Page 40 of Haunted Nights & Savage Sins
She clamps her lips together tightly and I watch her eyes flare with rage.
I don’t care.
She chose this.
It was silly of me to think that one night together would be enough to change our dynamic. She’s right about one thing. She’s my possession. Nothing more.
I can’t get that confused.
***
The meeting is nearly on the other side of the state. It’s a long ride and Brenna actually sleeps for the long drive there.
Today, my father has me checking in on a group who has been flying in some of our most important equipment. The issue is several times over the last few months the shipments have either come in late or have had other problems when it came to pickups.
I can’t let that stand.
Instead of leaving Brenna in the car, I wake her and bring her into the office with me.
Right now she’s sitting in the corner with large sunglasses covering most of her face, her legs crossed and her arms folded over her midsection. It’s clear that she doesn’t want to be here.
She needs to see who she’s messing with, the monster that she is married to, just in case she forgot last night.
Darren has worked with the O’Sullivan family for years. His father worked for us before him until his eyesight got so bad that he couldn’t fly anymore.
Now Darren is the lead pilot and part owner of this private airstrip.
Usually, he and the few pilots he employs are busy ferrying the rich from place to place, but his most important jobs are the ones we give him.
The payments we make to him every month are the main reason he’s still able to keep his business afloat.
The tension in the room is palpable, both the awkwardness between Brenna and me as well as the undertone of fear and panic coming from Darren. He wasn’t expecting me to show up. It’s usually one of my father’s underbosses that comes here to take care of things.
Darren has never seen me before.
Now that I’ve taken over this portion of the business, I’m sure he’s going to be seeing a lot more of me.
I look over the spreadsheets and flight plans that he has produced for me, as well as the correspondence that he has between himself and the clients that we send his way.
It all looks good. Too good. Based on what I know of what’s been going on here, it seems as if Darren is hiding something from me.
“Where’s the rest?” I question, pushing the papers away from me and getting up out of the chair.
Darren swallows hard and looks up at me.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. That’s everything right there.” He points at the papers on the desk, his finger trembling.
I tsk and walk to the side of the desk. I push the hollow skull decoration further inward so it doesn’t fall off the desk. The office is peppered with silly Halloween decorations. Plastic skeletons, fake cobwebs, and a bowl of fun-sized candy.
He seems like he’s a good guy, probably enjoys playing a trick or two on the unsuspecting victim. He’s going to learn today that I’m not the one to play tricks on.
“Darren, I’m not sure how you are used to conducting business around here, so I’m going to give you one chance to get what I’m asking for. I know there have been some hiccups in the delivery and pickup schedules. I want to know why and who’s to blame. Don’t make this any harder than it has to be.” My voice takes on a calm but menacing tone.
My brother Declan is the enforcer of the three of us and I’ve learned quite a bit from him when it comes to the techniques used for intimidation. One of the best ones is to make sure the mark knows shit is about to go bad.
“I don’t—” Darren starts, but I don’t let him finish. I rush him, grabbing the back of his head and slamming it down on his desk so hard everything that isn’t weighted down goes flying to the floor.
Brenna yelps once quickly but doesn’t say anything more. My eyes dart in her direction. Her head is pointed this way, but thanks to the glasses I can’t be sure if she’s looking. I hope she is.
