Fast Cars (Working Title)

Chapter 5

An impenetrable shell surrounded Maisy as he parked the car. She wrapped a finger through his belt loop as they walked into the warehouse. She pressed against him as shouts sounded across the room. Don paused to talk to Guy. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught a fight and turned to see who was involved. Pedro threw a punch. Raven locks snapped around as Esmeralda spun and hit the ground. Blood spurted from her mouth. Maisy almost melted against his side.

"Can't you stop it?"

Don snaked an arm around her and held her closer, whispering in her ear. "I could, but there are rules. If I protect her, it's like I claimed her. That'd leave you unprotected. That's a minor beating. As much as I hate seeing it, there's not much I can do to stop it except set an example with my woman." He pressed a kiss against her forehead. He held her closer as they moved through the room.

Christian stepped toward them with his arms outstretched. "Donovan. Dmitry told me you skipped town last night."

Don scoffed. "Not hardly."

"His man, Pedro, said you left. Your girl too."

Don's arm tightened around Maisy. "She's right here. I went grocery shopping. What I had on hand wasn't enough to keep a mouse alive."

"I hardly recognized your companion. She was quite disheveled the last time I saw her."

Don inclined his head. "Maisy, why don't you go wait over there. Christian and I have a meeting."

Maisy looked up at him, her eyes wide.

Don lowered his lips to hers and claimed a quick kiss. "I'll be right over there if you need me."

Dmitry raised an eyebrow when Don settled onto the couch. "Still here? Where's your girl?"

Don glanced over his shoulder. "She's around. What's the meeting about?"

"There's no sign of the package from last night," Christian stated.

Don raised an eyebrow.

Dmitry looked out the window as Christian continued, "I doubt the information we received was genuine."

"Or the boat was hit before we got there," Dmitry spat. "Or maybe that mole we have spilled the beans and they removed the temptation."

"If that had happened, the police would have been there to catch the guys in the act," Don said.

"I'm questioning our information sources. Quite possibly, there needs to be a lesson taught."

Don raised an eyebrow. "Lessons? Lessons are Dmitry's specialty. It lacks a certain finesse the other jobs require."

Dmitry slammed a book to the floor. "What are you saying?"

Don smiled. "Maybe you need to teach your men how to tail someone and not get lost. They couldn't even follow me to the grocery store. And Pedro even showed himself when I got back. He tried running into my garage. If that's how they're scoping things, there's a serious lack of finesse. No wonder people are getting tipped off."

"Is this true?"

Dmitry stammered for a moment. "Pedro was only trying to find out where the girl was. Don was alone when he came back from the grocery store."

"Don was alone when he WENT to the store too," Don added.

"Pedro couldn't see into your car that well."

"Maybe Pedro needs glasses."

"Stop! This bickering is getting us no where. I want a lesson taught. Do you understand, Dmitry?"