by A. J. Macey
“That was easy,” I stated, turning to head back to my car.
“Don’t get your hopes up. Shit could still go wrong later,” Michael countered seriously.
“Yeah, well, that’s why we have Charlie walking around the marina,” I offered, pointing to the guy who had just walked past.
“Yeah, yeah, I suppose that’s true,” he muttered skeptically. I raised a brow. “What?” he huffed.
“Come on, Michael, lighten up,” I told him, smacking him on the back. “We’ve been doing this for ages and doing just fine.”
“Yeah, but like Inspector Murray said, someday, your luck’s going to run out.”
I shook my head and smiled.
It may one day, but so far, it hasn’t yet.
3
Chloe
Taking a deep breath, I tried to shake the worry. It isn’t what you think, I chanted, hoping to convince myself the officer who just left hadn’t threatened me. There had to be a logical explanation. You’re a tourist. He probably thinks you’re overreacting. Somehow, I knew that wasn’t the case. My gut was telling me loud and clear, it had the right to be worried. I jumped when the door slammed with a jarring thud.
“Oh, sorry about that,” Officer McCoy expressed with another one of his apologetic smiles. “I always forget how sometimes these doors fling shut like that. It’s been on the list of things to fix for ages now. So, where were we?” he asked, sitting back in his original seat across from me.
“We’re talking about the tattoo,” I redirected the conversation, hoping to solidify if my feelings were valid or if I was indeed overreacting after being attacked.
“That’s right, yes. The Phantoms, they’re quite a nuisance around here. Not all of them have the ink, mind you, but what you described is definitely the one they get when they’re in deep.”
“So, you’re absolutely positive it was the Phantoms and not anyone else?” I didn’t want to give away I knew about the Auckland Kings, but I also needed to be positive.
“Oh, yeah, absolutely.” McCoy nodded adamantly. “None of the other gangs are as obvious. Phantoms go for style over smarts,” he told me with a laugh. I appreciated his attempt to lighten the mood and help me feel better, though that may have to do with the other cop no longer being in the room.
Chuckling, I nodded. “Yeah, it sounds like it.”
“Before we finish up and I can file your report, is there anything else you remember?” he asked after scanning the rest of the report. The paper in my pocket seemed to weigh a thousand pounds, urging me to say something, but after the previous cop’s warning, I wasn’t sure who to trust.
“Nope,” I answered, flashing a thankful smile.
“Then I think that’s it, Miss Daniels. We have you cleaned up, got all the information…” he trailed off, scanning everything one last time.
“Thank you. Hopefully, there are no more instances since I’m only here for another week,” I rattled on. “Just on vacation until the next semester starts.”
“Oh, well, hopefully, the rest of your vacation goes better than today. Here, let me walk you out, and I’ll give you my card in case you need to contact me or if anything else happens, okay?”
Breathing a sigh of relief, I nodded, getting up from the chair. My body was stiff and even more sore after sitting for so long after my adrenaline faded.
The walk to the front was quick yet stretched on. A pair of eyes burned the back of my head, and as much as I wanted to turn around to see if it was the officer who had come in earlier, I didn’t want to draw any more attention than necessary.
“All right, Miss Daniels, here’s my card. If you need to reach me, this is a direct line to my desk and the non-emergency line that’s up and running twenty-four hours a day if you need to call or if you remember anything else, and I’m not in.” The white card stock was rough against my fingers as I took it, holding onto it like a lifeboat.
“Yes, thank you,” I murmured one final time before turning and walking from behind the desk out to the lobby. I didn’t stop to say anything to the front desk officer, just bee-lined it for the door and into the warm, summery wind. Somehow, though, even being free of the police station, I still felt that lingering hint of worry building in my stomach. I knew no one was watching me as I crossed the street, but that didn’t stop me from darting down the sidewalk until I was a couple blocks away. It felt silly and dumb, but I couldn’t shake it. After how the morning went, I wasn’t willing to disregard anything.
