33. Crew
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
CREW
L eaving the estate without Camilla is like leaving one of my limbs behind.
I hate to admit how vulnerable she makes us, but I’m done fighting it. The fact I ever thought I’d be able to let her go is laughable, especially now I can barely let her out of my sight.
But just because we’ve found the woman of our dreams, doesn’t mean our business stops. And that means when one of the five families calls upon us, we have to show.
Kovu and I are meeting with Miriam Sterling about a grievance she’s having with the Thornes, and I’m already dreading every second of the interaction.
Miriam is old school, probably the most so out of the group. Christopher Knight isn’t far behind, but he can see the benefit of doing things in a different way than what he’s used to. Miriam is just straight-up stubborn, and dealing with her becomes more tiresome with every year that passes.
We keep hoping she’s going to retire and hand things over to her son, Donovan, but she seems hesitant to even begin the process of giving him more responsibility.
Kovu pulls the car into the parking lot of the club Miriam runs most of her business through. It’s been around for decades, and she’s allowed Donovan to have enough input to keep the place modern to ensure patrons continue to come through the door. If only she would hand some of the drug operation to him, perhaps then she’d stop cutting corners to save money, and we’d have fewer overdoses on our hands.
That’s part of the reason we’re here. Knight came to us a few days ago about a number of his customers being in the hospital after a bad batch of cocaine hit the street.
“Are you sure I can’t just kill her?” Kovu asks.
“No.”
“No, I can’t kill her, or no, you’re not sure?”
“No, you can’t kill her.” I glare across the car at him.
“No one would miss her. Not even her son gives a fuck about the old bat.”
“That may be the case, but if we start killing members of the five families without due cause, we’re going to find ourselves in more hot water than we’re already in.”
Kovu sighs. “You know, if we’d killed Davenport when I wanted to, we would be in significantly less trouble than we’re in right now.”
I’m about to argue when I realize he’s right.
We should have taken care of that particular issue when we had a chance, and then perhaps Caleb wouldn’t have a sidekick in his little vendetta.
“Let’s get this over with,” I grumble, pushing the passenger side door open and making my way toward the front door.
Kovu is hot on my heels, his eyes moving over the busy street for potential threats, and while I don’t think they’d be stupid enough to hit us in the open like this, they did blow up Kovu’s car last week. They’re becoming bolder, and that means they have something big up their sleeves.
We only make it a few steps through the door before Donovan appears from behind the bar, his light gray suit as well- fitted as my own. His amber eyes lock on the door behind us as it swings shut before focusing on me.
“You’re early,” he says gruffly.
I check my watch and roll my eyes. “By five minutes. If Miriam isn’t ready, we can wait.”
“She’s not here yet,” he admits.
I raise a brow and shoot a look over my shoulder at Kovu, who just shrugs and moves further into the club.
We’ve been here a time or two at night when we’ve been invited to events, but it’s a whole other story seeing it in broad daylight.
The dance floor is free of drunk patrons. The bar is clean and clear of empty glasses. And the place doesn’t reek of cheap spirits and sweat.
“We’ll wait,” I tell him, following Kovu further into the club.
We take a seat in one of the booths that line the dance floor, and I watch Donovan as he taps something out on his phone, presumably letting his mother know we’re waiting for her. Not that she’s going to give a fuck. If you ask Miriam Sterling, she’s the most important person in the city, and there’s no convincing her otherwise.
“Am I being overcautious or is this suspicious?” Kovu asks in a whisper.
I nod. “It’s suspicious.”
“Should we go?”
“No. She’s not going to do anything with Donovan here. She wouldn’t risk her only heir like that.”
He gives me a sharp nod, and I lean back in my seat, forcing my shoulders to relax. I pull my phone from my jacket pocket and type out a quick message to the group chat to let the others know what’s happening and to keep a close eye on what’s going on around them. I don’t trust anyone who isn’t one of the five of us.
I tap my fingers on the tabletop impatiently while Kovu keeps a close eye on our surroundings, never letting Donovan out of his sight.
It’s twenty minutes before the front door swings open and Miriam appears, her gray hair windswept as she rushes into the huge space. She meets her son’s eyes first, giving him a nod before she hustles toward the table we’ve taken residence at.
“Gentlemen, I’m so sorry for my tardiness. You know how business can be.”
