Holy fucking shit!
He turns away, gritting his teeth, the memory of it all evidently still painful. He inhales another breath, looking back at me. “I may be a lot of things, Brianna, but I will never harm a woman just to prove some kind of fucking point. I came to you because I believe you’re the sensible one of you two.” He leans forward, teeth bearing slightly. “Tell him to back the fuck off. What happened to you has nothing to do with me.” He straightens up, snapping his hat off the counter in the process. I stay still, rooted to my chair, my eyes unblinking. He walks to the door, opens it, and is about to walk through when he hesitates. I can only see his profile, but it’s almost as if he’s having some kind of debate in his head. Whatever the dispute is, it’s decided on an exhale.
“Tell Chris that if he stops looking into my men and concentrates closer to home, he may find who the real culprits were.” And on that last word, he steps out, closing the door behind him like he hadn’t just left a hurricane in his wake.
“Holy shit!” I shout out loud, forgetting where I am.
“What was that all about?”
I almost jump out of my skin when I spot Charlie standing in the doorway. How much of that conversation did he hear?
My heartbeat accelerating even more, I glance around the counter and start messing with some paperwork on it—anything than actually having to look at my boss and outright lie to his face. “Err… it’s nothing. Just… a friend.”
I almost roll my eyes at my stupidity. A friend? Seriously, Bri?!
“Hmm,” I hear him mutter under his breath. “Whatever you say.”
I need to get out of this shop for a moment and call Chris. Without a moment’s notice, I swing my body around to face my boss, noticing his disappearing frame as I do. “Er, Charlie, can I go to the cafe?”
“Yes!” he shouts back.
“Do you want anything?”
“No,” is all he replies.
This is one of those rare moments when I’m so glad Charlie is all too aloof about everything around him. I know he doesn’t ask too many questions because he would hate any in return.
Scrambling off my seat, I grab my phone and some money and rush outside. I’m shaking so bad that I put my PIN in wrong, cursing under my breath. I let out an exasperated groan, managing to somehow pull myself together and type my code in correctly. I find Chris’s number, calling him quickly. He answers after two rings.
“Bri, is everything okay?” The panic in his voice is evident, but that doesn’t surprise me after everything that’s happened.
“I’m fine, but I had a visitor.”
“Who?” His words are clipped and angry.
“Frosty.” I hear his intake of breath but cut him off before he has a chance to speak. “Now, before you go off like a caveman, he only came in to speak with me. He wasn’t threatening in any way. He just wanted to talk. He said you’ve been asking too many questions, harassing his men.”
“Well, if it’s not his men, then who else can it be?” he answers on a growl.
I let out an exhale, closing my eyes. “I think he knows something. He believes we should be looking closer to home, which means he thinks it’s one of your guys.”
“No fucking way. They all know better than to pull a stunt like that.”
I remain quiet for a moment, biting my lip. I must admit, it has crossed my mind that it could be related to the incident at the club, but I’ve refrained from saying anything just in case I’m wrong. No matter how much I hate Brandon, I didn’t want to get him into trouble for something he might not have done.
“Bri, you’ve gone quiet. What is it you’re not telling me?”
I let out another sigh, knowing I have no other choice now. We’ve run out of options. “That night at the club, Brandon got all up in my face. Your other boys stepped in before it got out of hand, but he certainly looked like he wanted to hurt me.”
“Jesus, Bri. Why the fuck didn’t you say anything until now?”
“Because I didn’t want you potentially killing someone who had nothing to do with my attack. Also, I know how much he’s relied upon—regardless of whether he’s an arsehole or not.”
“That doesn’t matter. His kind are a dime a dozen, Bri. I can replace him with a snap of my fingers. You should have fucking told me.”
A headache is starting in the back of my head. I close my eyes, pinching the bridge of my nose. “I know. I’m sorry.”
“You have fuck all to be sorry for. No one else told me either—which I’m going to make damn sure they all know how fucking pissed I am at them for. Anyway, just so you know, whether Brandon’s innocent of attacking you or not, he’s a dead man. No one treats my girl like that and gets away with it.”
I smirk at his hot-headedness. “Chris, I think you should calm down first…”
“This all fucking makes sense now. Brandon hasn’t shown up at the warehouse in a week. He’s still been working for me, but so far, he’s managed to avoid meeting face to face.”
Logic runs through my head, making my skin prickle. “Charlie kicked his arse. There would be evidence of that if you saw him… Shit, is this really just a coincidence?”
I hear his angered exhale. “I don’t believe in fucking coincidences, Bri. I’m thinking it’s time to pay that little fucker a surprise visit.”
My eyes widen with both fear and… excitement. God, I’m fucked up.
“Okay, but remember to get all the facts first before you act. It may not be him.”
I’m clutching at straws, knowing full well that fists will fly before the questions do. I only ask because one day his hot-headedness might end up getting him killed.
“I think both you and I know the answer to that, Bri, but if it makes you feel any better, then yeah, I’ll get all the facts first.” He then sighs exasperatedly before saying, “Are you okay? I can come pick you up.”
“I’m fine. No need to pick me up,” I answer, knowing full well he’s most probably on his way to see Brandon already. “Oh, and while we’re on the subject, Charlie said he would make sure I get home safely whenever you couldn’t.”
“Well, that’s very noble of the ninja gay man.”
I almost choke on my own spit. “Ninja what?”
“Listen, jokes aside, I have to go.” I’m about to tell him to be careful because I know for a fact he’s going to go apeshit on Brandon, but like a mind reader, he speaks again. “Don’t worry, I already told you I’m not going to come in hard at Brandon until I know the facts. The first thing I’m going to do is try and find him to see if he’s been beat up lately.”
I sigh my relief. At least he’s thinking logically.
“That’s a good start.”
“You’re seriously okay after that Frosty arsehole…?”
“Chris, I’m fine. I already told you he just wanted to talk. I even believe he wanted to help too. He told me his sister was gang raped when he was younger. I think it affected him enough to come to me and let me know that we’re looking in the wrong direction.”
“As long as you’re okay. I’m going to take a look into this now. We have a shipment coming in later tonight and there’s a fucking storm coming. Talking of which, I think it’s supposed to start by four, so you may want to ask Charlie if you can leave early. Let me know, and I’ll pick you up.”