***ZANE’S POV***
I rode to the club anger puffing throw my ears, I had to kick myself to focus on the road, but as I walked into the club, my men knew what was up.
Reaper joins me in my office.
“Boss!” he calls out as I sit on the chair and he closes the door behind me.
I pour half a glass of whiskey and down everything down in one gulp.
“London is a liar. I confronted her, can you fucking believe she was going to run? Something she never does and when I tell her about the money, she tries dodging to the door. Bundles of money fall from her body,” I explain.
I pour another glass of whiskey but I swirl the amber liquid, watching it move from side to side, too fucking weak to drink it.
“That’s dangerous, isn’t it? Tell me you didn’t kill her, boss,” Reaper said his eyes widening.
“Hell no! She is alive. At least, that was how I left her at home, alive and untouched,” I say.
I wasn’t going to count the few spankings she received on her round soft bottom. She deserves that at least for trying to hide the truth from me.
“Do you know who she was giving the money to?” Reaper questions.
I stop short, staring at him.
“I have two suspects, Micah and Michael. Either of them was the person she was giving money to. I want both here,” I grit out.
We hadn’t pursued Michael after the saga at his place, I hadn’t even apologized to him. I never say sorry, and never will I. Especially not to a man.
“Do you think it was Micah?” Reaper asks frowning.
It could be, I just had to force the truth out of his mouth.
“Ruffle him a little bit, I want him here before sunset,” I order.
Taking another gulp of the whiskey, I wave Reaper away. He knows the search for Michael has started back afresh.
He must have gone back to his private life because he thinks that everything has gone back to normal, well, that will be enough reason to take him unaware and bring him in for questions.
*
Two hours later, a bloody Micah is brought in, and a replay of the first night this whole shitty show had started flashes before my eyes.
“Boss, here he is,” Reaper says.
With the way Micah is dressed, it seems like he has been yanked out of bed and brought to face his demise. He is putting on denim blue shorts and a long-sleeved T-shirt. Typical.
“Zane, I don’t have your money yet, and you still have my sister in your care,” he blurts out his eyes looking at the ground.
I notice the way he wouldn’t look at me and I know I have my response already.
“Look at me, you fucker,” I grit out rounding my desk, leaning across it, one leg crossed over the other.
I fold my hands across my chest giving that mean mafia look. If Micah had any wits, he would know not to mess with me in the next minutes__ his answer depended on his next choice of words.
When he hesitates to look at me, Reaper yanks his hair back, forcing him to stare at me. Good.
“You ordered your sister to steal from me,” I say. This wasn’t going to be a fucking question, it was the truth.
“Zane… I… I didn’t, I swear,” he replies begging for his life.
I stride the room in two successful steps and land a blow on his face, careful not to break his nose or remove a tooth.
“You son of a bitch. You lie just like your sister? What piece of trash are you?” I bark out anger flashing behind my eyes.
Micah had blood coming out from his mouth as he opened his mouth to speak. I cut him off when I pull out my Glock from my chest holster.
I saw fear flash between Micah’s eyes. Finally, something that caught his attention.
“One chance, Micah, you don’t get to make an error with your reply. I’ll blow your head off. You don’t want London to be alone in this world do you?” I ask staring at him.
I needed to intimidate Micah to get the reply I wanted. So far, it seems to be working. A small smile creeps the corners of my lips and I wipe it off quickly.
“You can’t kill me, Zane, London will notice and she won’t forgive you,” he says trying to play the mind game.
I play with the trigger of my gun, my eyes on Micah. He cracks first.
“Why am I here, Zane?” he questions.
I repeat the same thing I had said before, making sure he knows I am not bluffing with him.
“You asked London to steal money from me. Yes or No? Mind you, Micah, I already know the response and anything far from what isn’t the truth I know will end you with a hole in your head, and a bullet between your eyes. Dare me,” I blurt out my hand pressing gently on the trigger.
Reaper was still pulling on Micah’s hair making it difficult for the mother fucker to look anywhere but at him.
“Yes,” Micah replies.
His voice was gentle and it felt like a cold bucket of water was dumped on me.
“Respond like the bloody man you are Micah, what did you say?” I yell out my hand not moving away from him.
Micah was terrified enough not to mess around with me. His voice was shaking as he replied honestly to me, that was good, one thing I love was when people feared me.
Now, I had to deal with the fact that he lied to me.
“What shit did you fall into that required you asking London to steal money from me, Micah? You thought I wasn’t going to find out? Is that it? How dumb do you think I am?” he asks him flaring my nostrils.
