Page 104 of Broken

Chapter Twenty-Three

Garrett

Last night after reluctantly leaving Calli inside her apartment, I ran down the two flights of stairs so fast, it’s a miracle I didn’t fall and break my neck. It’s not so much that I recognized the man Caleb Dexter met up with. The one Nero wanted all the information on.

It’s the fact he recognized me.

My first thought was to get Calli as far away from him as possible, even if it meant risking losing him. Fortunately, the carparked down the block is the one I saw him get into after I tailed Caleb to meet him.

Something fucking stupid took over, and I ran toward the car. There was no way I’d be stealthy enough to follow him on the bike, and I cursed not taking the car. Calli wouldn’t have been able to wear a seatbelt, that was not an option.

He must have seen me coming because he started up the car and peeled away.

My next thought was to run back up the stairs and kick in Caleb’s door but that would be a dumb idea. More worrying than all of that, was seeing how he looked at me. There is no doubt in my mind, he knew who I was.

This can’t wait anymore. I need to speak to Nero. Instead of going after Phoenix, I text to check in. He said he was fine and with a woman so not to bother him. Then I called Nero and said we had to talk. Nero reminded me it was him who needed to talk.

He ended the call telling me we’d meet on Saturday. Two days from now. How the fuck am I going to wait two more days? And I can’t forget he has a job for me. What the fuck is that going to entail?

After that I poured over videos of Caleb’s apartment. The other guy never came in. Even though Caleb was in all night. What the fuck does that mean? What was he doing in the building that didn’t involve him going to see that prick?

It made me even more suspicious. So much so I wished I made a copy of the information I gave to Nero. That only serves to piss me off even more. By the time I switched to tailing him, I was over the whole thing and wanted to get back to work.

His name is Ray Dutton, and he is into some shady shit, drugs mostly. What I don’t know, is why Nero cares. I could go down a rabbit hole of searching for him again but it’s almost three in the morning and I have a full day of clients. It’s best to get the story from Nero.

Reluctantly, I went back to my apartment and went to bed.

It’s almost midday when Phoenix walks through the door. Everyone looks over at him as he peels off his leather jacket and chucks it behind the counter. Lucky stares at him, before grabbing the jacket and taking it to the hooks to hang up.

No one has mentioned what happened here last night. Not the visit from the MC brothers, or Calli showing up for a tattoo. I’m not convinced I’m going to get away with the latter too much longer, but the heat is off me if the way Phoenix looks is anything to go by.

“Where were you?” Lucky’s question draws me back to the present.

Phoenix runs a hand through his hair and looks at Lucky. “I slept late.” He isn’t guilty per se, but he can’t meet her eye.

“You couldn’t call? I had to cancel a client.”

“I messaged him to say I wouldn’t be in,” Phoenix sets his phone down and walks around his chair.

“Oh, that’s great,” Lucky folds her arms. “You text him to say you wouldn’t be here, but not us?”

“I don’t answer to you, Lucky,” he finally turns to her.

If a record was playing, this is the moment the damn thing would have scratched across the vinyl. Katja lets out a little gasp and everyone else looks over at Phoenix. Fuck this.

“Lucky, I need a restock on medium and light gray wash. Go grab it.”

“Isn’t that what Shane is here for?” she doesn’t look away from Phoenix.

“Shane’s busy.”

“I am?” I hear him mutter behind me.

“Don’t dismiss me, Garrett.”

“Don’t start shit.” It’s implied I mean the both of them.

Phoenix ignores me, like he didn’t open Pandora’s box. Or put me in a shit position. Lucky doesn’t deserve to feel bad because Phoenix is being a dick.

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