Chapter 33

Grace’s POV

When I found out that Matt Wallber would be buying Club Heaven, I didn’t know what to think. I was a bit afraid, but I had learned a long time ago that fear would just make it harder to make a good decision. The worst thing Matt could do was kill me, and I hadn’t been afraid of death in a long time.

After the game was over, I helped put his chips into his assigned box and pondered the advice he’d given Justin. Caleb laughed and told him it was a good game and he couldn’t wait to see the new Club Heaven. The rest of the table dispersed, but I watched Justin slip out of the private room.

With Matt’s chips gathered, I walked with him and Renda towards the cashier’s counter and scanned the tables. Mordecai was seated nearby, lounging in his seat as if he was king. He had kept his distance all night to my surprise. I expected him to try and talk to Matt, but maybe he was just biding his time.

The other familiar faces were so busy whispering and speculating about Matt’s plans for Club Heaven that no one had managed to approach them, but I had heard enough.

Most were wondering if Warhammer was planning to cut into Midnight’s territory or take over the pack altogether. Others were certain that Mordecai had called Matt to the Midnight to try and entice him into helping with the pack’s finances.

Once upon a time, Midnight had been the hub for luxury and pleasure, but as other packs had begun to open brothels and develop under the umbrella of Warhammer’s influence, Midnight had started losing money.

I knew Mordecai wasn’t worried about that exactly, but he was probably listening to the talk and considering the truth in the rumors. Betrayal went hand in hand with money sometimes. I wouldn’t be surprised if Mordecai was always waiting for Ben or someone else in their circle to stab them in the back.

I wouldn’t be surprised if Mordecai was planning on stabbing Ben in the back. Men like them made more enemies than friends the longer they remained in power.

Still, it didn’t seem like Matt was here as an extension of his father. He seemed too earnest when he told Renda that he was in Midnight for her.

He’d said revenge, but I knew he meant freedom.

I clenched my fist as a bottle of Blue Ice wolfsbane whiskey floated past on a server’s tray. I watched the light catch in the finely blown glass bottle. A group of loud drunken men cheered the arrival of the bottle and poured large cups as if they could handle the whiskey. The women with them sipped their drinks and our eyes met for a moment.

I wished them good luck for the night with a nod of my head and they tossed the rest of their drinks in salute.

Renda looked at her ID and documentation as if it was the key to her freedom, and even I hinted that I wanted that sort of freedom, but it was only because I couldn’t tell him the truth.

True freedom wasn’t just having an identity and a way to make a living. It was never having to look over your shoulder and wonder if someone would find you because you knew too much. It was peace, safety, and stability. I wouldn’t have any of that unless he sent me to some remote island never to be seen again or everyone responsible for me being at Club Heaven was gone.

Renda wouldn’t have that either until the people responsible for her ending up at Club Heaven were eliminated either.

They could be the same people, but there was a greater chance that they weren’t. She had Matt to chase her demons, the best thing I could do was make sure I was useful to his plan.

Matt led us out of the doors as I began to wonder if the same people who had gotten Renda to Club Heaven were responsible for me ending up there or any of these other women wearing a collar from Sinner’s Haven.

My stomach churned as I climbed into the car after Renda. Felix was a bastard, but he had never offered his employees as party favors. He’d been too stingy to do anything like that.

“I’d say that was a success,” Matt said. “There’s nothing like making money easily.”

He pulled out the card and frowned, turning it over, “Grave Mouth.”

I flinched at the name of the pack. It wasn’t a well-known pack for a bunch of reasons, but it had a reputation. I remember Felix saying he didn’t want to work with them any longer, but I couldn’t remember why he’d made the decision. It had been about the time he bought Renda and the other women from Victoria.

“Not who I expected to see on this card,” he remarked. “I’ll have to add them to the map.”

“Who is Grave Mouth?” Renda asked. I was surprised that she’d never heard of them. She must not be from the west coast.

“Grave Mouth is a pack based in the southwest,” Matt said. “They’re known for smuggling.”

He looked at me, “You know something about them?”

“Felix used to work with them, but he stopped about three years ago. I’m not sure why.”

He nodded, “At the least, I know that Justin doesn’t use Grave Mouth.”

I frowned.

“How would you know that?”

Matt chuckled, “He’s the patron of the dealer. The entire game was rigged. Whether I won the game or not, he was going to give me this card. The question is why.”

He wasn’t wrong. All the dealers were Sinner’s Haven girls working on orders from Justin. I turned over the thought. It could have been to hope to run Matt out of business and maybe get him into much larger trouble than the racy spreads he was usually seen in.

Trouble with the Inter-Pack authorities would be damaging to his future as alpha of a pack.

“About all the prostitutes that used to work for Club Heaven,” I said. “What do you plan to do with them?”

Matt hummed, “Nothing. Get them identities if they need. Let them stay if they want, get them jobs, if possible, etc.”

“That’s… going to be expensive.”

Matt laughed, “Not nearly as expensive as you think.”

I didn’t know what that meant, but I knew that as an heir to the Warhammer pack, he was probably more than able to support all of fifty ex-prostitutes as they tried to get on their feet.

It made me wonder what I would do when he had finished his

“Justin Ashbrook has wanted to take over Club Heaven for years,” I said. “You’re right to not trust him.”

I didn’t know the full extent of his ambitions, but I knew that he thought himself above running Sinner’s Haven. He’d always come off as jealous of Felix’s operation.

“I wouldn’t,” Matt said, turning the card over in his hand. “But I’m intrigued about what else you can tell me about him.”

“Not much,” I said. “He keeps a woman named Chloe. She’s his favorite and she is rarely seen. I know he’s been angling to get into the upper echelons of the Midnight pack by opening Sinner’s Haven.”

Matt chuckled, “That makes sense. Thank you, Grace.”

My heart fluttered, and I felt the faintest stirrings of my wolf at the back of my mind. I couldn’t remember the last time I had been thanked sincerely for anything, let alone something so small.

The car pulled up to the hotel and he ushered us out of the car, leading us up to the penthouse suite as he undid his cufflinks and shrugged out of his jacket.

“Get some rest, ladies,” Matt said. “I have a feeling we’ll have a full day tomorrow.”

Then, he walked down the hallway leaving Renda and me standing in the living room. I looked at her trying to glean some understanding of his behavior. Renda looked frustrated and turned to sit on the couch with a deep sigh.

I joined her, sitting across the coffee table.

For a while, we sat in silence, but I couldn’t keep the silence for long.

“What do you think he plans to do?”

Renda shook her head and looked down the hallway, “He knows something about Midnight. More than he’s said… I don’t know what.”

“You don’t trust him,” I said, tilting my head.

She glanced at me, “I have my reasons.”

Didn’t we all?

I sat back, “If he’s after the traffickers, his best bet is to infiltrate Sinner’s Haven and get Midnight into a chokehold.”

Renda frowned, “What do you mean?”

“Midnight has three main sources of income: Club Heaven, Sinner’s Haven, and all the illicit activities it covers up through the border patrol.”

Renda narrowed her eyes and nodded, “Have you met Mordecai?”

I nodded and shuddered, “And I hope to never see him again.”