by Ali Parker
I almost enjoyed his straightforward questioning. He was ballsy. I would give him that.
"What would you define as bad?" I took another bite of my roll and licked at my lips. "Some guys define me as bad, but I couldn't be further from it. At least in public." I glanced around before pressing him with a hard stare.
"Right," he whispered and pulled his menu back up to his face. "What are you having today?"
"You?" I smiled as he looked up from the menu and balked. "I'm just teasing."
"Please... don't stop."
Chapter 19
Demetri
A growl left me as I drove over to the shipping warehouse from Joe's mansion. The thought of Izabella having lunch with the cop left me itching all over. What if she did see something in him that drew her in deeply? What if a good guy was truly what she needed in her life?
The conversation with my brother, Drake, moved across my thoughts, and I growled louder as frustration tore up my insides.
Drake gave me a hard stare. "Stop being an idiot, and just tell Izabella how you feel. You lost Mama yesterday, and she lost hers too. Don't you think that both of you suffering such an incredible loss could bring you together completely?"
"Yeah, but is that what I really want for her? I'm stuck in this life. I'm praying that as she gets older, she turns from it. I could tuck her away like I did you. She could find a good man to help her heal past all the shit she's seen. Fuck Joe for making her the enforcer of our syndicate. She's whoring herself out and hunting down the most horrible motherfuckers. All in the name of family." I let out another long sigh as my heart constricted painfully in my chest. I was ice cold toward everyone but Izabella. I wanted to be indifferent toward her, but she'd captured my heart and most of my soul by the time we were old enough to realize what was happening. I couldn't remember another woman in my life meaning anything thanks to her. "For the first time in a long time, I don't know what the fuck to do."
Did I really want her to turn from it? I rubbed my hand over my chest as my heart ached. No, not on her own. I wanted to be the cause of her finding a better tomorrow, a life of wholeness and security. She wasn't the type of woman that would ever accept anything she hadn't forged herself, but people changed — all the damned time.
I parked the car next to Cat's and got out, turning to let my eyes run along the dock. I needed to talk with Thomas Kallup and see what the motherfucker was up to, but it wasn't as simple as walking down to his office and plopping down in the chair in front of his desk. The prick was our competition and was almost as nefarious as Joe at times.
"Killing him would be fun," I mumbled and walked into the front door of the shipping office. "Cat?"
"She's down the hall." Selma moved to stand in front of the small window that opened up to the waiting room. "Nice to see you, Demetri. How are you?"
The portly blonde-haired female had been my sister's closest friend since they were kids. To say that we trusted her would have been an understatement.
"I'm good, Selma. How are you?" I stopped in front of the window and pressed my hands to the frame. "Everyone acting all right around here?"
"Everyone but our boss." She shrugged and gave me a sweet smile.
"Tell me about this kid you know of that might be a good replacement."
"Oh yeah, he's not a kid though. He owns a bar with his girlfriend down in New Orleans. Big, mean-looking bastard. They have quite the operation from what Jeffery says."
"Who's Jeffery?"
"He's her son." Cat walked up and wrapped an arm around Selma. "I did some digging and the guy has a bit of a record, but we can probably work some magic and get that wiped right out."
"I want to see the record. Get me the details on him, including his phone number. A face-to-face meeting is the best way to go about with these things. I'll be able to tell if he's a good fit or not." I turned my attention back to Selma as my phone buzzed in my pocket. "What's his name?"
"Marcus, and the girl's name is... shit I can't remember."
"I'm not interested in the girl. I want a tough, ugly bastard to come up here and run this ring the right way." I pulled the phone out to see that Madam Gizelle was calling. "He's got experience?"
"Lots." Selma nodded. "I'll get the information together for you."
"I need to take this. Where is Freddy? He in his office?" I glanced over at my sister as she rolled her eyes and nodded.
Good. One less thing to have to grill his ass over.
