Chapter Nine
“All the money came from one bet. Louis Saint,” Paul said.
Dawg listened to his brother as he stood back inside the gym going through old betting tickets and notes that Ortiz had left out for him to go through.
“So this was more than two fighters getting greedy?”
“Yes. Louis Saint has been all mouth, and not a lot of fist, for a long time. He’s got a few women on the streets, and he’s tried to poach from us before.”
Dawg was aware of who Louis Saint was. He made it his business to know the men who thought they could take what was rightly his. The city had been his for a long time, and their father’s before them. He had no intention of ever giving it back.
Investment was the key, and he had a lot of high people in his pocket. He made shit happen for them, and in doing so, they looked the other way.
“So for nearly a month Louis has been placing high bets and getting the money as the men threw each fight,” Dawg said, sitting back in his chair.
He grabbed the little stress ball he saw on Ortiz’s desk, and squeezed it.
Staring past his brother’s shoulder at the clock, he began to think. Lori would be getting home soon, but he didn’t mind that. Several of his men were always near wherever she was.
Not only did he have a guard within the building who shadowed her, he made sure men were on the street, always there.
Louis Saint was nothing but a small fish in a pond full of sharks, but he didn’t understand what he got from this besides money.
“Bring Ortiz in here,” he said.
Paul left to grab the man, who was helping a little kid to fight.
Kids, he wanted a bunch of them.
Even though his profession always left a lot to be desired, he happened to love kids, and donated a great deal of money to the orphanages, and several children’s charities. He wondered if Lori wanted kids.
Pushing those thoughts aside, he focused on the man that entered the office.
“Were those two dumb fucks ever allowed in this office?” Dawg asked.
“The office is always open to the fighters to get whatever they need.”
Dawg tapped his fingers on the desk. “And you’re not here all the time?”
“No. Training is always happening. You said to make sure they had access to this place at all times.”
“What are you thinking, Dawg?” Paul asked.
He squeezed the ball even tighter. “If this office wasn’t closed and locked when you left, and any of the fighters could come in, it means Louis could come in.”
“What does he have to gain by coming in here?” Paul asked.
Dawg stood up, holding up the book. “If he’s ever gotten hold of this, it would be really simple to swipe it and take a nice, long look at the figures. Those men were not in our pocket. They were earning money, but they were also getting it elsewhere. He saw the book. He knew what kind of money we make here, and what the fights bring in. Just by throwing a few fights, he was bringing in five figures.” He dropped the book to the desk.
“I always put that book away, Dawg. It’s always locked up tight.”
“Put it away.”
Ortiz grabbed the book and stashed it away in a filing cabinet with a lock and key.
Dawg moved toward the filing cabinet, and with a few quick touches, the filing cabinet became loose and the drawer sprang open. “He took the book, looked it over, and placed it back.”
“He sneaked up behind us,” Paul said.
“I want all the men out,” Dawg said. “Take a few days.”
“What are you going to do?” Paul asked.
“Ortiz, I’m not impressed. We’ll talk about this later.”
He knew Ortiz was loyal to him, and he trusted the man. What this showed him was that Ortiz put his faith in the men he trained, and that was dangerous.
Leaving the gym, he let Ortiz and a few of his men clean up the place.
Climbing into his car, Dawg turned over the ignition as Paul joined him in the passenger side. “Are you going to tell me what the big old plan is?”
“Simple. I’m going to put security cameras everywhere. He won’t be able to take a piss without me knowing about it. I want to know his every move. Get my guy that has been following him. I want to know what he’s been up to.”
Pulling away from the gym, he made his way toward his home, and saw one of the guys that tailed Lori was already there.
Paul followed him into the house, going straight to his study. He went to find Lori. He wanted her against him.
He found her in the garden, taking a swim in the pool.
“You having fun?” he asked.
She gasped and stood up. “You scared me.”
“I didn’t expect to find you here,” he said, crouching near the edge of the pool. She moved toward the side and smiled.
“I like that I can still surprise you. Did you have a good day?”
“It’s getting better. You saw the bikini I left out for you.”
“It’s a bit revealing, but yeah, I saw it.”
He winked at her.
“I saw my father today,” she said.
“You did.”
She nodded. “I … I told him not to come and see me anymore. I actually threatened him with you.”
This did surprise him. “You did?”
“Yes, I don’t … want to deal with him anymore. I’m done playing his games and trying to fix him. I’ve done enough.”
She ran her hands over her face.
“I’m releasing you from your contract.”
“What?”
“I don’t want you to be here because I order it, Lori. I want you to be here because you want it.”
****
Those were words Lori always wanted to hear. She’d not wanted to be bound by any contract, and yet hearing his words that released her, she felt sad.
