by Soraya Naomi
One of the most important aspects of our Syndicate life is to uphold the façade of being a contributing member of society. None of the high ranking men have a criminal record; once you have a criminal record, you can never be anything more than a soldier in the Syndicate. And soldiers are never seen in public with made men.
Our center of operations is here at Club 7, which is a successful dance and sex club in the Chicago Loop that’s open daily. We use it as a front to launder money and to make us appear to be law abiding entrepreneurs, and the secret underground sex club is where a portion of the drugs are sold. But the sex club isn’t a venture we want to keep.
“We need to talk about the underground club,” Adriano informs us, rubbing Noah’s back. “We’ve had five incidents with coked-up guests within the last few weeks, according to the manager, Tez. It’s too risky to keep drugs here for our customers’ sex parties, and it’s becoming too much of a hassle to require these influential men to come to the underground club via the back entrance when the dance club is flourishing. We no longer need to ply any customers, even important politicians; let them get their sex elsewhere. The dance club makes us enough profit to launder our money. Therefore, Luca and I have decided to close down the sex club. But I’ll need to know how to go about it.”
The problem is that none of us have ever actually been involved with the sex club. It’s just a minor portion of our organization and is run by a manager, and because of that, we never go down there.
When everyone remains silent, Adriano says in a feigned mocking tone, “I’m actually asking you.”
Logan and Henry smirk as our counselor, Carmine, who’s Adriano’s brother and a younger version of him with dark brown eyes and hair that curls over his ears, relays, “Well, regarding our finances, it depends on what you want to do with the underground area?”
“I was thinking about remodeling Club 7 this year and moving the dance club down there to turn the first floor into an upscale restaurant.”
“Then it’s easy. We’ll invest in our club because relocating the dance floor to the underground will mean breaking through walls and opening up all the rooms to give us the same space down there as up here, just with a slightly lower ceiling. The underground is already soundproofed, so that’s great. Shutting down the sex club would only be a matter of logistics for us, and Logan can tell the captains to take the cargo from the docks to the warehouse up north from now on instead of bringing it here. The only issues that may arise involve the customers and the girls. However, I don’t think we’ll have a lasting problem with the customers because once they realize we have leverage to blackmail them, they’ll accept the change, especially knowing they can still purchase our drugs from a captain. So that leaves us with the escorts working there; what are you going to do with them?”
“Fire them?”
“And you think they’ll accept it?” Logan puts in, resting his ankle over his knee. “They’re going to want a substantial severance package in return for their silence if you shut down the club. When did you want to close it?”
“As soon as we can.”
“And what are you going to do with the manager?” Henry inquires.
“Tez knows too much of our inside business – we need to keep him with us,” I answer just as Noah stirs against Adriano’s chest while he holds his behind. “We’ll find him a position within the dance club and keep buying his loyalty with a generous salary.”
Henry mulls it over, raking a hand through his thick black hair. “Okay. Then I don’t need to do anything. We didn’t keep any records for the sex club, so there’s nothing for me to wipe. I’ll make sure to store all the security footage we have of the politicians and higher-ups in case we need it to extort anyone.”
“Perfect.” Adriano shifts in his seat.
“Do you still need me now?” Henry asks.
“No, you can go to your bride,” Adriano dismisses him, and Henry gets up and moves to the door, but as he opens it, a guard comes barging through.
“We have a few unwelcome guests who got in. Sex club members.”
Adriano’s lips thin before he stands up and calmly places Noah in the baby bed. Then he turns back and yanks open his desk drawer, where we’ve stashed our guns for just tonight – ordinarily, we’re always armed – and he tosses my Smith & Wesson to me, which I catch in the air as I leap up.
Adriano orders the guard, “Stay with the twins!” Taking out his own revolver, he unloads the ammo and flings it away before clicking a new one into it, tucking the weapon in the back of his waistband, and I mirror the action as we all stride out.
As we tail Adriano toward the stairs, he barks, fuming, “I’m done with these goddamn men. Our wives and kids are here!”
“Adriano,” I warn, because this is his sister’s wedding. “Calma.” Calm down.
He looks back over his shoulder and gestures to Henry and Logan, commanding, “Make sure Mary doesn’t find out that something’s going on, and get Cam, Fallon, Rosalia, and Eva. Now!”
But as we reach the bottom of the staircase, Cam meets us with Amalia propped on her hip.
“Hey, where did everyone go?”
“What do you mean?” Adriano answers as I ask, “Where’s Fallon?”
She frowns at us. “I don’t know. Mary and I haven’t seen Fallon in a while.”
“How can that be?” I scan the room for my wife, not spotting her yet not seeing any unusual activity or uninvited guests either.
Hurriedly, Adriano instructs Cam, “Go to my office and stay there with the guard.”
“Okay. Is something wrong?”
“Yes. We have intruders.”
She runs up the steps as I march toward the guard at the door that leads to the back entrance of the club.
“Have you seen Fallon?”
“No sir,” he replies, and I grind my teeth while a sense of foreboding blisters inside.
