I near Kai, and a knowing smile spreads over his face.
He looks like he’s won the battle. “I see you’ve come to your senses. ’Bout time.”
“Shut up, and get in the fucking car,” I snap.
I open the door of the Escalade and hop into the backseat while Kai and one of the other guys get in the front. The engine rumbles to life, and my heart races in my chest, as I’m about to face my past head-on.
Chapter 13
Xavier
The SUV comes to a stop just outside an old building. It appears to be an abandoned factory of some type, which is common in this city. When the economy went south a few years back, most of the big businesses left, leaving it even poorer than when they had been here.
“We’re here,” Kai says before opening the door.
I follow suit and get out, wondering what in the hell we’re doing. I’m not sure if he brought me to this abandoned building to kill me.
Kai notices me staring up at the building and laughs. “You can stop that shit that’s going through your mind. Just because your bitch-ass punched me in the face doesn’t mean I’m going to kill you, no matter if I should or not. Bishop wants to talk. That’s all.”
“About what?” I ask briskly, not liking all the secrecy.
Kai lifts his chin. “It’s Bishop’s place to tell you, but trust me, you won’t want to turn it down.”
My jaw muscle clenches as I try to figure out if that was a threat or not. “And if I say no?”
Kai sets his gaze firmly on mine, his dark eyes almost appearing black. “Trust me when I say, you won’t want to do that. Now, come on. Bishop doesn’t like to wait.” He heads toward a metal door leading into the building with me close behind. Before he opens it, he turns to me and smiles. “This is going to blow your fucking mind.”
I tilt my head as he opens the door, and music wafts outside, sounding like a party with the hip-hop bass thumping. We walk through the large open space and then round a corner before heading through a set of double doors into a room illuminated by blue and purple neon lights.
It has the feel of a nightclub, complete with a bouncer, who happens to be the other guy who showed up at the house last night.
His eyes narrow as I pass by him, and I notice he has a split in the center of his lip, no doubt caused by me. He doesn’t say anything though. He just remains on the stool he’s sitting on while guarding his post.
“What’s up, G? How are the ladies looking tonight?” Kai asks the man, like having me with him is no big deal.
The man’s gaze flicks from me to Kai as they clasp their hands together. “Some hot asses in the spot tonight.”
“Good lookin’ out, playa. I’ll see you later.” Kai grins at me after he speaks to the bouncer. “This way, X.”
We finally make it into the main room, and the man who drove us here disappears into the crowd of bodies in front of us. This place is like a full-on underground nightclub. A few topless girls dance on a small stage in the center of the room and men stand around throwing money at her.
“Where the hell are we, Kai?”
“We’re at Bishop’s place. He got tired of going to bars where he couldn’t control who came in and out, so he made his own spot. It’s the hypest place in town.”
“What’s all this got to do with me? Bishop has all the money he needs. I don’t owe him any money, and I never snitched on anything that had gone down while I ran in his crew. Why can’t he just let me be?”
Kai turns and shrugs. “Look, X, we’ve known each other for a long time. Things have changed since you’ve been out of the game, and the thing you have to get through that thick skull of yours is that Bishop gets what he wants. There’s no refusing him, and there’s no walking away when you have something he needs.”
“Like I told you before, I don’t have any money.”
He gives me a stop-fucking-with-me look and then motions for me to follow him. “Explain that to Bishop.”
He weaves us in and out of the writhing bodies on the dance floor until we come to a sectioned off area with two men standing guard, both about my size. Bishop has certainly upped his protection. Back in the day, I was his only hired muscle. Bishop can afford a lot more than one bodyguard nowadays.
“Stay here,” Kai orders as he slips past the men.
My eyes stay trained on Kai as he struts over to a plush black couch, and I spot Bishop sitting between two women. Kai leans down and whispers something into his ear, and Bishop’s eyes snap in my direction.