6. Maverick
6
MAVERICK
We were silent as we got out of the car, Killian on my right and Silas to my left.
This was the first meeting we would have with some of the gang leaders in Chicago since we’d killed Daniel Hayes and took control of his operation.
With the lucrative operation he had going, Hayes should have been able to rule the West with an iron fist.
Instead, the fucker had made a mess of things, and now he owed money to the wrong people.
They thought they would be getting their debt settled because we took over his operation.
They thought wrong.
I didn’t want things to get out of hand, or we would soon find ourselves in an all-out war, not only for Chicago but also for the operation.
Emilio nodded as he walked into the restaurant first.
As enforcer, he would have our backs and take out any of the fuckers should they make one wrong move.
But Chicago was not how it used to be when our father ran it.
There were other key players to contend with, and I would much rather make use of them when it served our purpose than to kill them all, allowing more chaos to make way into our city.
We walked into a small tavern located in the heart of downtown. The Late Night Oasis was owned and operated by one of our most trusted men.
It was also where most of our business deals took place, and today, it had been closed early for such an occasion.
Most of the tables had been cleared to make room for one big circular one that took up much of the room.
Three spaces at the head were left empty for us, and I felt the envious eyes of the three other men at the table.
One had been working with Hayes to transport the drugs in and out of Chicago. Gregory Perez wasn’t an easy man to read. Well over six feet tall, he had average features that were meant to be overlooked and forgotten. Brown eyes and brown hair—nothing about the man stood out.
Though I knew better than to underestimate him.
He didn’t belong to any crime organization. Instead, he seemed perfectly content to work as the middleman for whatever organization reigned at the time.
He was also the one who approached us about this meeting.
Next to him was the head of the Cadorna Famiglia, a smaller organization that took up Arizona territory, expanding out as far as they could go without touching Las Vegas. Nevada used to belong to our uncle before we took over most of the territory.
It was hard to believe our uncle had been able to hold onto power for as long as he had. Fortunately, we were able to take control, something dear old Uncle Fionn hated us for. But he didn’t have enough men to take us on directly, so now he remains compliant in working with us despite the undercurrent resentment inside of him. We had been keeping an eye out on him. Things would be much easier once the old bastard kicked the bucket and our cousin Finley, Uncle Fionn’s only kid, took over. As of now, Nevada served as a part of Tiernan territory, something that I knew would only expand in the next thirty years.
For now, we had to deal with the Cadorna Famiglia. They were the passageway for us to transfer the goods out to the west and to a shipping port located in California. Stocken Isle was a crucial point for overseas dealings, and we wanted that.
We hadn’t found out who owned the port, but we would soon, and we would make them an offer they couldn’t refuse.
I almost smiled at the thought.
My attention moved back to the head of the Cadorna family.
Though Killian had suggested killing the man and taking that territory for ourselves, I wasn’t usually one to act recklessly. But now, taking in the beady little eyes of Vincent Cadorna, I wondered if Killian might have a point.
And next to the man was his enforcer, Giovanni DeMarco.
Already, I was tired of this meeting, and it hadn’t even started yet. We had been busy, and it had been almost two days since I took Mila out and spoiled her. Though I learned my definition of spoiling her differed from hers, considering how she had acted the entire time.
I hadn’t seen her since, hadn’t checked to see how her sweet little pussy was healing, and how badly I missed it already.
None of my brothers had spent more than two hours at home, and I wondered if my little monster was feeling neglected.
Knowing her, she was probably enjoying her time alone.
I smiled a little before shaking away all thoughts of Mila and focusing on the business at hand.
We took our seats and Cian, the owner, came out with a bottle of red wine.
He served us first.
We waited until he retreated to the kitchen before I spoke.
“It’s nice to finally put faces to the men who helped Daniel Hayes run his narcotics ring for so long,” I said.
Vincent narrowed his dark eyes on me, bringing one fat hand up to scratch his already balding head.
“So it’s true, then. Daniel is dead. And you’re responsible.”
I offered a small half-smile. “Do you really think Daniel is dead? Do you think the debt the MC owed, plus his own stupidity to run this thing, finally caught up to him? He could have just run away.”
Vincent grinned nastily. “And leave his child behind for the Savages? I heard the girl is quite a looker. And a hot commodity these days, since there are men looking for her, are they not? Does the girl have some sort of golden pussy?”
Silas tensed beside me at the mention of Mila. If Vincent knew we had her, then he had someone watching us coming and going at the house. Unluckily for the fucking spy, he was going to die soon, and his head would make a nice gift for Vincent. I would make sure of it.
