by Coralee June
“If you’re waiting for me to lie to you, saying I’m sorry that Johnny Jack is dead and his sex ring dissolved, it’s not going to happen. I’m fucking glad his neck was snapped. You should be too. He was volatile and messy—always leaving evidence for us to clean up.”
My dad’s eyes turned black with fury. “He was also powerful. And you’re an idiot if you think his operations died with him. The rest of his gang is still functioning, and they aren’t too happy that their leader ended up dead on Highway 29. I’ve given them money for restitution, but they need assurances that we’re still on the same side. And we’re going to give them that.”
As if on cue, the door to his office opened, and a large man stepped inside. He was easily over six feet tall with a red comb-over and a solid gold tooth. He looked like a trailer trash gangster, scrappy and too big for his own good. He eyed me like I was no better than his sweaty scrotum, before sitting down in the seat beside me, not bothering to introduce himself.
“You tell him?” the man asked. He had a Southern accent, but it sound forced, like he was a Midwest transplant that was trying too hard to fit the part.
My father touched his tie again, trying to straighten it. He was a man that liked the show of things. He liked shaking a man’s hand and having formal introductions. “Eddie, this is my son, Godfrey.” He touched his watch, a ridiculously expensive Rolex that was platinum and pretentious. “Godfrey, this is Eddie Lancaster, the new leader of the Macon Mob.”
Fuck.
My blood boiled, and I had to clench my fist to stop it from ramming repeatedly into his skull. The last thing I wanted to do was shake the hand of one of the men in the gang that had kept Rachel in captivity. It pissed off my father when I didn’t extend my hand in greeting, but I’d rather cut it off than exchange pleasantries with him.
“So this is your fuckwad son,” Eddie sneered. “I know him and his friends got JJ killed, no matter what bullshit story you try to spread.” At least the asshole was intelligent. I could appreciate a man that didn’t drink up my father’s bullshit and call it champagne.
“My son agreed to meet with JJ to give back the evidence he’d absconded with. Nomar’s people interrupted that meeting, shot your men, and forced my son and his friends in the car. It was Nomar’s people that rammed JJ’s car and made him wreck. My son was an innocent variable.”
Eddie snorted and pulled out a cigar from his shirt pocket. He cut off the end before lighting it up with a cheap lighter he probably picked up at the gas station. My father’s lip twitched, and I had to stop myself from smirking. Anyone that grew up with money knew that the only way to light a cigar was with a match. “Don’t worry, Taylor. My men won’t touch your fuckwad son. Not unless he finds himself an innocent variable again. Cuz that would just be two too many coincidences,” Eddie threatened, all while studying the cigar as he held it between his fingers.
My father shot me a look before returning his gaze to the mobster. “Good. If that was all…” my father motioned toward his office door. Clearly, even he didn’t want Eddie to stick around any longer than necessary.
But Eddie didn’t move. Instead, he leaned back in his chair, as if to get even more comfortable. Then he said two words that made my blood run cold. “Rachel Nomar.”
My father looked at him blankly. “What about her?”
Ignoring my father, Eddie turned to me. “You know her? I heard you went to the Salvador poker club with her a couple nights ago,” he said before taking a long puff of his cigar.
My lips thinned. I wasn’t going to confirm what he already knew. There was power in silence.
“Yes, Godfrey knows Rachel. When the police got to the scene of the accident, Godfrey had to help get her out of the car. She sees him as some kind of hero now.” My father laughed like that was the funniest fucking shit he’d ever heard. “I taught the boy all about keeping his enemies close,” he bragged.
Bile rose up in my throat, and I felt like I was going to puke. I had no idea how Eddie knew that I’d been with Rachel, but paranoia set in. My father was rolling with the punches because that’s what he did. He could weave a story out of nothing and shine it up with validation. But I could see in the hard set of his jaw that this was news to him. Things were going to be really bad now that he knew I’d been with Rocco’s daughter.
