by Penny Blush
“What do you want,” Vex hissed between his clenched teeth.
I raised an eyebrow at him. “Tone Nicholas.”
“I’m sorry, I meant no offence. Please, what can I do for you?” Vex asked back peddling as fast as he could from his disrespectful tone.
Vex flinched every time I used his first name. I used this to my advantage using his name more than was necessary to keep him off center.
“Nicholas, you have been very disrespectful to a dear friend of mine. You have now transferred that disrespect to his grandson. This irks me, Nicholas. I do not take kindly to being irked.”
Vex’ poor under-used brain was working overtime trying to figure out who I could mean. The look on his face confirmed that he was drawing a blank.
“Mason Blue.” I let Memphis’s Pops name hang in the air between us, more colour leaching from Vex skin. “Mason Blue and his grandson Memphis.”
“Mason Blue was a friend of yours?” Vex asked skeptically.
“Yes, Nicholas. Mason was a very dear friend of mine. His passing broke my heart. Can you imagine my dismay at learning that my beloved Mason was indebted to you?” Vex open his mouth to speak, I held up my hand indicating that he should not interrupt me. “My dismay increased upon learning that his original debt of eighty thousand dollars had been increased due to additional fees and charges. I was quite shocked to discover that the initial loan including the agreed upon interest was paid off by Mason twice.” I reached out placing a hand on Vex’ knee squeezing slightly, making him flinch. “Nicholas, I would think a businessman such as yourself, would have employed a competent bookkeeper.” I removed my hand from his knee, examining the black polish on my nails and sighed deeply. “My dismay at what I had learnt Nicholas was quite high. But it only increased once learning that Mason’s debt had not dissolved upon his death but that it had in fact, been transferred to Memphis.”
Vex shifted in his seat, dabbing at his forehead with a handkerchief. “It… It was just business.”
“Nicholas, you have been a naughty boy, haven’t you?” It was a statement, not a question. “You do know, you need to get permission from the family to transfer a debt, don’t you?”
Vex flinched at the mention of the ‘family’ he knew I was not talking about the Blue Family but the Marino family. Vex the greedy bastard had been taking a cut of the debt payments. This was not an uncommon practice, all loan sharks did it. The heads of the families even expected it.
The going rate for a loan shark commission was ten percent. Vex was taking more than half, forwarding only the acceptable minimum payment to the family. Because the money kept coming in and no one wanted to take the risk to complain to the family. Vex had gotten away with his way of running things for years. He thought he was smart. He wasn’t.
“Here is what I am willing to do Nicholas. I will walk out of this church, and you will never see me again if you agree to my conditions. You will forgive the farce of the outstanding debt that you have been forcing Memphis to pay. If there is any money owing to the family from the original debt, you will pay it out of your own pocket.” Vex mouth fell open in chagrin. “You do this Nicholas, and we won’t have to have another conversation. Now, tell me that you agree, Nicholas.”
“You… you can’t walk in here making these demands,” Vex said finding his spine. “This is an insult to the family.”
If Vex though that I was scared or in any way intimidated by the Marino Family, he was very much mistaken.
I’d had plenty of dealings with Georgiou in the past, he was a sweetheart, but that did not mean that he was a pushover, far from it. Georgiou had a well-earned reputation of ruling with an iron fist.
“The only insult to the family Nicholas, is the one you continue to deliver by disrespecting their business through not agreeing to this deal.”
“The Marino Family…” Vex started, but I cut him off.
“Nicholas,” I said firmly. “You are trying my patience, do not try to hide behind the family, they won’t like it. This deal is inevitable. Your agreement is a mere formality. Now, say the words, Nicholas.”
“Fine,” Vex huffed. “Yes, I agree.””
Goodman,” I stood up from my seat on the pew, stopped in the aisle turning back adding. “Oh, Nicholas if I hear that you have approached Memphis, his staff or anyone else who is in any way connected to Mr Blue, I will not be happy.” I leant forward getting in his face. “I will come for you. You will have no warning. You won’t see me coming, but I can guarantee that my face is the last you will ever see before being welcomed into hell. Enjoy your Sunday Nicholas.”
With that, I walked out the church.
Chapter 27 Memphis
“That was it. That was all I did. Just talk to Vex,” Hedge insisted after relaying to Charlie and me what happened in the church.
“Is… is that true?” I asked my rage flaring.
We were going to have a long, serious conversation not just about her going to see that bastard without me but going to see him in the first place.
“Yes, I swear Memphis. All I did was talk to him, and then I left the church,” her eyes begging me to understand. “It was before the service started when everyone was milling around talking, then I left I was not spotted or followed.”
“You just said that you were wearing leather and a red wig. Baby Girl you are gorgeous after rolling out of bed, with sleep in your eyes and your hair all messy. Put you in leather, Sweetness people will notice.”
“Baby I was careful, this was not my first time doing this. Morningstar is a ghost she can disappear into a crowd like smoke. She could walk up to you in the middle of Mardi Gras kiss you passionately, get you hard and on the verge of orgasm then vanish into the sea of people before you could blink.”
“That skill alone made her a very valuable asset,” Charlie said proudly.
