Chapter Twenty Nine
Joey
I was smirking to myself over breakfast the day before playing over in my head. I had a few minutes before I had to worry about current events, and playing the events of the night before was more interesting than the droning of news stories as I moved to the dining table.
"Penny for your thoughts, Alpha ?" Leighton's amused voice pulled me out of my thoughts.
"Fuck you, L." I flipped him off with a smirk. "Don't call me that. Doesn't have the same ring to it when you say it."
"Awe, you wound me." He laughed as he grabbed his plate from the counter. Craig just rolled his eyes at us as he finished cleaning up from cooking breakfast.
"You two seem to be in a good mood this morning. Should I be worried?" Rich drawled as he emerged from the stairs with Az behind him.
"With those two? Definitely." Az snarked, adjusting his tie with a little smirk. "Where's the Princess?"
I couldn't stop the smirk that plastered itself on my face, and Leighton huffed out a laugh.
"Likely still sleeping… she needs the rest." I said simply, trying to school my features when Rich scowled at me before turning toward the coffee pot. Not my fault you're a moron, big brother. I thought to myself and rolled my eyes behind his back.
"Our next story is a sad one. A local veterinarian's office, the Sacona Animal Center, burned down last night. Emergency responders were unable to save the building but managed to prevent the flames from spreading to the surrounding buildings. Fire Chief Michaelson said, quote, ‘There were no animals or staff in the building, except for one. It's unusual to see this place so empty, but it's better than the alternative.'" I was so glad for my ability to keep up a poker face when the news started with the story.
"The one victim that was lost in the blaze has been confirmed to be Dr. Jacobs. A tragedy: I know he'll be missed by his patients. Both the pets and the owners had nothing but good things to say about the good doctor."
"Tragic. He'll surely be missed. Our next story when we come back: The sudden influx of drug activity in the Southside. Is this a sign of something more dangerous behind the scenes? More when we come back."
Rich sneered, and I could see the muscle in his jaw twitching.
"Daaamn. Shit's wild, huh?" Leighton said absently. I kicked him under the table.
"What the actual fuck, you two?!" Rich finally yelled, setting his coffee cup down hard enough that I was sure it cracked.
"What? Just because a place burns down doesn't mean we did it." I said with a shrug.
"Are you saying that you didn't have anything to do with it?" Rich snapped sarcastically, and I rolled my eyes. He wouldn't believe it even if we hadn't done it.
Craig slid into his chair with an annoyed look. "You owe me some rope, Little Brother. When I told you to take what you needed, I didn't know you'd be leaving it in a fire. My shit is not cheap."
I cut my eyes to Craig with a glare, mentally berating him for bringing that up now. Rich crossed his arms over his chest and stared hard at me.
"Wanna try that again, Joey?" He snapped, making me bristle. I hated it when he spoke to me like I was still a child.
"Fine!" I tossed back, standing up and moving to put my plate in the sink. "So, what if we did, huh? He fucking earned it, and you know it!"
"Do you not think that this will cause retaliation since we know that the vet was on the take from the Jackals?" Rich growled, a vein in his forehead seeming like it would pop any second.
"He was our guy, Rich! He was on our fucking payroll, and he tried to kill you. He could have come to us, but no, he decided to be a traitor. As far as I care, he signed his own death warrant." I clipped, throwing my hands up. Bob got what was coming to him.
"To be fair, he knew the risks when he decided to do what he did." Leighton added, surprisingly calm during our argument as he continued his breakfast. "He had to have known if we found out that his number would be up."
"And maybe the Jackals need a fucking message, huh? They keep coming for us, and we've said nothing back. It's not a good look, Rich. I mean, for fuck's sake! Victoria's childhood home got blown up, and you were nearly killed." I yelled, not understanding why my brother didn't want to stomp them into a grease stain for trying us.
"Leighton blew up the manor," Az said, pouring another cup of coffee. The rest of the guys didn't seem bothered by Rich and me yelling at each other, continuing to go about their mornings. It would have been amusing if I wasn't so pissed off.