Becoming a parent might make others softer, but a Syndicate man becomes more controlling and possessive. The thought of anything ever happening to Fallon or my twins fills me with unadulterated rage, yet it’s a significant threat that continuously surrounds my life.
“Then find her!” I demand, bursting through the door and checking the hall that has Andy Warhol pop art posters hanging on it, before tramping to the elevator at the end of it that travels up to Adriano’s office and down to the underground.
Having no other choice, I rush inside and press the button to ride downstairs where it opens into a long corridor that forks in two directions at the far end. As I get out of the elevator, I could swear I hear a noise, but the entire club is closed tonight, so I shout, “Fallon? Are you here?”
I reach around back to grab my gun, holding it up in one hand, and as I sneak forward and pass the private rooms, I push open the doors with the tip of the barrel, finding all of them empty. After rounding the corner, I slow my pace, but it’s dead quiet as I toss open the door of the last room, which is also vacant.
Fuck!
Quickly, I return upstairs, and when the elevator slides open, the guard is coming toward me from the dimness further down the corridor.
“Sir...” he starts yet hesitates, aggravating me. “Um. Mrs. DeMiliano...”
A stone sinks in my stomach. “Spit it out!” I command, gripping his lapels and slamming him against the wall when my control snaps and I must know my wife’s whereabouts.
CHAPTER 2
Fallon
“I’M GOING TO THE BATHROOM,” I say to Cam as I gaze up at the second floor, catching Luca going to Adriano’s corner office while observing me. A wicked smile wreathes his striking face and my breath lodges at the sensual look.
Wanting to surprise him, I withdraw from the main area and step into the long hallway leading to the back entrance and the elevator, which will get me to Luca faster.
I hear a commotion when the heavy back door is tugged open and I recognize the brown crew cut of the manager of the underground club as he paces inside,
nostrils flaring while he approaches me.
“Mrs. DeMiliano, what are you doing here?”
“Please call me Fallon,” I reply and point toward the elevator at the opposite end of the hall. “I’m just going to Adriano’s office.” Even though I’ve never been introduced to this guy, I know who he is since Luca has made me memorize every Syndicate member that works for the club so that I’ll know who to trust in case of trouble.
Out of the blue, he seizes my arm and shoves me forward as I protest, “Hey! What are you doing?!”
But the elevator opens and he jostles me inside, glancing at the exit.
“There are intruders. Something’s going on,” he explains, and panic rears up inside me.
“We need to go upstairs. Now,” I say. “Luca doesn’t know where I am.” And I try to press the correct button, but the elevator begins to move down and my and Tez’s gazes clash in shock.
When I notice how nervous he is, alarm bells are going off in my head. Ever since I met Luca, he’s trained me to be more aware of my surroundings and the way people act. And right now, Tez definitely seems to be acting suspiciously, until he stands in front of me as the door opens again, as if he’s shielding me.
I look over his shoulder, scanning an empty hallway before meeting his frown, which tells me that he’s apparently as confused as I am as we inch forward, passing several private rooms. Then, to my surprise, his arm holds me back as he whispers, “I don’t have my piece, and since the elevator came down here, that means someone pressed the button to call for it and is still on this floor somewhere. Do you have a gun?”
I shake my head. I’ve never been comfortable handling a pistol, although Luca has implored me to carry one.
Instantly, we turn back, but the elevator closes and travels up and then we hear a bang, so Tez yanks me down the corridor and we duck into a private room. He smothers my mouth from behind, pulling me against him as he hits the wall, and I don’t move, knowing very well that I need to keep quiet.
When he sees I’m not fighting to scream and that I understand his intention, he slowly lifts his palm and I move to stand beside him. I tremble as footsteps approach the room and the door is thrown open, almost hitting me in the face, but Tez reaches up and stops it with his fingertips while we press ourselves into the wall as much as we can.
The person shifts backward and leaves while I hold my breath. But then I realize it could’ve been one of our men.
“It could’ve been Luca,” I whisper in frustration and sprint out the door, yet Tez grabs my arm again before I can shout Luca’s name.
“We don’t know if it was one of our men or not, and I need to protect you, but I can’t do that without my gun! Please, we need to think before we act.”
“Oh,” is all that comes out of me as I begin to get his odd manner now; he knows that his day of reckoning will come if anything happens to me.
At that moment, a shadow of movement in the corner of my eye catches my attention, and we both turn our heads toward the far end of the hallway where a man wearing all black is standing. When he points a revolver at us and shoots, we stoop low just in time for the bullet to hit the wall.
“Motherfucker!” the guy roars. “There are witnesses.”
“Kill them!” another voice commands as Tez drags me with him.
“Don’t let them get away!” I hear one of them yell as we dive around the corner and run forward, skirting corners as fast as we can in this maze of passageways to stay out of their clutches.
“Just keep going; these passages lead to somewhere, Fallon! They’ll get us out of here,” Tez assures me while he’s close behind me, but it doesn’t lessen my anxiety.
In the meantime, they’re gaining speed on us, following us effortlessly as the heels of my shoes click loudly off the concrete and I bump into the narrow walls of the unending corridors. The further we get, the darker it becomes, until I’m having trouble focusing my vision or seeing anything. And after we spin into another hall, Tez bumps into my back when everything turns pitch black.
