His Revenge by Charlene Raquel

Chapter Twenty-Four

 

 

The dining room table was filled with snacks and a huge order from the local pizza place. Gwen counted six different kinds of pizza, cheesy bread sticks, garlic knots, garlic bread, two kinds of salads, chocolate brownies, chocolate chip cookies, and three kinds of pasta.

“Wow. How much are you guys planning to eat?” Gwen asked when she entered the room.

Jeff rolled his eyes. “Someone let Dean order the food.”

“Hey! How was I supposed to know he was going to order enough to feed an entire platoon?” Crash grumbled about babysitting kids.

Dean came into the room with a family-sized bag of wavy potato chips. “Awesome. The food’s here.”

Gwen couldn’t hold in her laugh. He really was a bottomless pit.

Rip pulled Gwen into a hug. “Everything okay, Trouble? Still mad at us? You can stay angry with Striker if you want, he’s a dumbass.”

“Shut it, Rip.” Drew pushed him out of the way. “Go get your own woman.”

“I told her she wasn’t going to get any of this awesomeness tonight. She pouted for a while, but I think she’ll survive.” Rip winked at Gwen.

Sam walked in the front door. She headed straight for Gwen. “Are we talking to them again? Dean said you were here, and it was all good. Did he make that up? Do I need to clobber him?”

Gwen hugged her friend. She loved that Sam had her back no matter what. If Gwen was mad at the guys, so was Sam. No questions asked, Sam would follow along. “I have so much to tell you later.”

Sam leaned close to Gwen’s ear. She needed to know if Drew was going to get the silent treatment or hair remover in his shampoo. The guy had some really good hair, and it would be a shame for the female population to lose that visual, but she would do it for her girl. “Do we still hate Drew?”

“We made up. Sort of.”

“Okay, Then I’m only sort of still mad at him.”

Dean handed them paper plates. “Better dig in before it’s all gone.”

Sam crinkled her nose. “There’s no way we’re going to eat all this.”

Dean grinned. “Watch me.”

After dinner was cleaned up and the dining room was put back into a conference space. Drew told Gwen that Dominic was coming over to meet with them.

She shocked him by simply nodded.

Drew weighed how much to tell her. “He was in front of your house.”

“I know. I talked to him.”

Jeff turned in his seat to face her fully. “Say, what?”

Gwen filled them in about her conversation. “I don’t think he is a problem for us. I think he’s really here to help.”

Crash leaned back in his chair. “I want to hear what he has to say, but I think so too.”

Fifteen minutes later, Dominic was at the door with another man at his side.

Boomer crossed his arms over his massive chest, feet spread wide and took up as much space as possible to block the way. “You didn’t tell us you were bringing anyone.”

Dominic and his associate stood stoically still and waited.

“Oh, for goodness sake. All of you need to take it down a notch.” Sam marched into the middle of the men. She held out her hand to Dominic. “Hi. I’m Sam.”

Dominic smirked but shook her hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m Nic.”

Gwen frowned. “You said your name was Dominic.”

Dominic faced Gwen. “I never got to make any introductions. I’m known as Dominic, but my friends call me Nic. It’s a nickname.”

Gwen nodded. “I’ll have to remember that.”

Sam smiled brightly and turned to the other man. Wow. She needed to fan herself. He was flat out smokin’ hot. “Hello. My name’s Samantha, but everyone calls me Sam.” She stared into the greenest eyes she’d ever seen framed by long dark lashes that most women would kill for. She couldn’t get past the eyes, even though she wanted to see if he had the whole yummy package. She wanted to gaze into his eyes all night and if the heated looks he was returning were any indication, he might not mind returning the gesture.

Mr. Smoldering Eyes held onto her hand way longer than polite, and he didn’t seem to care. “Hello, Samantha. It’s nice to meet you.”

Sam pulled her eyes away from his and was glad she did. The rest of him was just as handsome. Dark hair complimented smooth olive skin, high cheek bones, and a square jaw. The only imperfection was a long thin scar that ran the length of his cheek from ear to chin. It didn’t take away from his handsomeness. It only made him sexier. “Are you going to tell me your name?”

He smirked and leaned closer. “What fun is that? I’d rather you keep trying to find out.”

