Chapter 6
Chapter Six
T he loud bass vibrating through the speakers rattles the walls of The Ravenite. Thrusting through to the second floor, I can feel the intensity in every step, the whisky in my glass rippling against the confines.
Apparently, we’re celebrating my release, though it doesn’t feel like much of a celebration just yet.
Hunter has hired dancers, though I’m questioning where from because one looks like she’s one sniff away from her head rolling off her shoulders.
Another is so into her dancing that I think she’s forgotten what she’s even here for.
It’s no secret that Hunter looks after his staff, but he also has a penchant for drugs.
It’s his business after all, and I don’t fight him on it. His clubs do well, portraying a perfectly legal business, while laundering money through them. At the end of the day, we all have to make our money somehow and as long as The Five remain afloat, I won’t question his choices.
After saying goodnight to Cassie, I needed to figure out my next steps.
I know the guys have my back, which is why we need a strategy and fast. Someone is out to get me and I need to find out who.
The Five will always be a target, especially to the authorities, but nobody has gotten as far as slamming one of us in a jail cell.
Whoever is behind this must have had some pretty damning evidence to get me behind bars— but not damning enough.
“Hi,” a perky blonde with unnatural tits and plump lips perches on my lap. “My name’s Chantelle.”
I sink back my drink, the ice clinking against the rim. As much as I appreciate the view, she’s not the blonde I have in mind when it comes to entertainment. “Not tonight, Chantelle.”
With a pout, the woman flicks her hair over her shoulder, narrowly missing my face before heading out onto the dance floor.
Women pour all over each other, their bodies grinding against one another.
Usually The Ravenite would be heaving with patrons but since Hunter loves to flaunt his power, he closed down his club for the evening.
The only people he’s allowed into the venue are us and the dancers he pays generously to flirt and parade around in skimpy outfits.
But none of that gets my blood pumping, not since my eyes landed on Cassie two days ago.
I’m still trying to figure her out, because usually I’m a great judge of character.
But she’s something else. One minute she’s cowering and the next she’s scolding me for not having a fucking witness to corroborate my story.
Sure, I could pay someone to be my lacky—I have enough of them at my disposal—but this is about principle and proving how much the city needs the likes of us.
“You’re saying no?” Hunter accuses, surprise written all over his face.
I smirk back at him because, yes, I rarely turn down a good fuck.
But recently, my mind has been distracted by other things.
Like finding out who the fuck is out to get me.
We have enemies all over the city, it’s a given, but someone has some fucking balls to come after me and frame me for murder.
“I’m saying, not tonight,” I smirk. “I’d rather find out who thinks they can try to take me down. ”
“And who wanted the Mayor dead and why?” Trigger adds .
I rest my head back on the couch, closing my eyes.
“That too,” I grumble. The Mayor was obviously a good asset to have.
We paid him well to keep our businesses off of the NYPD desks.
The amount of close calls we’ve had, it’s always handy to have people high up in the government to handle our shit.
Now we’re going to have to start again, because whoever the next candidate is, you can bet we’ll be pulling the puppet strings.
“So,” Hunter grins as he sinks into the seat beside me.
“Cassidy Caruthers,” he muses. Hunter has always been the jester of group.
He’s a few years younger than me, and it fucking shows.
But don’t let that fool you, the guy is business savvy and quick thinking.
He knows almost everything that goes on in the city, and if he doesn’t, you can bet your ass one of us does.
“You’ve heard of her?” I ask boredly, taking a sip of my whiskey.
“Who hasn’t?” he scoffs. “That woman was born for the courtroom.”
My brows raise in suspicion. He’s not the type to look at the same woman twice, but the way he talks about Cassie so admirably has me questioning him silently.
While I’ve seen a brief highlight of what Caruthers is capable of, it doesn’t hurt to know more.
Especially if it gains me leverage. I don’t trust easily, even if they’re my lawyer.
And between Hunter and Lucchese, they can get me all the information I need, information that might not be public record.
“We need to talk about who it was that came after you, Ax,” Trigger says as he leans against the wall beside the booth we’re situated in. He glances at Max, who is busy on his laptop, typing away in the adjacent booth.
“Do you know who it was?” I question them both.
Trigger shrugs but Max’s face is so focused on the screen in front of him that I don’t ask again. If there’s anything to know, Max will speak up.
