Chapter 4
I pull up to the gentlemen's club in the city. It’s about forty-five minutes from my small town, but it’s where Elijah always has me meet him. Or where he used to always have me meet him. I didn’t have to worry about driving. A black Escalade was outside waiting to bring me here at 9pm.
Stepping onto the street, I look up to the flashing, red, neon sign that says, “Gentlemen’s Club,”
a pair of legs in heels sitting on the side of it. I scrunch my nose up in disgust at how tacky it is. All the money in the world and he comes up with this.
Walking up to the front door, the bouncer steps in front of me, blocking my path.
“No women allowed,”
he says, barely sparing me a glance.
“I have a meeting.”
“No women allowed,”
he repeats. A deep voice sounds from behind him that makes chills rise on my skin.
“She’s with me Lucas.”
The bouncer steps to the side; there stands the 6’3”
Elijah, his broad shoulders blocking out the light coming from inside, his gray eyes burning into my skin as he stares me down.
“Sorry sir, I had no-”
“This way Baby C.”
Elijah turns around and takes off walking.
It takes me a minute to shake myself out of it before I start following him to a secluded area in the back.
Elijah sits in the middle of the round, corner booth, spreading his arms on the back of the seat. The top two buttons of his white dressed shirt undone under is black, tailored suit. His black hair is cut short and combed back, but gray is starting to grow on the sides. He has all the features of a perfect Italian man which only adds to his control of the area’s Italian Mafia. He’s been in charge as long as I’ve known him, and still looks as good at forty-five as the day I met him when I was sixteen.
“Have a seat Baby C.”
“I haven’t been a baby for years, Elijah,”
I say, avoiding his eyes as I take a seat at the edge of the booth. I can feel his eyes piercing me, begging me to look at him.
“First name basis now, are we?”
The amusement in his tone heats my skin.
“Well seeing as we haven’t seen or spoken in, what has it been now? Seven, eight years, I figured we’ve lost our friendly basis,” I snark.
His deep chuckle fills the atmosphere, snapping my face to his. “What?”
“If I remember correctly Baby C, you’re the one that cut off connections and chose to go a different route in life.”
Sweat tickles the back of my neck. I guess I didn’t prepare myself as well as I thought. I knew we would have this conversation, especially since I was coming back to ask to work for him again.
He picks up his glass of whiskey, bringing it to his lips, taking a sip. I can see him swallow the liquor down his throat, a drip of it falling down his lips. His tongue peeks out and laps it up.
“Like something you see?”
My cheeks burn, knowing I got caught staring at him like a wolf staring down its prey.
“Nothing I haven’t seen before.”
I clear my throat. “I came here for a reason, so can we get down to business?”
“Ahh yes. You’re ready, you claimed. Why now?”
“I need the money. This is my last resort,”
my voice ends in a whisper; my hands trembling from the nervousness I’m trying to cover.
“Once you’re in, there won’t be a way-out C. Not like last time. You’ll be in for life,”
he warns, giving me facts like I didn’t already know. As if I hadn’t run over every possible option I could think of. Does he really think I would be here if I had a choice?
“There’s always a choice,”
he answers my thoughts. Did I say that out loud?
“I know. This is the only one I have at this point.”
Elijah looks me over once more before sliding a folder my way. “This is your first assignment. Pull it off without a hitch, we will welcome you back in with arms wide open.”
He smirks.
I grab the folder, opening it up to the first page. There’s a picture of an older man. Stark white hair, skin aged and wrinkled. He’s dressed in a suit. Looking closer, I realize it’s the mayor of the city and I slam the folder closed, glaring up at Elijah.
“Have you lost your mind?”
I screech.
“His ego has gotten too big for his britches. He knows the deal. Do what we say and you will be rewarded tenfold. He’s already had a warning.”
“What has he done that’s so bad I have to kill him?”
Elijah's eyes bore into mine; the next words to leave his mouth are the last words I was expecting.
“He recently got into purchasing women. His most recent purchase is a twelve-year-old girl.”
What?! “I may be a bad man that does a lot of bad things Cea, but abusing women or children is something I will NEVER tolerate.” He taps the folder. “This is your assignment. Take it or leave it. Makes no difference to me. Either way, Mayor Richmond will be taken care of.”
Elijah takes another sip of whiskey, waiting for my answer.
I nod my head and stand from the booth. “I’ll get it done.”
Anger swims through me, the urge to vomit rising in my throat. What kind of person does this to women and kids? Pieces of shit, that's who. I inwardly roll my eyes at myself.
“I know you will. Notify me when you’re done. You have twenty-four hours to complete this.”
He dismisses me and I make my way outside to the Escalade waiting where it dropped me off.
Hopping in, I watch out the window as the vehicle makes its way to my home. This has to be done, but my inner demons are restless. I just know the old me is about to bust through and we’re going to burn the world down.
Walking into my house, I stop in my tracks. What the fuck? A big, black trunk sits in the middle of my living room, the initials EC on the top. Elijah Carmelo, motherfucker.
“Firstly, that was fucking fast. Secondly, how the fuck did they get into my house?”
Stupid question. I chastise myself. He’s a leader of an Italian Mafia, of course he can get into my house.
Opening the trunk, I can’t contain the excitement as I eye what’s inside. It’s packed with everything I could need, knives, guns, grenades, smoke bombs. A leather outfit with hidden pockets all over, leather knee-high boots, then my eyes land on a switchblade, “Baby C”
engraved in silver on the side. I remember when Elijah gifted me this on my seventeenth birthday and the joy it brought me. Taking the weapons I need, I grab the suit and boots to get dressed in.
Fifteen minutes later I’m standing in front of my floor-length mirror looking myself over. The all-black leather outfit molds to my body, fitting me like a glove. The knee-high boots fit perfectly, with added cushion in the soles to add comfort for a long night's work. There’s no telling how much all this cost, but Elijah isn’t hurting for money. Plus, he only supplies the best for his employees…or family as he likes to call them.
I snatch my old switchblade off the dresser, placing it in the hidden pocket on the outside of my thigh, then give myself one more look over. Grabbing the balaclava out of the trunk, I make my way out the front door.
Stepping up to my 1967 Ford Mustang, I take her in like I always do. I can’t help but feel pride every time I look at her. She’s my baby, my one true love in this world. A beauty, as black as my soul, with all new interior.
I load the back seat with everything I need, then hop behind the wheel and turn on the Bluetooth. “No Sleep Till Brooklyn”
by Beastie Boys blares through my speakers, setting my mood for the night, getting me ready to cause chaos.
Time to wreck some havoc.