Total pages in book: 108
Estimated words: 103753 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 519(@200wpm)___ 415(@250wpm)___ 346(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 103753 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 519(@200wpm)___ 415(@250wpm)___ 346(@300wpm)
Happy responds, “What’s up?”
“We’re taking the kid off site for…” I smirk, “…training. We need ten men. Armed with something visible. Something big.”
Happy laughs, “Oh shit. Someone’s gonna get fucked up.”
Smiling, I bite the tip of my tongue. “Hell yeah. You down with that?”
Happy turns serious, “You know I got your back, bro. Always.”
And he does. I don’t know where I’d be without Happy or Julius.
I simply respond, “Ten minutes.”
Placing the corner of my phone in the dip in my chin, I hold it there a moment, lips pursed in thought. Pointing the phone at Michael, I tell him, “Get your face sorted. We start training in ten minutes.”
The look of disbelief on his face is funny. So funny that I chuckle, walk over to him, and clap him on the shoulder. “Don’t worry. You’re gonna love it.”
I walk out of my office wearing a grin.
Taking three SUV’s over to the warehouse being used to package Hamid’s gear puts on enough of a show that the man comes out to greet us himself.
Hamid stands at the delivery dock wearing a cocky smirk, black slacks, and a black shirt. His hair spiked in a youthful style, there is nothing about this man that would lead to you guessing his background. His pale skin, green almond-shaped eyes, average height, and black hair shows nothing of his Iranian culture.
As all three cars come to a stop, and all ten visibly-armed men, plus one beaten adolescent exit the vehicles, I swear he begins to sweat.
He should be.
He’ll remember today for as long as he lives.
Waiting for my men to form a line behind me, I click my fingers at Michael, then point to my side. He joins me quickly enough. Happy stands on his free side, forming a protective barrier around my newest employee.
As soon as Hamid sees this, he knows he’s made a mistake. His eyes flash, then narrow in confusion, then widen as he swallows hard.
We approach the nervous man. He greets us, “Salam, Twitch. Happy. To what do I owe this pleasure?” His thick accent a reminder that he’s only lived in Australia a few short years.
This pisses me off. My eye twitches as I grit my teeth and say in dead calm, “You declared war. And beat my personal assistant, making him late for his first day. I think you know exactly why I’m here, Hamid. You dare greet us with the Persian word for peace?”
Yeah, that’s right, fuckhead. I know what salam means.
Hamid’s smile falls. “I did not realize he was an employee of yours. The boy—”
Michael cuts him off, “Actually, boss, it’s the first thing I told him.”
And I want to burst into laughter at the look of discomfit on Hamid’s face. Truly, I’m not as angry as I could be, but this man needs a lesson in what happens when you fuck with me and mine.
You have to be prepared for war should you declare it.
“Is this true?” I ask Hamid.
Glaring at Michael, he answers, “I thought the boy was lying to get out of work. I also believed you were poaching my men, starting with this one.” His fingers motion in Michael’s direction. “Obviously, I was wrong. I apologize.”
Nodding, I gesture to the warehouse. “I think we need to talk about more than just that. Don’t you?”
Not trusting my calm tone, his eyes narrow on me for only a moment before he smiles, “Of course. Please come in.”
He leads us to the warehouse office where he turns and states, “It would be wise to leave your men outside. I would not like my mules to be discouraged by thinking something was wrong.”
Mules. This is what some drug manufacturers call the people packing their gear, as well as taking it over to assigned dealers. Seeing as the men being here was all for looks anyways, I nod to Happy, who tells them all to wait outside for us.
Michael tries to stay behind with the men, but I nod to my side. He scuttles over with his head down. When Happy joins us, Hamid asks, “A drink, perhaps?”
I scowl at him. He watches me for a full minute before he smirks and takes a seat behind his desk. “All this animosity over a child?”
The three of us stand in front of his desk. Happy pipes up, “All this animosity over war.”
Hamid waves a dismissive hand, “That was before I realized you weren’t poaching my men.”
I state, “Patrick says hello.”
Hamid blanches. The fact that I had to get rid of one of my men because of this asshole grinds my gears. He sputters, “W-what do you mean?”
Ignoring his attempt at playing dumb, I tell him, “Of course, where he is right now, it’ll be hard for you to contact him again.” I tilt my head and narrow my eyes at him. “Very hard. You could say that he’s gone…underground…for a while.”