men shook their heads, but a dozen or so appeared as if they might be contemplating the offer. “Two hundred if you last more than ten minutes.”
Four men started forward, tall men with thick necks and broad shoulders. Finally. He rubbed his hands together. Maybe he’d fight all of them. Whatever he paid them would be worth it, especially if they landed a few punches. At least then he could tend to physical injuries, whereas there was no relief from heartache. The only way to survive it was to ignore it.
“Who’s first?” He pointed at the biggest of the lot. “Southern Mike?”
Mike shrugged his assent then climbed through the ropes and into the ring. Jack waved one of the boys forward, who began wrapping Mike’s knuckles in cloth. Jack stretched out his arms as anticipation swirled inside him. The darkness receded for a moment, blessed relief from the madness hovering on the edges of his mind. He could focus on the fight, the punches to throw, and lose himself in the pure physicality of it.
Rolling his head on his neck, he stared out the window, beyond the crowd. For a split second he caught the glint of metal. Blinking, he saw it. On the other side of the street, a man stood facing the club, a gun in his hand.
And he was aiming it at the window.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Jack recognized the man and it was not who he’d expected. What the hell?
Instead of hiding, Jack shouted the one word guaranteed to send a room full of crew members scurrying like cockroaches. “Coppers!”
The place erupted into chaos. Tables and chairs were knocked over, glass broken, as men darted for the back exit and secret rooms. Jack didn’t move. He stared, almost daring the man across the street to shoot him.
But the man must have realized the opportunity at a clean shot had passed, because he tucked the pistol into his pocket and started down the street. Donning his shirt, Jack slid through the crowd as quickly as possible. Then he was out the doors and on the walk. He spotted the shooter and followed. It was then he noticed that Cooper was also in pursuit. Good man.
No way would the shooter get away this time.
The man turned along Bowery, heading south. Jack decided to cut him off, so he crossed the street and darted ahead. When the man noticed Jack directly in front of him, his eyes went huge. He spun on his heel and took off in the opposite direction—right into Cooper.
Cooper grabbed hold of the shooter and yanked his arms behind his back. The man struggled, unable to break free, as Jack slowly approached.
“You fucking idiot,” Jack growled and drove his fist into Robert Gorcey’s stomach.
Gorcey wheezed and crumpled in Cooper’s hold. Pedestrians gave them a wide berth on the sidewalk. Still, this was far too public for what Jack had planned. “Bring him to the club,” Jack ordered.
With a nod, Cooper began dragging Gorcey to Great Jones Street. Cooper might appear wiry, but he was strong. Gorcey had no chance of escaping.
At the club’s front, Jack jerked his head toward the metal doors that led belowground. “Down there.”
They were in the cellar when Rye found them. The older man spat on the ground at Gorcey’s feet. “Jesus. One of our own?”
Gorcey’s expression was mutinous, his disgust and hatred directed solely at Jack. “You deserve it,” he snarled. “Beat me all you want but you deserve killing for interfering.”
“By forcing you to act like a decent human being, you piece of filth. Those children depend on you to provide for them—money you earn by working for me, I might add.”
“Not anymore. I left—or are you too busy with your whore to notice?”
Jack didn’t even think, just reacted. His fist cracked into Gorcey’s jaw. “Speak about her like that again and I’ll break both your legs.”
“Who cares?” Gorcey slurred. “After what I’ve done my legs are the least of my problems. Do your worst, Mulligan.”
“Are you so cheap you can’t spare the money for your family? I know how much you make, Robert. You could well afford it.”
“That is not the point,” Gorcey said. “I don’t want to be married to her anymore. I don’t love her or those kids.”
“Then why’d you marry her? Why’d you come inside her and make those kids?”
“Because she let me. And she wasn’t so plain and boring back then. That’s what happens when women have babies. They become plain and boring. She never let me