"Sandra. What's up?" I pressed the phone to my ear and walked back into the belly of the building to find Freddy.
"We have a situation that one of you will unfortunately have to help me deal with. I'm a tough cookie, but the same sorry bastard keeps changing his name and luring my girls into a night of terror instead of the fuck he paid for."
"Terror?" My stomach turned as I stopped outside of Freddy's closed door. "Explain."
"They're being tied up, beaten pretty badly and sent back to me."
"How many of them has this happened to?"
"Three now. I thought it was a fluke after the first one, but I should have called. Forgive me, but being in prostitution for as long as I have, this isn't something new. I figured we had an asshole on our hands and wrote him off. After the second girl, I put a few more security measures into place and figured we could catch him." She sighed. "After Jenny came back beat up this morning, I knew it was time to call you. I was simply trying to run my ring without having to come crying to you and Joe. That's what you expect me to do."
"And you're doing a great job, but I need to be called anytime something like this happens. I'll stop by shortly to talk with you and the girls. We'll figure it out together." I dropped the call and pushed Freddy's door open to find him rolling a joint.
"D. Hey, buddy. Come on in." He gave me a smile that should have warmed me, but it didn't.
"What are you doing?" I walked over and snatched the joint from him before destroying it between my hands and dropping it into the trash can. "No more smoking, dumbass."
"No more smoking? Is that a fucking joke?"
"No, it's not." I gripped the back of his neck and forced him to look up at me. I caught sight of his arms as they poked out from beneath the sleeves of his long-sleeve shirt. Track lines. "Son of a bitch."
"What?" He jerked back and stood up.
"Are you shooting up?" I reached out and grabbed at him, only to have him swat at me.
"No. I was testing needles for a new supplier, but I didn't shoot up." He lifted his hands like he was ready to fight, and all I saw was red. All the shit we were doing for this kid, and he was doing exactly what he wanted. He had no fear of retribution, which was apparently our fault.
I moved across the room and pressed him to the wall before gripping his neck and popping him in the face three times in quick succession. "Get your shit, and get out of here. You go straight to Joe's, and if I find out that you didn't do what I told you to, then it won't be Izzy coming after you."
"All right, man. Fuck." He pushed at my chest, and I popped him again.
"Do I need to have someone drive your infantile ass over there?" I turned to see my sister standing in the doorway.
"I'll do it." She lifted her hand and gave us a saucy look.
"Fuck you, Cat," he grumbled, and I popped him again.
"Don't talk to her like that," I growled and gripped the front of his shirt before throwing him toward the open door where my sister was standing moments before. "I have too many real problems to be dealing with your shit."
"I didn't even do anything. What did I do?" He stood up from almost busting his butt. "I was smoking a joint. Is that a crime? Everything is fine right now."
"I'm setting up a meeting with Thomas Kallup. You're coming with me. Go to the house, and sober up before I send you in to talk with your father. He needs to remind you who you're dealing with seeing that you're good with ignoring the last warning Izzy just gave you."
"No!" His eyes widened in fear, and
his bottom lip began to quiver.
"No what?" I stopped short of roughing him up some more. If it had been anyone but Joe's kid, I'd have already killed him with my bare hands. We didn't need to attend another funeral as a family. Not yet at least.
"No. You can't meet with Thomas. They're really bad guys, D."
"I'm a bad guy, Freddy." I pulled my gun from the back of my slacks and fired a shot that hit just beside him on the floor. "And I'm tired of you dancing around like a fucking fruit fly when you're supposed to be a man. Grow the fuck up, and take your place in this family or get out."
"I'll work on it."
"No, you won't. Your time is up. Go to the house, and beg your father not to let one of us kill you, because I'm going to put my name at the top of the list." I took another step toward him as he lifted his hands in the air and visibly paled.
"Listen to me. The Kallups aren't just common thugs, okay? They have connections with a much bigger guy, but I don't know who he is. He's from California, and he's — "
"What are you talking about?" I reached him and pressed my forearm into his chest to slam him up against the wall behind him. "How do you know so fucking much about the Kallups?"
