“It’s all you fucking Krohns. The mere sight of you makes me nauseous.”
“But I thought we were family? Sad day when my own aunt won’t greet me with a hug.” Lilith invited herself to one, stepping up to the old, fat hag she had always detested. She knew Scarlet was intelligent enough to understand Lilith’s sarcasm. “Let’s step inside.” She allowed Scarlet to enter the abode first, gesturing for her men to lower their weapons before stepping inside after her.
“I don’t want to see you right now,” said Scarlet, sounding insistent, but visibly afraid to be too stern. Lilith could feel the vulnerability. Her aunt had never been so weak.
“I’ll cut the bullshit, okay? I know you want revenge against my brother. I know you also blame me and my people. Know the facts, though. I had nothing to do with what he did. Not even his whores saw that coming.”
Scarlet shook her head, stomping her bloated legs a few steps closer to Lilith. “Don’t fucking lie to me! You set the whole thing up. You needed him to take me out of the picture. I know you, Lilith. You headed a group of ruthless killers long before you were head of a family, killing and manipulating your way to the top. Phoebe was naïve to leave her family in your hands. You’re not even her child. She adopted you out of pity and nothing else!”
Despite the innate desire to break her knees where she stood, Lilith simply took it. She admired Scarlet for having the courage to speak to her in that manner.
“We’re both to blame. We kept a secret from him, and we did it to keep him alive. He’s a man willing to do whatever it takes to protect his family. Betraying you just to know the truth would never have been an exception. The blame belongs to us both.”
“Why are you here, Lilith?”
“Regardless of the reason, you are weak now. Your clan is less than half what it was. You’ve been overrun twice now, and you won’t recover on your own.”
Scarlet scowled. “You want my family?”
“Well, you’re already family. Your clan, and territory, are my desire. Everyone who can wield a gun, and everyone who made you money. Your captains, your informants, your foot soldiers, your bodyguards … everyone. It isn’t for me, though, aunt Scarlet.”
“What, then? The greater good?”
Lilith grinned. “You could say that. I have a vision for Portland. Before long, the people will spiral out of control again, just as they have in every other city the military reclaimed. I don’t want my town in perpetual chaos. But we can’t achieve peace by playing it nice.”
“How old are you? Twenty-five? You can’t possibly know what’s coming, nor have the brains or experience to bring peace. You’re a young, naïve, power-hungry slut.” Scarlet paused a moment. “No, that’s not it. You’re making this shit up, aren’t you? You want to cripple me. You’re trying to keep me from going after your brother.”
Lilith laughed. “If you even scratch Ethan, words couldn’t describe what I’d do to you. If I feared what you’d do to him, don’t you think I’d just kill you and take your clan by force? Why not? You Lancasters used to be the blade of our clans. You once controlled more than half the armed men at our disposal. Look at you now. My family alone outnumbers yours two to one. Dante outnumbers you four to one. Just outside your house right now, the Krohns are prepared to lay waste to your entire property and everyone on it. It wouldn’t be difficult. But I won’t give such an order. Instead, I came to you as a friend; as the family we are, despite your estrangement for the past twenty years.” Scarlet had never looked so afraid. Lilith knew: she already won. “Give me your people, and I’ll help restore what you once had.”
Scarlet sighed, sipping a drink from her tea on the table next to her. “Why not come out and admit it?”
Lilith thought for a moment that her aunt was referring to her.
“Truth is, Lily, I’m tired of this. I don’t want power. It was a stupid, juvenile campaign from the beginning. I envied Phoebe. Loathed her, actually. I couldn’t deal with my baby sister attaining so much wealth and power. I only lasted this long because, apparently, I have a talent for killing. Your mother, Tabitha, Carrie… They all disapproved of my methods, but they still used me when that kind of business was necessary. I don’t love it. I never have. In hindsight, I only wanted to make use of my meaningless life.”
“I take it, you don’t care to have your position restored, then?”
Scarlet shook her head. “Keep them, but don’t trust your brother.”
