“Apologize?” I narrow my eyes.
“I’m still pissed about you and Kiana. Don’t get me wrong. I’m not going to apologize for how I feel about that, but she told me what you did for her … and for Hudson.” His face twists into a look of remorse. “You were there for them when I wasn’t and…”
“I was just trying to help.” I take a sip of my drink. “I didn’t intend for it to lead to what it did. I won’t apologize for it either. I care about your daughter, even if you don’t approve.”
“I just saw… Fuck, man, I just saw my daughter and my best friend. It’s hard for me to look at her and not see the little girl I raised.” He pours himself another drink. “But she’s not a little girl anymore.”
“No.” I look down for a moment. “She’s not.”
“I think I lost my family today.” He tosses back his second drink.
“What do you mean?” I tilt my head in confusion.
“Kiana let Janie and I have it this morning. Guess she got that temper from me.” He sighs. “After Kiana left, Janie told me she wants a divorce.”
“Are you serious?” I blink a couple of times in surprise. “Why?”
“Because I’m a fucking horrible husband and an even worse father.” He shakes his head. “When Hudson got in over his head with all those gambling debts, I took care of them until I was literally bankrupt. I never told Janie that her son might not make it home again—I kept waiting for the phone to ring. I’m a fucking coward.”
“I’m sorry, man.” I take another sip of my drink. “Maybe she’ll forgive you after all of this settles down. I wasn’t trying to cause problems for you. Everything happened so fast…”
“It’s not entirely your fault. I’m the one who fucked up.” He pours himself another drink; he’s going to finish the bottle in an hour at this rate. “Those problems started a long time ago.”
I begin to respond, but my phone buzzes, and I see Kiana’s number on the screen.
“I need to take this.” I make sure Lawson can’t see who is calling.
“No problem. I’m just going to sit here and drink your whiskey. I guess you owe me that much.” He grabs the bottle and sits on the couch.
I have a few thoughts going through my head, but I can’t even begin to process them. I just want to hear Kiana’s voice.
“Kiana!” I answer the phone once I’m sure I’m out of earshot of Lawson.
“No, Bram Ward.” It’s a voice I recognize—a voice that belongs to the guy who approached me in the parking garage. “But she’s here with me right now. Pretty girl…”
“You…” Everything inside me comes unhinged in an instant. “You son of a bitch, this is between Diaz and me! She has nothing to do with it! Your boss sure as fuck likes to remind me that the debt became mine the second we made that deal!”
“Oh, I’m well aware that she has nothing to do it with.” He laughs. “Consider this call some extra incentive to make sure you bring Mr. Diaz his money by the end of the day tomorrow.”
“If you hurt her…” I tense up, and it sends pain shooting through my body.
“I won’t hurt her, Bram Ward. She’s going to enjoy every single thing I do to her tonight.” He laughs again.
I yell obscenities into the phone, but the asshole on the other end hangs up. I might have done a good job of hiding who was calling, but Lawson obviously heard my response. He’s standing behind me when I turn around.
“What was that about?” He knows—or he has some idea at least, but he’s afraid to say it.
“That asshole Diaz!” I throw my phone down. “He has Kiana!”
“I thought you handled that debt…” His face reflects even more confusion.
“I did, but this motherfucker just won’t let it go.” I storm toward my bedroom. “I made a deal with him. He wants the debt paid in full by tomorrow.”
“He took Kiana to make sure that happens…” Lawson fills in the rest.
“Yeah, well, don’t worry.” I grab my .45 ACP and my shotgun. “I’m going to get her right now.”
“Hold on, Bram.” He blocks the door. “Are you sure this is a good idea? I’ve been inside that club—those guys aren’t going to just stand there while you shoot at them. You look like you already lost one fight today…”
“Diaz is expecting me by the end of the day tomorrow.” I pick up some ammo and start shoving it into my pockets. “I’ll make damn sure he doesn’t see me coming.”
“I’m coming with you.” Lawson puts the bottle down.
I knew I wasn’t going in there alone the second I turned around and saw the look on Lawson’s face. I could argue. I could tell him that I can handle this myself. But I won’t. Not when Diaz has his daughter. I’ll be a whole lot better off with him by my side anyway, even if he’s had a few stiff drinks. Hell, that always made him a better shot when we were in the desert anyway.
“What do you want?” I toss the shotgun down and hold up the Glock 19 and .45 ACP.
“That’s all you have?” He appears to be considering the options. “Fuck that, I know where we can get some better options.”
“Where?” I tuck the handguns into the back of my belt and pick up the shotgun.
“Keaton. There’s a reason I hire him every time we have a high-profile client in town—well, used to…” He nods. “He owes us one.”
It wouldn’t be a bad idea to talk to Keaton before we go storming into Diaz’s club anyway, considering who he knows. The De Luca family runs this city, and while Diaz doesn’t have any ties to them, they don’t like it when things get ugly—unless they’re the ones making it get ugly.
We’ll have a lot fewer problems tomorrow if they know what