“Is what he said true,” I asked my mind finally catching up with what was said earlier.
“That was one of my trademark skills, yes,” Hedge replied looking confused.
“No, not that,” I said waving my hand dismissively. “I mean, is it true that before he died, Pops cleared his debt, twice.”
“Yes,” she nodded. “That’s correct, you have as well. Did you realise that you have paid close to a hundred thousand dollars to Vex?”
“That son of a bitch!” I raged. “Pops worked himself into an early grave trying to pay that asshole back, and he had done it twice! Then that motherfucker, come after me for the money! I am going to kill that piece of shit right after I beat my money out of him.”
Raging around the kitchen, I cocked my hand back preparing to throw a punch at the fridge door.
“Memphis stop!” Hedge cried grabbing hold of my arm. “Your hand, don’t.”
I snarled at her looking at the freezer door. With all the rage boiling through me if I’d punched the stainless-steel fridge I would probably break my hand and for a tattoo artist that would be disastrous.
“How?” I said through gritted teeth. “How did you find this out?”
“From Darrel,” she stated.
“Darrel?”
Why did I know that name? I had heard it before I was sure of it. I must have had a confused look on my face because Hedge supplied the answer.
“Darrel is the bigger of the two guys who work for Vex.”
“Thing One! Hedge you went and saw him by yourself?” The grip I had on my restraint was slipping. She had done so much, behind my back. I wanted to strangle her! “You do realise he was one of the guys who kicked my ass, right?”
“Yes, I know,” she said ducking her head. “I didn’t go to him he came to me.” As if that made it any better. “Darrel has not been happy with the way Vex has been running things for a while. He’s been gathering evidence against Vex for years, but he still didn’t have the magic bullet that he could take to Gianni. If he didn’t have everything recorded with supporting evidence, and made an unsupported accusation to Gianni, he might as wel
l have eaten his own gun.”
“If you have been so careful, then how did Darrel get in contact with Morningstar?”
“Through a contact,” she said avoiding my eyes.
“What do you mean through a contact? You told me you had left that life.”
“I did. I have,” she insisted.
“Then who?” I was getting sick of having to chase answers from her.
“Henry.”
“Henry? Builder Henry? Henry who we have had work on the apartment and the shop that Henry?”
“Yes, Henry was an associate from when I was in London. He got out just as I was starting. He was terribly sick, cancer. He wasn’t expected to live, so he had a soft exit.” Meaning he didn’t receive a beat out, I thought to myself filling in the blanks.
“When I came home, I was having trouble with acclimating back into a normal life. Jax contacted Charlie, and he put me in touch with Henry. Henry is the reason that I’m still here and that I didn’t eat a bullet.”
She started pacing around the kitchen, like a caged animal looking for an out.
“Henry called and said that Darrel wanted to get in contact with Morningstar. Henry knows that I want nothing to do with that life anymore, but when Darrel mentioned that he needed help with Vex, Henry listened. He called me and told me everything that Darrel had said, and I set up a meeting. Darrel met with Morningstar, and he told me everything.”
“How could he not know that it was you?” I asked not understanding how anyone could not recognize her.
“Morningstar is an entirely different personality to me. Her posture is different, her speech, the way she walks, everything is different. We are quite literally two separate people. Morningstar was born not long after the attack in the bar,” she explained. “I had been so traumatized by what had happened that I invented a new personality. It was my way of coping. Where I was weak and traumatized by what had happened to me, Morningstar was tough and unaffected. It was like having an evil twin,” she laughed without humor. “Morningstar could do all these horrible things to truly horrible people, and once I shed her costume, I became me again. Memphis, I need you to believe me when I say that I never touched an innocent ever.” Her eyes were begging me to believe her. “I would never have done what they did to Brian and Stella. I wasn’t just a mindless assassin. I checked, double-checked and rechecked all the intel until I was satisfied that the world would be a better place with the target gone.”
“It was rather annoying really,” Charlie said sounding bored.
“Aren’t you glad that I did,” she glared at her uncle. “I stopped more than one attempt on your life and countless endeavors to start a war with another family.”
She took a deep breath rubbing the back of her neck before continuing.
“That is exactly, what I did with the information that I collected from Darrel. I checked, double-checked, rechecked and then checked again. Memphis your Pop’s paid off his debt within twelve months of getting the loan. That should have been the end of it but Vex the greedy asshole saw an easy target and took advantage of him and then you.”
She held her hand up to stop me when I began protesting.
“I’m not saying that you are a pushover, but when he approached you, you were still dealing with the loss of your Pop’s, starting the shop and finding your way. Throw all of that on top of the fact that he threatened Cassidy and you know you would have done the exact same thing. You would have done whatever you could to keep her safe.”
I flopped down in a chair elbows on my knees, my head in my hands. “This is so fucked up,” I mumbled.
“I know Baby,” Hedge cooed, rubbing my back in comfort addressing her uncle. “Charlie, I still don’t get it though, I told Vex to pull his head in and forgive the debt. That is all. I said if he didn’t he would get another visit. He was sitting in the middle of the church covered in flop sweat just about pissing his pants. I didn’t even have to name a threat. How in the hell did that lead to Brian and Stella being murdered?”