Lilith found amusement in the warning. “He never considered you family, and neither have I. Only you can be blamed for that. If there’s one thing I know about Ethan, it’s that he is loyal to his family.” She gestured for Michael to open the front door. “Tell your men they work for me, now. Tell Emilio and Shane they belong to the Krohns.” Scarlet acknowledged and started lifting herself up from the recliner. “I’ll ensure you have everything you need for the rest of your life.”
Scarlet looked panicked. “What’s that supposed to mean? You’re leaving me up here?”
“In exile, yes. You can’t interfere in my affairs. It’s always been in everyone’s interest that you stay out of the way. Don’t worry, you’ll be taken care of.” She began walking outside. “Now, let’s get this over with.”
–––––––
PRESENT DAY
“You arranged Tabitha’s murder and half the clansmen loyal to her, you talked Scarlet into surrendering her power. I don’t doubt your intentions are sound, but are you certain everything you’ve done is what’s best for this family?”
“I’ve done almost nothing but search for my brother since everyone lost track of him. Yes, I doubt sometimes. Why do you ask? Do you doubt me?”
“I doubt you’ve ever doubted yourself.”
Lilith considered that for a moment. “I always try to be honest with myself. I admit I was reckless with Dante the other Verbecks. Theia could have been killed. For all I know, she was. After Ethan learned that Tabitha never killed his daughter, he went looking for her… Perhaps he found her dead.”
“I imagine he would have confronted you by now, were that the case.”
“Or maybe he hasn’t found Theia yet. Maybe he found her dead, then killed himself. He loves that little girl more than anything in the world. More than he loved her mother.” She lowered her head slightly. “More than me…”
Michael responded calmly. “I believe they’re both alive. Your decisions could have resulted in their deaths, but they can handle themselves.”
“Where is Theia if not with Dante? He denied seeing her that day. My men investigated his quarters at the hospital and found no trace of Theia, so Dante can’t be lying.” Lilith sighed heavily, dropping her head into her palms. “Where’s my family, Michael?”
“They’re right here. In this house, in this neighborhood. Your brother will turn up. Theia will turn up. All the rest of us are safe. Don’t go believing you’re a terrible leader just yet.” He stood, then approached the portrait on the wall of Phoebe Krohn and all her children, taken in the year 2000. It featured Phoenix, standing behind her two adoptive siblings. He stared at it for a while. “Hmm…” Looking to Lilith again, he asked, “Are you willing to hear a story?”
“Never was a fan of storytelling. From you though, of course.”
“Phoebe became a mother at seventeen. It was 1971. She knew she was too young, and too poor to be a mother. Even if she had all the right means, and all the wisdom in the world, she knew she couldn’t raise her baby with its father. A drug dealer with a consistent habit of raping girls was not suited to be anywhere near Phoebe’s baby.”
Lilith smiled. “I always forget Phoenix is half Solomon. I wonder if Marcus knows about his close relative.”
Michael resumed his speech without losing flow. “So, shortly after giving birth to little baby Phoenix, your mother goes to her friends Tabitha Verbeck, and Carrie Marsden, and Melanie Williams with an idea. The idea was that the four of them could run the show better than the Solomon k
ingpins. They could destroy an entire empire overnight. Phoebe was the youngest, but she was the most tenacious. Come a year later, 1972, Tabitha becomes the first female member of Daren Solomon’s inner circle, and shortly after that, all the other top figures turn up with their throats slit and their bodies dumped into the Willamette. Sadly, Melanie didn’t survive the night, but the others did. Following that night, Tabitha keeps order by being the strong-willed woman she always was, but she winds up in prison for her actions. She leaves the keys to the kingdom with her two loyal friends Phoebe and Carrie until she’s released.
“I met your mother before the plan was carried out. She knew about me. My record, my reputation in the underworld… She ventured all by herself into my home, in the middle of the night. There she was, this short teenage girl, surrounded by the most detestable people alive – drug dealers, rapists, killers...”
