"What should we do, sir? Should we go after him?"
The henchman anxiously awaited Dominic Grayson's command. Dominic calmly ashed his cigar and took a sip of whiskey.
"That depends. Do we know where he is?"
"Not yet — all we know right now is that The Tiger is back. What should we do?"
The kingpin puffed his cigar thoughtfully. "Let him jump around for a bit. He'll come out of hiding eventually. And when he does, we'll strike. This time, when we catch him, we won't make the mistake of putting him in a cage."
* * *
I've never seen this many luxury cars in my life, Aiden thought when he arrived at World Motors. The dealership was a sight to behold, filled with so many exotic makes and models. Aiden realized that Ben had never specified which one was his.
"Excuse me?" A receptionist stood up from behind her desk. "Are you Aiden Callahan?"
"That's me."
Aiden noticed the receptionist eyeing him up and down, smirking at his drab clothes. "You're certainly not dressed the way I thought you'd be."
Before Aiden could reply, the manager of the dealership emerged from his office. "Mr. Callahan, I presume? There you are. Please, follow me. Mr. Jameson told us you were coming." He led Aiden to a private showroom in the back and gestured to one of the cars. "Here it is, your new ride! Ben told us to customize the exterior so you can keep a low profile."
Aiden frowned. He knew the car had to be expensive, but the outside left something to be desired. What a piece of junk. It's got dents and scuff marks all over it… and it desperately needs a new coat of paint.
Before Aiden could express his disdain, the manager disappeared to fetch paperwork, leaving Aiden alone in the showroom — or so he thought — until out of the corner of his eye he noticed a beautiful young woman with auburn hair staring at him.
Wait… isn't that one of Ava's friends? Aiden wondered.
The young woman tossed her hair. "Don't I know you from somewhere? We met at Cyrus's party, right?"
Aiden nodded. "You're friends with Ava."
"Yes. I'm Charlotte."
"Nice to meet you. I mean — again." Aiden chuckled.
Charlotte smirked. "Ava told me you were a delivery boy. How can you afford this car?"
Quick, make up an excuse, Aiden told himself. She can't find out who you really are.
"It's a work car. I got a new job, actually. That's why I'm here."
Charlotte nodded. "Well, since we're both here, let's take a picture for Ava. She'll be thrilled to find out you got a car, even if it's not really yours." She held up her phone.
Aiden stepped out of frame. "Maybe we should just keep this between us for now."
Charlotte rolled her eyes. "You're a bit weird, you know that?"
"Sorry, I didn't mean to be rude."
She smiled. "That's okay. I won't take it personally. Well, it seems like we're both waiting for paperwork… want to find some way to kill time?"
"How about I take you to lunch while we wait?" Aiden suggested.
Charlotte tossed her hair. "Sounds good to me."
Just then, the manager reappeared, placing two sets of contracts in front of them. "Here you go! Just sign here."
Charlotte rolled her eyes. "So much for lunch, I guess."
Aiden grinned. "No way. A deal's a deal." He signed the dotted line. "Come on, hop in — I can get us into The Sapphire Club."
Charlotte's eyes lit up. "Really? Come on, let's get out of here."
* * *
Aiden drove Charlotte to The Sapphire Club, tearing through the streets of Chicago. The car was surprisingly powerful. The outside doesn't do it justice, Aiden thought, admiring the state-of-the-art interior.
He could feel Charlotte's eyes on him as she rolled her window down and let her auburn hair blow in the wind. What is she staring at? he wondered. She's more interested in me than my own fiancée.
Before he could dwell on it further, Aiden pulled up to the valet outside of The Sapphire Club. As he handed over his keys, his phone rang.
"Sorry, I have to take this." He told Charlotte. "Hello?"
"Aiden, it's me, Cyrus. I just saw you pull up. Come upstairs."
"Okay, I'll be right there." Aiden hung up and turned to Charlotte. "Why don't you go get us a table. Just tell them you're with me, and they'll seat you. I've got to take care of some business."
Charlotte seemed impressed. "Sounds good to me."
* * *
Aiden headed upstairs to Cyrus's office.
"What's up?" he asked as he let himself in.
Cyrus spun around in a large leather armchair, smiling. "Who's that girl you're with? Is that your fiancée?"