Eddie smiled and puffed some more on his cigar. I wanted to take it from his mouth and shove it into his eye. “Close, huh? Good. ’Cause I need you to kill her.”
My stomach dropped. “Kill her?” I asked.
Eddie nodded. “Yeah. Like you killed our guy, Carlos Garcia. You can even dump her whore body into Kelly’s lake like you did to him, too.”
Shit. This guy wasn’t playing.
I could still remember the night Rogue sliced Carlos’s neck for threatening Scar. If given the chance, I’d have done it too. Again and again.
“I’m not a fucking hit man,” I replied. I was no stranger to cleaning up bodies, but I sure as fuck wasn’t about to kill Rachel.
“I know exactly what you are. You clean up evidence, and Rachel is a walking, talking, clean up job.”
Eddie gave my father a pointed look and then stood up. “You want to reassure me of your loyalty? Then get rid of her,” he ordered, putting his cigar out on Dad’s expensive desk. “JJ let you get away with a lot of shit because he respected you. But I have zero respect for lawyers, and even less respect for rich little fuckwad boys playing in a man’s world. So clean up the evidence, or I’ll have to look deeper into your involvement with JJ’s death. My men are a bloodthirsty bunch, and they lost a lot of money when he died. I’d hate to see what they’d do to the people who helped cause it. It sure would be a shame to see all four of Savannah’s golden Heirs end up dead.”
Eddie’s words circled in my head, but he didn’t wait for an answer from us. He simply strolled out of the office, a confident swagger in his strut as he kept his cigar propped between his teeth.
And there it was. The other shoe had dropped, landing like a fucking kick to the gut.
I didn’t show my father the shitstorm of anxiety that was swirling in my brain. I kept my expression neutral, eyeing the clock while trying to figure out how the fuck I was going to get out of this. I should’ve known he’d play dirty and threaten me with the one thing that would make me cave, but I didn’t realize he’d bring in reinforcements. I didn’t care if my father threatened me. He did it all the time. But I couldn’t let this Eddie Lancaster fucker threaten my friends.
As soon as the office door clicked shut, Dad let out a tight exhale. If I weren’t swimming with concern for my friends, I would have reveled in the look of terror on his face. “I’m not doing it. And I want out. For good,” I said boldly. “No more clean up jobs. No more destroying evidence or blackmailing witnesses. And certainly no killing people.”
My father looked at me and then laughed in that scratchy, humorless way that he’d perfected. He usually laughed like that right after he’d punched me in the face.
“It’s far too late for that,” he said.
“I won’t do it.”
My father leaned forward. “I have one son. You,” he reminded me, saying it as if he wished he had anyone else but me. “Your sister wasn’t equipped to carry on the family name, so it’s always fallen to you. I won’t let you ruin everything I’ve worked so hard to build because you’ve got a soft stomach,” he said, standing up and bracing his hands against his desk so that he could tower over me. My father was good at intimidation tactics. “You’re done when I tell you you’re done. And you’ll do what I tell you to do. It’s not just me anymore. Eddie Lancaster will follow through on his threats. It’ll just take one move that pisses them off.” He held up a single finger to drive his browbeating home. “One. One refusal, and you and your friends will be dead in the ground. So I suggest you do what he said and be useful. Because if you’re not, that gang won’t hesitate, and I won’t be able to pay them off this time.”
I cl
enched my teeth so hard that the joints of my jaw spiked with pain. “You really expect me to kill that girl?” I asked, my voice barely containing the rage I felt.
“You have to.”
Fuck that. Rocco was the only person capable of bringing down my father and the Macon Mob, but this demand upped the timeline and changed the dynamic. I vowed never to include my friends in my father’s fucked up schemes again, and that meant I had to deal with this alone. We were born alone, and we’d all die alone, that was just the way the world worked.
“How?” I asked.