When I finally slowed, knowing I was far enough away from the police station, I looked around. There was no one paying me any mind, no cop with a suspicious gaze, just me standing there amid the shoppers. Digging in my pocket, I pulled out the crumpled piece of paper.
It was a collection of scribbles, but I could make out a couple names—Christian and Mila—some initials I didn’t understand, and a date. There was some other writing, but it seemed to be written in a weird code. The portion I kept coming back to, though, was the initials—AKCF. I felt my lips curl into a harsh frown as I tried to decipher them, then it finally hit me.
Auckland Kings Crime Family.
I tucked my bottom lip between my teeth when I realized what I was looking at. It was obviously something important to do with the Phantoms and definitely not something I should have seen. After the threat of the officer, instead of calling Officer McCoy, I did something that shocked even me. Pulling out my phone, I started walking, so I wasn’t standing in one place, possibly drawing attention. Once I had the browser up, I quickly typed in what I was looking for—Auckland Kings, Auckland, NZ.
Well, Officer McCoy had said no one was really as obvious as the Phantoms, but the Auckland Kings were no stranger to publicity, I noted with surprise. Article after article popped up, making me hesitate if my plan was something I should do, but finally, I found something with the information I was looking for—a garage on the property thought to belong to the Auckland Kings’.
Well, I guess that’ll work. I didn’t allow myself to second guess or acknowledge how dumb the idea was.
Following the directions from my map app, I felt my lips curl into a frown. All of this could have been avoided if I had just used my phone for directions. Guess that’s what I get for trying to have a good time and do it the old-fashioned way.
It took a while to get to the area where the garage was, my feet aching with each step. My skin was flushed and warm from both the exertion to get there and the sun beating down on me.
“This is a terrible idea,” I muttered as I reached the street the garage was on, but the piece of paper in my hand wouldn’t let me turn around and walk away. Letting it go probably would have been the smartest option, but there was a small part of me that knew deep down that they’d come after me once they realized the paper was gone. My bag may not have had my passport in it, but it had information with my name on it. Without risking bringing any more attention from the cop who seemed set dead set on scaring me, I had no other real and immediate option.
“Are you really going to do this?” I whispered, questioning myself, wondering if I’d lost my mind along the way after leaving the hotel that morning. Before I could stop myself, I walked across the street to the garage, hoping if anyone knew what to do or how to help, it would be them.
Yeah, right, ‘help.’ They’ll probably just take the information and dump you on the curb to fend for yourself… or worse.
Forcing away the urge to turn around and run, I stepped into the open bay door and caught the eyes of five or six men who were working on various bikes, cars, and trucks.
“Can I help you?” one of them asked in a bored tone, stepping closer.
“I’m looking for someone,” I started awkwardly. How does one ask if they know a freaking gang or how to get into contact with them? Good thinking, Chloe. “Well, not really a someone, but a group,” I tried again, waving my hands in a motion to hopefully help explain what I meant. His brow quirked up, but he said nothing. Huffing in irrit
ation, I explained, this time not beating around the bush. “I’m looking for the Auckland Kings. Do you know how I can get in touch with them?”
His eyes trailed down me slowly, taking in my tanned skin, shorts and tank, and probably my petite stature, skeptical why I would be asking.
“Any particular reason you’re looking for them?”
“I’d like to discuss this with them,” I told him firmly, my fists curling tightly, so I wouldn’t potentially lose the piece of paper—the one bargaining chip I had.
“All right,” he finally conceded after a long pause. “Give me a minute, and I’ll see what I can do.” He turned and walked out of sight into a back room, leaving me standing there, oddly out of place. The other guys around the room continued to go about their day, but I was holding their attention, more so than the machines they were working on. Shuffling back and forth, I flipped my phone around in my hand, the repetitive motion keeping me calm enough to stay there. After what felt like minutes that dragged on, he stepped back out.
“All right, Boss wants to see you. Come on.”
