Chapter Three Creighton #2
He said instead, “You’re here. In my city. Jake Worthing already opened up a door for you to take over the rest of the Worthing assets here, but if you think we’re not aware you are recruiting men at an alarming pace, you must be stupid.”
I smiled. “Jake Worthing. Yes. Let’s talk more about Worthing.” I leaned forward and lowered my head, as if I were sharing a secret with them. “Blake did a DNA kit on me for school, and guess who I found. A whole family I had no idea about. My cousin, Jake Worthing.”
Walden’s jaw clenched.
West kept glancing at his friend, but he responded, wryly, “Yes. We’re aware.”
“Ah. Good. Good.”
I was younger than these men. They were in their mid-thirties. It was still a couple years before I’d hit thirty. West was married. Walden was about to be. West had children. Walden soon would. Both of their women had full lives themselves.
West’s woman used to be a parole officer, a cop in my mind.
She was now retired and had opened her own gallery to showcase her paintings, masterpieces that did very well, according to my investigator.
Walden’s woman continued to run her own bowling alley, and there were plans to expand. They already filed for a permit.
I leaned forward to study Walden. “You’ve banished Worthing from coming back to this city. Why would you do that to him? I thought you had a friendship, correct? You know his woman has family here.”
I was fully aware that I was poking at him, trying to bait him.
Walden was still simmering, the violence building. He was like a volcano getting ready to blow. I was enjoying watching this. I wanted him to explode. I wanted to see what would happen then.
He bit out, “Funny. You talking about Jake like that. Acting like such a concerned, loving cousin. You just found out you’re related to him.”
I shrugged. “Family love can be instant.”
“You’ve killed half of them. You took a hit out on Jake.”
I waved that away. “It was a misunderstanding. I thought he was in the way of something I wanted.”
“Which brings us back to here. You having a foothold in my city.” Walden managed to gain control over some of his emotions, a concrete wall falling down over his face, but his eyes were still seething. He couldn’t stomp out the rage there.
“Your city,” I chided, amused. “I think I’m going to make it my city.”
Walden lunged, hitting the table.
West cursed, also lunging but reaching for his best friend.
It happened in an instant because as soon as he went for my throat, I flicked my wrist and he froze, feeling the pointed edge of the dagger that I had under my napkin. Levi had left it for me when he first slid through the booth. Such a thoughtful gift from him.
I had it pressed against Walden’s throat, and if he’d gone one more inch forward, he would’ve embedded it inside of himself. His eyes rolled down, but he could only see the side of the knife before meeting my gaze again.
I nudged him to the side. “Look.”
He resisted.
“No.” I tsked. “Look.”
He did, slowly, and when he saw what I was referencing he drew in a sharp breath.
Levi had raised his gun, pointing it at the side of Tristian West’s head. Only a few inches separated him from the gun’s muzzle.
Walden cursed before slipping back to his seat, going at a slow pace. “You think we came alone? That we didn’t send men earlier to infiltrate inside?”
“No.” My body was buzzing by now. I loved this shit. “I know you did. I assumed you would, so we had each of them collected and disarmed. You’ll find them outside, behind the closest dumpster. Some might still be alive.”
Walden’s eyes turned to ice. “You have the advantage inside. We have it outside. Thirty of our men have surrounded this place. One gunshot and they’ll storm in shooting.
You have civilians here. Customers. You’ll be the reason why they’re murdered.
I’ll make sure the police blame you for their deaths. ”
“Yes. I imagine you would be able to do that.” I agreed with him.
Walden had quite a few police and administrators on his payroll.
It was just one of the many strongholds they had that I was chipping away at.
The last count I knew that he had was over a hundred, but thirty of them were now mine.
If they weren’t mine, they weren’t breathing anymore.
I considered that a win because those were thirty openings for someone I paid to fill.
I motioned for Levi to put his gun away and leaned forward, my smile never falling from my face.
I looked between the two friends. West was watching me warily.
He was the one who wasn’t able to understand me.
Walden wasn’t even trying. He was too emotional.
There was too much baggage still fresh in his mind.
Yes, it was true that I put a contract out on Jake Worthing.
But I’d rescinded that contract, allowing Jake, his woman, and all of her family members to remain alive.
What I got from that deal was Blake promising not to run from me.
It’d been the precursor to our current agreement because she’d been the one to advocate on behalf of Jake and his woman.
There were other details that surrounded those events, but it was more important to note that Jake Worthing had been someone Ashton Walden considered a friend.
Friend or foe, I wasn’t totally sure. I hadn’t fully figured out the friendship between them, but I knew there were conflicted emotions because at the end of the day, Jake Worthing gave me a whole host of assets and resources that his family still had in the city.
His family. Technically through my mother, I shared blood with them, but I would never consider the Worthings my family. I did not choose them.
I added, “But you’re starting to slip, Ashton.”
Walden’s head snapped backward, and his nostrils flared. “Don’t fucking use my first name.”
I ignored that. “Just like your hold on the shipping yards. On the warehouse district. On the north end of the city. On Brooklyn.” I could name more territories, but I didn’t need to.
The areas they never retained control over were now mine.
I just mentioned the ones I’d taken from them, but there’d be more.
I was expanding. They knew this.
My battle tactic wasn’t to kill their men. It was to take their men. They just didn’t know how I did it, or how I kept their men as mine.
“We still have Red Hook’s Marine Terminal. Plus the rest that you didn’t name.” His grin was icy. “Manhattan.”
“You have parts of Manhattan.”
“No. You have parts of Manhattan, but we’ll be taking them back. It’s only a matter of time. Especially the parts where your girlfriend goes to school.”
