Total pages in book: 84
Estimated words: 82715 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 414(@200wpm)___ 331(@250wpm)___ 276(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 82715 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 414(@200wpm)___ 331(@250wpm)___ 276(@300wpm)
We were halfway across the forecourt when I figured it out.
Chapter 10
Michael
I knew the second Emilia saw the douchebag leaning against his car in the forecourt. Her hand jerked in mine, but I was actually kind of impressed that she didn’t stop. She followed me all the way over until we were standing next to my dad, grandpa, Rumi, and Dragon, the club’s president.
“Emilia,” the douche said, standing straighter. “You’re a hard girl to find.”
More than anything, I wished I’d found the fucker first. We’d talked things over almost a week ago, and I’d told her I’d check him out, but shit had been so crazy I hadn’t made the time. I’d barely thought about it.
“What are you doing here, Parker?” Emilia asked through her teeth.
“Funny you should ask,” he said with a laugh. “See, you took off and the next day I found a bunch of money missing from the safe.”
“Bullshit,” she shot back.
My lips twitched. I’d been hoping whatever game he was playing wouldn’t end well for him. The guy was a clown.
“Must not have known my office has cameras,” he said conversationally to my dad.
All the blood left Emilia’s face and whatever smugness I’d been feeling disappeared in an instant. Fuck.
“I didn’t steal your money.”
“Should we watch it?” he asked condescendingly. He reached for his pocket and my hand went instinctively to the small of my back, but all he pulled out was his phone.
“You can watch whatever you want,” Emilia replied. She was so close to my side that I could feel the way she trembled, but she held her head high.
“Okay,” he said with a shrug. He started the video.
“I only took the money you refused to pay me,” she said, her lips barely moving as we watched her unlock the safe and reach inside. “Not a penny more.”
“Huh,” the douchebag muttered. “Looks like more than that.”
“I’d worked twenty-eight hours,” she said, looking at my dad, my grandpa, Dragon. She sounded close to tears, but kept going. “Eighteen dollars an hour. That’s five hundred and four dollars. I took five hundred.”
“Come on, now,” Parker, or whatever the fuck his name was wheedled. “No reason to lie. I’ve got proof here.”
“I didn’t take any more than you owed me.”
“Pay back the five-thousand dollars you took and we can all just walk away from this,” he responded flatly, all emotion gone. There was something in his eyes that I didn’t like. He seemed to enjoy making Emilia nervous, putting her on edge. The fucker was getting off on it.
“Five thousand?” Emilia sputtered, her eyes wide.
“How about you fuck off and run back to Arizona,” my brother snapped. My dad put a hand on his shoulder and Rumi went quiet.
“You only took what was owed to ya?” Dragon asked Emilia.
“I swear,” she answered hoarsely. “I only took five hundred. He actually still owes me four dollars.”
The moment Emilia’s old boss realized that he wasn’t going to get what he’d expected from us, he stepped forward. Every single one of us tensed, but I think I may have been the only one that was hoping he’d actually pull something. From the moment he’d driven up to the clubhouse, I’d been waiting for that particular event. We’d listened to him as he said that Emilia had stolen money from him and he’d been convincing as fuck, but I’d still wanted to get my hands on him. Even while I wondered if she’d lied to me about why she’d left Arizona, I’d known that she hadn’t been lying when she’d mentioned being afraid of him.
It wasn’t until we brought Emilia outside and she’d stared at him in incomprehension that I’d realized we’d been played.
“Sounds like you still owe her four dollars,” Dragon said, his voice hard and quiet. “How about we call it even and we can all just walk away from this.”
Rumi chuckled.
“I’m not leaving without my money,” Parker muttered stubbornly, glaring at Dragon and then Emilia.
“Boy,” grandpa said with a huff. “Are you that stupid?”
“He is,” Emilia mumbled under her breath.
“You ain’t gettin’ shit,” my dad said firmly. Parker jerked back in surprise at the venom in his words. “And in case you were thinkin’ about botherin’ my son and his woman again—don’t. Club’s got a long arm and a long fuckin’ memory.”
“This isn’t over,” Parker blustered, opening his car door. “Cops’ll be real interested.”
“Let me stop you there,” I said through my teeth, making him pause. “You were payin’ Emilia under the table and I’m guessin’ you pay everyone else that way, too. Pretty sure that ain’t exactly legal. Gramps?”
“It sure isn’t,” Gramps muttered, glaring.
He gaped at me like a fish, searching for something to say.
“Don’t fuck with me,” I finished. “You won’t like the result.”
“Parker,” Emilia called as he threw himself into the car. “How did you even find me?”