I reach out and give him a loose hug; it’s awkward, but it’s all I can muster at the moment. I turn and nod at Robyn and she gives me a weak smile that feels like a kick in the chest. I push away the discomfort and head for the door. I need to get back to the office.
“Catch you later,” Cal calls as I make my way out and into the club, checking my watch.
“What the fuck do you want?” Callum snaps and I look up, startled at his sudden icy tone. The guy on the receiving end of the frosty welcome is a huge, mean looking son-of-a-bitch with cold eyes fixed on Cal. I look to Robyn, who’s frozen in place; fear clearly evident in her stilted expression.
“Well, well. Look who it is,” he sneers. “I’m here to see Zane.”
“I watch Callum’s fists ball and I know something’s about to kick off. I flex my wrists, ready to step in if need be.
“Annie, shout for Zane to come up here,” Cal orders and she nods quickly from behind the bar before making her way over to the cellar.
The bar is eerily quiet; you could hear a pin drop. Annie walks back, and the sound of heavy footsteps and deep breathing are the only sounds registering throughout the room. I’m eyeing Callum, willing him to give me some clue as to what he wants me to do, but he’s too busy eyeballing the giant standing to the left of me.
“Are you okay, Robyn?” I ask quietly, and her face shifts toward me, her head giving the slightest shake. I don’t know what’s going on, or what’s about to happen, but the tension in here could be cut with a knife. The cellar door opens, and Zane steps out with the guy I saw with him earlier. He takes in the look on Cal’s face and then follows his line of sight to the guy next to me. I watch closely as Zane’s nostrils flare and his eyes widen before his face smooths out.
“Robyn, what the fuck?” the guy with Zane huffs and all eyes swing toward her.
“Daniel w-what are you doing here?” she stammers.
“Daniel!” Cal roars.
I wish someone would clue me in on what the fuck is happening right now.
I DON’T KNOW who to look at first. I’m painfully aware that Mr. Carter is standing a mere ten feet away from me, and Daniel is here with Zane. Callum and Cole look about as confused as I feel, and the atmosphere is so volatile, I’m sure the slightest noise or movement would cause and explosion.
To test my theory, Annie breaks the silence.
“What’s going on here?” she asks gingerly. I’m floored when it’s Danny that speaks up in response. He answers her question but he’s looking at me.
“I told you I’d gotten into something, Robyn. Well, these are the guys I was trying to avoid and keep away from. His eyes travel over Zane and then jump to Carter.
I feel sick.
He looks back to me with a pained expression and my heart sinks.
“Zane, what the fuck is he talking about?” Callum grinds out through his clenched jaw.
“Well, this is awkward.” Zane laughs, but there’s no humor behind it. “Daniel here owes me money, a lot of money. And Carl,” he points over to Mr. Carter, “was supposed to make the collection for me, only Daniel did a disappearing act. Carl decided if he couldn’t retrieve my cash from Danny boy, he’d collect it from his girlfriend, which I learned as fucked-up fate would have it, was you, Robyn. I had no idea until you,” he nods at Cal, “asked me to find out who Carter was.”
Cal steps forward, his arms tensed, and I catch his wrist and wrap both my arms around his in an attempt to stop him from attacking Zane. I’m almost certain he’ll shrug out of my hold and do it anyway, but he stops. Everyone’s feet shuffle; the tension escalates and everyone is poised to attack. My pulse is thrashing in my ears as I squeeze Cal’s arms a little tighter.
“You’re the one threatening her?” he asks, although he knows the answer, we all do. I look over to Annie, whose face is contorted in horror. Her pallor almost matches the lightness of her pixie blonde hair.
“I didn’t know it was Robyn,” he says, looking over to me. He actually has the nerve to look sorry. “Carl told me Daniel’s girlfriend would pay. He never mentioned your name, or I’d have figured it out sooner. I told him to back off when it became clear. That’s when we managed to track Daniel again.”
I want to scream at him and tell him to go to hell. He’s ruined my life for the past few months, and all this time I was coming to work each day and laughing and joking with him. I thought he was my friend. I can’t process the information fast enough because Cal speaks up before I get a chance.
“How the fuck did he wind up owing you ten grand? And since when are you in the business of loaning out money?” His voice trails off at the last part of his question, and he shakes his head in disbelief.
Zane adjusts his stance.
“Tell me this has nothing to do with why the books don’t balance, Zane.”
Silence.
“You motherfucking piece of shit! You’re using the clubs money!” He yells so loudly I feel the noise rumble through my chest. I drop my hands from Cal and a part of me would like him to punch Zane right now. The room is so still it feels like every word spoken is amplified tenfold.
“You’re the one who was selling Daniel coke?” I ask in disbelief, shaking my head.
Callum’s body vibrates. I can feel his pulse hammering in his wrist against my hand hanging loosely by his. I take a hold of him again, only this time a little tighter. I look up at him and he looks murderous, his nostrils are flared and his eyes narrowed. He looks nothing like the Callum I know. I press myself against him, willing him to calm down, although I’m as far away from calm as I’ve ever been.
Daniel is still standing by Zane, but his eyes dart to Carter’s every few seconds. I’m sure he’s weighing his chances of getting past him if he decides to bolt. I look over at Cole who’s slowly been inching closer to Cal. His face looks thunderous; he looks beyond angry and more than a little intimidating. Callum and Cole aren’t small, they both stand a few inches over six feet tall and are well built. Zane’s leaner than the two of them, but not by a whole lot. Danny’s the smallest by far. I catch his eye and for a second I almost feel bad for how scared he looks.
“It’s business,” Zane answers. “I’ve been doing it for years, and you’ve never noticed before. I never stole from you; we’re friends. I’ve always maintained your accounts, and yes, I used your money to make mine, but I always put it back. Until this piece of shit.” He motions to Danny. “The greedy little fucker decided to use up all the product and then run, leaving me with a supplier to pay and no product to sell.”
Cal jolts forward toward Zane and Danny takes this opportunity to do what he does best—run. It’s not until Annie’s scream registers that we all look around to see Carter pull a gun on Daniel.
“Get back over there, you little fuck,” he growls and Daniel’s arms fly into the air in surrender. The sound of him stumbling into tables as he walks backward clumsily echoes through the room.
“I’m going! Okay, okay. I’m sorry. Put the gun down, okay, man?”
“Shut up and move back!” Carter shouts.
“Carl, lower the gun for fuck’s sake,” Zane yells, and I watch as he drops the hand holding the gun down to his side. I take a shuddering breath, realizing that I’d forgotten to breathe.
Callum moves in front of me, keeping his arm behind him and locked tight against my thighs in an attempt to keep me in place. My heart is hammering so hard against my ribs that it’s painful, and tears begin streaming down my face although I’m not making a sound. Nobody is—you could hear a pin drop.
How the hell did I get myself into this mess?