Page 8 of Reckless

“You’re welcome. Now. If you’ll excuse me, I need to go get laid.”

“Use protection!”

“Hilarious,” she called back. I heard the sound of the door snicking closed and the scrape of her key locking behind her.

With my head feeling clearer, I was finally able to fully take in the damage from the night before. The bandages my aunt had placed were easy to change out. And just like I thought, the wounds were superficial. I could cover most of them up without a problem. But that left out lap dancing for at least a week. Up close, someone could notice. Though, I knew which of the guys belonged to the Underwoods. They were arrogant enough to think that working for the notorious crime family somehow made them desirable. The only thing I desired from them was information on my sister. And maybe their deaths.

That flash drive might have brought me somewhat closer, but I was out of my depth. I might have had the determination, the rage, and the audacity to go up against them, but I was still only one person. What could one person do against such a well-connected, powerful force?

I didn’t have the answer to that question, but I was going to find out one way or another.

Chapter Four

CALLAHAN

Gemini

New beginnings bring frictionless movement in the way you see the world.

Open yourself up to the possibility of more. You’ve earned it.

“What are we doing here again?” Simon asked as I brought the car to a stop outside of Polaris. My fingers flexed around the black leather steering wheel, feeling the engine rumbling beneath my palms. Someone had killed Kenneth while I was otherwise occupied, and the boss was pissed. More than pissed, because they suspected information had been stolen as well. It’d been over a week since Kenneth’s murder and they hadn’t found any leads. The cameras had been disabled, and no one could put two pieces of evidence together to say who might have been behind his murder.

After killing Josephine, I’d hoped for a fucking break, but now with Kenneth gone, the Underwoods wanted me to take his place. Demanded it, actually. Of fucking course, they did.

“I told you. They lost the trail right around here. We go inside, see if anyone knows anything. But make it fucking discreet. We don’t want them knowing we’re looking for information.”

The other guys were sloppy. Always leaving a trail of destruction behind them. Those numb nuts were too busy flaunting the power that being with Underwoods got them to recognize the repercussions of their actions. People knew them. They were scared of them. Scared to talk freely around them.

Not me.

I didn’t give a shit about the power, so people didn’t suspect my involvement with the Underwoods until it was too late. Plus, I hadn’t been back to Starfell in years, giving me enough anonymity to work to my advantage.

What I cared about was my life. I knew how easily they could end me if I stepped out of line. How far they would go to make sure I never spilled their secrets. When I chose to work with them as a child, I had no idea I was signing myself up for a life-sentence. And now I had to live with the consequences.

“Right. So…” Simon wiggled his eyebrows at me.

“What?” I snapped, in no mood for his goofiness.

“I can get a lap dance in that case. You know… to blend in.”

I let out a loud sigh. “Yeah. Get a lap dance. Hell, get two.” I slapped a wad of cash into his hand and went right back to clinging to my steering wheel like it had the answers I was searching for. “Go nuts.”

The grin that broke out across his face sliced through the storm clouds that had become my mood. The ever-present tightness in my shoulders eased a bit and I was able to take in a deep breath. I could do this.

“It wouldn’t kill you to enjoy yourself a bit, you know,” he said, pocketing the cash.

I rolled my eyes at him. “You’re going to feel bad if that ends up happening,” I cracked.

“What? You? You’re indestructible,” he joked, pulling up the zipper of his leather jacket.

The two of us had been on more missions together than I could count. Starting when we were both stupid-ass teenagers. I watched him go from a scrawny, long-limbed nerd who could barely tie his own shoelaces, into a cold-blooded killer with more muscles than the Rock. Only unlike the Rock, he had a thick head of reddish-brown hair, a full beard to match, and an array of tattoos that covered his arms, chest, and back.

He was the definition of burly, whereas I was more slimly built with a dark head of hair that I kept slicked back so it didn’t fall in my eyes, and my muscles, while strong, weren’t about to be featured on the cover of a muscle magazine anytime soon.

Simon’s energy was infectious and before I knew it, I was walking into the club right behind him. The place enveloped us in a cloud of manufactured smoke and loud music. A low pulsating bass thrummed like it was mirroring my heartbeat as my eyes scanned the red-hued expanse.

There were several levels and the place was packed for a Tuesday night. Scantily clad women were either dancing on poles, hanging from circular apparatuses in the air while doing acrobatics, or walking around with serving trays full of drinks. Towards the sides of the room it looked like there were several sectioned off areas, covered in velvet drapes, which I assumed was for a more private show. Maybe I could get one of the girls alone to see what they knew.