"No, it's her friend, actually. We're just grabbing a quick lunch."
Cyrus smiled. "Well, I'm glad you're here. I wanted to give you something." He opened his desk drawer and pulled out a black metal credit card, handing it to Aiden. "This is the Tiger Group VIP Card. It's yours now."
Aiden held the card up to the small lamp on Cyrus's desk. Underneath the light, the faint silhouette of a tiger appeared.
"If you ever have a problem getting a table or a bouncer gives you trouble again, just show them this card. You'd be surprised at the places you can get into with this in your pocket."
"Thanks, Cyrus. I'm sure this will come in handy." He slid the card into his wallet. "Anything else?"
"Not at the moment. Go enjoy your date."
"She's not my date," Aiden protested.
"Okay, whatever you say." Cyrus chuckled to himself.
* * *
Aiden found Charlotte at a discreet booth in the corner of the club.
"What took you so long?" she asked.
"Sorry, my boss called me up to his office. He owns the club."
"You work for Cyrus?" Charlotte leaned back, impressed. "You know Cyrus Shaw?"
"Yes, everybody does. You're just full of secrets, aren't you? Hiding anything else from me?" She smirked flirtatiously.
"Now, why would I want to hide anything from you?" Aiden flirted right back.
Suddenly, a man approached their table. Despite the fact that it was only midday, he was already drunk. He leered at Charlotte. "Hey, gorgeous, can I buy you a drink?"
Charlotte scoffed. "No thanks, I'm good."
"Hey, c'mon, lighten up. How 'bout a smile?" The man slurred.
Charlotte's face grew flush. "I said, no. Keep it moving."
"I don't take no for an answer, baby." The man leaned in as if he was about to kiss her.
Aiden stood up. "The lady said no. Now, how 'bout you go back to your table, and nobody gets hurt, okay?"
The drunken man scoffed. "Yeah, right. What's a scrawny guy like you gonna do about it? You probably can't even afford to pay for her lunch." He shoved Aiden, and without a second thought, Aiden landed a punch square in the man's jaw. Shocked, the drunk swung right back, and the two began to fight. People all over the club started recording on their phones. Charlotte jumped up from her seat, backing away in fright.
Without much effort, Aiden knocked the drunk down to the ground, his nose bleeding. Aiden looked up and noticed people filming.
Oh, shit. I can't let this video get out. It won't look good for me.
"Come on, Charlotte. Let's get out of here."
Charlotte started to grab her bag when the club manager approached. "Just where do you think you're going? You come in here, attack our clientele, and now you think you can just leave? I'm calling security."
Charlotte stepped forward. "Wait, you don't understand. He was only trying to defend me! This creep came up to me and wouldn't leave me alone."
"It doesn't matter. You still threw the first punch, and now we're going to have to get the police involved."
Aiden suddenly remembered the gift Cyrus had given him. "Actually, I don't think the police will be necessary." He whipped out his wallet and flashed the Tiger Group card at the manager. The insignia of the Tiger shimmered under the club lights.
The manager's jaw dropped. "Oh, I see… m-my apologies, sir. I didn't realize." He stammered and looked terrified. "You're right, there's no need to get the police involved. We'll escort this man off the premises."
Aiden smiled. "Good. See that you take out the trash."
The manager snapped his fingers, and two bouncers dragged the drunk man out to the street.
* * *
When they got back to his car, Charlotte turned to Aiden, a mysterious look in her eye. "What just happened back there? How did you get that guy to leave us alone?"
I can't tell her about the Tiger Group. I barely know this girl. The best thing I can do is keep my identity a secret.
"I work for Cyrus now, remember?" Aiden smiled. "Let's just find some other place to have lunch. I'm still hungry, and I'm sure you are too."
Charlotte looked dissatisfied with his answer but decided not to push further. "Okay… how about that place over there? Looks like they have food."
Aiden looked where Charlotte was pointing. "Club Cain?"
Dominic Grayson owns that club, Aiden thought. That place has to be swarming with his thugs. Not a good idea.
Then another thought occurred to him. Actually, this might be a good chance to gather some intel on the enemy. If I'm gonna take Dominic out, I'm gonna need to know his weaknesses.
A mischievous smile crossed his face. "Club Cain, it is. Sounds perfect."