Page 30 of One for the Money

“Von…” Franzi started to say, but I held up my hand.

“I know you mean well, but please, don’t,” I said, sliding off the stool. “The pancakes were amazing. Thank you.”

Grabbing my coffee that I’d barely touched, I headed to the back of the house. Soon, I was heading down the stairs into the tunnels crunching on the lolli, praying it would work faster and numb some of this pain. I didn’t want to be totally faded, but I didn’t want to care as much. Work would give me something to lose myself in. After being away for a few days, there were always a few dumpster fires only I could put out.

“Ah… morning, boss,” Ballio greeted, getting up from his desk.

“Morning, Balto. Who fucked up what?” I asked before sipping my coffee.

Ballio instantly grabbed a tablet and handed it over to me. “Bear had me looking into the SAM situation and found some interesting things. If you ask me, the whole thing was a setup.”

Frowning, I took the device and scanned the information pulled up. “Are you sure about this?” I questioned.

“Yeah, boss. I confirmed it through a few sources. None of them were happy about giving up the info, but they weren’t willing to risk pissing off The Wolf,” Ballio assured me.

I nodded absently and headed into my office, scrolling through what he’d discovered. Sitting at my desk, I set the mug down and unlocked my computer. A loud snore snapped me out of the tunnel vision I’d been in and shot to my feet. Sprawled out on the couch was Erik, sound asleep and snoring like a chainsaw. He wasn’t wearing a shirt, just a pair of sweatpants that looked an awful lot like Bear’s. They were pretty much the same height, but Erik wasn’t as bulky as Bear was. I grabbed for my phone, planning to demand answers from Bear, but it wasn’t there. In my effort to ignore everything going on with my family, I’d left it in the kitchen. Guess that leaves me to get the information out of the freeloader in my fucking office.

Looking around the space, I grinned when my gaze landed on the perfect wake-up call. It was a new device that I’d been developing with some of my weapons engineering friends. There hadn’t been an occasion to test this latest prototype, but I knew we were close to it being complete. Stepping behind Erik’s head, I laid out the silicone collar that had a twisted metal core preventing anyone from simply ripping it off. The way his head was positioned, there was just enough room for me to slide the band under his neck. With quick, nimble fingers, I latched the collar and clicked the small padlock shut, making it impossible for him to get it off. Picking up the remote, I settled back in my chair, kicked my feet up, double-checked the settings, and clicked the trigger.

“Motherfucking sonofabitch,” Erik roared, falling off the couch.

I waited, hooking a finger through the handle of my mug and taking another sip. Erik used the couch to help him get off the floor and flopped back onto it, his chest heaving. Now it was easy to tell he’d been a military man with the tattoo on his shoulder and how lean he was. Hidden under his scrubs, the veterinarian had a six-pack and those delicious curves at the hips that gave you directions to the treasure hidden below. There were also a few scars, one most likely from a knife, while two others were bullets. Through and through on both of them, if I had to take a guess.

Using a hand to scrub his face, I waited for him to take stock of his surroundings. I’m sure the jolt I just gave him rocked his world, but if he were as skilled as I believed he was, it wouldn’t take his survival skills to kick in.

“That is one hell of a wakeup service you provide, Von,” Erik muttered, turning his gaze to me. “What the hell did I do to deserve that?”

“You don’t think choking me the fuck out warrants such retaliation?” I inquired.

He pinched the bridge of his nose and let out a sigh. “No, that’s more than fair. Actually, I probably deserve more than on⁠—”

Taking him at his word, I hit the trigger again and watched his body go rigid before crashing to the floor once more.

“Jesus fucking Christ, Von,” Erik yelled. “Goddamn you for taking things so literally.”

Getting up, I walked around my desk and squatted next to him. “Well, hopefully, you’ll remember that tidbit so you don’t make the same mistake again.” I patted him roughly on the cheek. “Now, would you like to tell me what the fuck you’re doing in my office?”

Erik rolled onto his back and stared up at me. “Bear brought me down last night and said he’d be back for me in the morning.”

“That doesn’t answer my question,” I pointed out.

“Yes, it does,” he argued. “I’m here because Bear brought me and locked me in.”

I slowly shook my head and twirled the control to the shock collar around my finger. “No,” I said in a sing-song voice. “Bear doesn’t do anything without a reason, especially not bringing them to the hub of our operations. There’s more to it, and you’re gonna tell me or else,” I threatened, resting my thumb on the trigger.

“Okay, okay, you psycho little siren, just ease up on the shock therapy, all right,” Erik grumbled as he sat up, resting his back against the couch and held out his hand. “I’d like my cookies, please.”

My head tilted in confusion, glancing from his hand to his face. “Huh?”

“You promised me fucking cookies, the best cookies I’d ever eaten. If I’m going to join the dark side, then I want the damn cookies,” Erik demanded.

I blinked at him a few times then burst into laughter that knocked me on my ass. “You want fucking cookies. After all this, that’s what did the trick?”

“Well, the promise of cookies and the best fuck of my life,” Erik corrected. “I’m hoping the latter wasn’t just a one-time thing to get me to convert because I might need a reminder as to why I chose to blow up my life and embrace my demons.”

Today was a day full of unexpected happenings, flinging me from one end of the spectrum to the other. Bear escorted Erik to the locker room so he could shower and change, giving me the chance to process. I never did say one way or the other to Erik if I’d fuck him again. Other than Bear, I didn’t do seconds—it was one and done. Then again, there was that one time I forgot I’d slept with the guy before and didn’t realize it until it was too late. All the bastard had to do was keep his mouth shut, and I would have let him live, but he had to remind me. One thing I hated most was clingy men, and this dipshit was acting like I’d knowingly picked him out because I couldn’t forget him. I decided to be nice and not tell him the truth so he could die with a smile on his face.

While I didn’t get the vibe Erik would be a stage-five clinger, there was something about him that set off alarm bells in my head. He was too interesting and fun to play with for me to get attached when the man had a long way to go to prove himself trustworthy. Sure, he tells me now that he wants to abandon his life and accept the truth he’d never be happy wearing a mask. Yet the reality was he didn’t know what he was asking to join. So, for now, Erik would be my pet, wearing his collar and under constant supervision. This was sink or swim—either he was all in, or he’d be dead.