This time I looked to the left of him at Crusher. He bobbed his head then turned and walked a short distance, grabbing the duffle bag. Making his way back to us, he tossed it between me and Roger.
“So you mean the money we found in your car was my payment.” He visibly swallowed hard and eyed the bag. It was more than what he was due to pay back. Which led me to believe he planned on running off on me without repaying his debt.
“Ye-yeah, man. I was on my way to pay you.”
I felt my patience dwindling as the lies continued to file out of his mouth.
“Since that was meant for me, I guess everything in the bag is mine, right?” I asked.
Hesitantly, he nodded. “Yeah, yeah, man. Take it all. Just, just let me go.” Again his voice shook.
I cracked my neck side to side and stepped forward, kicking the bag out of the way. When I got close enough, I slammed the butt of my gun across his face, making him grunt. “You think you’re in the place to make demands?”
“Kairus.” He called out my first name. I hit him again. “You fucked up when you missed your deadline then tried to run off on me like I wouldn’t find you. You must have forgotten who the fuck I was.” Again, I hit him.
Trying to get over on a Navarro was a death wish. Anyone who crossed us knew that. Disrespect wasn’t going to be tolerated. When you tried to skip out on a debt to us, you committed the ultimate disrespect.
I stepped back, repositioning the gun in my hand and gripping the handle tightly.
“Since it seems like you forgot who you were dealing with, it’s up to me to remind you.”
Roger struggled to lift his head that now had three large gashes across it, blood dripped down his face. His breathing was staggered.
“Pl-please,” he struggled.
“You know the worst thing about you? You were gonna run off and leave your debt to fall on your parents. Good thing I caught you before it came to that. I’ll make sure I send them flowers.” Lifting my head, I pulled the trigger, sending a bullet between his eyes. His body slumped and his head dropped.
“I thought you were never gonna shut his whining ass up,” Rock complained.
I cracked my neck and rolled my shoulders back. “Incinerate his body,” I demanded and bent down to grab the duffle bag. “Cut off two fingers first and send them to his parents.”
I turned to leave. My men were capable of cleaning this up and taking care of business. Roger knew how things would turn out which was why I was shocked it had taken him so long to try to run when he didn’t repay me right away. I never loaned money to someone who didn’t have things to lose. Roger was a selfish bastard. If he would have left, I would have gone after his parents. He knew that but didn’t care.
The amount he owed didn’t even put a dent in what I normally loaned out. Many people, from failing businesses to underground crime leaders, borrowed money from me. They knew borrowing money from me meant I owned them until I was repaid. When it came time to collect my money, I didn’t take excuses or like to have to hunt you down. Most people knew not to try me, but there was always one like Roger who liked to tempt fate. Those were the ones I loved to make examples out of. What everyone failed to realize was I had eyes everywhere. Even if I didn’t react right away, Iwascoming.
“Business looks good,” Nolan, my business partner, noted. Lifting my eyes from the papers on my desk, I leaned back and stared at him. At thirty-two I had already doubled my original wealth I inherited when I turned eighteen.
“Did you have any doubts?” Nolan had just gotten back into town. He was typically the one who gathered those who thought they didn’t have to repay, but with him gone and Roger trying to skip town, I took it personally. It had been a while since I’d gotten my hands dirty anyway.
He smirked. “Nah. You’re always the happiest when you’re able to cause havoc.” I chuckled and lifted my hand to my cheek, brushing my thumb across the scars.
“Can’t get rusty out here. That’s when people think you’ve gone weak.” I looked down at the papers. “Looks like Barnet isn’t gonna make his deadline this time,” I mentioned, referring to a business owner who took a loan out to cover some gambling debt he had incurred.
Nolan grinned and rubbed his hands together. “Good, he’s been pushing his luck too damn long anyway. I’ve been itching to put a bullet in him.” Barnet had borrowed from us a few times. He was an arrogant asshole who snorted and gambled all his money away. He always managed to pay back what he borrowed, however, this time he had an hour left and I hadn’t heard from him.
“He was last seen at Benson’s underground ring,” I said, referring to a gambling club that ran off the books.
“Fucking idiot. He should’ve learned after that time I broke his leg. I guess it’s time to make shit more permanent.” Hecracked his knuckles. While seeing the fear people got when they realized they fucked up humored me, Nolan got joy from the killing and violence itself. He was raised from a young age for this life, we both were. Our fathers made sure we were groomed to take over when the time came.
Just as I was about to reply, the phone on my desk rang.
I hit the blinking light.
“What?” I barked.
“Uhm, Mr. Navarro. Sorry to bother you, sir,” my secretary stuttered. “I have a Mr. Jeremy Marks on line one.”
My brows furrowed and I looked toward Nolan. “What does he want?”
