Chapter 17Ari
Chapter Seventee n
ARI
Instead of driving, I’d shut my phone off, had Lex call me a cab, and gave him an address located in the heart of the city. I would have had Ares take me, but I didn’t want the attention a limo would bring.
Six winding blocks later, I slid in through the side door of a tiny bar tucked out of the way. It was visible enough to get traffic so it could stay open, but it wasn’t a hot spot by any definition.
The men who called this place home knew me as Wick, and that’s all they knew. We respected each other, and when I needed information, I’d drop by to see if they had little birds whispering in their ears. Of course, I would reciprocate when they needed it too.
“Hutch, Rama, Forty-seven, Max. Nice to see you.” The names were picked long before I met them.
Hutch’s name referred to an assassin much like John Wick. Rama was Asian, but I didn’t know anything beyond that. Mad Max was the easiest, and Forty-seven was a name from the Hitman comic series. They’d told me a few stories when I first met them. They weren’t men anyone wanted as an enemy.
“Wick.” Hutch greeted me from behind the bar. “Macallan?”
“Neat.”
They’d come to my aid after Gianna’s death—when I’d nearly caused my family even more grief. They’d patched me up, given me the key to the club for ridding the city of its rat problem, and we’d been comrades ever since. I didn’t visit very often because I didn’t want to wear out my welcome.
We didn’t pry into each other’s pasts or lives. The respect went both ways. Of them, I believed I was the youngest, but I wouldn’t bet the farm. Age was a number, and we all had a lot of mileage.
Rama tipped his head toward the door and spoke to a guy I’d never seen before. “Beat it.”
The guy looked at him. “I just paid for my beer.”
Max threw a few bills at him. “Hit the road.”
Fisting the cash, the guy stuffed it in his coat as he left. “Losers,” he grumbled as he stumbled out.
While I settled into a booth, Rama locked the bar, closed the blinds, and put up the closed sign. He joined me, and soon after, Forty-seven and Max. Hutch arrived last with my drink.
“You here about Michael Georgiou?” asked Rama.
I held his gaze and nodded as I took a sip of my drink. Roughly a year ago, he’d had a situation that needed attention. That was my first time lending my talents to help one of them. Since then, I’d given information a few times when they had needed it.
Max eyed me. “Georgiou wanted to align with the Italians. They weren’t interested until he suggested human trafficking. ”
Hutch leaned forward with his elbows on the table. “The deal included Georgiou’s daughter. Moretti wanted her. The families would unite and run the city using Georgiou’s water access to bypass law enforcement.”
Taking a sip of my drink, I nodded, keeping my cool at the mention of Anna.
Forty-seven leaned back. “Remember the last police chief? The one before Edwards?”
“Williams. A little too nosy about guns and drugs,” I said. Back then, he was making my family’s business a little riskier. We’d lost an entire warehouse because of that guy, but as far as I knew, he wasn’t a pedophile.
Nodding, Forty-seven smiled. “That’s right. He made all those news appearances about cleaning up the city.”
Hutch grunted. “He lived six months longer than I thought he would. Benoit took care of him. When Georgiou and Moretti found out, they wanted him so they could take advantage of his connections.”
Interesting. I had to wonder if Benoit went behind Michael’s back and used his connections and Claire’s trust fund to push him out.
“Moretti hated the guy,” Forty- seven added.
“The chief or Benoit?” I asked.
“Yes,” Rama said.
I set my glass on the table. “Why the sudden interest in sex trafficking?” It was lucrative, but the Moretti family was old money. If Micheal was aligning with them, why’d he need a new venture?
“Lower risk,” Rama said. “A new, global market makes it appealing.”
Hutch nodded. “Everyone knew of Marco’s predilection. He’s been into the young ones for a long time. Michael used that weakness. He’d suffered losses due to Chief Williams’ crackdown on crime. Not only did he need the money, but he needed the muscle too.”
“What about the brother, Gabriele?” I asked.
I’d kept my misgivings about Gabriele to myself so far. That story he’d told in Lucas’s office was certainly believable, but war was a long game and that was one battle. I wondered if he’d set up the whole thing to get Lucas’s trust. In my mind, the fact that Marco was still alive made him even more suspect.
Rama eyed me. “That one’s trickier. The information is older, sketchier, and a little unreliable. Gabe tells people he lost his birthright in a poker game, but of the two brothers, he’s the smartest. I can’t see him betting something like that or losing it.”
“No,” the rest of the guys agreed in unison.
I’d planned to keep that entire encounter with Gabriele to myself, but now, I’d changed my mind. I wanted to see their reactions. They didn’t disappoint.
Max exchanged a look with Hutch. "Watch your back with Gabriele. Marco's ruthless, sure, but Gabriele? He's on another level entirely. That's why I can't buy Marco as the real head of the family. He paused a beat. “Gabriele's always three steps ahead, minimum. Loyalty? Non-existent. He only cares about money, power, and women - not necessarily in that order.”
Rama nodded. “If Gabriele even suspected Benoit short-changed him, he wouldn't hesitate to set Benoit up. And Marco? He might not have a clue it's happening right under his nose.”
I finished off my drink and stood. “Well, gentlemen, this has been informative. I appreciate the drink.”
“Good to see you, Ari. Congrats on your upcoming wedding.” Hutch grinned.
“Thank you.” I smiled and nodded as I left the bar.
There were still unanswered questions, but having my suspicions about Gabriele backed up was worth the trip. I suspected he was shot on purpose. Proving it would be impossible for now, and as much as I wanted to fall into that rabbit hole, I had the Georgiou family to sort out.
More importantly, what was Michael up to? Because he was up to something, and I was positive it had the potential to hurt Anna, which meant I would eventually have to meet him. Hopefully, we’d leave as friends; otherwise, I’d give him the same treatment I gave the mayor.