Chapter Eleven
The sound of voices, plus the unmistakable smell of eggs and bacon roused Rai from her sleep. One of the voices belonged to Tannin, and the other two she recognized after a few seconds. Vassago and Gorgon. She opened her eyes, but they were sitting across the room and she wouldn’t be able to see them unless she turned her head.
A comforter still covered her naked body. At least he’d left it on her, although the smell of food would soon drive her from under it. Should she say something? Let them know she was awake?
“That smells delicious.”
“Glad you’re awake,” said Tannin. Rai rolled over to watch him cross the room. He handed her a robe he must have taken from one of her bags, because it was hers. “Come and join us. We have news for you.”
“What kind of news?”
“Good news. Get up.”
Did he expect her to put this on with Vassago and Gorgon watching? Apparently so, because he stood there waiting. From across the room, Gorgon and Vassago eyed her with both amusement and anticipation. What the hell had she landed in here?
Rai sighed loudly, sat up, letting the comforter fall, and put on the robe. She kept her gaze on Tannin’s face as she did. It was obvious he enjoyed this, though she wasn’t sure why. Was he proud of her and the fact that he’d seduced her, or did he get a kick out of her reluctance and embarrassment?
As she stood, she pulled the robe across her lower body, but was quite certain all three men got a nice crotch shot for a second or two. “I’ll be right back.”
Without waiting for his response, Rai forced her feet to walk at a normal pace into the bathroom. Once inside, she turned on the faucet to drown out any laughter or voices from the bedroom. He’d said she’d need to get used to a few things if she stayed here. What an understatement. But what would have happened if she’d simply kept driving instead? Would she be dead by now because of a boneheaded mistake like leaving her phone on?
Even though she was safe here, what the hell was she supposed to do now? If she turned the phone back on, she risked being found. It wasn’t only her life in danger. She’d involved everyone at this club, not to mention her staff.
After taking care of her needs, she longed for a quick shower, but didn’t want all the food to be gone once she emerged. They might not wait for her. Which left her with no choice but to go back into the room, and eat breakfast with three men while reeking of sex.
Dear God. She really had fucked Tannin last night. Was it morning? No. She’d have noticed sunlight through the windows. What time was it? When she went back into the room, instead of joining them right away, she glanced around for a clock. There it was. Two-forty-five. Even on a Friday night, or rather a Saturday morning, she’d definitely be asleep right now. Of course, she’d never had such a wild night of sex. As the memories crept back in, Rai’s pussy tingled.
“Come and eat,” said Tannin. “We need to talk.”
“What’s going on?” She took the seat next to Tannin and filled her plate as hunger won out over the trepidation that had creeped into her consciousness.
“I spoke with Donny Messina a short while ago,” said Vassago. “Without going into details, our club has had dealings before with Vito Cinquepalmi. We kickback proceeds from this place to Donny for his protection, and he keeps the local sheriff’s office off our backs. We still occasionally have trouble from an MC called Outlaw Dogs. They have a place not too far away, on State Route 58 between Creek Ridge and Oberlin.”
“What kind of trouble?”
“Turf war stuff. They want in on our club because it’s profitable.”
“Do they have a club as well? I mean a strip club, not a motorcycle club.”
“No. They deal in other things.”
Meaning illegal things. Rai nodded while she chewed.
“They like to stir shit up for no other reason than they’re assholes,” said Gorgon. “And because we had some serious trouble with a couple of their members years ago. Let’s just say they were plants and leave it at that.”
“Sounds like a musical.”
“Excuse me?” Tannin gave her an incredulous look before he exchanged the same one with Vassago and Gorgon.
“West Side Story. Jets and Sharks.”
Tannin chuckled, but Gorgon and Vassago were not amused. “Rai, I’m sure you find that funny, but it’s not,” said Gorgon. “We take this very seriously. This establishment is our only source of income. Some MCs are into illegal shit but not us.”
“You’re right. I’m sorry. I won’t make a reference like that again. But may I ask a question? I’ve been curious about the name, Scotty’s Place. Is Scotty one of the club members?”
Sadness, anger, and reluctance settled over all three men. Even the air in the room changed. She put down her fork. “Hey, forget it. I didn’t mean to pry.”
“No,” said Gorgon. “It’s cool. You couldn’t have known.” He cut his gaze for a split second toward Tannin, and Rai swore Tannin returned a look of gratitude. “Scotty was my older brother. He and Tannin grew up together and were best friends since kindergarten.”
Gorgon ran a hand over his face. “When he and Tannin were high school seniors, a fire burned down our old compound. Scotty and my parents died in the fire.”
No one spoke for long moments. Tannin’s gaze was glued to the plate in front of him, as was Vassago’s. Only Gorgon kept his eyes on her face. “I am so sorry.” She hated to ask, but the silence was worse. “Was it the Outlaw Dogs who set the fire?”
“No.” Gorgon cut his gaze toward Tannin, who finally met Rai’s eyes.
“It was my father,” said Tannin. “Or, rather, men who worked for him. My real name is Sterling Tanner.”
Holy. Fuck. “T-Tanner, as in Tanner Enterprises? That Sterling Tanner?”
“Yes.”
