Better when He's Bold (Welcome to the Point #2)(16)
I snorted. “What happens when you decide you don’t need me?”
“You’re a smart man. You can figure out the answer to that on your own. By the way, I heard one of those punk college kids pulled a gun on you while you were collecting. You need to take a stand when shit like that goes down.”
I sighed. “He was just some kid.”
Nassir pointed a finger at me and his voice was all seriousness when he told me, “So are you, only you’re just some kid running an entire city from the outside. Anyone f*cks with you, Race, and you put them in their place. Bax has a reputation to stand on, it’s in his blood. He was born as bad as they come. You’re just some rich kid playing at being a crime boss. You need to prove that you are serious, that you are in this to the end. Be that by your blood or theirs. There is only one way to do things . . . our way.”
I wasn’t ruthless like that. I don’t think I would ever be the kind of man who just took and took without a thought as to whom I was taking from. It was too close to the coldness; the black and empty way my father operated. I never wanted to be the kind of man who could consider killing his own flesh and blood just because it was a messy story he didn’t want to try and explain.
“I handle my business, Nassir. Don’t worry about what I’m doing or what I’m not doing.”
He grunted and took a seat at the desk and steepled his fingers under his chin. “I’m more worried about Bax coming unglued if you get your dumb ass killed and ruining everything we’ve managed to patchwork together. Plus, the cop would start poking around, and that would be unpleasant for both of us.”
The cop was Bax’s half brother, Titus King. He had played a big part in helping take Novak down, and was now a constant pain in my ass. I liked Titus. He was a good man, a dedicated cop, but if he really knew what I was into, the kinds of things Bax and I had working on the side, he would flip his shit and have no qualms about shutting my operation down cold. He was always watching us with an eagle eye, and I think he knew more than he let on, but Nassir was a ruthless bastard, and if Titus did indeed get too close, I didn’t doubt he would try and take him out of the game.
I didn’t have anything else to say to him and my patience at having to deal with the slick bastard had reached its limits. I wasn’t playing at anything. I knew how serious this shit I was deep into was, and treated it as such. I just didn’t have any intention of turning into a Novak while doing it.
As I rounded the corner I almost slammed into Honor. Her real name was Keelyn Foster and she was probably the most beautiful girl in the entire world. Granted, she paid a lot of money to keep that appearance up, but in the dark, there was no difference between man-made and heaven-sent in my book. She had on a silky black robe, her long, auburn hair was a tangled mess, and her heavy makeup was smeared all over her face. Even in the dim light of the strip club, I could see the nasty split in her bottom lip and the bruise flowering across her high and elegant cheekbone.
I let out a whistle. “Are you all right?”
She winced a little and lifted her fingers to her cheek. “Been better. Did Nassir bring that idiot back here?”
I nodded and warned, “If Nassir gets a good look at your face, that idiot is leaving the club in a body bag.”
“Good. Asshole deserves it. No touching means no touching. He’s lucky I didn’t castrate him with one of my heels.”
It was impossible to live this life and not develop that edge. Beautiful girls shouldn’t have to live this hard. It was a shame.
“He had Chuck work him over pretty good, but I’m serious about him killing the guy if he catches sight of the damage. I think the devil has a soft spot for you.”
She rolled her dark gray eyes at me and crossed her arms over her silk-covered breasts. I was very familiar with her naked body, knew she made the money she did for a reason, but there was a hardness about her now that hadn’t been there when I left five years ago.
“Nassir is like a wild animal that escaped from the zoo. He’s amazing to look at, fascinating to watch, but I would prefer that bars and glass separated us. There is nothing soft about that man.”
I lifted an eyebrow. “You don’t like him having control of the club?”
She blinked obscenely long lashes at me and her perfectly bowed mouth crooked up in a half grin. Only Honor could look that good with a split open lip.
“Ernie was a slob and easy to manipulate. He liked to pretend he was in charge, but we really ran the show. Back in the day this was a fun job that the girls could do hungover and with zero effort. Flash some tit and the tentpole rises. Nassir is all business, and now the dancers have to work for every dollar. There is no playing around, and with Novak gone, every Tom, Dick, and Harry is grappling to prove they’re the next badass. Things are more dangerous, more desperate. Everyone is trying to carve out their own piece of the city, and it shows.” She gestured at her battered face. “Case in point.”
I hated what she said, but it was true. “Why don’t you quit? Go find something less in the line of fire to do?”
She reached out a hand and tapped my cheek lightly. “You always were too pretty and too smart for your own good, Race.” She flipped her hair out to the side. “What do you think I’m qualified to do? I’ve taken my clothes off for a living since I was seventeen. I didn’t finish high school. I don’t have rich parents waiting in the wings. Where else can I make a grand a night and the only risk is an overly zealous soccer dad? This is what I know.”