Omega's Destiny: Foxes of Scarlet Peak (An M'M Shifter MPreg Romance Book 5)(13)

“That’s Ronnie and Josh,” Bobby whispered in my ear as I stepped off, keeping in front of him as we walked a few paces forward.

“Betas?” I asked, sniffing their scents. “On guard?”

“There are more inside,” Bobby replied.

“Yo, boys. Where’s your boss?”

“Boss?” Ronnie asked, playing dumb like a dickhead.

“Ryker!” Bobby called out from behind me. “Get Ryker! Tell him it’s Bobby!”

“And who’s the dickhead?” Josh asked with a lift of his chin. My hands curled into fists but I slid them behind my back so they wouldn’t see. We didn’t need to start a fight – not yet at least.

“He’s with me.”

The two betas looked suspicious, but one of them knocked on the door to the clubhouse. It opened and an alpha poked his head out. Josh said something to him and he vanished back inside. I could feel Bobby was tense beside me, and squeezed his leg to comfort him. After a moment, another alpha appeared.

“That’s him,” Bobby told me as Ryker stepped out into the parking lot.

“Well, well, well,” he said as he sauntered toward us. “Look who’s come home!”

Ryker was a big fella, but not big enough that I couldn’t take him if I needed to, and by the way he was looking at me, he could see that.

“You brought a bodyguard, I see,” he added, sizing me up.

“We’re not looking for trouble,” I told him.

“That’s good,” he nodded, not completely buying it. “And you are?”

“Clint,” I replied.

“Uh oh!” he laughed, putting his hands up. “Don’t gun me down with your six-shooter, Clint!”

How original, I thought. I’d been getting Western and cowboy jokes my entire life. But Ryker apparently thought it was funny.

“I need to explain about last night,” Bobby said.

“Explain? You mean about how you fucked up royally?” Ryker asked, crossing his arms in front of him. “How you cost us ten grand? I mean, the way I see it is that unless you brought us the money or the product, we don’t have much to talk about! Did you bring the money?”

“No, I don’t—” Bobby began to reply, but Ryker cut him off quickly.

“Did you bring back the product?”

“No, Ryker, if you will just listen—”

“Or maybe this guy’s got it for us!?” he suggested, turning to me. “What’d you say your name was, cowboy? John? Butch? Buffalo Bill?”

“Clint,” I snarled, losing my patience. “And if you’d just shut the fuck up for a second we could explain to you what happened.”

The alphas behind Ryker moved like they were ready to attack, but Ryker sensed this and held up a closed fist. They stopped in their tracks and he stared at me through squinted eyes. I could almost read his mind: “Who’s this fucking guy think he is talking to me like that?”

But finally, he spoke. “Okay, big shot. Lay it on me.”

“The boys jumped him out back,” I told him. “Took your pizza bag and roughed him up a bit before I stepped in.”

“Oh, you stepped in?” Ryker asked, almost mockingly.

“Killed at least one of them,” I told him with a shrug. “Wounded another three.”

“And got our stuff too?” Ryker asked.

I shook my head, “Nope. Wasn’t any time for that. Had to get Bobby out of there before anyone else came outside.”

“Uh huh,” Ryker replied, nodding his head. He kicked the dirt in front of him and started pacing back and forth, running my story over in his mind. When he turned back to me, I could see he wasn’t buying it.

“You know what I think?” he asked. “I think you’re full of shit. I think you work for those boys, are in on this whole thing with them, and have poor Bobby here wrapped up in your bullshit too.”

“You can think that all you want, buddy,” I snapped back. “But it ain’t true. And if you want your product back, you better start cooperating.”

“Hah! So you do have it!” Ryker laughed, thinking he’d just caught me in a lie. But I just smiled and shook my head.

“I don’t have it. Like I told you, those other guys do. But I’d be willing to get it back for you.”

“Oh, you would, huh?”

“Oh one condition.”

“What’s that?”

“You let Bobby go,” I told him. “No penalty. No punishment. You don’t come after him, ask him to work for you or ask him for any favors. He’s out. Plain and simple.”

“That’s it?” Ryker chuckled.

“Well,” I shrugged. “You give me twenty percent of the sale price.”

Ryker didn’t respond immediately. He just looked at me, rubbing his chin with two fingers and twisted his lips. He turned and glanced back at his guys. One of them gave him an almost imperceptible shrug. When he looked back at me, I felt myself start to relax a little.

“Okay, cowboy,” Ryker grinned. “You got yourself a deal.”





11





Bobby