“I’m not going to write up a fucking step-by-step guide. Get close to her. Get her drunk and push her into the driver’s seat. Shove pills down her throat. Strangle her during sex, I don’t care, just get it done.”
The images of his words sent me spiraling. There was no way in hell I’d kill Rachel Nomar.
I bet my father would combust if he knew just how close we’d really gotten. So close my dick got hard every time I thought about her. But I knew better than to go there again. Especially after this. What I didn’t know was how I was going to deal with Eddie’s demands, keep Rachel and my friends safe, and not get myself killed in the process. But truth be told, I had no idea how Rachel was going to survive this.
“Fine,” I finally said, telling him what he wanted to hear until I could come up with a solid plan.
One thing was for sure, I had to be careful. I had to make it look like I was working towards Eddie’s end goal while keeping her safe. I’d figure something out. I always did. I’d keep the Heirs and Scarlett safe too, because they were my real family—they were all I fucking cared about in this world. I wasn’t going to let them get dragged back to hell with me. Not again.
“We’re finished. You’re dismissed,” my father said curtly, sitting back down and returning his attention to the file in front of him.
Little did he know I was far from finished.
Chapter Fifteen
Godfrey
I was out of the chair and through the office door before my father could change his mind and decide he wanted something else from me. I walked past his secretary, ignoring the way she eyed me as I headed for the elevator. I jammed my finger against the button over and over again, as if it would make the fucking thing hurry up.
As soon as the elevator dinged open, I stepped inside and pulled out my phone after feeling it go off in my pocket.
Rogue: What did the asshole want?
I cursed out loud, ignoring the hum of disapproval I heard from one of the stuffy monkey suits at my back. I knew I’d have to tell Rogue something, but I thought I’d have more time than this. I didn’t know how the asshole already knew my father had summoned me. Sometimes, I suspected that Bonham tracked all of us and reported shit to Rogue.
Me: Coming over.
As soon as the elevator got to the bottom floor, I strode out of the building and onto the sidewalk. The valet brought my car around, and I drove all the way to the Kelly Estate, trying to think of what the fuck I was going to tell the others. I was a good liar. All of us were, really. But somehow, the four of us were always able to see right through each other. I couldn’t afford to be transparent right now.
By the time I parked in front of his house, I groaned at the sight of Bonham’s and Luis’s cars parked in the drive too. It was like the fuckers knew I was going to try to pull one over on them, so they were all here to meet me head on.
Just as I got out of the car and started heading towards the front door of his house, I got another text.
Rogue: Come around back. In the pool.
Yep. The asshole was definitely tracking me. I was gonna punch Bonham in the gut.
I changed direction and headed around the estate, entering the backyard through the wrought iron gate at the side of the house. I let myself in with the code and headed through the gardens before making it to the patio. I heard Scarlett squealing in delight before I rounded the corner, and right as I did, I saw Rogue tossing her into the pool with a splash.
I bit back a smile while Rogue spun around to look at me. “Hey, man,” he said with a grin, just as Scarlett broke the surface, spitting out water while coughing and gasping.
“Rogue Kelly, I’m going to kill you,” she teased with mock anger.
Rogue bit his lip and cocked a brown brow, like he couldn’t fucking wait for her to try. Their twisted little cycle of fighting and fucking worked for them. Rogue liked to piss her off just enough to rile her up. Shit, what I wouldn’t give to be a fly on the wall during one of their make up sessions. I’d heard them enough times to know it was pretty fucking hot.
Scarlett got out of the pool, droplets of water skimming down her toned muscles as she sauntered over to him for a kiss. I watched unabashedly as she bit his lip, tugging a bit while yanking the edge of his board shorts. I saw what was coming before he did, and before he could stop her, his swim trunks were yanked down, exposing his hard cock for both of us as she pulled back with laughter.