"Because, D. They threatened to kill me a few weeks ago."
"How long ago and why?" Ice water ran through my veins.
"Three weeks ago, and I don't know why. I didn't do a damned thing to them. Maybe they're just trying to undo us from the inside. Pick off the weakest link?" He was starting to sweat as his expression grew manic.
"Cat?" I turned my face toward the hallway to call my sister. "Come take this kid back to the mansion. He's out of his mind."
"No." He gripped my shirt and pulled me toward him. "No. Listen to me. Thomas is in cahoots with someone bigger, and they want to take over the US. We're one of the only syndicates in their way."
"How do you know this?" I growled and pressed my forehead to his as indecision burned my insides.
"I pledged to join them to keep my life. I know a lot of things."
Chapter 20
Demetri
I strapped Freddy's ass in Catherine's car and tried to process the information he had spilled in the hallway. It was good and bad. He was the worst possible choice for a rat in the Kallup camp, but he was better than nothing.
"Maybe," I mumbled and walked back toward my Jag. I needed to talk with Edward & Nathaniel about security and deal with the shit at the whorehouse before working through the situation with Freddy, but all of them needed to be done that day. I texted Edward and told him to meet me over at Madam Gizelle's as soon as possible. Something told me that the frat boy wouldn't appreciate being pushed around, but that made it all the more sweet.
I could kill two birds with one stone by having him join me, and if he seemed capable, I might even get him to start looking into the situation with the girls getting knocked around.
Talking to Joe about Freddy was last on my list of things I wanted to do, and yet I knew I was the only one capable of keeping Joe calm and uninvolved while he healed. He'd been almost numb the last week since Vivian died, and we were all walking on eggshells at the thought of him coming to. When he did, we would need to have our ducks in a row and be ready to cough up who we were declaring war on.
Edwards’s bright blue Mustang was already parked out front when I arrived at the whorehouse. The sight of it caused my lip to turn up. How Izabella could take him to her bed was beyond me. He was the polar opposite of me, and yet maybe that was the key to it all. Or maybe the bitch was lying about wanting me the way I wanted her.
"No, not possible," I mumbled and got out of my car to jog up the stairs to the front door. The apartment complex was posed to look like a three-story house, and the girls kept it looking clean and welcoming. Joe had been smart in buying them the whole block, which allowed for a backyard and a nice-sized parking lot. To anyone who was walking by, the place just looked like a misplaced sorority house.
I knocked once before opening the door and walking into the living room. Edward's voice reached me before I turned the corner, and if my mood wasn't bad before, it was now.
"So I told her, no baby, a lady doesn't have to get on her knees to suck a cock." Everyone started laughing. I'd obviously missed something.
"Hi, girls." I stopped by the opening to the living room and scanned the faces until I found Sandra. "You wanna talk?"
"Hi, D!" Several of the women in the room jumped up and walked toward me with huge smiles on their faces. It was almost comical because I treated them all like I would my sister, never having done anything but care for them if needed.
"All right. Stop pawing at him. You'll give him a bigger head than he already has." Sandra reached out and gripped my wrist. "Come on, lover boy."
"Edward. Let's go," I called to him as I glanced over my shoulder and followed Sandra out of the room.
"Awww... really? I was just starting to get comfortable." He chuckled as the disappointment from the girls could be heard down the hall.
We walked into Sandra's small office near the back of the house, and she released me. I sat down in one of the two chairs in front of her desk and leaned back as Edward closed the door and took the other chair.
"Why am I here?" he asked and sat down beside me.
"Because I need to talk with you about security at the mansion, and here as well." I gave him a side glance and turned back to Sandra. "Is Jenny here? I'd like to see her."
