The Peer and the Puppet (When Rivals Play, #1) (36)
“Complicated like you having a thing for his girlfriend?”
He stiffened before slowly rising from the bed. I couldn’t take back my words, and after what he did to me, I didn’t care to, so I stared after him as he headed for the door. He stood on the threshold, back stiff, fingers strangling the knob.
Damn it. An apology was poised on my lips because I wasn’t a vicious bitch, but then he spoke.
“She was mine first.”
I PRESSED IGNORE ON MY dad’s fifth call and slid from the Crown Vic I’d paid for with cash from a man who didn’t care who I was or what I needed it for. The Exiled had seized Queens from Thirteen, the rival gang who cast out Nathaniel Fox twenty-eight years ago. Despite the kill order, if he was ever caught within Thirteen territory, which nearly encompassed the entire east coast, he founded Exiled with his late partner Crow and had made a point to be a thorn in Thirteen’s side ever since.
Tonight’s mission was to commandeer another piece of Thirteen’s operation—a house in Long Island with half a million dollars’ worth of cocaine stashed inside. The only problem was the elderly couple currently occupying the residence.
Four men were seated around the table when I entered the room, and all but one greeted me.
Wren Harlan, one of Fox’s most trusted lieutenants and Shane’s protégé, didn’t trust me, and he never bothered to hide it. He wasn’t much older than I was—two years, maybe three—and because he’d been born into Exiled, it was all he knew. At the meeting this afternoon, he’d been itching for a fight, and I had been all too ready to oblige when I caught Four’s wide eyes staring at me through that window.
Always so troublesome.
I took the only empty seat left, and Shane began speaking from his perch at the head of the table. “Now that Danny Boy’s graced us with his presence, let’s go over the plan.” He nodded to Wren to take over.
“It’s simple,” Wren began. “Our scout says they’re already down for the night, but it’s impossible to do the job quietly, so we subdue them.” With his eyes trained on me, he added, “I don’t like surprises or amateurs with happy trigger fingers.” He then met the gaze of each person around the table. “No one. Kill. The elderly.”
“You know Sonny Franzese is a senior citizen,” Siko pointed out. Not only did he look like Joseph Sikora, but he also had a few screws loose hence his street name. “And he wouldn’t hesitate to shoot us if we tried to rob him.”
Eddie, a Hispanic cat from Harlem, sucked his teeth. “Isn’t he dead, puto?”
“Nah, I think he’s still alive.”
“Damn, he’s got to be old as fuck. Like a hundred, right? You think he can still get it up?”
“Enough,” Wren snapped.
Siko and Eddie immediately fell silent. Since Wren had likely earned his stripes in unimaginable ways, the respect came naturally.
“If it’s kill or be killed, I expect you to use your head.”
Shane, Siko, and Eddie nodded their agreement. I didn’t react, and it didn’t escape Wren’s notice.
“But if I find out they died for any other reason, you’ll feel their pain tenfold.”
I met Wren’s stare head-on. I had no intentions of killing anyone, though I made one convincing monster. The disguise, after all, was the only thing keeping him leashed. He may be hardened, but even Wren knew that someday everyone met their match.
There wasn’t anything left to say once Wren finished laying down the law, so Wren, Siko, Eddie, and I made our way to Long Island in Wren’s ’66 Impala while Shane stayed back. I had to admit Wren had taste. The polished interior of the Impala looked as if it had been completely restored while keeping its classic appeal.
The only sound as we made our way to Long Island was Siko and Eddie squabbling in the back while Wren brooded behind the wheel, and I was left with my thoughts.
The ruthless persona I adopted as Danny Boy didn’t come easy this time. I didn’t even need to question why. I’ve peddled drugs, kicked in doors, and roughed up people who probably didn’t deserve it, and until Four, I haven’t felt shame. She blew into town thinking she was a storm. She had no fucking idea. When I was initiated, I decided a soul was optional, and no brown-eyed girl was going to change that.
“Having second thoughts, Boyd?” Wren hadn’t taken his eyes off the road, so either he had a gift or he was taunting me as usual. “It’s not too late to pussy out.”
I chuckled even though the last thing I felt was humor. “You looking for a bigger cut?”
“I don’t like the idea of getting my head blown off if you hesitate.”
Siko would be the lookout while Eddie dealt with the residents. Wren had chosen me to help him extract the dope, most likely to keep an eye on me. It meant I was expected to have his back while he had mine. The only problem was neither of us trusted the other to do so.
“I won’t hesitate.”
He glanced away from the road, and we locked gazes. Forced to concentrate on driving, he broke the staring contest first, but I could see the muscle in his jaw ticking. He couldn’t figure me out, and it frustrated him.
It was the same feeling I had about Four Archer.
Case in point: I was on a mission that would likely end with my head getting blown off, and instead of focusing, I was obsessing over some wild girl who tempted me like no other but was too na?ve to know that I’d dare to do something about it.