Chapter 19
Thorn
"But we still don't know if he's actually in LA or not," Brooks said, while a cigarette dangled from the corner of his lips. I'd arranged for my brothers to meet me at a cafe two blocks from Ensley's apartment. I didn't want to stray too far from her, and the others had reluctantly agreed.
Meeting at a cafe, in an upscale LA neighborhood, wasn't exactly how we rolled. None of the guys knew what to order at this place either. At Dirty Harry's, we were served our usual drinks without asking. Jamison and Beckett ordered espressos, while the rest of us just sat around at the al-fresco table, smoking our cigarettes. Right under a huge sign, that said 'No Smoking.' None of the staff or our fellow customers had come up to ask us to put our cigarettes out yet.
"Yeah, just because he called her on her phone, doesn't mean he's actually in the city," Brooks added, while Topher and I nodded our heads.
Brooks had managed to hack into the NYPD database, to retrieve all the information they had on the asshole. Now, as I looked at the printed out versions of his records, I could see that the guy had several run-ins with the law. He had been arrested for stealing cars and robbing gas stations in the past-general violent behavior. Two women, before Elsey, had made reports of abuse.
I slapped the file of papers down on the table between us and ran a hand through my hair.
"Get his bank account then," I said, looking at Brooks. He was good with computers and was capable of hacking into secure networks online if he put his mind to it.
"What good is that going to do?" Becket asked, and Topher gave him a glare like he was stupid.
"His account activity could tell us if he's in LA or not!" he said and Beckett nodded his head.
"You think you can get that done?" I asked Brooks, and he shrugged his shoulders.
"Shouldn't be hard," he said, and Jamison slapped him on his back.
"You got into NYPD's database, brother," he said, and Brooks nodded his head again.
"Yeah, I'll give it a shot," he added.
"Good," I said, pulling out another cigarette from my pack. "That's the best shot we have right now, to trace the bastard," I said.
Jamison held out a lighter to the end of my cigarette, and I blew a mouthful of smoke into his face, which didn't affect him.
"What's your plan?" he asked me, and I took in the first drag of the cigarette. I had already given the guys a schedule, for who was going to watch over Ensley when. In order for her security detail to be functional and top quality, it was important that we all got enough rest so we could be alert. This wasn't going to be a one-time job; it was going to be a twenty-four-hour task, and I needed everyone to be on top of their game. That was true for me too.
I quickly realized that the more time I spent around Ensley, the more distracted I was going to be. I needed to figure out a way that I could spend some time away from her while keeping an eye on her as well. It was obvious to me that I couldn't do my job well if I were with her all the time.
"I'm going to rent a place close to her," I said, and Jamison's eyes widened.
"You hooking up with her?" he asked, and some of the others exchanged chuckles. There was no point hiding it from my brothers for very long. They had already sniffed out the truth, and the reason for my sudden interest in her.
I shrugged my shoulders instead of answering, and a loud cheer rang out in our group.
"You're tapping that ass!" Brooks accompanied that with a wolf whistle, and I smiled as they continued making jokes.
"About time someone showed her the good life," Beckett added and I held up a hand to shut them up. A couple of minutes was enough. They needed to be set straight.
"She's still paying us," I said, and the others stopped talking. They still had delighted looks on their faces, amused that I was fucking Ensley Adams, but they were also aware of the fact that I was the President of the club now and they needed to shut up when I told them to.
"Here's the thing boys; she's still our client. I'm banging her, but she's paying us to get the job done, and we're going to do it well," I said and crushed the lit cigarette on the ground, stubbing it with my shoe. The others nodded their heads in agreement.
"I'm going to try and trace him through his bank account," Brooks said.
"And we'll take up duty in front of her apartment following your schedule," Topher added, and I nodded my head.
"Good. We'll be in touch. I expect you boys to be on your best behavior around her," I said and stood up from my chair.
"No time for a drink first?" Beckett asked as I started getting ready to leave.
"No time for a drink. We need to sort this shit out first, get paid and move on," I said, and turning from them, I started walking back towards Ensley's apartment building.
Moving on from Ensley and this job; wasn't going to be as easy as I made it appear to my brothers. However, they didn't need to know about my growing attachment towards this woman. For all they were concerned, she was our first new client at this job, and I also happened to be fucking her.
That was all.