Page 33 of Link (Dragon Riders MC 1)
“I’m not the police. Since when do I need proof for anything?”
He paused. “What the fuck do you want, Link?”
“I want a very specific contract in my hand, right now.”
“Got a name for that contract?”
“Hope.”
His face fell. “You’re fucking kidding me.”
“Missing merchandise is such shit, isn’t it? But people aren’t merchandise. Not in this town. You get me her contract. Right now. Or my men level yours and take all of your women with us.”
His eyes fell over my shoulder and I held up my hand. I prepared myself to snap, which would start a turf war unlike anything the Jags had ever seen. I saw a glimmer of something behind Skeleton’s eyes. I watched his shoulders roll back as his muscles stiffened. And when he held his nose in the air, he conceded.
“Wait right here,” he said.
“You’ve got a minute,” I said.
He walked into the backroom and I saw something move out of the corner of my eye. I whipped my head over to the front desk and watched as a girl peeked her eyes over the edge of it. The fear in her eyes was unmistakable. The yellow of her eyes told me about the condition of her body. My heart went out to her. The way she clung to that desk like her life depended on it made me sick.
I’ll come back for you. All of you.
“Here,” Skeleton hissed.
He walked up to me and shoved a sheet of paper against my chest.
“This is it?” I asked.
He took a step back. “That’s it.”
“One piece of paper.”
He shrugged. “We’re simple around here.”
I narrowed my eyes at him as I held up the sheet of paper to my eyes. I read it, my eyes darting around the page. There wasn’t more than three paragraphs’ worth of information on here. And the only thing it stipulated was that the person who signed it was a “contracted employee” of Bones Motel until such time as “the signee is fired.”
No quitting. No negotiations. No, nothing.
I glared at Skeleton before I ripped the contract in half with my hands.
“From this point forward, Hope is no longer your employee.”
He snickered. “She can’t go anywhere unless I fire her.”
I clapped my hands and all of my men turned behind me. Pointing every single ounce of fire power we had at this bullshit man the Jags called a ‘president.’
“Then, go ahead and fire her. Or we’ll fire you,” I said.
He drew in a deep breath, holding up his hands. “Okay, okay. Damn. She was my least-selling girl anyway. Turns out, not many men like thighs that rub together.”
I growled. “Fire her.”
He rolled his eyes. “From henceforth this point on, Hope—also known as Ruby—is hereby fired from Bones Motel and anything to do with the Jags. There. Happy?”
I looked over at Ash. “You get that?”
Ash nodded. “Got this whole thing on recording.”
Skeleton growled at me. “You what?”
My eyes turned back to him. “You default on this—or come after Hope, in any way—this recording is going to be handed over to the police.”
“You wouldn’t be that stupid, Link. I know you.”
I snickered. “You don’t know anything except your own selfishness. It was nice doing business with you, Skeleton. I hope to never see your face again.”
He snickered. “Her sister’s a bit of a catch, though. Don’t you think?”
Without thinking, I charged the man. I fisted his shirt and tossed him over the front desk as Ash cried out my name. The girl underneath the desk screamed. Doors slammed open. I picked Skeleton’s lanky-ass body off the floor and slammed him against the first wall I could find. Lifting him off his feet with my hand wrapped around his neck.
“What did you just say?” I grumbled.
Ash put his hand on my shoulder. “Link, put the man down.”
Skeleton sputtered. “Can’t breathe. Can’t—breathe—”
Bowser called out. “Put him down, Link!”
Guns cocked as my nostrils flared with anger. Then, venom spewed from my lips.
“Mark my words, asshole. Because you only get one warning. If you come after Joanna, Hope, or anything that has to do with my men or them in any form or fashion? You’re done. All of you. I’ll pick every single one of you off, starting with your prospects. And when you’ve finally watched your entire crew die? I’ll put a bullet in your brain with the promise of researching your family lineage until I know your entire bloodline is wiped from this planet. You got that, Skeleton?”
Ash hissed. “The man’s turning blue, Boss. I think he’s got it.”
I dropped my hand from around his neck and Skeleton crumbled to the ground. I looked behind me and saw the front desk girl shivering underneath it. She had her hands up to her face, crying softly to herself as her tears trickled down her neck. And as she slowly dropped her hands to look up at me, I saw the collar around her neck.