“I do.” I nod. “And yet I always make sure I’m on time to important meetings.”
Her head snaps up, and she glares at me as she takes a seat across from Kovu, and he looks at me with a raised brow, silently asking if he can end this once and for all.
I give him a subtle head shake and fold my arms across my chest as Donovan places a glass of vodka in front of his mother, which she promptly drains.
“What exactly can I do for the Syndicate today?”
“Your quality has gone to shit,” Kovu tells her. “Knight has submitted a formal complaint due to a number of his customers overdosing on your bad drugs.”
She scoffs. “And you immediately think it’s my drugs causing the problem? Couldn’t possibly be the junkies that are taking too much?” She shakes her head. “Caleb and Charles are right, you’ll do anything to lord your power over the five families.”
“Excuse me?” I growl.
“You heard me, Crew. I’ve had enough of you thinking you can stick your nose in our business anytime you please.”
Kovu snorts beside her and earns himself a glare. “You weren’t saying that a couple of years ago when Davenport started eyeing part of your territory and you asked us to step in.”
“Hmm, you’re right, Kovu. I also recall when you had a mole inside your organization, which we helped weed out. But it seems you have selective memory when it comes to us, Miriam.”
They’ve got to her, that much I’m absolutely confident of. Caleb and Charles weren’t spewing their anti-Syndicate shit for long enough in the meeting for any of the remaining families to have a real opinion on it. But that doesn’t mean they haven’t been making stops to the other families while we’ve been distracted with our own shit.
Kovu leans close to her, and I don’t miss the way she flinches at his proximity. She’ll never admit it to anyone, but Miriam is terrified of him, and that’s why I always bring him to these meetings with me.
“So what have Charles and Caleb been spewing to you behind our backs? What are they going to give you to help take us down?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Her voice shakes slightly, and I can’t help but smile. The leaders of the five families are notoriously good liars, but we’ve found a way to get each of them to tell the truth, and Kovu is that way for Miriam.
He reaches behind him and produces his favorite knife. It’s a longer blade than he would typically use to torture someone, but it’s perfect for dismembering, or so I’m told. He places it down on the table between them, and her eyes widen impossibly.
From the other side of the room, I see Donovan move closer, as if he’s planning on stepping in if things go south. But honestly, his mother’s demise is in his best interest, and the way she treats him like her servant even grates on my nerves, and my interactions involving the two of them are fairly limited.
“How about you try that again?” Kovu smirks.
Miriam opens her mouth to respond but clamps it shut.
He spins the blade on the wooden tabletop, barely missing his fingers as the knife makes perfect circles between them, and Miriam can’t tear her eyes off it. There’s a slight tremble that tells me she’s terrified, and that’s exactly how we want her.
“They said once the Syndicate is taken down, we’ll have free rein to do as we please again. No limitations on our businesses. No monthly checks of our establishments. Just how things were back before you took over.”
I nod thoughtfully and glance over at Donovan. He’s in his early thirties, meaning he’s old enough to remember how things were in this city before we formed the Syndicate. “Is that what you think is best for the Sterlings, Donovan?”
“He doesn’t get a say,” Miriam snaps.
“He should,” Kovu says. “After all, this’ll all be his before long.”
“He’s a long way from taking over,” she argues.
“He shouldn’t be. You could take a note out of the Thornes book and retire. Do you really want to be dealing with this shit until the day you die?” Kovu asks. He doesn’t normally take such a front seat in these conversations, but knowing Miriam is fucking terrified of him makes me take a step back and watch as it all unfolds in front of me.
“I don’t have to listen to this. The last time I checked, the contract I signed was to ensure peace within the city and not for you to stick your nose into my succession plan.”
I nod thoughtfully. “You’re right.” I push myself to my feet and button my suit jacket. “Perhaps it’s time you review that contract as I think you’ll find that assisting to overthrow the Syndicate has quite the steep punishment that could have your succession plan being enacted sooner rather than later.” I pause. “And just so we’re clear, that was a threat.”
Kovu retrieves his knife from the table, and Miriam shuffles out of the booth, keeping her eyes glued to the blade he holds in his hand.
“Clean up your drugs, Miriam, or the next conversation we have about this won’t be so polite.”
Without another word, I move toward the front door with Kovu hot on my heels. It’s time to get back to our girl before one or both of us lose our minds.