Page 69 of Grim

Fire surged through me, and my anger spiked up a level. I grinned as I plowed my balled fist into the side of his skull and sent him into the wall. I was on him the moment he fell. I yanked him to his feet by his jacket and slammed his head against the doorframe.

“Okay! Stop!” he cried and squeezed his eyes shut when I raised my fist again. “I was paid!”

“Paid?” I questioned. “Speak while you can.”

“We were paid four hundred to rough you up.” I gave him a pathetic look. “I didn’t know you could fight.” He whined.

“You call that a fight?” I scoffed. “Tell me everything,” I warned, “or I’ll show you just how well I can fight.”

“I don’t know!” He fought to speak while the wimp on the floor still sobbed in pain. What a pathetic pair to send after me. It was an amateur move on someone’s part. I snapped one of his fingers, and his mouth dropped open with a scream. “Okay!” His scream turned into a hiss. “Shit, me and my buddy Joseph,” he nodded to the shit on the floor, “were just enjoying lookin’ at all the titties and ass around the place when a guy came out of that room,” he nodded at the room I’d been in. “He offered us money to beat you up when you came out.”

“Why?” I slammed his back into the wall.

“He just said you were some dirty business guy!” He coughed from the impact. “Look, man, I moved mountains to get a membership here, but that doesn’t include anything except to look. Four hundred could have gotten us into a pleasure room or at least a lap dance!”

“What the hell?” Tess was suddenly behind me with Trigger on her heels.

I dropped the shit to the floor next to his buddy and used my thumb to feel along my jaw. Trigger pulled out his gun and moved Tess behind him.

“Someone paid these guys to jump me.” I chuckled darkly, but Trigger could see there was more to it. Tess had her bouncers in the room within seconds and they peeled them off the floor.

“Kiss your wildest dreams goodbye boys because you’ll never set foot in here again.” Tess gave them the same finger Kenna had given me.

“Where’s Kenna?”

“I’m not sure.” Tess left in a hurry, and that left Trigger and me to talk. I nodded at him to follow me into the room.

“What do you know?” He sat on the arm of the couch. I filled him in on the little information I had. Brick rushed in with a laptop.

“Here.” He pressed play on the surveillance video, and we watched as someone dressed in a wolf costume entered the viewing room shortly after I had gained entrance to the pleasure room. As we watched, I did the math; he would have left just after I’d made Kenna come. We saw him as he stopped the two guys in the hall, pulled out some money, and they talked. Then he left, and the two men came into the room and muttered something about how they were going to attack me.

“There’s no cameras in the rooms.” Trigger pointed to the glass. “We have security measures for anyone inside, but they need to trip the alarm.”

“Let me see.” Kenna, who was now dressed in a loose skirt and halter top, slipped by Tess and squinted at the laptop as Brick replayed the video. “I can’t believe this.” She looked over at me. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah.”

“Someone you’ve pissed off lately?” Tess asked with a wry look.

“You mean right now? Or in general?” I shrugged with sarcasm. “I have a few ideas but not one that would include this kind of thing. This feels more personal than business.”

“Agreed.” Trigger nodded. “This points more toward you, Kenna.”

“Me? Why?”

“Seemed he watched you two goin’ at it, then went after Grim.” He studied her.

“What about you, Kenna?” Tess asked softly. “Have you pissed anyone off lately.” I noticed Kenna looked down as she shook her head. “Has anyone been bothering you lately?”

“No.”

“What about the men at Minnie’s club?” Brick cut in, and Kenna looked quickly at Minnie. “No, she never said anything, Kenna. I’m just trying to put some pieces together here.”

“Ken—”

“No, Minnie!” Kenna cut her off while she avoided eye contact. “Like I said, that was just an old client pissed I’d dropped him.”

“Kenna,” Trigger rubbed his chin, “you and Grim are family. Years of friendship and loyalty are what seals that. You need my help, you got it. We got your back.”

---