"Hey! I only did that because there were too many little roaches to kill by hand." Leighton said, putting his hand on his chest in offense. Az rolled his eyes and moved to the living room to sit on the couch with his coffee.
"You didn't clear this with any of us! You don't know what kind of consequences this could have! In case you fucking forgot, we're kind of in the middle of some shit here!" Rich yelled at me.
"Why the fuck are you angry about us making sure they don't forget who we are!" I snapped back.
"It's not safe! We only just got back home, we're still putting our house in fucking order, and it's not just us we have to worry about anymore!" Rich roared. "You have to be smarter than the people we're up against and THAT ," He pointed to the TV as the news logo rolled back on the screen, "was not fucking smart!"
There was a beat of silence after Rich's yelling. I raised my eyebrow at him, wondering if he caught his slip.
"Why is everyone yelling?" Victoria's still sleepy voice rang through the room, drawing our attention. Her hair was still messy from sleep, and the shirt she'd thrown on fit her like a dress, falling off one shoulder. "Is something going on?"
I immediately felt my shoulders relax, and I smiled softly at her. She looked so sweet standing there, still waking up. I wanted to carry her back up to bed and tuck her in. "Nothing's wrong, Sweetheart. Rich is just being a stubborn jackass."
She snorted slightly. "Ah, so business as usual. Well, I'm going back to bed."
Rich's body went rigid, and he scoffed, turning away from her to fill his cup again. Not before I caught the double take, and once over, he gave her. I wanted to flick his ear like Mom would if she were here. Big idiot , I thought for the thousandth time.
"Actually, Love." Az stood up, moving toward her. "We all have places to be today, and we need you with someone."
"You could come with us!" Leighton said cheerily.
"Uhm, no. She doesn't need to spend the day with street guys." Craig said flatly.
"Well, I'm gonna be at the warehouse almost the whole day. I'm still catching up on the logistics from when we were gone. Leighton's just riding in with me since he's got some shit to sort out with his guys." I said, perking up at the idea of her coming with us. It might not be as productive a day as possible, but I'd set that paperwork on fire if someone asked me to choose.
"It's up to the Princess." Rich said in a low tone, not turning around. She stared at the back of his head like he'd just done a standing backflip or something.
"Uh, yeah…" She said slowly before she recovered herself. "Yeah, sounds good. Probably better than sitting through meetings with Az or not understanding anything the Craig says." When Craig looked up at her with a smirk, she trailed her fingers across his head with a smile. "Let me get changed."
"We're not done talking about this." Rich snapped at me as she disappeared back upstairs.
"What's done is done, Rich. Want me to take licks for it, then I will when I get home. I have work to do." I snapped back.
"Yeah, bet that's what you're planning on doing today." Leighton cackled, dropping his plate in the sink on top of mine and heading for his room. Rich sneered, heading for the garage. I shook my head at the sound of the door slamming on his way out.
A little while later, we pulled up at our main warehouse. It looked damn near abandoned from the outside: faded, run-down, windows boarded up, and in disrepair. Leighton had complained the entire way about some of his associates being skittish since the skirmishes with the Jackals started. Apparently, one was so insistent about being pulled off the street that he was beginning to annoy the soldiers and capos he worked under.
"I get his wife is pregnant, but where the fuck am I supposed to put him? All I got is street guys!" He'd groaned.
I was glad we were finally here. Leighton was like my brother but getting him to understand why someone like that might be nervous was like beating your head against a wall. And could give you a headache just as quickly.
"This… is where you work?" Victoria said, somewhere between disbelief and disgust.
"You didn't expect me to be overseeing guns and drugs in some upscale place, did you? This place looks unused and is in a mostly unused area of warehouses for a reason, Sweetheart." I smirked as I pulled the car into a small, connected building and cut the engine.
"Not knowing we're even here helps us out if anyone not in the know comes looking." Leighton explained further.
"Yes, I understand the concept, Leighton," Victoria smirked.
