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“They’ve been bragging about going to Bertha’s,” Luca replied, walking back over to Sal.
“And?” Bertha’s was a popular brothel, just on the outskirts of the city. Roman used the establishment frequently for business meetings. Many of his colleagues and clients liked to mix business with pleasure, and Bonnie, the madam, was a discreet woman. She had been a lover of his many years ago, and when she told him of her aspirations to own her own brothel—one that was run by women and for the women who worked there—he was happy to become a silent partner and give her the start-up costs.
“They’ve been bragging about getting down and dirty. Beating on the women when it’s not a BDSM thing,” Salvatore informed him.
“What?!” Roman yelled, reaching for his cell. “Bonnie hasn’t said anything.”
“She hasn’t called us either,” Luca confirmed, gesturing at Sal. “But Lenny and Dane are being pretty vocal about it.”
“And descriptive,” Sal added with a frown. “There’s a chance they could be talking themselves up, but just in case...”
“Absolutely. You know I don’t condone that shit,” Roman growled, thumbing through his contacts.
“We know,” Luca and Sal answered simultaneously.
Roman called Bonnie’s direct number, wasting no time in asking her if there was any truth to the allegations. She confirmed that there was. In fact, she was in the hospital with one of her girls now.
“I was planning to call you, Roman,” Bonnie said from the cell. “But things have been hectic. I wanted to get Crystal sorted out first. I’m sorry.”
“Of course you did. You’ve done nothing wrong. I am the one who is sorry. Rest assured, the men will be dealt with.” He spoke with her for another few minutes before hanging up. He immediately made his way to the door. “Sal, contact Abel. Tell him I want him in the security room. I’m going to find where Lenny and Dane are.”
“Done,” Sal said, already on his cell.
Luca and Salvatore accompanied him in the elevator, and when the doors opened a few floors down, Abel was waiting for them. “What have those idiots done now?” he questioned.
Sal filled Abel in as they filed into the main security room. “Teague, I need you to find Lenny and Dane. Now.”
Teague snapped to it, pressing buttons and pulling up video feeds. “I know where Lenny is. I figured you’d want me to keep an eye on him. Who told you? That was fast.”
Roman frowned at him. “What do you mean?”
“You want Lenny because of what he did to Dr. Hawthorne, right?” Teague asked, looking confused.
The blood in Roman’s veins turn to ice. “What are you talking about?”
Teague looked around at all of them. “He pulled some shit with her in the elevator. I saw it on the security feed less than twenty minutes ago. She handled herself just fine, but I knew you’d want to deal with him.”
“Show me the footage,” Roman demanded. “Now!”
He couldn’t hear what was being said, but he saw Lenny grab Angel hard enough to make her wince in pain. She proved herself to be the badass she was once again, but Roman was not appeased. At all. “Get me Lenny right fucking now!” he fumed. “And Dane. Take them to the pit and round up the crew. It’s example time.”
He stalked from the room, rage making it hard for him to see straight. He went directly to the top floor, staring out at the city as his people filed into the open space known as the pit. They murmured quietly, but no one approached him. Only when he heard Lenny demanding to know what was going on did he turn around.
He watched Abel drag Lenny by the arm and toss him into the center of the room. Sal did the same for Dane. Luca was not with them. This wasn’t his scene. “You done fucked up,” Abel told the two men, glaring at Lenny with malice.
“Huh?” Lenny gaped around the room, jumping to his feet. His eyes landed on Roman. “Boss! What’s the deal?”
“The deal is that you’ve been touching things you shouldn’t be,” Roman growled, prowling closer.
“No, boss. I ain’t touched nothin’. I’d never steal from you,” Dane said, looking like he was about to piss his pants.
“I didn’t say anything about stealing. Bertha’s,” Roman stated. He would start there, otherwise he was likely to put a cap in Lenny’s ass in a fit of anger.
Dane’s eyes widened, and he looked at Lenny. He lowered his gaze, his face turning pale. It said a lot about how he felt, and the shame-faced reaction had just saved his life. It wouldn’t be enough to save him from receiving everything he doled out on Bertha’s girls. Nor the banishment from his crew. But it would protect him from a dirt nap. Lenny, on the other hand, smirked. Roman lost his shit a little, backhanding the little fucker without a word.
Lenny went flying, landing on his back. Blood sprayed from his nose, and he spat out more of the red stuff when he sat up. “The fuck?” He gaped up at Roman.
“The women at Bertha’s are under my protection,” Roman snarled, his hand tingling.
