Chapter Three
Bryce stared across the table at the other man. He was willing to hear him out, but getting involved in police business was out of the question. He’d already been burned once. No chance in hell he was doing that again, especially with a department as corrupt as his old one.
"I'm sure you're aware of the recent movement with Los Malos," Dalton said.
Bryce gave only a short nod in response. “Yeah.”
They were aware of the movement, all right, considering their security firm had bumped up against them several times in the past.
The chaos of the war between the Russian and Irish mafias provided a prime opportunity for Los Malos. With the Russians losing a shipment of guns and then a shipment of drugs, it was an opportunity for Los Malos to step into the game and once again become a player in the city.
From what they had heard, the gang was busy bringing themselves back into the forefront once again. Their numbers were down from their last tangle with the Allens, but even then, their activities were small potatoes compared to the kind of games they were now playing. If the motorcycle gang really wanted to be big dogs, they’d have to make drastic changes. Which is what they’d been doing, if word on the street was correct.
Word had reached the firm that a Los Malos recruitment call had seen a response. They'd even gone so far as to recruit the notorious biker Blitz to help lead them again. He and his gang of criminals were known trouble in the southwest, and it looked like they’d decided to branch out in their area.
If that were the case, it could mean trouble for every person living in the city, judging by what happened the last few times he’d shown up.
"We've been tracking them as well," Dalton said. "Blitz is making a real name for himself in the area, hooking up with local suppliers in such a way that it’s clear he plans on sticking around. And with that comes the chances of a turf war. We’ve already got enough of a mess with the Russians and the Irish, especially with the Irish bringing in reinforcements from out of town.”
Bryce didn't really see how a war was going to be avoided at this point. Too many men with guns and ambition filled the city. It wouldn't be long before more gangs made their way into town vying for the opportunity control of a port city would give them, especially one with local authorities who were so easily corrupted.
“So what does this have to do with me?” Bryce said. It’s not like the police liked to hire subcontractors to do their jobs.
"I have an opportunity to stop a large number of guns from making it into the area,” Dalton said. “I think we can all agree that’s a good thing.”
Bryce raised a brow. Dalton had never been much of an overachiever when it came to his job. It was especially surprising that he would even get the opportunity considering how little he put himself out in the community.
"So why bring it to me instead of the chief?" Bryce said, and took a drink of his beer.
This wasn’t their fucking problem. They were a security firm, not the police backup squad.
“Come on. You of all people should know.” Dalton shook his head. "Too much fucking corruption. Sure, that doesn’t always stop work, but now we have too many in with the Russians. No, if I'm going to do this, it needs to be somebody outside."
Bryce let out a bark of laughter. "And I'm your go-to guy? Someone you let hang when it meant you might be putting yourself out just a little bit? Someone you let those other corrupt bastards take down?" He stared down the other man. “Fuck you. You do the fucking job.”
Dalton leaned in a little, his eyes never wavering from his. "You got a shit job last time, and the higher-ups let you take the fall because they couldn’t look dirty. My going down with you wouldn’t have made shit of a difference. I did what I had to in order to keep my job and make sure this community is safe. You may not believe it, but I do give a fuck, and I’m trying to do what little I can to make sure this place doesn’t turn into a total shithole.”
Reece and Zane continued to watch the conversation unfold in silence. Bryce didn’t expect them to say anything. He knew, when push came to shove, they’d have his back.
Bryce frowned. “You watched out for your own self-interest. You could have told me what was going down and chose not to. You let me take the fall.”
Dalton tossed his hands in the air. “By the time I knew, you were already fucked. My hands were tied.”
“And now?” Bryce raised a brow.
Dalton sighed. “And now the force is so fucking corrupt something has to be done. The chief is leaving, and once he does, we’ll have no one left. We might as well just call ourselves the Russian Mafia Security Force at that point.”
Bryce wasn’t all that surprised. The chief was one of the few that tried to go to bat for him. Not that it had helped. In fact, many of the men had turned their backs on the chief because of it.
“Look,” Dalton said, “wouldn’t it be nice to get a little vengeance on the people who did fuck you over?"
Vengeance. That wasn't something that Bryce thought about often these days. In fact, not at all really.
He’d left the force a broken man. Not really believing in much of anything. Well, until he’d found the Allens and their security firm. The men there had each other’s backs, and they were people he could count on in any situation.
They had been the only saving grace in the whole shitstorm. Well, the Allens and Tanya, but he wasn’t really sure he could count her since she wasn’t his.
Bryce jumped when her warm body came to stand next to him. He had been so lost in his own head he hadn’t even heard her come back.
Tanya leaned her soft arms against his own, and somehow just having her there helped soothe the rage threatening to return.
"That was fun," Tanya said with a laugh.
He could smell the soft notes of whatever floral perfume she was wearing as it wafted to his nose. She always smelled so fucking good. Like soap and sunshine.
"Did you boys make a friend while we were gone?" She winked at Dalton..
Bryce was so distracted by her he didn't even think about the fact that Dalton was still standing there.
The last thing Bryce wanted was an established connection between the two of them, especially in front of someone he didn’t trust, but it seemed it was unavoidable now.
Dalton reached out across the table with his hand. Bryce watched as Tanya slipped her tiny one into his.
"Name’s Dalton. I'm a friend of Bryce."
Tanya smiled at the man across the table. "I'm Tanya," she said. "I’m the sexy babe that does his hair."
He watched as Dalton grinned at her playful nature but still held onto her hand, his fingers caressing hers.
