"The girl is going to lead the fucker right to me. This is a big fish in their organization. A fish that I'm catching. I just need the social worker to stay out of my way."
"We can put you, Trudy, and the girl in the safe house. I’ll call up some local cops and a few of our guys to keep watch as well."
"No cops. The girl has already contacted the FBI."
"We have no issues with that," Malcolm said, leaning back in his chair.
"What kind of MC is this? You're in bed with the FBI, too?"
"We do what needs to be done and make alliances in places that we find useful. Our friendship with the FBI will be coming in handy for you."
He was really a smug mother fucker. I gritted my teeth and smiled, because as much as I wanted to tell the fucker off, I knew he was right. I could see why Mav liked him so much. They were one and the same, mainstream businessmen who got the real shit done quietly. A quality I didn't have. Guys like Miller and Maverick were able to walk through the world and blend in. I wasn't so lucky, when I came, you noticed, and usually, mine was the last face you saw.
I wasn't sure why I never conformed. Other than my brothers and Rogue, I generally gave people a wide berth. Shit, if it wasn't for them, maybe I would have become a fuckin' psychopath. They gave me purpose, a center, without which, I would have unraveled.
The phone rang, shrill and sudden, this time in his office.
"Please excuse me, Malik," he said politely before he answered. He sat there silent for a moment before he said, "Please let them in."
A few seconds passed before the door swung open, and in walked a tiny girl with long
dark hair and haunting blue eyes. She was mostly covered in a giant black hoody and had an equally large backpack strapped to her back. Her nose and lips were pierced and she looked feisty and scrappy, like she was ready to fight and wouldn’t hesitate to hit below the belt.
A woman came in behind her who I assumed was the social worker. I’d been ready to give her a once over and let her know I didn’t approve of having an extra tag along for the ride. But all my plans fell out the fucking window because Trudy was a goddess. Long chocolate brown hair and big brown almond-shaped eyes with long lashes. She was busty, she had an ass, her thighs were thick and her waist was tiny. For a split second, I forgot my hit, my mark, my phish, and my own fucking reason for being in Valor. I wanted to sink my teeth into that woman who looked at me with judgment in her foxy eyes. She was smoking hot and it took all of my concentration to reel my mind back into the game and out of the gutter.
“Trudy, Tatum, this is Malik,” Malcolm said.
I stood and shook both their hands. First the kid. Jaded. Cold. Then the goddess. Warm, soft skin. She even smelled amazing. I looked from her cleavage to her eyes to the natural curls that tumbled over her shoulders. Nowhere was safe to look, every inch of her was desirable. Fuck a safe house, I was going to need a fortress to keep me away from this woman.
I wasn't the kind of man that usually lost my marbles over a woman. I could take them or leave them. I rarely trusted them, thanks to my fucked-up mother. In my experience, women were vipers and only wanted to fuckin bleed you dry of whatever it was you had to give before they fucked off and left you. She was taller than most, maybe five-ten in her heels. Her mouth was full and lush. I wanted to kiss her pretty pink lips until they became bruised from my mouth. I felt my cock strain on the zipper of my pants as I took in her luscious curves. She had the body that a man could die loving, and he’d still be happy.
"Malik Conner, this is Trudy Fredricks, the social worker for the shelter, "Malcolm said.
"This is Tatum," Trudy said. “But we decided she’s going to go by Fio from now on. She can’t be Tatum anymore or ever again, unfortunately.”
Jesus, her fuckin voice was even hot. She sounded like one of those old-school jazz singers, all raspy. I couldn't help thinking what that voice would sound like when she was calling my name.
"Nice to meet you,” I said, trying to sound normal.
"You too, despite the circumstances," she said matter-of-factly. It annoyed me that I was more impacted by her presence than she was mine. I was used to having the upper hand. She turned to Malcolm and completely ignored me. "What's the plan, Miller?"