A Cartel Affair (First Original Draft)

Chapter 16

Carter and Lea's Club Song - Nero's Satisfy

Carter's P.O.V.

I watched as Lea left for the ladies room with Eva and her two guards. I was pissed, not at Lea, but at myself. I had gotten relaxed in my conversation with her and had inadvertently revealed that I owned the club.

She was smart and quick to pick up on my slip up. I had meant what I told her; I didn't want her to know anymore of what it was that I was involved in than was necessary. Just her being close to me, and me feeling for her put Lea at risk.

I leaned my elbows on the table and pressed the palms of my hands into my eyes and cursed myself under my breath.

I looked up as Darrell pulled out the chair to my left and sat down. "What has she done to get under your skin tonight, Boss?"

"She didn't do anything," I blew out a breath, "for once."

Darrell took a sip of the drink he had brought with him to the table. "That's a first. If it wasn't Lea, then what has you pissed?"

"Is it that obvious?"

"Yes."

I ran a hand through my hair and spoke quietly. "After Jenny left to place our order, Lea scolded me for embarrassing the girl in front of everyone. I inadvertently implied that Jenny was an employee and,"

"And Lea being Lea made the connection that if Jenny was your employee, you owned the club."

"Yes." I leaned back in my chair and looked out over the club and my associates.

"And why is that such a bad thing?" Darrell sat back in his chair and glanced around the room as well.

We might have been at one of the clubs that I owned, but that didn't lessen the threats that we faced. If anything, it increased them. Even though it was a members only club, we knew that Miguel's or Scarbrough's men could gain access by posing as a patron. And even though we had security measures in place to help deter their entrance, they weren't one hundred percent reliable.

Insomniac required an access code to enter the garage. Those codes, along with a surveillance photo of the driver, and the make, model, and licenses plate of every vehicle that drove through the gates, were stored into our data base and scanned against known affiliates of our two largest rival organizations.

"You know why Darrell. The more she actually knows about what we do, the more she can be used against us if she is ever taken in. If that were to happen, I wouldn't be able to keep Mother from issuing Lea's death warrant."

"No disrespect intended Boss, but don't you think that was something you should have thought about before bringing her in our midst and falling for her? She is going to find out eventually what all it is that we do, whether you tell her yourself or someone mentions a job in passing."

I knew that Darrell was right, he usually was. "I know. But for now, I need to keep as much of that away from her as possible."

I looked up as the doors opened and Lea, Eva, and Paul and Samuel walked back in. The two girls were smiling as they talked. Once they reached our table, Eva gave me a nod.

"She's a keeper Boss."

"Glad you approve Eva."

Lea shot me a questioning glance as Eva walked back to her table. "Was she some kind of test?"

Darrell excused himself, as did Paul and Samuel.

"Yes."

"Damn I'm good," Lea mumbled as she took her seat. Lea caught my questioning glance and shook her head, "Nothing."