MONICA’S SCENT WAS still on me when I hit the highway and felt the wind on my face. The fact Monica didn’t ask for my help was motivation to give it. If she was playing me, she would have asked for more than just a kiss and a promise to return when I left her house. I didn’t tell her where I was going. She didn’t need to know what I was going to do and she certainly didn’t need to know I was going to ask Walter Grant for my old job back.
I turned my motorcycle into the parking lot of the club he owned and it was pretty clear that something had changed. There was an armed guard at the door and a line of black sedans parked out front next to several black SUVs. He had upgraded his business significantly if he needed that many people on his payroll and an armed guard at the door. The guard stared at me as I got off of my motorcycle and approached the door. He took a step forward and let his hand rest on his gun for a moment as he held up his other hand to motion for me to stop.
“Who are you and why are you here?” His eyebrows came together and he stared at me with a fair bit of intensity.
“I’m here to see Walter Grant.” I took a step closer and the man stepped back, unlatching the strap holding his gun in the holster.
“Mr. Grant isn’t seeing visitors right now.” His hand seemed to have a nervous tick as it stayed pressed against the metal. “If you need a loan, you’ll have to make an appointment.”
An appointment? Nobody has ever needed an appointment to see Walter Grant.
“Tell him Grady Faulkner is here to see him and I don’t need a loan.” I took a step back, which seemed to make the guard relax.
“Grady Faulkner.” The guard tapped the door and spoke to someone on the other side. “He’s here to see Mr. Grant.”
“One second.” There was a muffled voice on the other side of the door.
“So what’s going on here? Did he open a casino or something?” I looked out at the line of cars and back to the guard, but he didn’t respond.
“Mr. Grant will see him.” The door swung open and I saw another armed guard on the opposite side of the door.
“Nice to meet you...” I glared at the guard as I stepped into the club.
“Grady!” Walter walked towards me with his arms extended. “How long has it been? A year? Two?”
“Yeah, about that.” I nodded. “You stopped calling me.”
“Eh, business was slow. Let’s get a drink.” He put a hand on my shoulder and motioned towards the bar.
“Business looks like it has picked up now.” My eyes darted around the club and they stopped when I saw the man who was at Monica’s house the night before.
“It has!” He sat down on a barstool and the bartender immediately put two beers in front of us.
“Mr. Grant.” The man I had seen the night before walked over and leaned down, whispering something in the old man’s ear.
“Oh.” Walter’s eyes got wide. “I see. Grady, I hear you’ve already met my associate, Ray Stone.”
“I have.” I nodded and looked at the man who finally had a name. “Taking a break from beating up old men?”
“Maybe I’ll practice on you.” He turned his neck and I heard it crack several times.
“Now, now.” Walter put up his hand. “Ray, give me a few minutes with Grady. He’s an old friend.”
“Sure thing.” Ray stared at me for a moment and then walked away from us.
“What happened, Walter? You used to tell me I was too pushy when I collected money for you—I barely threw a punch unless you told me to.” I reached for my beer and took a sip.
“Times got tough.” He shrugged. “I guess I was just too nice back then. You were right though—I was getting soft.”
“There’s being soft and then there’s this.” I motioned to the room. “This isn’t you. You even helped one guy take a loan out at a bank so he could pay you back.”
“Vegas is a different world. It has been changing for a long time and I was becoming a relic of a respectful world that just lost all respect for what I did. Then I met Ray and he helped me finally realize that things needed to change. You were a part of that though—you were telling me all of this several years ago. I just finally started to listen.” He lifted his beer and took a sip. “I’ve actually been thinking about you recently. I was wondering what you were up to. Any chance you’re looking for work? I could use a man like you. You and Ray might even become friends.”
“I don’t think so.” I shook my head. “I was coming to see you about a job, but now that I’ve seen all this, I don’t think your new world is for me. This isn’t what I had in mind when I told you things needed to change. Sure, we needed to rough some people up, but this is some Mob level shit.”
“I’m sorry to hear that.” He grimaced and shrugged. “I assume you’ll make sure Mr. Adamson pays his debt at the end of the week? Ray tells me you’re married to his daughter.”
“Yeah.” I took another drink from my beer and started to stand. “You keep Ray away from my family or you’ll remember why you stopped calling me in the first place.”