“We have to keep moving. We’ll be okay,” he urges me.
Sweat trickles down my nape as my breathing increases and terror makes my legs shake when, suddenly, I notice that the men have stopped communicating, although I can hear them closing in on us fast.
At last, as I take unsteady steps forward, I’m able to feel my way around. Then, not realizing that the corridor has ended, I bang my nose against a cold wall and a splintering pain shatters through my forehead.
“Shit! What happened?” Tez utters as I clutch my nose, but the pain is rapidly subsiding beneath other emotions.
“It ends here. There’s no way out!”
“There has to be.” I hear him moving around.
Dread almost paralyzes me. Nonetheless, I force myself to stay calm, inhaling and exhaling. Yet it doesn’t work and I find myself in a mindless state of panic. “We can’t go back.” We’ve come so far, and now we’re stuck!
Wearily, I’m feeling around with each of my palms spread in opposite directions when on my right, I touch a cold railing and my fingers trace the shape of a square. Extending my arm, I feel another square – it’s a ladder.
So I look up, squinting my eyes. “Is that a flicker of light at the top? It must be a pipe.”
“Yes!” Tez says. “Do you feel a ladder?”
“Yeah, right here.” I step onto it and climb up.
“I’m right behind you. Go, Fallon.”
At that second, another voice rings out, “Where the fuck did they go?”
The men are in the dark hall right below us when my foot slips off the ladder, and I let out a startled scream as I grip it to keep from falling or kicking Tez, swinging my feet until I find the rung again.
“You okay?” he asks.
“Yes.” Then I continue up hastily, putting it out of my mind.
It seems like a never-ending pipe, and I start to feel claustrophobic, tasting dust and dirt as I breathe harshly from the fatigue of hiking so many feet up. Meanwhile, my heartbeat thuds in my eardrums.
When I’m halfway to the top, I detect a tiny ray of light. It’s very faint, but I’m guessing it’s the manhole cover at the pipe opening. I speed up the ladder with Tez on my tail, and as I come closer to the light, I see that it’s indeed a finger hole with light shining through.
“Oh, thank god,” I whisper with a sigh. “It’s the manhole cover.”
“They’re up here!” someone yells – our attackers have discovered the pipe as well.
Gripping the metal railing of the ladder with one hand, I press my palm above my head against the large cover, yet it’s too heavy for my tired arm.
“Fallon, be careful that you don’t get trampled when you get out. I don’t know where it opens, but I hear a lot of traffic,” Tez says as he stops next to me and pushes up with all his weight, taking another step up when it moves, and streetlights illuminate the opening.
Glancing down for a second, I see a man gaining on us, climbing more quickly now that he has some light.
With all his power, Tez throws the manhole cover off, and it clanks on the road. Luckily, we’re not in the direct path of traffic. Then he gestures for me to go, so I climb out, and a chill bites into my bones on this cold New Year’s Day.
Cars drive by and pedestrians are bustling around, and when I gaze up, I see the massive clock at the entrance of the Loop’s train station. Apparently, there was some kind of New Year’s Eve event here as people bump into one another, paying no heed to anyone else. The flurry of movement makes my head spin and it takes a moment for my eyesight to adjust.
Unexpectedly, I hear my name yelled, “Fallon!”
And Tez jumps out as noises invade my ears, but I focus on lifting the lid and covering the pipe again with his help, and it works, thank goodness.
I lift my face to the sky, feeling the crisp night’s air and inhaling its freshness into my lungs but not finding any sense of calm. I’m worried sick about what�
�s happening inside Club 7. With my husband, with my children? This is exactly what we’re always so afraid of, being separated when one of us is in trouble. And ever since I had kids, the terror consumes me.
“Move! Watch out!” someone on the curb warns as a vehicle races right past me, causing me to stumble to the side on the pavement.
Though as I steady myself, something blazes by me and when I hit the ground, everything goes black.
CHAPTER 3
Luca
“SPIT IT OUT!” I COMMAND, gripping the guard’s lapels and slamming him against the wall when my control snaps and I must know my wife’s whereabouts.
“She isn’t in the club, sir,” he responds, and I release him when I hear shouting outside the back entrance.
Quickly, I close the distance to the door and storm through it into the alleyway.
Logan’s holding a man captive, his arm hooked around his throat as Adriano flashes his Smith & Wesson before his eyes, threatening, “If you don’t tell me who sent you, I’ll kill you now.” And he presses the barrel of it against the man’s temple. “Speak!”
“I-I don’t know his name. I just got orders to go with two men to Club 7, and I was the lookout.”
“So two intruders are inside the club?”
“Yes, probably. Or they left through the front entrance.”
“Who gave you the orders?”
“I don’t know his name, only the place where we met.”
Adriano then glances sideways as I approach them.
“Fallon’s gone,” I grit out, stashing my gun just as the back door opens again and Henry signals to me.
“I checked the security tapes. Fallon and Tez were on the underground floor trying to get away from two men.”