I had removed the Glock from his face but didn’t return it to its holster, I wanted Micah aware of the fact that his life depended on my mercy. He could as well grovel for it.
“I had some debts I had to pay, Zane. The men were going to come for me if I didn’t return their money. I didn’t want to pawn London again because I had already given her to you. I just thought maybe you had extra cash to spare, I thought you weren’t going to notice,” he confesses.
I felt the urge to punch him until he went unconscious but I kept reminding myself that this bastard was London’s brother, she cares about her and she wouldn’t forgive me if she discovers I killed the only man that she has on earth that is family.
“What did you do?” I ask frowning.
Micah hesitates, he doesn’t even have a chance to reply because I land a second blow on his face.
“Never, I mean never, put London on the line when you get into trouble, if not, I will be the one to kill you before the people you owe can get their grasp on you,” I finish.
Reaper is silent all this while, the stern look on his face is the approval I need.
“I swear Zane, don’t kill me, I will hand you the money when I return the rest of your loan. Also, don’t hurt London, please, this is all my fault, I placed her in this situation,” Micah says.
I feel truly bad for him, but he started this saga, now, I am so intertwined with all the bullshit happening at the club and in my life.
London is the woman I know will be my ruin, but as long as she is still loyal to me, I will stop anything from happening to her.
“I don’t want you sending your sister after me, Micah. Don’t even contact her. If you need anything from her, you pass through me, understood?” I demand my eyes fiercely staring him down.
“Yes, Zane. I promise not to cross paths with you again,” he tells me.
With a nod of the head, Reaper pushes him out of my office, taking him downstairs.
I take my third glass of whiskey and as I stew over it, a knock sounds on the door and Reaper walks right in.
“I don’t need a damn lecture from you, Reaper,” I tell him as I nurse my whiskey. I gulp it down, enjoying it burn down my throat.
“Do you think it is a good idea to leave London alone at home?” Reaper asks.
I think it through for a moment and it makes sense. Throughout the day, London has been home.
“I should go check up on her,” I say as I keep the glass of whiskey on my desk.
As I make it out of the club, Caleb is there on the hood of my car messaging on his phone. Reaper stays to take care of the club.
I hand Caleb the keys and he opens my side of the car before setting down behind the ignition.
As I start the car pulls out, I regret why I hadn’t stretched on the fact that London should have a phone. It annoys me.
When I left the house, we hadn’t concluded on anything, I had left in anger, but I hadn’t slammed the door behind me. I was careful about that.
I release a small sigh, it is frustrating how I will be the irrational one now, especially after hearing what Micah had to say, it terrifies me a lot that one of his contacts will come to London.
I don’t want that to happen, my chest will fucking ripped out of my chest if something ever happens to her. She is turning into my all the time favorite person, I swear, I don’t know what my life would become without her in it__ Sharing it with me.
As Caleb pulls into the parking lot, I open the car, rushing to the house.
“London? Where are you, London?” I call out as I rush to the room slamming the door wide open. It is just as I left it earlier, the bed crumpled up from where I had pulled London to the bed.
Her pleas sound in my head as I make my way to the bathroom opening the stalls. Empty. I frown with anger causing my brows to furrow.
Rushing out of the bathroom, I notice the cash on the floor and my eyes widen on it.
I frown immediately.
I walk to the camera monitor and check it out. I see London on the screen picking one of the wads of cash and leaving not long after I left the house.
London had been gone all fucking day. I need to look for her.
As I pull out my phone, I call Reaper. Meet me at Micah’s house. Bring back up, that mother fucker must have been pulling my leg when he was at the office,” I say as I hurry out of the house.
“Boss!” Caleb says shocked to see me coming with such energy back to the car.
“Take me to Micah’s house. London isn’t home. I swear, if London is there and he knows about it, I will kill him myself. Then, my little London… She wouldn’t know what is coming for her,” I say, letting each word trail out in a menacing manner.
Caleb pulls out of the house and drives towards Micah’s apartment. He leaves in a decent place, not expensive, but filled with thugs like him. He should know to keep them away from me, unless he wants the enter street death by sunset.
“Boss?” Caleb’s voice cut me out of my thoughts.
I swear, if I don’t chill, I will do something stupid.
“Reaper will fill you in on what is happening, but I think London has run away from me,” I say.
That is enough to make him gasp. That would have been my reaction if I wasn’t already seeing red.