Page 3 of Cruel Revenge

“The kind that means the cops are raiding the laundromat on Thirty-First.”

“For fuck’s sake.” Something slams on his end of the call. “I’m getting ready. We’re going to have to meet about this and figure out what they know.”

“They shouldn’t know anything.” I bite the inside of my cheek, wrinkling my nose against the stench of hot dog water. “Royce took care of the Matt problem. He was the only mole you’ve found so far.”

“And yet, this is happening.” Aiden lets out a deep breath. “You never told that asshole you were with anything about us, did you?”

My nails dig into my palm. “He knew about us, but nothing specific. We didn’t have the laundromats up and running then either, so the leak didn’t come from me.”

“See what you can find out. I’m going to have my guys find out who might be talking.” Aiden clicks his tongue, someone muttering something to him in the background. “Do whatever you can to make this go away.”

I glance back out at the cops. “That’s going to be easier said than done.”

“Do it anyway.”

The call ends, leaving me with nothing but his name fading to black on the screen as Kalani rounds the corner.

She shoves down her hood, running a hand through her midnight black curls.

I tuck the phone into my back pocket. “How bad is it?”

She shrugs a slim shoulder. “It’s not great, but closing went well yesterday, so apart from the couple joints Hank indulged in during his shift, there isn’t anything they can even try to pin on us.”

“At least there’s that.” I peek around the corner again as the cops gather around, patting each other on the back for what they think is a job well done. “You’re sure everything was taken off-site last night?”

“Protocol was followed.” She leans beside me, crossing one ankle over the other, looking down at a scuff on her boots.

“I need a list of people we can pin this on in case they find anything that was missed.”

Even as I go through the laundry list of items that could’ve been missed last night, I’m sure none were.

Kalani is thorough. It’s why she’s been working as my assistant for the last several years.

Though there’s still the possibility of a couple of bills being left behind, a bill or two would be easy enough to explain away as a fluke. Something a customer brought in that we seized and we’re going to hand over to the authorities. Maybe someone dropped it from their wallet when they took out cash to pay for the fluff and fold service or make change from one of the machines.

The tightness in my chest starts to ease. “Is there anyone on the scene right now that we might be able to get information from?”

“Well, Jensen told me to go away when he saw me watching, but I think he might be more receptive to a visit from you. Especially with the way your jeans hug your ass.”

I roll my eyes, pushing off the wall. “You know, sometimes I wonder why we’re even friends. Jensen likesyou, and he always has. Hell, the man looks at you like you hung the moon, even though you broke his poor little heart last year. Just give him the I-want-to-sleep-with-yousmile, and you know he’ll start talking.”

She gives me a smug smile and tosses her hair over one shoulder. “Well, I think I might be able to do that. For the good of the business, of course.”

I snort and give her a playful nudge with my shoulder. “Sure. It has nothing to do with the fact that you told me two weeks ago that no other man has given you that many orgasms in a single night.”

Kalani laughs, the sound warm and smoky. “I’ll tell you how tonight goes. And the two of us are going out dancing after!”

“I don’t have time for dancing. I have to figure out how the hell to solve this problem.”

Kalani rolls her eyes. “We’re going dancing. When shit is falling apart around you, the first thing you need to do is go dancing.”

“Go find out what’s going on, then go down that alley to my car. You can leave the getting dicked down for later.”

With a snort and a nod, she gives me a cheeky salute and spins on her heel.

She takes off around the corner, and I wait until she’s got the attention of the officers before heading back down the alley to my waiting car.

I slip behind the wheel, shutting the door and pressing the locks, glad the windows are tinted nearly black so nobody can see inside.

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