“Perhaps she hated her father and went looking for someone better,” I said.
Vincent laughed. “Yeah? You think I was born yesterday? How’s the girl’s pussy? Have you sampled her yet? I wouldn’t mind taking her off your hands if she becomes too much trouble. I’m pretty good at breaking them.”
The image of this bastard’s dirty hands touching Mila turned my mind into a red, murderous haze. I was getting as possessive of the girl as Silas.
I shook my head. “You really think I would just give up my property to the likes of you? What’s mine will stay mine. You should remember that.”
Vincent obviously didn’t like the threats. His ugly mug took on a deep shade of red, and Giovanni stood up.
“I think you asked us out here to do business. Might I suggest you keep that in mind and show us some respect?”
I slowly took a sip of my wine.
Such perfectly good wine, wasted.
Killian leaned back in his chair casually and took in our guests. He had been quiet all evening, and I wasn’t sure if it was because of this meeting that he didn’t want in the first place, or the little club princess we kept at home.
“I don’t think I need to remind you that you’re in Tiernan territory now. Whether you get out of here alive is dependent on your words… and our moods,” Killian said casually.
Vincent leaned back also. “Is that a threat, son? Because this territory hasn’t been yours for all that long. We have been working with Daniel for over a decade now. Why should we give you the same business, just because you slaughtered his entire club?”
Silas shook his head. “That’s where you’re wrong, old man. This territory belonged to the Tiernans far longer than your little business with Hayes. We simply took back what belonged to us. And you misunderstand the point of this meeting. We’re not here asking you to go into business with us. You’re here to convince us to go into business with you. Because if we decide you’re not worth it, we’ll find another way into California.”
And there was no mistaking the threat to his voice.
Vincent stood up and slammed his hands against the table. “You bastards. You think killing me will take care of that problem? You’ll have an all-out war on your hands.”
I nodded. It was true. All the other organizations were just waiting to see if the Tiernan crime syndicate had the balls to truly control Chicago. They all wanted in on the narcotics ring, and they had no qualms about fighting us for it.
But they didn’t know the extent of our powers.
They didn’t want to make the first move.
They were waiting for us to do it, and chopping the head off Vincent Cadorna would do it.
“You think we would have killed Daniel Hayes if we didn’t have the means to protect what’s ours?” I asked. I pulled out my gun and both men tensed.
Gregory had been nothing more than a ghost throughout this entire exchange.
He didn’t show any reaction to me.
But his gaze shifted slightly when he noticed my attention on him, and I caught a hint of glimmer in his dead eyes.
The fucker was enjoying the show.
“Consider this a fair warning,” I said, pointing the gun at the two men. “I won’t kill you today. But we will gain access to the Stocken Isle. One way or another. And you pissed me off. Let’s hope you can come up with a way to get on my good side.”
I pulled the trigger, my aim true.
Giovanni went down as blood spurted from his thigh.
“Better get him checked out. Don’t want him to bleed out and die in Chicago,” Silas said, smiling. “We don’t take too kindly to trash littering our city.”
Vincent glared at each of us, anger marring the line of his small eyes. I wondered if anyone had ever told him how fucking ugly he was. If God existed, he certainly didn’t put in all that much care into creating the vile man in front of me.
“You’re going to fucking pay for this, Tiernan.”
One of Cardona’s men came forward and helped Giovanni. Vincent kept his eyes on us, afraid to show us his back.
I waited until they left and turned to Gregory, cocking my head to the side.
“You get the same deal as Daniel,” he said, speaking for the first time since we’d entered. “I got properties all over the country that will make transporting them in and out of Chicago easier for you. There are men working for me. I want a twenty-percent cut.”
I grinned. “Fifteen.”
I knew for a fact he only got a ten-percent cut with Daniel.
We could have done this without Gregory, but his knowledge of all the main points made him much more useful to us than not.
He nodded, his lips lifting into a small smile. “Fifteen.”
With that, he stood and walked out the door.
He didn’t even turn back once, so sure we wouldn’t shoot him.
Silas leaned back in his chair. “Well, that went better than expected.”
I looked back at Emilio, one of our top-ranking men. He was responsible for helping us run Illinois.
“I want Cadorna’s spy to be found. And I want him alive.”
Emilio nodded and headed out the door.
“Now what?” Killian asked.
“Now we wait to see what Vincent will do.”
“He’s right, you know. Killing him would be the very act to bring war against us,” Killian said.