“I can see that,” Dalton said, letting his eyes roll down her exposed body.
Never in his life had Bryce wanted to start a fight over a woman, but just this once he was willing to make an exception.
Unable to contain himself much longer, Bryce reached out and wrapped a hand around her waist. She dropped the other man’s hand and stared at Bryce, surprise on her face. Hell, he was half surprised himself, but relief flooded over him as she moved slightly closer to him.
“She works magic with my hair,” Bryce said.
Dalton looked between the two of them before grinning. “I’ll bet she does.”
Bryce had no right to stake a claim on her, but every instinct in him told him that he needed to.
He ignored his two friends and the other women as they openly stared at him in shock, but he didn’t care. It was done now, and he had his reasons.
"Well, that's unexpected," Dalton said quietly.
Tanya looked between the two of them and frowned a bit. Bryce cleared his throat and shifted away from the beautiful woman, dropping his arm.
"Why don’t we talk more about this tomorrow?" Dalton said. He stared pointedly at Bryce. "I assume your number is still the same."
Bryce scowled at the other man but nodded. He didn't like the idea of being at the mercy of the police again. Not at all.
"Who says I’m interested?"
Dalton gave another small chuckle and shook his head. "You are," he said as he stood from the chair. "You know it's the right thing to do."
The other man moved away from the table. Dalton raised his hand in the air and vanished into the crowd of people on the dance floor.
"That was strange," Tanya said. She bumped his shoulder with her own. "What was that stuff about, doing the right thing?"
Bryce glanced over to the other two men. They tried very hard to keep their families and loved ones as far away from whatever they might be working on for their own safety. It was how they protected them. Although from time to time, they occasionally got pulled into whatever case they might be working, it was really for the best.
Bryce cleared his throat. "Just some business stuff," he said tightly.
Tanya opened her mouth and looked like she might press the issue but closed it after a moment.
He watched as she took a drink off his beer on the table, her throat working as she swallowed. How was swallowing so fucking sexy?
Tanya winked over at him and licked her lips. The movement made his cock leap in his pants once again.
"Thanks,” she said. “I needed that."
Bryce watched as she licked the last drop of beer off her lip and imagined how sweet it would be if she licked him.
He found himself swaying forward and had to stop himself from following through with the action.
"Dance with me,” Reece said.
For a moment, Bryce thought he might have said it without thinking. It'd been on his mind since seeing her on the floor, the idea of their bodies moving together on the dance floor as one. But, no, Reece was talking to Kelly.
Tanya turned and stared across the table at her brother. Kelly also stared back at her in complete shock.
"I…" Kelly began. The other woman looked around to the other people at the table. "I, um, need to use the restroom." She shot up out of her seat and raced towards the bathroom.
Tanya burst out laughing, and it took several moments before she could compose herself. "You are such an idiot." She continued to laugh at her brother’s shocked face across the table.
Bryce watched in silence. He certainly wasn’t a person to say anything about people’s romantic problems.
Reece glared back at Tanya. "What, because I think your friend is hot?"
His question only seemed to bring about more laughter. "Since when do you think Kelly is hot?" She snorted.
Disbelief filled his face. Bryce watched as his friend swiveled his head between his sister and in the direction the woman had just taken off.
"That's not Kelly," he said, his voice full of hesitation, although the look on his face seemed to show he didn't quite believe that. "Kelly has freckles and braces and wears oversize shirts."
This all brought on a new round of laughter from Tanya. "The braces came off four years ago, and I'm sure she still has freckles under her makeup.”
Reece puffed up his chest as if he'd won the war. "Okay, but what about the oversize shirts? No way Kelly would wear something so… revealing."
Tanya seemed to relish her brother’s confusion as she leaned over the table.
"FYI, sometimes women wear baggy clothes to cover developing breasts… in high school. She’s a grown-ass woman now, and she looks great.”
Reece looked like his whole world had just been flipped upside down. "That's Kelly."
He said it more for his own benefit that anyone else. He popped up from his chair and shook his head a few times.
"I'm going to get a beer," Reece mumbled before heading over to the bar.
Bryce watched as Ellen and Zane murmured to one another quietly. From the blush on her cheeks, likely something that couldn’t be said out loud.
Ellen and Zane stood up and made their way onto the dance floor, leaving Tanya alone with Bryce.
Not good. Not good at all.
"So…" Tanya said. “Maybe dancing’s a good idea for everyone?”
She stared over at him expectantly. Christ, he wanted to take her on the dance floor so badly, wanted to press their bodies together. But he also knew why it was a bad idea. He needed to end this before anything happened.
Bryce cleared his throat and stood quickly. The chair behind him scraped loudly on the floor as he put some distance between the two of them.
"I, um, need to get some things done," he said hurriedly. "I'll catch you later or something."
He could see his quick departure was hurting her but didn’t have a choice. If he stayed, they would both end up doing things they would regret.
It wasn't what he wanted. None of this was really what he wanted, but life didn't work out the way that he wanted, and there was no way he was going to drag her into his shithole life.
Hell, Dalton showing up only reinforced that. It’d been years, and he still hadn’t escaped the cloud of his past.
No. Bryce had to protect Tanya.
He quickly made his way through the dance floor but stopped when he heard her call out to him over the loud music.
"Don't forget your hair appointment tomorrow," she said.
He turned and gave a short nod. Getting out of there was his number-one priority. He’d just have to worry about tomorrow when that time came. For now, distance was the only weapon he had.