Tate
Monday morning, Flash insisted on driving down to Mack’s office so I wouldn’t have to deal with parking in downtown Portland. He pulled up to a loading zone and faced . "You’re gonna rock this."
"Thanks, honey. I’m not sure when I’ll be done."
"I’m leavin’ the day open, baby, so just call when you’re ready."
I kissed him quickly, then headed into the building. Mack’s office was on the twentieth floor of Big Pink, so I rode the express elevator up, and stepped into a large elevator lobby area with doors on either side, although the doors to my left were glass and I could clearly see a receptionist behind a desk.
I made my way toward her, and she raised her head and smiled as I walked into the large lobby. She stood and leaned over the desk, holding her hand out to . "You must be Tate."
"I am."
"I’m Monroe," she said. "I’m actually Logan’s assistant. I’m doubling as receptionist until Erin gets back from running so errands."
It took a second to realize she was talking about Mack. I don’t know that I ever knew his real na. "Hi, it’s nice to et you."
"I’ll let him know you’re here." She picked up the phone and pressed a button. "Hey. Tate’s here. Yep. No, I cleared your calendar. Sure. Okay. I’ll bring her back." She raised her finger and dialed another number. "Hey, Jeanne, can you watch the desk for a few? Aweso, thanks." She hung up and smiled. "Co on, I’ll show you around."
A woman a little older than Monroe walked through a side door and smiled. "You’re the new paralegal, right?"
I nodded, reaching my hand out. "Tate Burke."
"Jeanne Marks."
"Nice to et you."
"I’m going to show you around and then Logan will get you started on the onboarding paperwork."
"Perfect." I smiled and followed Monroe through the locked doors behind the reception desk.
Flash
I pulled into the strip mall on the outskirts of Beaverton, closer to the seedier side of town, and parked off to the side, out of view of any caras... not that there were many. What I planned to do didn’t need an audience... or evidence.
Luckily, there were more "FOR LEASE" signs than actual vendors, so the place was relatively deserted.
Hearing the sound of pipes in the distance, I set my helt on my seat, and waited for my brethren to join .
Unbeknownst to Tate, I’d had Booker do a deep dive into this Nick character. What he found wasn’t surprising. Nick Pruitt had graduated second-to-last in his law class, had taken the Bar twice and only managed to eke through the second ti around.
He was not a desirable hire, however, so no one had co looking for him to join their firm. Which led here. A shitty little office for a shitty little man who’d relegated himself to ambulance chasing in the lowest form.
Train pulled in, followed by Booker, then Ace... and my dad. I frowned as they parked beside , and my dad set his helt on his bike.
"Didn’t realize you were joinin’ the party," I said.
Dad swept his hair back into a ponytail and grinned. "I’m here to make sure you don’t go to jail."
"He needs a lesson, Pop."
"Don’t disagree, and I won’t stop you, but gonna make sure there’s no blowback. As your prez."
I gave him a chin lift and headed down to Nick’s office, leading my brothers into the crappy little space. The bell over the door jingled as we walked inside. There was a desk toward the back of the room, but no one was in it.
"Be right out," a man’s voice called, and Train checked the other doors, giving an all-clear signal.
A few seconds later, Nick walked out, stalling at the threshold of the door. "Ah, can I help you?"
"Hey, Nick," I said.
"Do I know you?"
"Na’s Flash."
His eyes widened and then he shook his head. "You’re the guy Tate was obsessed with."
For so reason, the fact he knew who I was, made exceedingly happy. She’d talked about , even while hating . I liked that.
"What can I do for you?" Nick asked. "Do you need legal advice?"
"No."
He frowned again, his eyes darting from to my posse. He held his hands up. "Look, I don’t want any trouble. I don’t know what you’re doing here, but I’m an attorney and will sue you if you threaten ."
I grinned, turning and glancing at Train. "He thinks we’re threatening him."
Train chuckled, crossing his arms, making his already huge body look bigger.
"Now, why would I threaten you, Nick?" I asked.
His face paled and his Adam’s apple bobbed with nervousness. "I don’t know what Tate told you—"
"What could Tate possibly tell , Nick?" I asked, cracking my knuckles.
"Whatever she said, it’s a lie."
"What’s a lie, Nick?"
"She was excited when I invited her to that party," he squeaked.
"Oh, so what you did wasn’t so much attempted sexual assault as it was an invitation to a party?" I challenged. "Since this is a place of law, allow to serve you with an invitation to a party of your very own."
He cleared his throat. "What the hell are you talking about?"
"It’s your going away party."
"What the fuck are you talking about, I’m not going anywhere," he snapped, pulling out his cell phone. "In fact, I’m going to call the police right now."
"Go ahead." I nodded. "In fact, the more civil servants who know about your extracurricular activities, the better. In fact, you call the police and I’ll call Christine Beach over at KRTV."
"What are you talking about?" he rasped.
"We have video footage of you frequenting the Inner Sanctum more than a dozen tis."
"Where the fuck did you get that? I’ll slap you with so many lawsuits—"
"Not before we release this to every news outlet in the Pacific Northwest. And I would highly suggest you not underestimate our capabilities."
Clearly seeing we ant business, he slumped against the wall and asked, "What do you want?"
"I want you to pack up your shingle and get the fuck out of town within the next forty-eight hours. If you don’t, I’ll know. And next ti I co to visit you, I’ll leave with one of your fingers." I smiled slowly. "To show I’m a fair guy, I’ll let you choose which one I take."
"This is my practice, you don’t have the power or authority to do that."
Train grabbed him, pinning his arm flat against the wall and forcing him to spread his fingers out. I pulled the knife out from my boot and approached him.
I got two steps forward when he yelled, "Okay, okay."
I nodded to Train who released the sniveling piece of shit. "I an it. Forty-eight hours. Leave town. Don’t co back. Believe when I say we’ll be keeping tabs on you."
Nick scowled, but then gave a reluctant nod, and I turned and led my brothers out the door.
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