“Your friends?”
“My friends. So, Phoebe simply says, ‘I need your help.’ Now, I had no idea how she heard of me, or how she found me, but somehow she did. She risked her safety to ask a simple favor. My boys could have done anything they wanted to her and gotten away with it. One of them tried, but I broke his nose the moment he laid his hand on her. Why? I respected your mother the instant I met her. I vowed to protect her from that day forward. Sure, I was on the run from the cops, but I didn’t care. That night, I had met my superior. A young teenage girl named Phoebe.”
Lilith had leaned over the desk, absolutely attentive. She heard bits and pieces of this story before, but never told like this. As a child, she was too fearful of learning how all the Matriarchs obtained their power, and by the time she was old enough to understand it, she hardly cared anymore. It was enough simply knowing they had the power. Still, fragments of information came to her ears from time to time.
She asked, “What was the favor Mom asked of you?”
Michael smiled. “Your mother asked me to kill Daren Solomon. And I did. The other girls – Tabitha and such – they had their plans, but Phoebe’s part in the conspiracy was simple. Kill the one thing threatening the life of her baby. My boys and I slit Daren’s throat in his sleep, killed the rest of his family, except the women, then I gave Phoebe Daren’s head the next morning.” He laughed. “She wasn’t disturbed by it at all. She surprised me a second time when she ordered – yes, ordered – me to throw it away.
“It was never verbally established, but your mother knew from day one: she was the boss. I respected her far too much than to be anything but a loyal servant. One could say it was love. A special, unique kind of love.” Michael’s face was relaxed; a rare sight. He concluded his story by saying, “Two years later, after starting a clan of her own, Phoebe rewarded my loyalty with a signed document that informed me I am pardoned for my past crimes. I never asked for it; I didn’t even know it was possible, but I certainly didn’t complain. However the hell she did it, she did it. That woman never ceased to amaze me.”
Lilith couldn’t help but ask, “Are you leading me somewhere with this? Interesting story and all, don’t get me wrong, but where are you trying to –”
“Phoebe did what was best for her family. Perhaps it wasn’t the most humane approach… But she had the loyalty she needed. People who loved her, or at least believed in her cause. She won because of that. Our business is the lowest, most foul kind of business, but at least it’s built on the most important thing of all: family. The Krohns are a family, not a clan, they’re a family. Phoebe was loved because she loved her family, and she made everyone her family. You will need this, Little Lily. Don’t let power get to your head. Never forget your family. More than money, more than country, the most important thing in life is family. True loyalty can’t be bought, and it can’t be forced, it can only be earned. This family is under your authority now, but don’t ever forget: you don’t truly control them. It is your duty to serve them, not the other way around.”
“What about traitors? What if someone abandons everyone? Could I off a deserter who’s my beloved family?”
“You’re the boss. It’s your decision. All I know is that … if you love someone, you’ll always know what to do. Love has a way of working like that. We have a goal, boss. An ambition. Seems you’ve neglected this goal, however. You’ve done nothing to move forward since you conceived of it.”
“A false accusation, Michael. You’re only minimally correct. I have been moving forward, but not nearly as ambitiously as I could. My family isn’t with me, yet. Nothing crucial can be done until I have my family back.”
“Ethan. You mean Ethan, right?”
Lilith paused, suspicious of Michael’s prying tone. “Yes…”
“How much do you love him?”
She felt her heart beating heavier. “With all my heart.”
“In what way?”
Clenching both hands, she stared at him with anger. “Out. Now.” Her voice was low but her words carried the heat of the sun. Michael obeyed, bowing first.