Hunter
I pulled into my usual parking spot of the compound, rolled up the windows, and smoothed my short hair, which had no doubt been mussed in my drive back from the docks, before pulling on my usual baseball cap. Heading inside, I scanned the area as I always did. It was the easiest way to tell how things were going. Thankfully, I noted everyone was bustling about their day. No one seemed panicked or worried, which was always a good sign.
“Oh, get a room!” I hollered a little farther down the main hall when I saw my brother Liam and his girlfriend, Harper, making out in the hallway.
“Fuck off,” Liam muttered as I approached, waving me away to go back to what they were doing, but they wouldn’t get rid of me that easily. “Don’t you have anything better than to pester us?”
“Well, it wouldn’t be so easy to pester if you weren’t in the middle of the damn hallway,” I teased. Harper’s cheeks turned bright pink, and she tucked her lower lip between her teeth, nibbling it at my prodding. Sighing, I conceded, “All right, all right. You two continue on with whatever you’re doing,” I muttered, knowing if I stayed there, I would make her more uncomfortable than she already was, which would earn me a solid punch to the arm from Liam, no matter how injured he was. As much as I loved pestering her and my younger brother, it wasn’t the only thing I wanted to get done today.
“Hunter!” another Auckland King called out just as I walked away. “Liam, perfect, you’re both here.”
Liam huffed in frustration and pulled back away from Harper once more.
“What?” he questioned sharply. I smirked and shook my head.
They wouldn’t have this problem if they’d gone into a private room.
“Your father wants to see you both as soon as possible.”
“About what?” I questioned.
“Don’t know.” Tony shrugged, adjusting his glasses quickly against his shoulder, his hands preoccupied with a bunch of files. “I was just told to round up the three of you to meet him in the conference room. So, now that I did that, I’m going to go back to work, if you’ll excuse me.”
“All right, calm down,” I told him, holding up my hands disarmingly. “No need to get snippy.” Tony gave me a half-assed glare and walked around me, the pile of papers in his grasp teetering. “Any idea what we need to see him for?” I asked Liam.
“No clue,” he murmured before looking back at Harper, whispering something into her ear I couldn’t hear. Based on the blush on her cheeks turning from pink to red, it was easy enough to assume it was about what Liam would do when he next saw her. Harper nodded with one last kiss before Liam stepped away.
“I have no clue, either,” I agreed as we headed toward the room we’d been summoned to. “It’s not as if we had anything going on that needed a meeting, especially not one at the drop of a hat.”
“Guess we’re about to find out.” Liam shrugged, turning the corner and opening the door.
Inside the conference room sat my father, with Theo off to the side and Sam hovering in the corner. All of them are quiet, but what held my attention was the petite girl who was with them. What the hell? Who is she was, and why is she here? Is this why we’d been called for an emergency meeting? A fucking little girl? Part of me knew it was rude to immediately hate someone on sight, but after everything that had happened with Harper, it was safe to say I was cynical about strangers.
“Liam, Hunter,” my father started coolly, “this is Chloe. Chloe, these are my other two sons.”
Her terrified wide honey-brown eyes glanced at me and my brother.
“Hi,” she said quietly, standing still as a stone. I couldn’t stop my eyes from narrowing. On first inspection, I thought she was no older than seventeen or eighteen, but the closer I got, the more I realized she was early to mid-twenties max.
“So, what’s going on?” I questioned, trying to keep my voice light, but I could tell it was a useless attempt based on her tiny frown.
“Chloe came with some information. Tell them what you told me,” my father instructed. She took a deep breath and launched into a story about being mugged by two Phantoms, growing more irritable by the passing moment.
This is the first Phantom activity we’d heard of, and somehow, something so little constituted a big meeting? My frown continued to deepen until I finally couldn’t stop my scathing remark from coming out.
“Okay, and?” I cut in. “You went to the police. What do you fucking need us for?”
“Hunter,” my father hissed, glaring at me. I bit my tongue and continued internally ranting as I waited for her to continue.