"She is, but let me tell you what I know first." Sandra sat down and leaned back before crossing her shapely legs. I couldn't help but wonder if she still serviced clients herself. She was by far the sexiest woman in the house, but it had a lot to do with how she carried herself. She was in charge, and she was happy to remind anyone of that. She reminded me so much of Izzy.
"Take notes," I barked at Edward like the dipshit had any idea of what to jot down for later review.
"Whatever," he mumbled and pulled out his phone. "I still don't see why you need — "
I popped him in the chest. "Because there are only so many of us, and you selling real estate, and working on cameras might have to fucking take a back seat until we figure out what's happening with the girls. I'm dealing with Freddy and Vivian's death."
"Freddy died?" Edward jerked up in his seat. "Holy shit."
"No. Take notes, and stop asking stupid questions," I barked before turning my attention back to Sandra, who was grinning.
"You guys are almost as good as a comedy act." She tapped her fingers on her thigh. "You know we check out most of our gentleman callers, but from time to time, the girls make stupid decisions in the bar and go home with the wrong man. It's understandable, and expected, but something is amiss here. This guy is changing his name, his credentials, his everything."
I brushed my fingers over my chin and tried to concentrate. "Then how do you know for sure it's the same guy?"
"The girls described him as the same man, and they all three got the same treatment from him." She shook her head. "He didn't fuck them, just tied them up, beat them pretty good and released them to limp away. It's disturbing, and I'm honestly not sure what to do about it."
"Sounds like we need to find him and blow out his kneecaps." Edward glanced over at me, but I ignored him.
"What's the physical description you keep getting? Can I get the details?" I moved to the edge of my seat as she stood up.
"Yeah. Let me grab Jenny, and you can talk to her. She's given me the best description so far."
"Have the girls been picked up here or at the club?" Edward asked, finally saying something worth attention.
"Two of them here and one at the club. The first was at the club." She pressed her hands to her hips and paused. "And don't ask me if we have video feeds. We don't. The cameras on the front of the house are too low, and some kids took them out a while back. I told you that, remember?"
"Fuck," Edward mumbled as she gave him a stern look. "I'm sorry, Gizelle. I meant to get over here and put some up on
the second floor that would be hard to reach. I'll do that this afternoon for sure."
"That would be good." She turned and walked out of the room, leaving us to sit in an awkward silence. Had it not been for Izzy and Joe, the stiff pretty boy beside me would have been rolled in a body bag and thrown into Lake Michigan a long time ago. He was the only member of our syndicate that I couldn't stand.
"You need to start doing your fucking job." I glanced over at him. "If you'd put those cameras up, then we wouldn't be having this conversation."
"Right." He nodded and pulled out his phone. "I'll get on it today, but don't act like I'm at fault here. I'm not. The real estate market is booming, and I only have so many hours in the day."
"You have plenty of time to stop by the mansion for a friendly fuck though, don't you?" I hated myself the minute it leaked from my lips.
He laughed cynically and stood up, rolling his shoulders. "Stop being butt hurt over me and Izzy. She's my best friend. If she needed my car, I'd give it to her. All the money in my bank account, she could have it. My cock? Anytime. The heart from my chest — "
"I get it. Shut up with your rambling." I brushed my hands down my slacks. "I need you to work on this situation with Gizelle. This guy doesn't sound like he's going to stop. Put the cameras up today, but after that let's get together and decide if we need to work with one of the girls to lure him in again, or if we need to just lie in wait outside the house and take him out when he comes again."
"I'd say we get Izzy to pull him in, but we're already using her to get Jonathan. I would think she's going to get a little pissed if we ask for more from her." He shrugged and slipped his hands into his pockets. "She's our best bet though."
"No, she's not." I got up and started to pace the room. We needed another woman on our team. Someone like Izzy that wouldn't put up with shit and could defend herself if someone attacked. Not only did I need a drug dealer to replace Freddy, but I needed an assistant that could step up and help us in ways that us guys couldn't. It would be brilliant if they came as a pair — a duo, but I wasn't that lucky.