Chapter 4

FOUR

SMOKE

Kelly: You can’t possibly really believe that DC is better than Marvel.

Me: I don’t know…

Kelly: You kill me!

I smile and bite my lip. She’s so easy to rile up, and every time I do it, I fall a little deeper for her.

Me: Baby, I’ll give you the sweetest death you’ll ever know over and over again.

Kelly: Jax! You can’t say stuff like that when I’m at work.

Me: Tell me, are your panties wet just thinking about it?

Kelly: Goodbye…

Me: Later, dollface.

Smiling, I slip my phone back into my pocket.

“You are so far gone for her.”

I look over at Gunner and shake my head. “She was an unexpected surprise for sure, but I ain’t mad about it.”

“I wouldn’t be either, man.” He groans as he pushes off the wall and raises his arms above his head, stretching. “I wish this guy would just show up already so we can get this over with.”

“You and me both.”

We’re waiting for our contact to show up so we can discuss setting up shop to help them run guns and drugs in the area. Unfortunately for us, they gave us a two-hour time frame instead of a specific time. We’ve only been out here for thirty minutes, fifteen minutes ahead of the window, and I can already smell myself from sweating so much.

Grimacing, I roll my shoulders, trying to dislodge my wet shirt from my back.

“It’s not going to work.” Gunner chuckles, noticing my struggle.

“And I thought Boston was hot,” I mutter.

“Different type of heat, that’s for sure.” He pauses. “Have you talked to him?”

Him being my brother, Ghost.

“Not yet.”

“So he doesn’t know that we’re setting up shop yet?”

“He will when I’m ready to tell him.”

Gunner grunts but keeps his mouth shut. He’s seen firsthand how shit’s always been between Ghost and me. We’re just two different people who want the same thing and clash because of it. He has his way of doing things, and I have mine.

“You guys have fun last night?” I ask.

“Yeah, we went out and played some pool and had a couple of cold ones. Found some girls to keep us company. I swear Bear kept me up half the night trying to bang the woman he brought back to the hotel through the wall.”

I chuckle, shaking my head. “You know he has a thing for pounding women into drywall.”

Back in Boston, Bear had to change rooms at the clubhouse so he was on an exterior wall and was told he could only fuck against that one. Don’t get me wrong, I love a good wall fuck, but I don’t know what the guy has against a good bed.

“You know, once we close on the shop, we’re going to have to find some sweetbutts to do their thing.”

I groan, shit. I hadn’t even thought about that.

Finding good sweetbutts who know their place are hard to find, and it’s not like you can take out an ad in the paper to find them either.

“Just another thing to add to my to-do list.” I sigh.

“There is one bright side to it, though.”

“Oh yeah, what’s that?”

Gunner smirks. “The girls will be new and won’t have any history with you, giving your girl no reason to be jealous.”

I smile as I try to picture Kelly being jealous. “Thank God for small favors.”

The sound of tires on gravel has us standing up straight. We watch as a black Range Rover pulls to a stop in front of us.

The driver and passenger get out of the vehicle, while the man from the passenger seat moves to the back door and opens it.

“Fuckin suits,” Gunner says under his breath as we watch a man in black slacks and black dress shoes step out of the car.

His guards walk ahead of him, blocking him from view until they stop in front of us. Even then, the man stands one step behind them. I’ve heard a lot of stories about Javier Medina, the head of the Medina Cartel, and I never took him to be one who hides behind his underlings, but I guess one can never be too careful.

“You must be Smoke,” he says as he eyes me.

“I am, Mr. Medina.”

He makes no move to shake my hand, so I don’t bother offering. Men like him often look down at men like me and only want us to do their grunt work.

“I apologize for their presence, but you know security can’t be helped sometimes. Especially when meeting new friends,” he says, waving at his men.

I nod and offer him a fake smile. “Of course.”

“Tell me, Smoke, do you need false platitudes or can we skip over the small talk and get down to details?”

“Let’s get to it,” I tell him.

“Very good.”

His teeth are so white when he smiles that they are hard to look at. Fucking pretentious prick.

“I’ve heard that you have a history of guns and drugs, yes?” he asks.

“We do.”

“With your old club, you never had a run go wrong either?”

I shake my head. “Never.”

“Do you think you would have the same luck here?”

“When we left our old club, we took our road captain with us. I have all the faith that we can make the same kind of magic happen here that we did there. Just tell us what you want moved and when, and we will make it happen.”

He chuckles and points at me. “I like your confidence. Here’s the offer, you’ll get between two and five thousand for every successful run, depending on the size.” Before I can comment on the price, he raises a hand. “Now I know that’s lowballing, but this would be for a ninety-day test period, and then the price will go up. I’m sure you understand.”

My jaw clenches as I think it over. It’s pennies. Mere fucking pennies.

“And how do I know you’ll hold up your end of the deal and raise our cut after ninety days?”

He flashes those pearly whites toward me. “You’ll just have to trust me until we get a contract put together. Do we have a deal?”

I don’t like it, but if the rumors are true, he’s a man of his word and pays well.

I take a deep breath. “We have a deal.”

Stepping forward, he reaches out before any of us can react and grabs ahold of my hand, shaking it with a sinister smile.

“Don’t let me down, Smoke,” he says before turning away. Then he calls over his shoulder, “I’ll be in touch.”

His guards walk backward, keeping an eye on us until they get into their car and take off.

“That’s a low price,” Gunner says.

“I know, but we can deal with it for ninety days,” I say as I rub a hand over my tired face. “Let’s get out of here, I have things I want to do.”