“It would seem, that Vex has been telling tales out of school and that he may have been a little liberal with the truth.”
I sighed, feeling a headache building. I could guess what he was going to say but asked, anyway. “What did he do?”
“He claimed that the family had received a direct threat from Morningstar.”
“Shit,” Hedge breathed.
“Someone better start explaining shit to me,” I demanded, pressure building behind my eyes.
“Basically, Vex, lied to the Marino family to save his own ass,” Hedge sounded as tired as I felt.
Why couldn’t we go back a few hours to when we were sitting by the fire waiting for our food, discussing our wedding?
“Vex has told the Marino family that Morningstar approached him to deliver a message to them that Morningstar is gunning for them. Is that about the size of it,” she looked to her uncle for confirmation.
“Correct.”
“And the Marino family reacted to this threat by killing two innocent people? That’s the part that doesn’t make a lick of sense”.
Hedge had gone back to pacing, and I caught her around the waist pulling her onto my lap. She hugged my arm to her seeking an anchor for her swirling emotions.
“It would appear, that Nicholas Vex has significantly elaborated the truth. Added a little spice to the version of the truth that he told the Marino family. Nicholas advised Gianni who in turn informed Georgiou that Morningstar accosted him. Physically assaulted him violently to ensure that the message would be taken seriously.”
“And that message would be?” I asked.
“That Morningstar has declared war on the Marino Family.”
“WHAT!” Hedge bellowed. I held her to me as she struggled to break free of my hold.
“Baby Girl, calm down, we need to figure this out,” I said calmly against her ear.
“Calm down? Calm down! Memphis, you don’t understand Vex just declared war against the Italian mob on my behalf!” Hedge seethed.
“Oh Fuck.”
“Ya think,” she replied sarcastically. I flexed my arm around her acknowledging her sarcasm while giving her ass-cheek a pinch making her squeak.
Smirking, I whispered, “Smart ass.” I need her to be able to think clearly so that she could help me understand what was going on.
“Charlie, I don’t get it, we have always had a congenial relationship with Georgiou and Gianni. Hell, I used to babysit for them. So, why would they shoot first and ask questions later?”
“I don’t know?” Charlie said rubbing the back of his neck showing the first signs that he was affected by the situation. “I do know that we have to handle this quickly and quietly to avoid this escalating into a full-blown war.”
“What about Brian and Stella?” Hedge asked.
“There was always the agreement that they were not to be touched; they had nothing to do with the business. The pub was used as a neutral meeting location with both parties paying Brian for the utilization of the basement meeting room. The payment was enough to keep Brian and his staff away during meetings. Brian didn’t want to know anything to do with what was going on. He just wanted to run his pub, love his wife and live the quiet life. Stella’s Salon was one of the handfuls of legitimate businesses that are on my books, and she had no idea about the other side of the organization. That was Brian’s one condition that Stella was innocent of all dealings.”
“She wasn’t that innocent,” Hedge said with a small smile remembering her friend. “She knew that there was something, going on and I’m positive that she had it figured out, but it didn’t concern her, so she didn’t involve herself.”
“Too smart for her own good that one,” Charlie replied solemnly.
“So, what are we going to do?” Hedge asked
“We? What do you mean ‘we’?” I looked at her questioningly. “You are out, why would you put yourself back in. Let Charlie handle it he’s the gangster.”
I was so frustrated, and I didn’t really understand what was happening or what any of it meant apart from the fact that I didn’t like where this was headed. Hedge had told me about the crap she went through, and the ‘beat out’ that had to occur for her to get away from her shit head of an uncle. Thinking of that made my blood boil.
“Memphis, two innocent people are dead because of me. I need to fix this before more people get hurt or killed.”
“Hedge we are getting married in less than six months,” I said like that was supposed to end any argument.
I didn’t know what to say, this shit just didn’t happen to normal people, but then again Hedge is not an ordinary person. She had told me about her past, but I was only just now starting to understand the gravity of the situation.
“I know Baby, but if we don’t put this fire out and put it out fast, it will escalate faster than you can imagine. These are not the kind of people you mess with, and we don’t want them coming here, to our shop, our home threatening our family. Baby, they would not hesitate to walk in here in the middle of a workday and put a bullet in each, and every one of us and then go to lunch like it was nothing.”
“I think if we want to shut this down before it even has a chance to start is to secure a sit down with Georgiou.”
“Go straight to the head of the family,” Hedge nodded her agreement. She had wiggled her way out of my arms and was pacing again. “You need to reach out ASAP Charlie, let them know that we, that Morningstar had nothing to do with whatever it is that Vex has told them.” She stopped pacing looking at Charlie as if she had just remembered something. “Do we even know what the alleged threat is?”
“I’m still trying to find out the specifics,” Charlie said
“Well get on it Charlie, we need to know. I need to know. I’m not walking into a sit down with the head of the Marino family ignorant and ill-prepared.”
“Are you making demands of me child?” Charlie may have asked the question softly, but there was enough challenge in his voice that had my hackles up.