Chapter 6 Donovan
SIX
Donovan
The situation with the late payment from the owners of the Lock Street Deli has been handled.
Without violence, and though I’m not a bloodthirsty rougarou, I do itch a little when I’m ready for some action and am left hanging.
I try my hardest to push it aside as Torrin and I wait for our food at the deli counter.
Torrin wouldn’t leave without his fucking sub, turkey and all the fucking veggies they could put on it.
I’ll take my roast beef with Dijon mustard and nothing else, thanks.
I brought my best muscle with us. Andre is out back, sitting with the SUV at the closest entrance to the alley behind the shop. I didn’t think the old couple who own the deli would try to sneak out, but I like to be prepared for anything.
The powder Fabien gave me has helped significantly.
I feel like I’ve got a bad cold now instead of like I’m rushing toward Death’s cliff.
That said, the lines on my skin haven’t receded.
The opposite, actually, as Torrin pointed out on the drive here.
I turn my palm up and stare at the lines poking out from under the cuff of my sleeve.
There are three of them, snaking down until they come together at my wrist and carry on as one to the middle of my palm.
“Hey,” Torrin says as the back of his hand thumps against my chest, causing me to snap alert. I follow his gaze to see what he’s spotted. It honestly could be anything from someone he thinks is attractive to a threat. “Is that fuckin’ Paulie Napor?”
As if the punk senses our attention on him, he looks up.
What the hell is he doing in the back of the deli?
I can’t say for sure, but I don’t think he works here.
Paulie has a reputation around town, and they wouldn’t be foolish enough to hire someone like him.
Plus, everyone knows he’s on my shit list. Looks like I’m about to cross his name off of it since I’ve been hearing things lately.
I’ve had my guys on the lookout for his ass for three weeks. I was starting to think he’d disappeared. But no. That isn’t it. So where has the fucker been hiding?
Paulie’s eyes grow wide, and he takes off for the back a second later.
Torrin jumps over the counter like a damn panther while I dart around the side and through the break where employees can walk out.
The way clears for us as we make a break for the back door, which is now wide open and swinging back to close.
Torrin is seconds ahead of me, shoulder ready to push the door back open as we burst through the space and outside.
It seems our heroics weren’t necessary because Andre is standing ten feet away, holding a kicking Paulie up by the back of his shirt.
I’d laugh if my whole body didn’t just start to feel like I’d rolled around in a pile of needles.
I’m going to need some more of Fabien’s powder soon, but the last thing I want to do is show I’m not up to par in front of Paulie.
There’s a slim chance I’m not going to kill him today.
Very slim. And as small as that chance might be, I don’t need him seeing how I’m not at my best and running his fucking mouth.
Andre sets Paulie down and pushes him against the wall with a heavy hand to the chest. Paulie’s eyes are wild, frantically looking around for an escape, but the three of us have him blocked in.
“I’m hearing things, Paulie,” I say. My voice sounds like my throat has been dragged over gravel, and though it hurts to talk, I use all of my strength to keep it from showing.
All the color drains from Paulie’s face.
I’ve had trouble with Paulie before, the slimy little weasel. I don’t like him, never have. I sure as hell don’t trust him. Today, he’s on my last nerve, and I’m about done.
“You don’t think I’ve got eyes and ears all over this city?” I say, sneering as he begins to sweat through his shirt. If I didn’t know better, I would swear he’s gotten into his own product. “I know you’ve been dealing again, Paulie. And I’ve already warned you once to never do it again.”
I don’t miss the way he seems to relax a little when he exhales.
“It was just a little,” he comes back with as if that will make me happy.
“A little is still something. A little is setting me over the edge, Paulie.” I lean in close so he can see the darkness playing in my eyes. “You’re in my city, disobeying my rules.”
“I got the mayor’s protection.” He looks at me pointedly as he speaks.
This has me stopping short.
“The mayor?” I clarify, because I’m certain I didn’t hear this fuckhead right. He thinks the mayor has any say in business matters such as this? Better yet, the mayor himself thinks he has a big enough dick to be swinging around like this?
My head falls back and I laugh.
Dumbass Paulie starts nervously laughing with me. For being in his mid-twenties, he sure looks like a kid playing grown-up right now.
Behind me, Torrin isn’t laughing, which should give this asshole a clue.
The fire is back in my eyes the moment I cut off the noise and snatch him up by the front of his thin, dirty shirt.
“You are selling poison on my streets. There’s a price to be paid.” There is not a single trace of humor in my tone.
Torrin and Andre step up. They each take a side and pin Paulie to the brick wall behind him. My eyes are locked on his as I take a step closer to him.