The asshole didn’t even bother to cover up, just looked down at his raging hard-on with a smirk. I knew the moment Scarlett realized her mistake, because her eyes grew dark. She should’ve known better. Pantsing Rogue Kelly wouldn’t embarrass him into submission. If anything, it would just make him want to fuck with her even more. Based on the way he was eyeing her, he was about two seconds away from pulling her on top of his dick.
I rolled my eyes. “If y’all start fucking, at least let me get some popcorn and lube first.”
Scarlett turned to look at me with a blush on her face as she laughed with embarrassment, but Rogue pulled his shorts back up with a frown, clearly irritated that I was here to interrupt them. He tied the drawstrings on his shorts tight, like he was trying to cut off the circulation to his dick. It was probably the only thing that would calm down how turned on he was. Hanging out with Rogue and Scarlett was like walking through a cloud of sexual tension.
Most days, I enjoyed watching from the sidelines. I’d even imagine that I was the one bringing Scar to her peak, making her mouth part on a moan. For the longest time, she was the only girl I cared about. We’d been friends for years, and our families wanted us to marry. Her father worked for my father, so it was only natural they wanted the union. But even though I’d always wanted her, I’d never really had a chance against Rogue.
But now, when I watched her, I realized it wasn’t with the usual pang of frustration or envy. Instead, it was suddenly a blonde-haired, blue-eyed girl that got me going. A trim little gangster princess who quivered when I touched her in just the right spot. I forced myself to shake off my thoughts of Rachel. I didn’t want to be stuck in the same situation as Rogue, trying to contain a hard-on in my pants. She was making me far too distracted lately.
I headed over to the patio set under the awning and sat down on a chair. Rogue and Scar joined me at the table. “So what did he want?” Rogue asked point-blank.
Now, this was the hard part. I could bullshit the world, but Scar and the Heirs could usually see right through me. Still, I tried for nonchalance. “Same old, same old. He wanted me to do some small job. It was nothing complicated, so I just handled it myself. I got it done fairly quickly,” I lied with ease, looking Rogue in the eye so I could get him off my trail.
Scar’s lips scrunched up to the side, something she did when she didn’t like what we were talking about. “What was the job?”
Of course she’d ask for specifics.
I shrugged and picked up the leftover beer that was sitting on the patio table in front of me. I brought the bottle to my lips and tilted it back, swallowing the warm beer in one big gulp. Setting it back down, I made a face. “That tastes like shit.”
“That’s because it’s been sitting there for two hours, since we first came out here and fucked on the chair you’re sitting on,” Rogue said with a smirk.
I got up from the patio chair, looking down at it with a frown as I checked for wet spots. Scarlett’s giggle brought my gaze up, and
I saw her shaking her head. “Don’t listen to him. He’s just screwing with you.”
“Fine, she’s right,” Rogue admitted, but then his grin grew wider. “It wasn’t the chair. I fucked her in the pool.”
I rolled my eyes. “Of course you did.”
“Now stop stalling and tell us what the job was,” Rogue said, yanking Scarlett out of her chair and pulling her onto his lap. My hands only curled into fists slightly before I caught myself. Knee-jerk reaction, I guess. I knew they were fucked-up in love with each other, and I might have a new fascination, but it didn’t mean I didn’t still get jealous.
I put my hands in my pockets and gave him a nonchalant shrug. “Just had to go talk to some asshole downtown. He was gonna testify against one of my dad’s clients. I explained to him why he shouldn’t do that.”
Rogue watched me for a beat, his dark eyes unwavering, but I didn’t sweat it, even though my pulse picked up a notch. Once you told a lie, you had to stick with it until you sold it. Another thing I learned from my father.
Before Rogue could reply, the back door opened and Bonham and Luis strolled out.
“Oh, fuck you, man. Stevens missed that three-pointer. No way are the scouts gonna pick him now,” Bonham argued.
Luis scoffed and pushed back his black hair. “Psh, and you think Aguilar is gonna be first pick? Dude’s building a brick house with all the shots he’s missing.”