Wordlessly, Gunner and I walk back to our bikes and get out.

“You know, I have a good feeling that this is all going to work out,” Gunner says.

“Yeah?”

“Yeah, I do. And Smoke…” He waits until I look over at him before continuing. “Happiness looks good on you, brother. I’m glad I’m here to see it.”

“Me too, man. Me too.”

Kelly

Still riding the high from my morning talk with Jax, I get to work, filing papers and answering phones. Once I have a free minute to myself, I decide to pull up Jax’s paperwork to see if it’s been accepted or not yet. I know it hasn’t been long, but I’m starting to get antsy. I just want it to be accepted, not only for me but for Jax.

“Kelly,” Barry says, coming into the room.

Quickly, I close out of the page before I can get a good look.

“Yes?” I ask, offering him a friendly smile.

Barry sits on the edge of my desk and crowds me. “You left the office the other day with that biker. Don’t you know that wasn’t very safe?”

“I did, and I was safe. He never once made me feel uncomfortable. He was nice.”

Unlike you, I say silently in my head.

“We both know that men like that aren’t nice. Although I heard you put in an offer on behalf of him the other day.”

“I did.”

He sighs. “Kelly, Kelly, Kelly…you really shouldn’t have. You don’t know what you’re doing, dear, and this isn’t the job to start with. You should really hand it over to me to take care of. Don’t you want him getting the best care possible?”

“I do, and he thinks that’s me.”

Barry shakes his head and looks at me with pity. “But we both know you’re not the agent he needs, don’t we? Now be a good girl and convince him to switch to a real agent. It’s nothing personal, you understand?”

I open my mouth, but nothing comes out as self-doubt sets in.

Barry takes my silence as acceptance and walks away, thinking he won.

He’s not wrong, though. I don’t know what I’m doing. I’ve never closed on a real deal before, but I know how it works.

Jax believes in you , a little voice in the back of my head whispers.

The phone rings, and I answer it absentmindedly. “Hello, Pensacola Realty Company, this is Kelly speaking, how can I direct your call?”

“Hi Kelly, this is Beth-Ann from Mercer Realty. I was calling about the commercial property you submitted a bid for the other day.”

I perk up in my chair and lean forward. “Yes, of course.”

“Well, I have good news. My client accepted your client’s offer, and they are willing to do a fast closing as well.”

Relief surges through me.

“That’s great. My client is going to be thrilled,” I tell her as I try to fight back the tears.

I did it. I really did it.

Beth-Ann rambles on and tells me she’s going to send me an email with all the details and hangs up. I put the phone down and rest my face in my palms as I rest my elbows on my desk.

Holy shit. I did it. I can’t believe it. I sold my first building.

Granted, the sale hasn’t gone through yet, but I know there won’t be any hiccups and it will go through without a hitch.

My phone rings, making me jump. Leaning down, I grab it from inside my purse, under my desk. Jax’s name flashes across the screen.

“Did you know I was just thinking about you?” I tease.

Even through the phone, Jax’s chuckle makes goose bumps break out along my skin.

“I like that you were thinking of me.”

I hum. “What can I do for you?”

“I was wondering if you had any plans tonight?”

“I don’t know, you tell me.”

“You do,” he says confidently.

“Then what are we doing?”

“The boys want to get together and grill up some shit. I figured I’d swing by, take you for a little ride, and then go meet up with them. Introduce you to my boys.”

I smile, even though he can’t see me. “You want to introduce me to your friends?”

“You know I do, dollface.”

“I like that,” I tell him, touching my warm cheeks.

“Good. Now tell me, what time do you get off work? I’ll meet you at your place.” His voice is like velvet through the phone.

“I get off today at four, so I should be home today around four thirty,” I say, deciding then I would take a rideshare.

“That’s too far away, but I’ll take it,” he grumbles.

I laugh, rolling my eyes. “I think you’ll survive.”

“Will I, though? It’s been too long since I’ve held you.”

I bite my lip and shake my head. This man. There isn’t anyone else like him, and I love it.

“You there?” he asks, pulling me out of my head.

“I am and actually, I was getting ready to call you when you called me.”

“Missed me too, huh?” he says confidently.

“I do, but I was going to call for a different reason.”

“Well then, don’t leave me hanging, dollface. What’s up?”

Every time he calls me that, it’s like another chink in my armor falling for him. Soon, I won’t have anything left.

“I just got off the phone with the realtor for the property you want. The owners accepted your bid.” I barely withhold my squeal.

Over the line, I hear him suck in a breath. “Did they now…”

“They did. Congratulations, Jax,” I say softly.

“Thanks, dollface. I couldn’t have done it without you.”

“You could have.”

“Nah, don’t sell yourself short. You found it and presented it to me, you filed the papers. Own that shit, you hear me?”

“Yes, sir,” I say quietly.

“Sir, she calls me fucking sir over the goddamn phone when I can’t do anything about it,” he grumbles, making me smile.

“Maybe you can later tonight,” I tease, making him groan.

“You’re the devil, woman, you know that?”

I cover my mouth, trying to hide my smile from anyone who might see. “I’m pretty sure you’re the only one who thinks that.”

“Get your pretty ass back to work. I’ll pick you up in a few hours.”

“Okay, bye, Jax,” I say before hanging up.

Dropping my phone back into my purse, I smile.

I might have been doubting myself before Beth-Ann called when Barry was in the room, but I don’t anymore.

I just got my first acceptance on a property, and I have a man who not only wants me but believes in me, and that’s enough.