I pause, only because something doesn’t feel right.
Is this whole thing a trap? I wish I could take a minute and ask Torrin his thoughts.
His intuition is so much better than mine.
But the last thing I want to do is look weak or make my actions seem questionable in front of Paulie.
I have two choices here: go full steam and end this fucker’s life here so I never have to deal with his shit again, or…
back off and send less of a message but not play into whatever game Mayor DuPont thinks he has going on.
I really need to get back on top. I’m slipping, and I don’t like it.
With a quick glance at Torrin, the decision is made.
Torrin does his best to hold Paulie steady.
The fucker is squirming and crying and yowling like a damn cat getting its tail pulled by a toddler.
The sound grates on my nerves. My head tilts to the side as I crack my neck.
I was pissed off before, but now I’m just fucking annoyed.
Andre wraps his arm around Paulie’s head, throwing a meaty paw over the asshole’s mouth in an attempt to stop the noise.
At most, it muffles it, which is only slightly less irritating.
I’m not in the mood for this shit. I’m tired and grumpy and can’t figure out what the fuck is wrong with me. Even as I wrap my fingers around the handle of my knife and pull it free, I know I won’t enjoy this like I usually do.
And that irritates me more than the wailing this piece of shit is doing.
I pinch the top of his left ear. I have to bite back a smile as his eyes go wide in panic. For being so scrawny, he sure puts up a fight. Andre scrapes his elbow against the brick so hard that it’s bleeding. I see him wince, but he doesn’t let up on his hold.
“Since you didn’t hear me the first time you must have no need for your fucking ears,” I say calmly as I bring my knife up and rest it on the tender flesh where his ear connects to his head.
The blade slides through the thin skin like butter, even though I’m not putting pressure behind it yet.
I’ve barely cut him, but out of the corner of my eye, I see the blood start to bead up and then run down his grimy, patchy beard.
He tries to stand tall and take it with little emotion, but the water welling up in his eyes gives away his pain and fear.
Losing an ear is better than losing his life, right? I’m giving him one more chance, something I don’t give a lot of people. I don’t like the way his words spook me a little.
It hits me that I might be missing something here.
The mayor is connected to Aubert. Everything always leads back to the fucker. He’s up to something, and I hate that I can’t see what it is. I can’t plan for what to do next or know what to look out for.
I shake the thoughts from my head, wondering if this curse shit is fucking with my mind. Am I being paranoid?
“This is my city. You got that?” My eyes stay locked onto his until he nods.
“You will not sell drugs in my city. Do you understand me?” Another nod.
I dig my blunt nails into his ear as I pinch it tighter.
He whimpers, and I resist the urge to roll my eyes.
If he’s looking for sympathy, he won’t get it from me.
“You will not get another warning after this. The mayor cannot protect you from me.”
I’m seething. Mayor DuPont has the goddamn audacity to think he holds any kind of authority over me. He hasn’t been so bold until now, which means he’s just made the top of my shit list, right under that fucking asshole, Greely Aubert.
Fucking Aubert… I know he’s behind the whole thing. This has his name written all over it. The mayor wouldn’t have the backbone to say such a thing if he didn’t have Aubert backing him. The good ole mayor is Aubert’s puppet.
I’m going to find a way to kill Aubert. It just became my life’s mission.
I’m half tempted to gut Paulie. Slice him from hip to hip, and dump him on the mayor’s doorstep with his innards spilling out.
My nostrils flare as I take in a deep breath.
No. I’ll wait. I’ll be smarter than them. I’ll save my moves for the right time. And now is not that time.
I pull the shell of Paulie’s ear tight as I slice down.
He jerks, and I end up getting everything but the lobe and the gold hoop hanging from it.
He wiggles away from the hand Andre has over his mouth and screams his pain to the sky as he bucks, trying to get free.
The ear is bleeding, but not much. I look down to see if I’ve made a mess of my suit, but I’m wearing ink black, so it’s hard to tell.
I fling the ear to the side, not giving it a single glance as it lands on the pavement.
Torrin steps on it, grinding it beneath his heel as he fights to keep Paulie still.
I need to remember to make him remove his shoes before he gets in my car.
“Shit. Boss,” Torrin hisses. I look at Paulie, expecting to see his wound suddenly spurting like a geyser or something. When I don’t see anything different, I turn my focus to Torrin. Only his attention is over my shoulder at the entrance to the alley. My head whips to the side.
A figure stands at the end of the alley. She’s clearly taken a few steps in and is now staring. The moment I lock eyes with her, she gasps.
Just what I fucking need today.