Dark Entity

Chapter 2.1

Reminder: This is a book preview and only contains the first five chapters. My chapters are pretty long, so I've broken them down into sections. I hope you enjoy! Feel free to comment but no hate, please. Be mindful of trigger warnings in the Authors Note.

Collin was the first to the office, as usual. He sat down at the head of the table, organizing the papers for the meeting. He was surprised when Ginger and Hawk entered the conference room. Jackie was always the first in the office after him. "Where's Jackie?"

"She's on her way. Peter is bringing her." Ginger's dark expression hinted at trouble as she took her seat at the long table.

"It's not like her ta be the last one here."

"Judging by how upset she was when Ginger talked to her an hour ago and the handprint on Han's face, I'd say she found out about last night." Hawk sat down in his chair.

Han came into the room, followed closely by Liam. "Mind your own business, Liam."

"Come on, man! The wan slapped you. She's bein' a feckin' gee." Collin and Hawk were out of their seats the second the words were out of Liam's mouth. Liam's sharp instincts were the only reason Han's punch didn't connect with his jaw.

"That's enough, damn it!" Collin yelled as he stepped between the two men, and Hawk grabbed Han from behind.

Han glared dangerously at Liam. "Don't you ever call Jackie or Ginger names again, or so help me, I'll snap your fucking neck!"

"I'd like ta see ye feckin' try!"

"I said that's enough! Liam, ye are out of line, and ye've been warned more than once about your mouth. Your pay will be docked fifty dollars this week and every week after for a month. If ye use any offensive language towards any member of this team again, ye will be docked an additional fifty. Is that understood?"

"That's not fair, Collin!"

"There's always the alternative that we discussed last night. Had ye rather have that punishment, instead?"

Liam gritted his teeth. "No."

"I didn't think so." Collin turned from Liam to Han. "Han, ye've been asked ta keep your personal affairs outside of this office."

"It's not like that, Collin. Me taking a swing at him had to do with him disrespecting Ginger last night and Jackie just now. He's been asking for it."

"Be that as it may, I will have ta dock your pay this week for fifty, as well."

"That's fair, I guess." Hawk let Han go when he saw that the situation was resolved. "Would've been worth it, if my punch had actually connected."

"Now, go sit down!" Collin's angry voice left no room for argument or disobedience. They all went back to their chairs.

Jackie and Peter rushed into the office to see them take their seats at the table. Jackie hurried to her place beside Han and sat down, saying, "I'm sorry we're late, Collin. Traffic was awful on Pike Street; it was blocked off because of an accident." Peter took his seat between Jackie and Collin.

"It's alright, Jackie, we all just arrived here ourselves. Let's get ta it, then, shall we?" He took a breath, settled his thoughts to business, and waited as they opened the folders in front of them. "We have a prospective client in Oakwood, Georgia. Her name is Margaret Denton, and she owns the Crossroads Café. According ta what she told me over the phone, she and members of her staff have been experiencing violent encounters since they opened about six months ago.