I nodded. “I know. So we’d better go prepare.”
“And what about all the men asking us to pay Hayes’s debt? I don’t know how the fucker did it, but he brought his club into more debt than it’s fucking worth,” Silas added.
“We’re not paying for a dead man’s debt. Those men want it, they’ll have to settle it with Hayes when they see him in hell.”
Silas grinned. “That could be arranged.”
Killian grunted. “What if they don’t want to settle it with a ghost, but instead with his blood?”
Silas raised one eyebrow at him. “I didn’t think you cared.”
He let out another grunt and turned away from us. “I don’t. But I know how obsessive you’ve gotten over your new toy. I would hate to see you throw a tantrum because someone broke it.”
Silas punched Killian in the arm for that. I didn’t bother to say anything, wanting to see how this played out.
Killian could deny it all he wanted, but he was affected by the club princess. And he was fucking right. If those men couldn’t collect their debt from the dead man, they would want to take it out on his blood.
Which meant Mila’s life was in danger.
Even more so than it had been.
I finished off my wine and stood. My brothers followed suit, still bickering. I tuned them out. They stopped talking when we walked out the door, putting on the mask we all wore so well, and the three of us took in our surroundings.
All of Chicago seemed to be quiet, and nothing was out of the ordinary.
Marcus, my driver and bodyguard, stood by the car, his eyes on alert.
Our eyes met, and he nodded to indicate there had been no trouble since we went into the restaurant.
It wasn’t until we took the first step to the parking lot that movement caught my attention from the corner of my eye.
“Gun!” Marcus shouted, pulling out his own and aiming blindly at the trees nearby where the shots came out.
My men emerged from where they had been taking cover and backed Marcus up.
I pushed Silas and Killian behind me.
Killian let out a growl in protest. “What the fuck are you doing? Protect yourself.”
My brothers took aim from either side of me. I made sure to keep them slightly behind as I kept shooting.
I pushed us further back toward the restaurant, keeping my gun steady and trying to look for the bastards.
I doubted it would be someone I recognized on sight.
There were many people in this world who wanted my brothers and me dead.
It wouldn’t have mattered if it was someone I knew. The cowards were using the trees as a cover, and I couldn’t even see where I was shooting.
“Stop fighting me and stay the fuck behind,” I said, harsher than I intended. More bullets flew by.
One grazed my arms, and I grunted in pain from the burn.
“Fuck!” Silas shouted.
A car drove by. It didn’t belong to us.
They were going to get away.
“Let’s go,” I said to my brothers.
We gave chase, even as I knew it was futile.
The only thing we could do was watch the taillights disappear as the car took a sharp right.
“Should we try to catch up?” Emilio asked once he caught up to us.
I shook my head. “I doubt we would find anything. Keep this quiet, but get in contact with our sources at the police station. See if they can pull any pictures from the street cam, and perhaps we can put a face behind this attack.”
Emilio nodded and walked away.
“Fuck, you got it,” Killian said, grabbing arms.
I gently shrugged him off. “It’s just a flesh wound.”
Silas glowered at me. “Are you crazy or just plain stupid?”
I scowled back at him, but didn’t answer.
“Why the fuck would you use yourself as a human shield?”
“Because it’s my job to protect you, and that’s what I did.”
“We can protect ourselves. We don’t need you to be stupid about it,” Killian added.
I could feel a tinge of annoyance making its way up my spine. “Sure, you can. But it’s still my job to protect you both, so just shut up before I kick both of your asses.”
Killian let out a huff of air in annoyance, but it was Silas who answered. “I would like to see you try, big brother.”
“Careful, little brat. Just because it’s been a while since I handed you your ass doesn’t mean I won’t do it.”
He opened his mouth, but I grabbed the back of his neck and pulled him closer to me. He tried to hold onto his annoyance. I could see the concern in his eyes, and I was suddenly reminded of the way he had looked at me as a little boy.
Those fucking brown eyes of his had hardened the older he got, but the color… fuck me. It was the same.
I shook my head, trying to get away from the memory.
“Enough. What’s done is done. Let’s just find out who was stupid enough to shoot at us and make them wish they never got out of bed today,” I said, keeping my grip on Silas for a long moment and turning my gaze to Killian.
They didn’t fucking get it.
They were mine to protect, and I would rather die than to let any harm come to them. When neither of my brothers responded, I turned away and walked back to the car.
After a second or so, they followed, their footsteps in tandem with my already calming heart.
What a fucking night. And it wasn’t even ten yet.