Page 94 of The Originals
“Yeah, I know. But what’s Ghosttown got that you can’t find somewhere else?”
There was a long stretch of silence.
It was a fair question and almost impossible to answer. Ghosttown and the club provided her with a home base. It wasn’t perfect, and neither were the people, but they felt like family. The idea of leaving and starting over was scary. It was best to leave that conversation in limbo. For now.
“So, how’s work? Did you get the promotion?”
Her brother knew what she was doing and was kind and supportive enough to go with it. He did, in fact, get the promotion, and they spent the next ten minutes talking about it. Colleen had to cut the call short when she saw her thirty minutes were up. But she promised to check in next week.
Once she hung up, she looked around the kitchen and the opening into the living room. There was at least a half inch layerof dust on most of the furniture. She wasn’t sure if she was overstepping her boundaries, but she decided to go in search of some cleaning products and a vacuum. For the next three hours, she cleaned the entire first floor. When she was filling the bucket to wash the floors, she noticed the large pile of clothes in the corner of the laundry room. It couldn’t hurt to get them washed.
After starting the laundry, she checked the fridge. There wasn’t too much to work with, but she’d grabbed a pound of ground beef from the freezer earlier. Colleen wasn’t the best cook, but she enjoyed it any chance she got. She had no idea what time Jack would be back, but she planned on having a warm meal waiting for him. It was the least she could do to show her appreciation.
Once it was prepared and in the oven, she walked into the living room. Now that it had been completely cleaned and tidied, she was second-guessing her decision. Maybe she’d crossed a boundary. She walked through the room, eyeing a side-by-side picture frame of two boys. Jack’s sons, Kase and Caden. They were old photos taken from picture day at school.They still haven’t updated the background since I went to elementary school.
Colleen stared at the picture with a smile playing on her lips. The boys couldn’t have been more than six and nine. She wasn’t sure of their ages now, but they were definitely teenagers. She’d seen them both a few times over the years but never interacted with them. It was well known throughout the club that when Jack’s boys were at the clubhouse, it was a PG event.
When the buzzer went off, Colleen retreated back into the laundry room. She switched over the loads and folded all the clothes from the dryer. She glanced up at the clock. It was a little after seven.
Do I have time for a shower?
Chapter Twenty-Five
The ride to Lawry had taken longer than expected. Between traffic and construction, he and Mick were running at least an hour and a half behind schedule. Jack was sure that was something Sal Caruso wouldn’t appreciate. By the time they rolled into the apartment complex, Jack was incredibly irritated. This was not how he should be going into a meeting.
A meeting he didn’t want to have. Jack knew exactly why he was being called in. He’d warned the club it was only a matter of time before Sal pushed for them to join forces. Had it been a fair partnership, Jack might have had a different outlook. But he knew aligning with the Underground would pull the club in a direction they hadn’t planned.
They parked in the rear of the building. Jack always found it odd that of all the places they could hold meetings, Sal opted for a low-level high-rise in the industrial section of the city. It was built years ago. Nothing extravagant. It was actually very low-key. And unsuspecting. Except for the fact that in a complex able to house one hundred units, there were only about twenty cars in the oversized lot.
Jack and Mick walked around the building and up the main walkway. It was a quiet area of the city with very few bystanders walking the streets.
“They got security everywhere, huh?” Mick said under his breath.
Jack didn’t bother looking up on the balconies. He knew they were being watched. Sal’s security detail was larger than most. It was fitting for a man who ran all the illegal entities statewide. Itwas just another reminder of the world they were walking into. The MC had done jobs for the Underground, but partnering up and working under them was an entirely different realm.
They were halfway up the walkway to the main entrance when the doors opened.
Four men, dressed in black suits, stopped them in the lobby.
“Carrying?”
A weapon?Always.They’d be fools to leave themselves unarmed for a meeting with the Underground. There was a level of trust, but Jack was always cautious. Jack and Mick might be armed, but that was information they wouldn’t share.
“No.”
The security looked over to the man next to him, who lifted his chin. “Mind if we check?”
Jack snorted and shared a look with Mick. “Yeah, we do fucking mind.”
There was no way they’d go into this meeting without some form of protection. They might be outnumbered, but they needed a fighting chance if something went wrong. The guard parted his lips but glanced over Jack’s shoulder and stilled. Jack didn’t look back but knew the man was getting instructions from another source. A higher one.
Seconds later, the foursome stepped aside, making a path for Jack and Mick.
“Last door on your right.”
Jack and Mick walked down the quiet and eerie hallway. Again, for a complex so large, it was as if there was no one else around. A front. It had to be. When they got to the door, Jack glanced back at security, noticing a fifth guy he hadn’t seen when they walked in. He was a lot younger than the rest of them, but Jack had the distinct feeling he held more power. Jack had never seen him before, but that didn’t mean too much. TheUnderground were notorious for keeping a low profile for most of their associates.
When they walked inside, Sal and Inez were already seated at the long rectangular table. Jack clocked a few members of their security lining the wall.