“Nothing directly.” Frank sips at his drink. “Two weeks ago, a teenage daughter of one of my associates used a fake ID, got into one of my jazz clubs in Cali, and met Pierce. He lured her into his limo, took her to his villa in Pacific Palisades, then proceeded to pass her around to his other degenerate buddies who raped her repeatedly.”
“Shit,” I mumble.
“The girl still ain’t right.” Frank shakes his head. “Thenthreatening Cheryl at the Bellagio garage . . . I had to be involved.”
I swallow. “What are you talking about, threatening Cheryl at the Bellagio?”
“I’ve had somebody following him since the thing in Cali, and two days ago, he saw Pierce corner Cheryl in the parking garage of the Bellagio. He couldn’t hear what that fucker was saying, but he said it sure didn’t look friendly.”
“Shit, must’ve been what she was trying to tell me earlier.” Just more proof that last night’s dream was more than a warning. “I can’t believe she tried to handle that on her own.”
Frank rolls his eyes. “After all this time, you don’t know my daughter? Probably brushed it off, or, more likely, didn’t want you involved ‘cause of what you might do.”
“Now it all makes sense.” I rub the back of my neck. “She’s been acting all nervous and wonky the last few days, and that’s why.”
“Seems like that fucker has a lot of sins to pay for.”
“Yeah, Boa found a whole bunch of shit. Apparently, Pierce has a trail of assault charges against women. He uses the clubs he promotes as his private playground for all his kinky shit with underage girls, then he either pays for their silence, or it’s covered up by his rich father.”
“A real piece of shit,” Frank agrees.
I silently shake my head. “Samson saw through him right away, but I was blinded by the need to advance the club for more money.”
“Shit happens; just be glad we got him now before he fucks with anybody else.”
Frank tries to give me a pass, but the guilt I feel digs deep. Pierce threatened Cheryl, and I was too involved in business to press her harder or to see the warning signs.
“I’ve been waiting for the right opportunity,” Frank says. “When I heard he was in Vegas, I reached out to Cobra. Knowing their rep, I figured he might have something for me. I had no idea you were involved with Pierce too.”
“Came on to us like he wanted to promote Wicked, then tried to shake us down. Even got Jax to flip on us. I guess he tried to pressure Cheryl too.” The thought of that slimy piece of shit being near Cheryl sends a chill up my spine.
Frank levels me with a long look. “You ask my daughter to marry you yet?”
“I asked her twice. Once when we reconnected in Vegas, and six months ago when we moved into the new house.”
“And?
“And . . . nothing. You’re daughter’s as thick-headed as you are.”
Frank smirks. “Hey, watch your mouth.”
“But you can’t deny it.”
“She’s probably got her reasons.”
“What the fuck is that supposed to mean? I got a solid business, and we got our beautiful daughter.”
“And now all you gotta do is stop being an asshole and enjoy it all.” Frank grins. “Remember power changes people.”
The same fuckin’ advice he gave me in my dream. The bastard keeps grinning at me, and I get a weird out-of-body experience.
Frank finishes his drink, just as Cobra joins us. “You ready to get this done?”
“Abso-fuckin-lutely.”
Knowing Pierce terrorized Cheryl gives new meaning to what needs to happen to that bastard.
We head out to the lot, and I smile. Along with their Harleys, the Serpents own a fleet of different vehicles for every occasion: a nondescript van they use for tailing people,a beat-to-shit pickup truck they use for trips out to their weed farms in the desert, and a shiny black SUV.
