Page 24 of Stolen Sun

"Is Jeff really retired?" Before I make my offer, I need to be sure things are as I believe them to be.

"What do you think?" He sneers.

Looking around the room, I mouth nonsense words to him. My way of asking him if we're being watched or listened to without being too obvious for potential cameras.

"No, you can speak freely here," he replies.

I proceed to make Isaiah an offer he can’t refuse—a way around his father, namely my dad helping him funnel money without his dad noticing, in exchange for a few favors. Isaiah plays his part well. But he isn't the black-hearted mother fucker his father wants him to be, not completely anyway. There's only one way for Isaiah to make the changes in the club he'd like to make. He has to buy out his father. The problem with that is he can't stash enough cash without Jeff noticing and shutting it down.

His face lights up like a kid at Christmas when I give him a basic overview of what Dad could do for him and how quickly it could be done.

"Whatever the fuck you want, bro. Name it," he says with a grin.

"I need information about Nate Williams, his father, and his father-in-law," I state.

He nods his head. “Nate was sleeping with a couple of the girls here. Sometimes, guys let shit slip if they drink too much. Leah would know if he told the girls anything that could be useful to you. His dad isn't a member, but Conner Anderson is a real piece of work. He's here often, and he's friends with my dad. I'm not sure what you'relooking for, but Conner would be at the top of my list if I were you.”

Isaiah walks over to a bar and pours us each a drink. I let the information he gave me sink in as I drink the whiskey he poured.

"I have a pretty good hunch that I'm going to need one more thing," I tell him.

After the details of our arrangement have been ironed out, I make my way back to the elevator. The door opens to Leah in the center. Her clothes are in a pile off to the side, and she’s wearing nothing but stilettos and a smile.

I step into her as the doors close behind me handing her a slip of paper. She looks down at it, confused. After she reads it, I place my mouth just below her ear.

"The camera is in the corner behind me. Make it look real for Jeff, but do not fucking touch me," I threaten her in a whisper.

We put on a show for the cameras that are absolutely in here, audio and all. When we reach the lobby, she grabs her things and leaves with me.

As soon as we get into the truck, I text Zander to let him know I’m bringing him something.

“You sure know how to make a girl curious,” she says, reaching over the center console to run her hands up my thighs.

I grab her wrist and glare at her. “There’s nothing in there for you. Now, if you can keep your hands to yourself, I’ll pay well. Deal?”

Her eyes narrow, and she pulls her wrist from my grip. “My bad, I thought maybe that was some sort of kink. Where are we going?”

Just then her cell phone rings, and I nod to let her know to answer it.

“Hello?” I can hear the confusion in her voice.

After a minute or so, she says, “I understand.”

She throws her phone out the window, and we drive off. Once we are out of the Cordeliers parking lot, I demand, “Start talking.”

“Nate started out in the poker room when he first joined. A few girls tried to seduce him, but he refused. He didn’t buy any drugs either, just gambled. Years went by like that. A couple of girls pushed hard, but he never caved. Men that look like him don’t come in very often. Or men like you.”

She stops talking to look at me. I can feel her stare but don’t return the attention, so she keeps going.

“Anyway, one night he came in really angry. We had never seen him like that. A man named Conner Anderson came in with him that night. Mr. Conner has had a membership for a very long time and is one of Mr. Jeff’s longtime friends, but I had never seen Conner with Nate before.

They went into a private room with a new girl, Veronica. She served them whiskey, but both declined anything else. When Mr. Conner left, Nate stayed and had Veronica for the first time.

After that, he came in every Thursday night to play poker and see Veronica. At some point, he added Chelsea. Some nights it was both of them. Some nights just one or the other. He still saw Veronica more often than not.”

By the time she finishes giving me a rundown of Nate’s sexual encounters at Cordeliers, we’re pulling into the warehouse parking lot. I shuffle her into the office where Zander is waiting alone and lock the door behind me.

“My answer is yes,” she squeals as she stares at Zander.

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