Adjusting in his chair again, he acts like his dick is very impressed by my period declaration.
“Idiot.”
Hayes leans back in his chair, causing the poor thing to groan in agony. With the big man angry with us, I feel like a scolded child. I’m a professional, but this guy scares me. If he makes a sudden move, I’ll likely shoot him and run out the room screaming.
“You two fucks finished?”
Dino leans forward. “In school, did the kids ever call you anus?”
I smack Dino as soon as he finishes his insult. Hayes still narrows his eyes, and I suspect we might die soon.
“Here’s how it works,” Hayes says, breathing too heavily to be healthy. “I run White Horse. Nothing happens here unless I sanction it. As long as you shits remain in my territory, you won’t get shanked. I can’t protect you outside of White Horse. I made that fact perfectly fucking clear to Johansson.”
“We’ll be fine, steak man,” Dino says.
When I roll my eyes, Sausage gives me one of his deliciously smarmy grins.
“What are your thoughts about this new sheriff,” I ask Hayes, hoping to find an ounce of professionalism in this train wreck meeting.
“I think he’s a fucking con. Everyone thinks he’s a damn saint, caring for old ladies and Girls Scouts and shit. I know he’s a killer, and his new, better cops are assholes.”
“Know how?”
Dino leans over and loudly whispers, “You’re sexy when you work.”
I ball my hand, ready to punch him, but he only leans back and snickers. Hayes chews on his cigar, and I again think we might need to shoot our way out of this office.
“What the fuck is wrong with that fucker?” Hayes asks me.
“He’s in heat, and I don’t think his mom hugged him enough.”
“Or maybe she hugged him too fucking much.”
Dino loses his smile. “Hey, now. I will put up with a lot of shit from a hot woman, but no one talks about my mom. The woman is a damn saint.”
“Can I say she did a good job, or is that off limits too?”
Relaxing again, Dino smirks. “That’s fine. Compliments are always welcome.”
“So,” Hayes says, standing up and making me reach for my gun under my jacket, “this cop comes into town, and he’s all friendly smiles and kissing babies. Like the fucker is running for fucking mayor.”
Hayes clearly loves the word “fuck.” I can’t hear anything he says except that word. I need to pay attention, though, since Dino clearly isn’t.
“Everyone in Common Bend was so fucking happy with him, but I smelled a fucking rat. Soon people started dropping dead from brain aneurisms, suicides, and overdoses. Not just any fucking people, but the fucking people who caused trouble. First was the pastor out at Landmark Church who protested against the Sheriff’s Department. He was out there every fucking day, marching back and forth with his damn sign about corruption never ending and how fucking Black was a false prophet.
“The old crank was always fucking protesting something, but people in Common Bend liked him. He was a fucking character who’d help out anyone. Paid for STD treatments for hookers. Found daycare for single moms. Shamed abusive husbands. He caused trouble, sure, but no one ever thought of fucking killing him. Then he keels over one day from a brain aneurism. Not a big thing, but I was suspicious. I’m always fucking suspicious of cops, but Black was too fucking nice to be the real deal.”
“No offense, beef boy,” Dino says, “but that isn’t proof of anything. This preacher likely got himself so worked up that it was bad for his heart or some shit. I’m no doctor, but his death don’t sound suspicious.”
“It don’t, huh?” Hayes asks, removing the cigar from his lips. “Makes me wonder why you never went to medical school, fuckwit.”
“Who else died?” I ask.
“An old deputy suing the department. A clerk fired for stealing. If someone messed with fucking Black, they died. His deputies were also putting the squeeze on people. That’s why Johansson is pissed. His people ran the drugs and sluts in Common Bend. Those people ended up dead, arrested, or just gone. The deputies started spending a lot of time out at the Harvest Fields Trailer Parks where all the sluts work. They spend all day with those girls and then turn around and take a fee for keeping them out of trouble.”
“Cops are assholes,” Dino says. “So what?”
“These sluts don’t make a lot of money to begin with. They do their work during the day when their kids are at school, and they need a lot of turnover to make enough to pay their pimps and feed their families. It’s simple economics, meathead.”
When Hayes sits back down, my hand eases off my gun. “Black’s deputies got rid of the pimps and took what the pimps made. Except they take up so much of the sluts’ time that those girls ain’t making enough money. When one of the whores mouthed off about the situation at a local titty bar, she suddenly turned up in a ravine. The cops ruled her death an accident. They claim she got drunk, stopped by the side of the road, and then fell into the ravine where she broke her neck. They didn’t even try to make that one look real.”
