The Moth and the Flame (When Rivals Play #2) - B.B. Reid Page 0,52
giving Harry’s claim any credence. “We can’t risk a sloppy job. You interested?”
I nodded though it seemed superfluous to offer consent. Even if I hadn’t insisted on being there, I wasn’t foolish enough to believe Shane was actually giving me a choice. I had authority and respect within Exiled, more than the rest, but even my leash extended only so far.
“Good. I don’t want to give Thirteen a chance to distribute the product or risk them getting spooked and relocating the coke, so once boss gives the okay, we move in.” He stood from the table, and in typical Shane fashion, he left the room without acknowledging or offering any goodbyes.
Harry waited all of five seconds before scurrying from the room back to whatever hole he’d come from.
Siko and Eddie were excitedly discussing how they’d spend their cut of the money. No doubt a job this size would guarantee a generous commission. I had a hard time suppressing my irritation when I ordered them back to work.
After they had left, I moved through the shotgun house making sure everything was running smoothly. This particular spot was the hub for our counterfeiting operation. We printed and sold fake money to anyone desperate, greedy, or stupid enough to buy it and made a pretty nice profit, but it wasn’t even close to our largest moneymaker.
Fox’s stables covertly sprinkled throughout the city brought in twice as much—not to mention the drugs and guns we callously flooded into the streets. More recently, Fox had sunk his teeth into gambling along with its reluctant ringmaster, Mickey Johnson. Mickey had his hand in everything that could be bet on, making an impressive name and profit from his efforts. And now Fox demanded a piece of the pie, finally elevating his extortion of local businesses cloistered in our city to most of the East Coast. It was only a matter of time before he set his sights even further. After all, Fox’s ambitions were designed to not only threaten Thirteen’s but engulf them. So far, we’d succeeded in pushing most of Thirteen out of New York, but our rival had long since graduated from being a simple street gang. The terrified whispers were beginning to utter mafia, and if Fox hoped to keep up with the seven decades of terror Thirteen wrought, he couldn’t afford to show mercy.
Not that he ever considered it.
One of my brothers texted me about a party another member was throwing, but as usual, I turned them down and crashed at the stable, much to the girls’ pleasure. In the beginning, I couldn’t get enough of Exiled parties—the girls, the booze, the drugs. I never indulged in the latter, but I had more than I could handle of the former. Back then, I hadn’t had all the power and the responsibilities that came along with it, but after I fucked up my initiation, Fox was determined to make me prove my worth. Five years later, I was still paying for the ounce of mercy I’d shown.
The setting sun made it hard to read Lou’s expression when she stepped outside the next day, but I could tell by her body language that she was still pissed.
“I wasn’t expecting to see you for a while,” she mumbled when she finally stood in front of me with her arms crossed. She wore white denim shorts that were frayed at the end and hugged her thighs. I could only imagine how her ass looked in them and swallowed back a groan. The black ribbed tank top she wore was cut so dangerously low her breasts were close to spilling out, and even more frustrating was that it was cropped, showing off her belly button. My jaw clenched when I thought about the time she’d considered piercing it. I had begged her not to. I never explained why I was against it, and she never asked. For a few days, I tortured myself wondering if she knew until I finally stopped myself from thinking about it.
Even now, my mouth watered at the thought, and I forced myself to swallow.
“But you were hoping I’d come,” I said with confidence, making her eyes narrow. She didn’t reply and, instead, walked around me, heading for my car. I smiled at her back and followed her.
She didn’t speak the entire forty-minute drive, but when I parked, she sighed, knowing she’d have to talk to me as she looked around in confusion. “Why are we here?”