Kiersten was about to lead us out of the gym, when Hawk said, “I think we’ve seen enough.”
“Oh? Okay, well we can go to one of the meeting rooms, so we can—”
“That won’t be necessary,” Hawk cut her off.
“But—”
“Look, Kiersten. I appreciate you taking us around to see everything. It’s clear you’ve put a lot of time and money into this place, but the Sinners won’t be partnering up with you.” Menace’s voice never wavered. “Not like this.”
Four
Kiersten
I’d lost them and had no idea how to fix it. I thought the Sinners would be blown away by what I had to offer, but clearly, that wasn’t the case. I needed to act fast, to propose something that would convince them to stay, but nothing was coming to mind. It didn’t help matters that the hot guy, Country, from the bar was staring at me again. With every step, I could literally feel the heat of his gaze on my skin, and knowing he was watching my every move made it impossible to think straight.
I had no one to blame but myself. I should’ve known better than to pick up some guy at a bar. It was just another one of those things that was entirely out of character for me, and it had come to bite me in the ass. And to make matters worse, I knew in my gut something wasn’t right—that there was something familiar about him, and I was stepping into trouble, but I let my overactive hormones get in the way.
In my defense, I never would’ve dreamed he was one of the men I’d seen on the Ruthless Sinners’ surveillance footage, but there he stood. Holy cow, the man was even hotter than I remembered, which was hard to believe since I’d been so incredibly attracted to him that night, and apparently, that didn’t change. I couldn’t even look at him without remembering how amazing his hands had felt on me.
Yep. There was no doubt about it. The man was a distraction—a big, whopping distraction, and that was the last thing I needed, especially now when there were millions of dollars at stake.
I knew the Sinners had doubts about going into business with me, but I wasn’t ready to throw in the towel. “Is there something in particular that you’re concerned about?”
“Oh, I’m more than just concerned.”
“About?”
“Everything.” Hawk inhaled a deep breath, clearly trying to collect himself. “You got people living here, and they come and go as they please. That shit alone is enough to make us walk, but the fact that you’re out here in the wide-open is pure insanity. You’re a sitting duck.”
“Just so we’re clear, the people who live here work for me. This is their livelihood. I trust them, and they trust me. It’s no different than you and your club.” There was so much I wanted to say, but I couldn’t. I’d given my word to keep certain aspects of my work under wraps. “And we have security. More than you might think.”
“Not the kind you need with all this high-dollar equipment and hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of drugs.”
I wasn’t exactly surprised by his skepticism. I had a feeling from the minute he walked through the door, Hawk was going to be my biggest challenge, and I was right. I was trying to think of a way to ease his agitation when I felt my phone vibrate in my back pocket. I quickly pulled it out, and relief washed over me the second I looked down at the screen. I read the message, then looked back to Hawk and said, “Riggs wants me to tell you not to worry. We have a state-of-the-art security system.”
“Riggs?”
“Yes, I think you might know him. He’s a member of Satan’s Fury.”
“You gotta be shittin’ me.”
“Satan’s Fury is the buyer from Memphis that I mentioned yesterday. I wouldn’t have revealed his name or his club’s just now if he hadn’t given me the okay to do so.”
“And they’re good with the security here?”
“Riggs installed the system himself. Even hooked up a large generator to make sure it stays up and running when the power goes out. He’s thought of everything.”
“Clearly.”
I pointed to one of the hidden cameras and waved. “He knows how important today is to me and has been watching since you arrived.”
“I gotta say, I’m surprised.”
“I thought you might be.” I walked over and grabbed one of the hidden remotes. “Riggs added some special features to our security system to help us out in case anything was to happen. I think you will be impressed by it.”
I pushed the red button, and the hidden compartments above the windows opened. Seconds later, the light in the gymnasium started to dim as the bulletproof panes lowered and covered each of the windows, sealing us in. I couldn’t help but think of the movie I am Legend when I saw those thick metal panels come down from the ceiling. It felt so surreal, and I wasn’t the only one who was impressed. It was clear from their expressions, all four Ruthless Sinners were equally blown away by Riggs’ special set up. Menace walked over to get a better look at one of the window coverings and said, “Damn, I gotta admit, this is pretty fucking cool.”