“But we need to be wary of who we trust right now,” Trigger continues. “That cop who’s been chasing my ass is friends with Caruthers.”
The room falls silently—as silent as it can with the DJ blaring out tunes—the air thick and taut.
I know what he’s saying and I have to agree; maybe having Cassidy as my lawyer was the wrong move, but there’s no denying how good she is.
After all, she got me out today with little to no information and as professionally ruthless as she seems, I doubt she’d go against me. If she knows what’s good for her.
“You’re forgetting that I’m still not out of the woods, Colombo. Whether she’s best friends with the goddamn Pope, she’s my best bet at getting out of this clean.” I spin the amber liquid around the glass, swilling it as I lose myself in thought.
“It’ll be fine, Ax.” Hunter smiles his uniquely boyish grin at me. “Lucchese is working on hacking into the Mayor’s Office.”
“For what?” I frown as Hunter paces towards the bar. “All evidence traces back to me.” My hand clenches around the tumbler. Surveillance was probably one of the first places the cops looked to find out who killed the Mayor, and whoever planted evidence must’ve been good.
“It was doctored,” Max chimes in, his tone level and husky.
“No shit.” I throw back the remainder of my whiskey in an effort to temper my anger.
“He thinks he can scrub it, find out who’s behind it.” Hunter returns with a fresh glass filled to the top. So much for celebrations, this feels like a commiseration party.
Max clears this throat, closing his laptop and standing up. He doesn’t say anything, but then again, he rarely says much unless it’s necessary. He lifts his chin in my direction before heading towards the door, leaving us all watching his exit.
“Where’s he going?” Trigger asks, pacing towards the couch.
“He’s got something,” I respond as I take a sip of my drink.
Rolling his eyes, Trigger drops down beside me. “Could’ve said goodbye,” he retorts.
He knows as well as I do that Max doesn’t make idle small- talk. He doesn’t beat around the bush and he doesn’t slack on work. Lucchese gets shit done and when it comes to The Five, he’ll make damn well sure that it survives whatever storm comes our way. We all will.
“So, how much have you told your little lawyer?” Hunter taunts, lifting a suggestive brow as he asks.
“Enough to be here,” I remark.
Hunter and Trigger share a glance, though I’m not really sure what their silent conversation is about, I let them have it. Crossing my ankle over my knee, I dart my gaze between them. “Where’s Genovese?”
Ryder is usually always here, though he has a habit of turning up late. The fact that he’s joining forces with us is what makes this dynamic unstoppable.
I watch Hunter scroll through his phone, huffing as he puts it back in his pocket. “He’s not coming,” he announces. “Daddy issues.”
Grunting back in response, I take a large gulp of whiskey.
I should care more about Ryder being here, but the truth is it’s not up to me.
I’m not his boss, I’m his ally. While we’ve all taken over from our families, Ryder is still trying to prove his worth to his father, meaning he’s not in charge—but he’s a damn good asset.
“Someone needs to tie Genovese Senior up to a car battery,” Trigger grumbles.
“He’ll be dead soon enough,” Hunter laughs.
There’s no love lost between us and Ryder’s father.
The old man refuses to align with us. He’s still stuck in the old ways, when he and my father were in wars over territory.
Clearly he still harbors resentment over what happened decades ago because he’s using his son as a pawn.
He thinks we don’t know what he’s doing, but Ryder’s motivations are steered towards The Five and what we stand for, rather than his loyalty to the Genovese name.
It’s a shame, really. Ryder has potential, so it’s a surprise he’s not been handed the reins yet.
We all know the reason why, though. It all comes down to power and while Genovese Senior has it, he still holds a fifth of the city.
He won’t join our allegiance because he doesn’t want to leave shit to us.
Ironic, considering he’s allowed his son to work with us.
“Update him when you can,” I say to Hunter. “The Five needs all components.”
Hunter nods in agreement and picks up his phone, typing away on it.
I lean forward, resting my forearms on my knees, watching the dancers move under the red lights.
My mind keeps circling back to her. To Cassidy fucking Caruthers.
She’s warm and dangerous and utterly not mine .
She doesn’t belong in my world. She’s too good for it, too clean.
But that didn’t stop the way her voice stirred something deep inside me. Something I thought I'd never feel.