Page 48 of Dynamo
“Not unusual, but he was a bit of a sore loser. Some rich kid, don’t know how he got the invite. It won’t be the most we make tonight, but I’d rather it gone. Let’s do the recount.” That was standard practice for us. It wasn’t about distrusting each other, but more about making sure we’d not made an error in the amount. Three of us would always count on collection and repeat on delivery.
“Yeah,” I said and nodded at Kosmic as Thunderbird grabbed the bag. It took a few minutes to do the count, and we agreed on a figure. Without another word, I headed back outside with Thunderbird beside me.
“Is that my money?” a young guy demanded, approaching from my blind side.
I held out a hand. “Back off!” I ordered. Something in my voice made him pause.
“Just asking, I was duped out of that cash,” he whined.
I turned to him, emitting menace. “Are you saying my club scammed you?”
“No, the dealer did!” he stammered.
“Highly unlikely, as they’re all carefully vetted. You made a foolish bet and lost a wad. Go home and drown your sorrows,” I ordered.
“Bitch!” he snarled at me.
“Yeah, it took hard work to become one,” I replied with a grin. “Fuck off and don’t play with the big boys if you can’t afford a six-figure loss.”
I watched him slink across the parking lot to his souped-up Ferrari. “Fuckin’ rich kids,” I complained.
“Kosmic will have him blacklisted from future events,” Thunderbird said, tilting his head towards the security camera. I nodded, saluted it, and swung up onto my bike. This time, Thunderbird rode out first as my protection.
I didn’t like the naked feeling of being unprotected as we hit the road. It felt too much like when I’d been taken, and panic kept building. The stars twinkled in the sky, and the moon hung brightly, a reminiscence of that night. My breath came faster, but I daredn’t pull over. I had to watch Thunderbird’s back. Finally, the lights of Camden appeared, and I heaved a sigh of relief.
Thunderbird rode straight for Illuminate, which was heaving. We parked at the rear, in the RBMC owner’s area, and walked to the staff door, our private entrance. A guard opened it as we approached, and we entered, me at Thunderbird’s back. The door slammed shut, and a sense of overwhelming relief hit me. We’d done it. I’d managed. We climbed the stairs to the corridor where the offices were and headed toRooks’s.
He turned as we strode into his office and smiled. “Hey. How’s things?”
His eyes searched my face, and I’m sure he saw the signs of stress I’d been feeling, but he relaxed at seeing my composure.
“The guy who lost the bet wasn’t happy and confronted us. Young, rich asshole, no doubt gotta go home and tell Daddy he lost his college fund or some shit. Wanted his money back, but wasn’t getting it.”
“He challenged you?” Rook straightened.
“Ran away with his tail between his legs. Anyway, let’s get this counted,” I said, and Thunderbird locked the office door and emptied the bag. Nine hundred k later, we shoved it in the safe, and I walked over to the window. From here I could watch the dance floor, but nobody could look in. We were totally anonymous here. My eyes narrowed on a group of men sitting in a VIP area. “See something you like?” Thunderbird murmured.
“Shut up,” I said and pushed him.
Both of us froze, and then Thunderbird grinned. I’d not voluntarily touched a man since I got back. That had been a huge step forward. Rook slowly reached out, giving me time to avoid him, and then hugged me. My arms went around him, and I buried my head in my brother’s chest.
“Coming up from behind,” Thunderbird said gruffly, so he didn’t startle or trigger me, and then he embraced me too. I let a few seconds tick by before I made a noise.
“Okay, give me space,” I ordered, and they both stepped back.
“Fuckin’ proud of you,” Thunderbird stated.
“Let’s get a drink,” I muttered, blushing and trying to downplay what had been a huge event for me.
Thunderbird and Rook nodded, and we headed down to an empty VIP area used only by RBMC. It was above and to the left of where ACI was drinking. I could see them, but they’d only see me if they craned their heads.
I liked what Rook had done with Illuminate. There was a main dance floor with three bars. To the left-hand side of it, facing the DJ stage, were two VIP areas that were elevated with a staircase on either side, which kept each area private. Above them were two further VIP sections, and then the one my club used. On the right-hand side was the same layout. The top tier over there was for the high rollers. Those dancing below could look up but couldn’t join any of us. Security guarded the exits to each VIP area.
“What you going to do about him?” Rook asked, nodding towards Mike.
“Nothing? Why should I?”
“Dynamo, he likes you,” Thunderbird said.