Lilith sat back in her chair, appreciating the emptiness of the room for a moment. For a time, she listened with her eyes closed to the kids playing outside, recognizing the laughter and playful screams of every one of them. After a few minutes she opened them again, staring blankly at the ceiling with a thousand thoughts running through her head; most of which concerned her brother. Over six months passed without seeing him. She felt half of herself was missing. She had known he was with Scarlet – he had told her himself that he was going to remain with Scarlet’s clan shortly before doing so – but once he turned on Scarlet and fled, he vanished from the face of the earth. As the children played outside, the adults watching, conversing and gossiping and taking for granted the safety Lilith provided them, it broke her heart that it was only Ethan and his daughter who were missing. Ethan, the one who mattered most, was gone. Not a word, not a hint of his whereabouts or condition for months.
Then, a miracle occurred.
Michael opened the door, allowing Dwight inside. “You…” she said. “It’s never a good sign seeing you.”
“Good news and bad, boss,” said Dwight, the grogginess of years of smoking palpable as always in his voice. “Good news is… We found your brother.”
Lilith’s heart skipped a beat and she nearly forgot how to breathe. Maintaining composure was always one of her greater skills, but her reaction might have been obvious. “And the bad news?” she quickly said, calmly.
“An attempt was made on his life… By the men who found him.”
“Who? One of Scarlet’s people, no doubt.”
Dwight nodded. “Emilio. Had Shane found him, there wouldn’t be any bad news.”
“But we have him, right? Where’s Ethan?”
“He’s not hurt. My men stopped Emilio before they could reach him. We found him unharmed. Emilio was brought here.”
Lilith was confused. “Why didn’t you bring my brother here, too?”
Dwight reluctantly answered. “He refused…”
She felt shocked and insulted, as if Dwight himself meant to offend her. “He… ‘refused?’”
“Looks like you’ll have to bring him here yourself, boss.”
Ethan miraculously reappeared, yet he hadn’t… Lilith could have easily suspected this to be a lie; some kind of pending ambush. Chance of betrayal from her top captain crossed her mind. Dwight had always been devoutly loyal to Phoebe, but Lilith was young and new to the job. Dwight had his reasons for being loyal to her mother. Had he desired to lure Lilith out of the house and instruct his men to ambush her in the open, would he do it so shamelessly and obviously? Then again, Dwight was never known for being a liar.
Only one way to know for sure.
“Let’s have a chat with the others,” she said, rising swiftly. Dwight followed hastily.
Michael was briefed on the news concerning Ethan, then he drove her and Dwight to the opposite end of the neighborhood. Pulling up to their destination, she saw many of their armed men surrounded Shane and Emilio. Both captain
s were in the middle of the street, appearing to be in a deadly brawl.
“What’s the meaning of this?” shouted Lilith as she stepped out of the car. Everyone cowered in fear of her presence, including the two captains. She passed by Phoenix, her underboss, who had been observing without a word. “Explain,” she ordered the woman.
“Shane wants Emilio’s head,” Phoenix simply put. The wind had been making her hair obscure her face. Even then, Phoenix’s natural almond hair reminded Lilith of Phoebe.
“Over what?”
“Shane claims Emilio tried to kill your brother.”
Lilith was silent, staring straight at both of them, approaching. “You know, Shane, it’s punishable by death to kill a made man without my permission?”
“Sorry, boss.”
“Emilio,” began Lilith. “It was nice knowing you.” Fear turned the captain’s face from cringing to pale white. Pulling Michael’s gun from his coat, she shot Emilio straight in the forehead, then returned the weapon.
Michael wasted no time ordering their men, “Clean this up!”
Lilith approached Phoenix, squinting as she thought deeply. “You just stood by and watched this? Phoenix said nothing. “I can see why you gave up the throne. You just … don’t like getting your hands dirty, do you? Well, then, I think I’m gonna send you away. I’m gonna send you to Laurelhurst. You been over there recently?” Phoenix shook her head. Her eyes were lowered. “You’ll like it. Don’t worry, this isn’t a punishment, I just need you to be … a little tougher.”
“Yes, boss,” said Phoenix. Lilith sensed some begrudging feelings in the tone.
“Now,” said Lilith plainly, addressing Michael. “Let’s bring my brother home.”
GHOST
OCTOBER 1992
Halloween. A fitting date.
Resurrection Page 5