No wonder he hadn’t told her earlier. Rai swallowed hard and pushed away her plate. Her appetite was gone. “Your father is still CEO. That’s him, right? Preston Tanner.”
“Yes.” His voice—that same sexy voice that had seduced her—was totally devoid of emotion. The defeat on his rugged face was horrible. All Rai wanted to do was hold him, and tell him it would be okay.
“If you know he had it set, why isn’t he behind bars?”
Tannin’s short laugh was not jovial. “You think the Mob is tight? No one can touch him, Rai. Or the men he paid to do it. That’s why I walked away and I’ve never looked back.”
Of all the things he could have told her about his past, this was something she’d never have pictured. But it did explain why he was so different from the others, why he recognized a Gucci wallet, and why his speech was so cultivated at times.
“Gorgon said you and Scotty grew up together?”
“Yes. My parents did not approve.”
She glanced toward Gorgon and Vassago. “So, you had another building where you all lived?”
Gorgon nodded. “On this same land, yes. But that was before we had the strip club. Back then, we were the same as the Outlaw Dogs. Into illegal shit. After Scotty and my parents died, everything changed.”
“None of my business, but how did you come up with the capital to build this place?”
“My trust fund,” said Tannin. “And a few very lucky investments.”
Had she heard him correctly? “You funded this place?”
“Yes, on the condition we no longer deal in drugs or gambling. The remaining Brothers were more than happy to strike that deal.”
Remaining Brothers? “Did others die in the fire?”
“We lost a dozen members in all,” said Vassago.
“I can’t believe no one was brought up on charges for this. That isn’t right by any stretch of the imagination.”
“We agree with you,” said Tannin, “but it will never happen.”
“So your father just walks away?”
“Not really. He has no heir to take over the business. I’m an only child, and his brother died two years ago. My aunt and uncle only had one child, and my aunt has no interest in taking over the company. It will pass to my cousin, Benton, who has about as good a head for business as a cabbage does.”
“But doesn’t this eat at you?”
“Every day of my life.”
“And ours,” said Gorgon. “It’s why we’re so protective of our place, and of each other. Why we don’t trust strangers, and why we don’t want anyone bringing trouble in here.”
“How did you get involved with Donny Messina? Was that because of the fire?”
“No,” said Tannin. “That came later, after the trouble with the Outlaw Dogs and Vito Cinquepalmi.”
“Club business,” said Vassago, his voice hard. “Nothing you need to worry about.”
Which was a polite way of saying they weren’t going to tell her. “Thank you for telling me this much. You said you had news for me?”
“Yeah,” said Vassago, “we do. Vito knows you ran, but not where you are. He didn’t trace your phone, but Donny advises you not to turn it back on, just in case. The FBI contacted your attorneys, and they in turn contacted your staff. They’re all safe, for now, but we have to assume Vito will target them in an effort to get to you.”
Fuck. Rai ran a hand through her hair. “That’s exactly what I was afraid of. Tiffany, especially. She has three kids in middle school. What can I do? I have to do something.”
“Donny suggests you keep in touch with one of the attorneys, who will then keep in touch with him as a go-between.”
“Keep in touch how?”
“Email. But don’t access your company’s email to do it, in case they hack into it at some point.”
“Christ. If they can do that, they can access everything.”
“Donny said there is no reason to think they have done that. It’s only a precaution. Do you have a personal email address you can use? One that no one would know about?”
“No, but it’s easy enough to set up a new one. I’ll email Russell Campbell from it and tell him it’s me. And hope it doesn’t go to his spam box.”
“If you give me the address, I’ll make sure Donny passes it on to Russell.”
“Can I ask how in the world Donny Messina got in contact with the firm of Campbell, Pennington, and Krucinski in the first place?”
Vassago grinned. “A man like Donny has contacts everywhere. He knows someone at the FBI who got him in touch with the SAIC, and in turn with your attorney firm. By the way, smart move not firing that firm.”
“I stalled it, giving Vito bullshit excuses.”
“It was a good move,” said Tannin. “You’re a smart businesswoman, Rai.”
She stared into his ice blue eyes for a long time, wishing there was something she could do to bring his horrible father to justice. “Not smart enough to not get fooled by a Mob boss.”
Tannin covered her hand with his, and the touch sent shivers down her spine. “You’re also a trusting person. Otherwise, he never would have been able to infiltrate your company to that extent.”
Yes, she was a trusting person, but trust had nothing to do with this. She’d been eager, and Vito had taken advantage of that. He had no clue how much she mistrusted personal relationships. She’d let him in further than anyone since Ronnie.
“Is there anything I can do to secure my company records?”
“Make sure you tell Russell your concerns about that,” said Vassago. “Let your attorneys and the FBI give you guidance on that.”
She glanced from Vassago to the other two. “I am so sorry about all this.”
“Don’t be,” said Gorgon. “This might work in our favor, too. If Vito goes down, it will be revenge for us.”
“It was fate you came here,” said Tannin.
“It was fate you pulled up behind me in your truck on 113, or I never would have stopped here.”
They stared into each other’s eyes a long time, unless Gorgon cleared his throat. “That’s all we have for now.”
“Thank you again.” It was good to know she could trust these men. At least she hadn’t fucked up in doing that. At least she hadn’t fucked up in trusting Tannin out in the parking lot.