Sam groaned. “I wouldn’t mind, but these guys are not going to like that. If they don’t know who you are, they’re not going to let you anywhere near us.”

He scowled. “Which one do you belong to?”

Sam turned to Gwen. “He just lost hotness points.” Sam then faced the newcomer. “I don’t belong to anyone. Either you tell us who you are or there is the door that will hit you in the ass on the way out.” She turned around and walked back into the dining room.

Rip chuckled. “Hotness points? Hey, Pixie. How many hotness points do I have? I have the most, right?”

Crash pushed Rip out of the way. “Knock it off, asshat.” He stood next to Boomer and Jeff. “Grant ‘Shadow’ Maddox, twenty-six, former Navy and Secret Service. No records from the last year though.”

Grant leaned against the door jam. “James ‘Crash’ Carter, pilot, driver, and mechanic. From what I hear, you can fix any piece of machinery or equipment you touch.”

Gwen rolled her eyes, pulled both men inside the foyer, and slammed the door closed. “There’s way too much testosterone in this house. Everyone needs to take it down a notch.”

“It’s obvious that introductions do not need to be made. We all know of each other.” Dominic grinned at Gwen. “Looks like you’re feeling better. It’s good to see.”

Drew snaked his arm around Gwen’s middle, staking his claim.

Jeff watched with amusement and dread. They needed the information from Dominic, but he knew it would come at a cost. “Let’s everyone head into the dining room. We can catch everyone up on what we know and what we speculate. Maybe we each have different details that can help each other.”

They all took seats, Drew pulling Gwen onto his lap and Rip bringing in a couple of chairs from the kitchen. Sam made sure she took a seat near Grant.

Dominic stood near the head of the table. It was a spot that Gwen thought he took up often. He was a man who was used to being in charge and respected. Watching him survey the room the way he was had convinced her that he was way more complex and complicated than any of them had thought.

“I became aware that several prominent members of the business community were unhappy with recent changes in federal trade laws and were seeking to make deals with minor terrorist groups. Richard Mason was leading this movement. We’ve been trying to discover who else had been involved, but so far, we’ve been unable to do so. I believe it may have something to do with the Scorpio Society.”

Jeff tipped his chair back against the wall. “Who do you work for?”

Dominic chuckled. “I work for myself.”

“Bullshit.” Boomer scowled.

Grant glared at Boomer.

Dominic sighed. “What I do and how I do it are not up for discussion. I have resources and connections that allow me to get shit done that others cannot or will not do.”

Rip leaned his forearms on his knees. “Why are you involved in this?”

Dominic glanced at Gwen. “I found out that Richard Mason was going to give his daughter to an arms dealer to pay off a debt. I decided to intervene.”

Several curses filled the room; Boomer’s was the loudest. “Why do you care about that?”

“That’s another topic that’s not on the table. We work together. We build trust, maybe I’ll tell you.”

Jeff nodded. “Fair enough. Let’s map out what we have.”

An hour later, Jeff’s white poster board that covered the top of the table was filled with facts, names, and dates. Several lines were connecting possible people, but they were still missing a great deal of information.

Drew squeezed Gwen. “As much as I don’t want to do this, I think our best bet is for me to stay with the Society Wannabes and get information from the inside. Sorry, babe.”

Gwen twisted to look at Drew and he knew she was about to say something he wasn’t going to like.

She slipped off his lap and faced the room. “Parker wants to date me. It’s the perfect opportunity for me to get close to him and find out what he’s hiding.”

“Hell no!”

Grant studied her. “It might work, but you would have to be very careful and do what we tell you. If we say to pull out, you need to do that.”

Drew faced Grant. “You’re not part of our group and you can’t tell my woman what she can and can’t do. I don’t know who the fuck you are, but you can’t come in here and start ordering people around.”

Jeff pushed off his chair and stood. “Let’s call this a night and meet back up. We have some more leads to follow and additional research to be conducted. We all agree to work together so we need to tone it down and check our egos. It isn’t going to help anyone.”

Drew was pissed, but he knew he needed to shake it off or he would lose Gwen. They had tentatively made up but that wouldn’t last if he didn’t cool it. “Come on. I’ll follow you girls home.”