Chapter 24 Lucien
Lucien
I glare at the men sitting around the table, furious that they’re taking so long to decide. This isn’t rocket science. I’m going after a smuggling ring and I need backup. It’s not that I need the men–I don’t–but I want to know that once I start this war, I’ll have support in the city to finish it.
It’s not a question of not starting the war, either. Brooks wants it, and I’m not going to be the one to tell her no. She’d probably kill me if I did.
And these men should be on my side about that.
Crow Lafayette runs in some of the same rackets as Boudreaux, so we’ve had deals with each other before.
I don’t call a lot of people friend, but Crow is as close as it gets in my world.
If I were in trouble and none of my own men were available, I’d go to Crow and expect him to at least hear me out.
Jonathan Benoit isn’t technically in the underworld anymore.
He took his family up into the light several years ago, and they’re legitimate business people now.
But he’s still got interest in the shipping industry, and I went to him first to see if he could help me stop ships from leaving the docks.
He hasn’t answered me yet.
As for Sean Duhon...
He’s the only man in this meeting I’d call a cold-blooded killer.
He’s as crooked as they come, and has more power in this town than almost anyone else.
He’s got his fingers in everything. Gambling, entertainment, shipping, gun running, drugs, politics, and girls.
I don’t like the man. Honestly, I usually go out of my way to avoid him.
But he knows about the meat trade and if anyone has an inside route to figuring out who’s running this ring, it’s him.
Being in the same room as him leaves a very bad taste in my mouth, but if it means we knock this ring down and take Dom Landry out, I’m willing to do it.
Now that I have Brooks safely at home, I want to save the girls she’s after. I want to help her find Aislyn. And if that means dealing with people who make me want to bleach my own eyes afterward, I’ll do it.
For her.
The other thing about these three men is that they all hate the Landry clan almost as much as I do.
Dom has made enemies of them all, either through business or through his sparkling personality, and I thought that if I brought them here and told them I had a way to take him down, they’d jump at the possibility.
So far, none of them is jumping.
And I don’t have the fucking time to sit around and wait for them to make up their minds.
I need to get to the dance hall and use Brooks’ card key to get into their offices again.
Figure out if I missed anything, and then rectify it.
We need to know when the smuggling ships are leaving and what they’re called, then get to the port ahead of their departure times and stop them.
“He’s going to get caught, at some point,” I say quietly. “And before he does, he’ll wreak havoc on the city. He’s going to have the FBI on his ass, for sure, and maybe DHS. None of us wants that. This isn’t just a Boudreaux war. It’s a war to keep our city clean.”
Sean Duhon chuckles at that, and I flash him a reluctant smile.
“Yes, I know, the wording is... ironic. But you know what I mean. None of us needs the feds down here.”
The three men murmur amongst themselves, and I know I’m getting to them.
They hate Dom enough to want to take him down, but the bigger motivation is that they don’t want the FBI in town.
New Orleans exists somewhat outside of the law, thanks to our lack of organization when it comes to crime, and we like it that way.
If Dom causes enough trouble, though, the law dogs are going to start looking at us too closely.
But if we can take him down, we get rid of Dominick Landry and close down a ring that might bring the feds to our doorstep. We prove to the feds that we’re still maintaining a clean city, or something like it. We don’t give them an excuse to look twice at us. It’s a win-win.
And a triple win for me, because I have the added benefit of laying this gift at Brooks’ feet.
It’s not just that I want to help her take her father out.
It’s that I want to make sure she never has to deal with him again.
Give her the vengeance she’s searching for, for what he did to her when she was a kid.
Make the city safer.
Because I can’t bring her home until it’s safe for her to be here.
And that will never happen if Dominick Landry is still here, and especially not if he’s controlling a smuggling ring that’s disappearing girls right and left.
If I can take him down, and make sure he doesn’t come back, then I can give her the safety she’s never known, and always wanted.
She might not admit it, but this is what she’s been searching for her whole life.
And I’m the man to give it to her.
I just need some of my contacts to help me make sure it sticks.
Do I wish I could do it all on my own? Absolutely.
Do I want to go straight to her, drop to my knees, and beg her to stay here and let me take care of her?
Yes. But I’m not a hero. I’m not a good guy.
I’m as crooked as they come, as shifty as necessary to get things done, and I’ll pull the shiftiest, most crooked deal I’ve ever cooked up if it means she’s safe.
It doesn’t have anything to do with the Boudreaux family or the promise I made to my father. Not anymore.
This time, it’s only about Brooks and the partnership I think we could have together.
“We need some time to think about what you’re saying,” Jonathan finally says, his black eyes expressionless.
Asshole.
I stand up, ready to move on to the next task, and look at each of them in turn.
“Fair enough. I’m going to stop this ring with or without you, gentlemen.
The war starts tonight, and I’ll count on you to join me tomorrow.
You can take your time making your decision.
But when it comes to dividing up the power that’s left after Landry falls, don’t expect me to count you in unless you’ve done your part. ”
I turn and walk away, cane swinging and mind flying forward to the next thing on my list. We have six hours until we know one of the ships is leaving.
I need to get home and check on my crew, then head to the dance hall and break into their computers to collect any new information.
I need to somehow convince Brooks to stay at home where it’s safe.
And I need to gather my men and get ready to go to war.
***
When I arrive home, however, my plans change. Because the moment I pull into the driveway, Camille comes running out, her face a mask of horror.
I get out of the car so quickly I nearly trip.
“What the fuck are you doing here?”
“Brooks called me over to help her with some research,” she says breathlessly.
“We were working on figuring out whether there were any codes in the shipping manifests we had when she suddenly stopped and started laughing. She said she had to go to the bathroom and left. An hour later, when I finally went searching for her, I found this.”
She hands me a piece of paper and I don’t know if I even have the stomach to look at it.
Because I know Brooks better than anyone else in this world, and my instincts have already told me what I’m going to see written there.
The girl is stubborn and reckless and dangerous, and she’s entirely too sure of her own importance in the world.
Every idea she has is a bad one, but she always manages to luck out of getting into trouble.
And the more she succeeds, the more invincible she thinks she is.
I look down at the sheet of paper, and I’m not surprised by what it says.
“If I don’t make it, tell him I tried,” I murmur.
I stand there for a moment, mind blank and heart hammering, and then I crush the paper in my hand and make for the house. I thought we had until tonight before we went for the port.
But Brooks just changed the timeline, because she can’t fucking sit still.
And this time, I’m not going to let her go in there alone.