“You release me?” she asked.
“Yes. I want you to be here with me.”
Now that made her … happier. “You don’t want me to leave?”
She watched Dawg look away, and she saw the control he was showing her. “I don’t want you to leave, Lori.”
Biting her lip, she tried not to smile.
Pushing herself up and out of the water, she grabbed his jacket and yanked him into the pool.
He broke the surface and she giggled, wrapping her arms around his neck, not caring that his guards could see them.
“Well, then you’re going to have to get used to having me around.” She held onto him tightly. “I don’t want to leave.”
His hands gripped her ass, and he held her tightly.
“You’re going to stay?”
“Well, besides the fact I’ve got nowhere else to go, there’s also the little problem that I don’t want to go anywhere else. I happen to like you, Mr. Hampshire.” She pulled his head down for a kiss.
The moment his lips touched hers, she felt like all of her worries had finally left her. She only ever needed to worry about him.
“I’ll take care of you, Lori,” he said.
“I still want to work.” She whispered the words against his lips. “I’m not a kept woman.”
“I didn’t expect anything else. You work for your keep. Be careful, I’ll start taking rent from you.”
She giggled.
“Did he upset you?” Dawg asked.
She kept her arms around his neck, not wanting to let him go. “Yes and no.”
“Do you want me to kill him?” he asked.
Lori shook her head. “No, not kill him. At least not yet.” She chuckled. “He’s still my dad. I just … I don’t want anything to do with him.”
“That’s fine. I’m not going to judge you.”
She looked at his neck, his pulse slowly beating against it. “When I needed him most, he was there,” she said. “That one time with that guy.”
“He’s still your father, and even when we have shitty ones, we still need it.”
“Did you love your dad?” she asked. “You don’t talk about your parents.”
“They both were killed. Erm, it’s hard to really say. My mom was fantastic. She hated this life, but she dealt with it, and she always did it like she was royalty. Always had her head held high, and never let anyone tell her she was wrong or anything. My dad is difficult to say. He had to make his sons hard and tough. There were times I was sure he hated our training, ready to take over, but he did it. He had no choice.”
“You look so sad.”
“I don’t know what I’ll do when I have a son. This life, it’s not for the faint-hearted.”
“You’re the head of your crime thing, right?”
“Yes.”
“Why not Paul?” she asked.
“He’s my baby brother, and he doesn’t have what it takes to lead,” he said.
This was the most they’d ever talked about his life and what he did.
“I want to try,” she said.
“Try what?”
“I want to try and understand everything that you do. I can’t say that I’ll ever accept it, but I won’t ever judge you,” she said.
This was a giant leap, but August’s words kept repeating in her head. Going over and over, and even though she hated what Dawg stood for, she also knew he wasn’t a bad man. People respected him, and he had a lot of men working for him as well. She seen the pride they all showed, and none of them looked like they were there out of force.
He pushed some of her hair off her shoulder. “You want to give this a real shot?”
“Yes. I want to give us and this a real shot. No father and no contract. Just the two of us. Dependent on each other.”
“Okay, well, I can say that before we move on to that, then you’ve got to wear my ring.”
She frowned. “Wear your ring?”
He released her and reached into his jacket pocket.
Dawg showed her the ring, and her heart began to pound. It was an engagement ring, and her mouth went dry.
“You’re proposing?” she asked.
“Lori, I’ve wanted you for a long time, and I’ve been patient. I know you couldn’t accept me easily, and I didn’t want you to. I want to marry you. Be your husband, and be the rock that you’ve been looking for.” He held her hand, and she didn’t fight him as he slid the ring on her finger.
It fit perfectly.
“I think it’s safe to say you were always meant to be mine.” He kissed her lips. “I hope you’ll say yes.”
She stared at him for the longest time. “Do you love me?” she asked.
“Yes.” He didn’t even hesitate. “Do you love me?”
“Yes.” Nor did she.
“Then how about you tell me what your answer is?”
“Yes, I’ll marry you.”
He pulled her close into his arms.
His lips slammed down on hers. She held him tightly together, and she wasn’t afraid. She loved this man, and even though his proposal surprised her, she was so happy. Gloriously happy. She couldn’t remember a time she’d ever been more so.
“I hear congratulations are in order,” Paul said.
She pulled away and smiled over at the other man. “Thank you.”
“You really want to marry him?”
She nodded her head. “Yes, I really do.”
“Paul, don’t start making her think she’s got any chance to doubt this. I love her.”
“I know you do, brother.”
She looked at Dawg and knew she’d made the right decision. No matter what, she was never going to regret this moment, not ever.