“You already tried with Blake. Try again and see what I’ll do.”
“How about this? You stop recruiting or I’ll kill your pretty little Miss Green.” Walden lowered his head so he was equal with me, and he raised an eyebrow. Taunting. “How’s that for a counter?”
How was that for a counter? I repeated his question in my head, but I never faltered. My smile didn’t twitch. “That’s the second time you’ve threatened her in a matter of minutes. Now you get to see what I’ll do.”
His eyes snapped to slits. He was glaring at me, and I knew I was letting him see the void inside of me. It had a certain effect on people.
“He’s not threatening her.” West placed a hand on his friend’s shoulder and pushed. “We’re not going there.”
Walden resisted, growling. “Don’t speak for me. I will threaten her all day any day.”
“Stop,” West snapped, shoving him now. “Move.”
Walden remained in place until he pushed up and shoved past my men.
West followed at a more sedate pace, standing at the end of our table.
He looked at me, almost impassive, but I could see the tension clinging to his body.
His face was rigid. He couldn’t hide that.
There were pinched lines at the corners of his eyes.
He was keeping his jaw tight, and he forced himself to let it all go. He didn’t want me to see his anger.
Interesting.
I didn’t understand that.
I knew he was angry. Why not let me see it? Why try to cover it?
“You are taking what’s ours. That’s an act of war, but we’ve been at war for a while. Haven’t we, Lane?”
I leaned back in the booth, continuing to study this man.
He was fascinating. “You already made a move against me when you helped Jake kidnap Blake. Of course, all of that worked out in the end, but your best friend just threatened her again. Twice. She is someone I care about. Is this your way of ‘smoothing it over’? Reminding me of moves I’ve made prior to coming into this city?
That’s just good battle strategy. You know this.
You surround your enemy before you move in for the kill. ”
He went still at my words, at what I was suggesting. They surrounded my nightclub tonight, but I’d already surrounded their city.
He twitched. It was minimal and it was only at the corner of his eye, but I saw it. It was enough to show a crack, and now that I saw it, I could see the rest. I witnessed how his anger moved through him.
Even more fascinating.
I couldn’t place which was the more dangerous of the two.
This one who usually showed nothing but was ruthless at the drop of a hat or the other, who’d react with a killing blow like a cobra attacking.
Both were intelligent. Both were ruthless.
Each balanced out the other. Together, they were formidable.
I was very excited to war with them.
“My intention was genuine when I reached out. I said on the phone that I wanted to come to a compromise, stop this war before it escalates. I’m aware of how fast you overtook Cincinnati.
That you’ve run the streets since you were sixteen and that you owned the politicians since you were nineteen.
You’re twenty-eight. That’s a long time to operate an entire city.
I’m also aware of your vast network, the magnitude of soldiers you have at your beck and call, and the questions surrounding them.
How is it that you recruit so fast? The loyalty rate of them.
That even if they’re taken and tortured, when they break—because everyone breaks—they only give up lies.
Makes you wonder if their loyalty is really to you or to others?
Do you threaten their families like the cartel?
Is that how you operate? Do you hang the heads of your soldiers’ loved ones if they go against you? ”
He was staring at me hard as he said all of this.
I could feel Levi growing restless, getting angry, and knew it was a matter of seconds before he did something that I’d rather he didn’t. Breaking eye contact with West, which I was even more fascinated to realize that I was reluctant to do, I shook my head at Levi. Briskly and minutely.
Outrage flared over his face, but he kept his mouth shut, only letting out a small growl.
Tristian West observed this interaction between us, frowning before he continued, “Having said all of that, I have people I love. A family. So does Ashton. I did want to come to a resolution so the ones we love are not included in this war between us. I can see, now, you don’t want to come to an understanding.
I watched you tonight and I watched how you enjoyed playing with my best friend.
Baiting him. Seeing him react. He cared for Jake Worthing, and you used that against him.
Me, though. I don’t give a fuck about Worthing, but I do give a fuck about my best friend.
Ashton threatened someone you care about.
I know you’re not going to let that lie, but keep this in mind when you make your move: We’re also aware of your weakness.
Whatever you do against us, we’ll answer it threefold. Do you understand me, Lane?”
My smile widened. “Perfectly, Tristian West.”
He began to leave but faltered at my words, glancing at me again. Studying me. After a moment, his gaze shuttered and he trailed behind his best friend.
One of my men came over to check the booth in case they left anything behind. A listening device. A bomb. Either was possible. When we got the all-clear, Levi asked, “Why don’t you just kill them?”
I continued to watch the front entrance, but I was notified both slipped out through a side exit. A second alert came through, notifying me that their men left with them. They’d already collected the other men from the dumpster.
“Because sometimes in battle, you can’t move too fast. They’re too strong right now. If they hit back, when they hit back, I need to have my defenses built stronger so I can withstand the hit.”
“But you are going to do something. They keep fucking threatening Blake. That was three times in this meeting and I’m not including their involvement before we even fucking got here.”
No Mafia family would sit back and welcome an invasion by a rival. Their anger was expected. I was aware of this, aware there would be repercussions. I was taking from them. Taking their streets. Taking their business. Taking their money. But Blake wasn’t to be touched. Ever.
“Of course I’m going to do something.”
“Good. What are you going to do?”
My phone buzzed. I opened it to see the images I’d requested of Blake.
She was walking up a stoop to a brownstone.
Going inside.
The rest were through a window as she was shaking hands with another girl.
I smoothed my thumb over the last image.
Blake was smiling as she was looking at a room.
That smile.
I imagined the smile on West’s and Walden’s women’s faces and answered.
“I’m going to take their smiles away.”