Page 18 of Bad Luck, Hard Love
“Go back to bed, Becca,” Marcus orders.
“Rebecca, right? I'm not here to hurt anyone. I just need some information about Marcus's club.”
She shakes her head frantically. “We don't know anything. Marcus barely tells me about club business.”
“Becca, shut up,” Marcus hisses, but it's too late. The damage is done.
“Barely tells you,” I repeat, standing slowly. “But he tells you some things. Like maybe who's been coming around lately? Who has him scared enough to keep a gun tucked in his waistband?”
I can see the internal battle playing out on her face. Loyalty to Marcus versus fear of what might happen if she doesn't talk.
“It's okay. Whatever you tell me stays here. I just need to know what's happening with the Vegas chapter.”
“Becca, don't—” Marcus starts, but she cuts him off.
“They're going to get you killed, Marcus. I told you joining up with them was a bad idea. I could have worked off my debts.”
“By being their fucking whore, Becca.”
I watch the exchange carefully, piecing together what I'm hearing. The girl is in debt to someone—someone connected to the Vegas chapter. And they were willing to collect in flesh rather than cash.
“What debts?” I ask, directing my question to Rebecca.
She flinches, tugging the oversized shirt lower over her thighs. “I got in over my head at the casinos. Started with a little blackjack, then poker. Before I knew it, I was thirty grand in the hole to some very bad people.”
“Zephyr's people,” I guess, watching her nod reluctantly.
“They were going to take me to work it off at one of their places outside the city,” she continues. “Marcus stepped in, said he'd join the club and work off my debt instead.”
I look at Marcus with new understanding. “So, Ace recruited you to pay off your girlfriend's gambling debts?”
“It wasn't like that at first,” Marcus says, deflating visibly. “I've always wanted to prospect. The debt just...speed things up.”
“But what are you moving for them?” I press, watching Marcus's expression change from resignation to fear.
“What are they having you transport that's worth cutting ties with the mother chapter?”
Marcus hesitates. “I'll ask one more time. What are you moving for them?”
Marcus and Rebecca exchange a panicked glance before she speaks up. “We really don’t know, but Marcus can find out. Can’t you?”
Marcus shakes his head violently. “No fucking way. You don't understand what these people are capable of. They've got eyes and ears everywhere. If they find out I'm talking?—”
“Then you better make sure they don't find out,” I cut him off, “Because right now, you've got bigger problems than Zephyr. You've got Raze breathing down your neck, and trust me, kid, he's not as patient as I am.”
The prospect's face goes from pale to green. He knows Raze's reputation. Every member of every chapter knows what happens when you cross the mother chapter president. He may have turned over a new leaf but Raze still strikes fear in most people.
“I can't. They'll kill us both.”
“You can, and you will if you want you and your girlfriend to come out of this alive. You are going to get me the information that I want.”
“How the fuck am I supposed to do that? I’m a prospect. Not a patch. They don’t tell me shit.”
“Figure it out,” I shrug. “You’ve got forty-eight hours to find me something.”
I finger my wallet from my back pocket, finding one of my old business cards from the bar, and handing it to Marcus. “Get me what the fuck I need and then you call that number.”
Marcus stares at the card like it might bite him, finally taking it with trembling fingers. “And if I don't?”