She may have been quiet and looked terrified in the large conference room, but I could see a fire building in her brown eyes as she glared at me. Pretty thing, albeit little, she couldn’t have been more than five feet tall, I noted with a single brow raise. No doubt I’d dwarf her once I stood. I was surprised she was able to fight off Phantoms, or they just leave her be. Not that I would ever go about doing the things they did to pretty women, but… it was surprising.
Wonder if that’s part of the ‘lower profile’ they’ve been keeping.
“There was this,” she said, pointing to a piece of paper on the table I hadn’t noticed. Liam and I both leaned forward, Theo stepping up to the table to examine it with us.
My jaw nearly cracked with how hard I ground my teeth. It held the name of two high-up Phantoms, including the daughter of the boss and his right-hand man. That alone was worrisome, but seeing our initials alongside a date set in two months made my rage flare.
“As you can see,” my father started sharply. “There are clearly things afoot we were not aware of.”
“Obviously,” I muttered, earning a punch to the arm from Liam. My eldest brother glared at me as I rubbed my arm.
“Would you just let them talk?” Theo countered, both of them ganging up on me. Rolling my eyes, I slumped into the chair and waited for my father to continue.
“For the time being, she’ll need to be protected until we can determine the extent of the threat against her.”
I ground my teeth. Yet another fucking babysitting job. Hopefully, this one goes better than what Harper and Liam went through. Though, to be fair, it ended quite well, at least for their relationship.
“That means no leaving town or country,” my father explained.
“What?” she exclaimed. Her eyes widened, and all fear seemed to melt as she realized the extent of what he was saying.
“The Phantoms have people in a lot of places, and we need to make sure you aren’t a target.” My father shrugged as if it was a simple decision, and to him, it probably was that simple.
“How long are you in the country?” Sam questioned.
“Just for another week. I’m supposed to land back in Chicago on Christmas Eve,” she whispered with a frown.
“All right. That should be plenty of time for us to determine if there are any issu
es, but until then, no travel,” Sam continued, glancing at my father, who gave a single nod in agreement.
“Wouldn’t it be safer if I just went home?” she asked. “It wouldn’t be difficult. I travel a lot, anyway.”
“Seems logical,” I added, earning another glare from the others.
“No, not until we know for sure. We have a lot of enemies, Chloe, and since you came to us, we appreciate the willingness you’ve shown to help us and wish to return the favor.”
Are we seriously taking in every stray now? What are we, the fucking pound?
It was small, and I could tell she was trying to keep it in, but her shoulder sagged in relief, and she nodded.
“All right,” she murmured.
“Hunter?”
“Yes?” I questioned in a bored tone. Is this damned meeting over yet?
“You’re in charge of watching her,” his father countered with a harsh glare.
“Watching her what? I don’t need to be a fucking babysitter!” I snapped, waving my hand at her.
“You can, and you will,” my father commanded.
Well, this just fucking sucks.
4
Chloe
The Auckland Kings’ lair wasn’t what I had expected. Not that I had really seen a criminal’s home base or whatever it was called, but I hadn’t expected this. It wasn’t a creepy, dark, sketchy warehouse. It was the exact opposite—a huge mansion. My eyes darted over everything, unable to decide what to focus on as I followed the mechanic.
There were cars lining the extravagant round driveway and street, the tall windows of the face glimmering in the sun. Holy shit, I thought in awe as we walked inside. The interior was just as posh as the exterior—marble floors, insanely high ceilings—everything showcasing just how much money the Auckland Kings had.
It was startling.
Another thing I hadn’t expected was how many people would be there, moving from one room to the other. As I walked through, I received a lot of odd glances, some curious, others hesitant and suspicious, and a few downright hostile. Forcing my face forward, I stared at the back of the man’s jumpsuit. The dark gray was worn and stained, no doubt from working in the garage. No need to attract more attention than I already am by gawking at everybody, I thought with a frown.