Hayes puffs at his cigar a few times before continuing. “Now the sluts are all scared, and they can’t make money and feed their kids. The deputies smack them around too, but who in the fuck are they going to fucking call? So Johansson’s people got pushed out. Now the only one making any money in Common Bend is Black.”
Giving Dino a quick glance to find him still playing with his phone, I ask Hayes, “Why haven’t you taken him out?”
“That’s not how this shit works, darlin’. I don’t run Common Bend. I might feel bad for the fuckers living there, but I don’t cross the line between territories. That’s Johansson’s problem. If he’s cashing the checks during the happy times, then he can sweep up the shit during the down times. Hell, I assumed you fucks were the janitors in this fucking situation.”
“I wouldn’t mind seeing Minka in a maid’s uniform,” Dino says, and I smack him again.
“Save the rough play for the bedroom, kiddos. I told you what needed to be told. What you do with that shit is your fucking problem.”
“Here’s the thing,” I say, flicking Dino for playing with my hair, “What if the sheriff isn’t making these moves on his own? I mean he must have some brass balls behind the scenes.”
“Why?”
“Because the guy seems clean. He shows up and kills these people and takes over illegal activities, yet no one’s ever touched him in the past. That seems fishy. Everyone has dirt on them. I’m sure you’ve gotten hassled by the feds or state cops. Why not the sheriff? We checked, and his file is squeaky clean.”
“What do I care if he has someone bankrolling him?”
“Because,” Dino says, “after Sheriff Black gets a stranglehold over his little slice of Honky-tonk Heaven, do you think he’ll be satisfied? Common Bend is a tiny fucking place with whores and meth. White Horse has real money invested. Businesses he can shake down. Or use to launder his dirty money. Whatever, but you’re next on the colonization list.”
Even though Dino nails the situation, I’m mostly trying not to laugh at the filet mignon thing.
Hayes glares really ugly at Dino, who is back at his phone. I decide to play peacemaker. Well, what else am I going to do with these two?
“By helping us get rid of Sheriff Black, you’re eliminating a future problem for yourself.”
“Sounds about fucking right.”
“So, can you think of who might be pulling Black’s strings?”
Hayes narrows his eyes, and I’m sure he’s about to attack. Turns out he’s jus
t thinking.
“You have Memphis fingers all over this state. The Rutgers family and their club run everything south of Hickory Creek Township for the Dixie Mafia. Johansson holds Common Bend only because the original Tennessee players were once blood-related to their Kentucky counterparts. As you know, Johansson and his club get backing from Memphis. Who in the fuck wants to fuck with that organization for a slice of nowhere Tennessee?”
“Hey, do you know a good place to get spaghetti around here?” Dino asks, standing up.
“What’s the fucking hurry?”
“I know the score about the area now. But until we spook the sheriff, we won’t find out whose dummy he is. So I plan to take this lovely slice of fuck pie to dinner. Does that sound okay to you, rib eye?”
I punch Dino in the arm. When he laughs, I hit him again.
“Chicks, right?” Dino says to Hayes. “The sexier the slice, the spicier the flavor.”
Standing up, I slap Dino upside the head. He refuses to be bothered. Hayes studies us before focusing on me.
“I’m assuming you’re the fucker in charge of this traveling circus,” he says, handing me a white card with a phone number on it. “Call me if you need fucking help, but only if you’re in my fucking territory. I ain’t saving you fucks otherwise.”
“So, about that spaghetti,” Dino says, looking at Hayes. “Anything good around here?”
“No, now get out of my fucking office before I lose my fucking hospitality.”
Dino winks at Hayes and then gestures for me to walk through the door. I know he’s planning to grab my ass, so I hurry past him. His hand still makes a reach for my left cheek, but I smack him away.
“You need to jack off more or take a pill. Something needs to be done to get your dick under control,” I growl at Dino while we walk past the crying chick and out of the office.
“My dick is just fine. Though if you’re really concerned, feel free to check it out real close and personal tonight.”
“How have you not been killed yet?” I ask, arriving at my SUV.
Smirking, Dino slides a hand through his thick black hair. “By you? Oh, I think we know the answer to that.”
“You’ll get me killed then.”
High Voltage (Ramsey Security Book 3) Page 2