We got out of the car, and Leighton started heading to one side of the warehouse to find his boys before he stopped and turned around.
"Almost forgot something." He grinned, sidling up to Victoria and giving her a hard kiss. I leaned against the door and waited, but I couldn't help but laugh after a little while.
"L, bro, you're gonna see her again. Let the woman breathe." I spoke. He flipped me off and continued for a few more seconds before finally letting her go and headed out. She stood there momentarily, looking dazed and flushed as she caught her breath. I had to bite my lip to keep from pulling her back into the car.
"Come on, Sweetheart." I gestured with my head toward the side door and held out my hand for her to take.
"So… you're in charge of production," she said. It wasn't a question, but it did need an answer.
"Yeah, Rich insisted when I joined up because he doesn't want me on the street with Leighton. And before you get any bad ideas about what we do, we might sell drugs, but we don't do it too just anyone. We don't sell in Southside, and we don't sell to kids. Our… clientele is mostly the wealthy of the city." I said, opening the door for her and letting her inside. "Our people are all paid fairly, and I make sure they're provided with safety gear so that they're not exposed to the product they're working with accidentally. I'm actually quite proud of the fact that we beat out most of the factory jobs in the city as far as wages go."
"Somehow… for this city, I'm not surprised that one of the better factory jobs is for a fucking mob." She said, a hint of pained humor in her voice. I nodded. It was sad, and it probably said something about us that we did contribute to it, but we did our best to ensure our people were cared for. And they repaid us in loyalty. Well… most of the time.
I gave her a short tour of the warehouse, at least the parts I felt comfortable with her seeing for the time being, before we headed up to the office.
It wasn't a big office and didn't have a lot in it. I hadn't skimped on the chairs, so those were comfortable, but since this place might need to be abandoned in a hurry, there wasn't much point in decorating.
She seemed to take a keen interest in my work, and somehow, I felt my chest swell with affection as she looked over my paperwork and asked questions. I could see the wheels in her head turning. Our girl was sharp, and it made my chest swell with pride and affection.
A knock on the door interrupted us, and I let my face fall into a passive expression as I sat up. Victoria moved off where she'd perched her hip on the desk and stood to my side, her hand on my shoulder.
"Hey, boss? I'm sorry if I'm interrupting, but I wondered if I could have a word." A man at the door asked, pulling his mask down. I didn't recognize him until I saw his face.
"No problem, Terry. Come in and shut the door." I nodded. He flitted his gaze between me and Victoria but did as I asked before shuffling to stand before my desk.
"I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but one of our guys… he's skimming." Terry said, his face a mask of disappointment.
"Really? Do you have proof?" I asked, leaning back in my chair to look up at him.
"I saw him dealing, boss. And it gets worse. When I saw him selling, he was in Southside, and it was kids. They couldn't have been more than 15." The other man shook his head slowly and produced the bag of pills from his pocket. They were definitely ours; they even had our tiny moth stamp on them. It wasn't detailed, but it was enough that we would know if our shit was somewhere, it shouldn't have been. "I got this off the kids that had bought it. Told them that if you five found out, you'd probably have someone talking to their parents personally."
I smirked at his little improv. "Well, hopefully that scared them back home. Alright. Who was it?"
"One of the new guys, Russ." Terry sighed. "Seemed like a bright guy when he started… guess not."
I nodded slowly. I had a vague recollection of the guy. "I appreciate you coming to me with it, Terry. Why don't you head home for the day, huh? Consider it my thanks for this."
"If it's all the same, boss, I need the hours." Terry shifted a bit.
"You'll be paid for the day, now get out of here. Give your wife my best." I said, keeping my face impassive. He nodded and backed toward the door before heading out and closing it behind him.
I let out a slow breath and leaned my head on the back of my chair. "Fucking hell. I really can't afford to lose another guy right now. We had a few people leave already because of this shit with the Jackals, not wanting to be here if they decide to hit the warehouses again. I can't blame them, but if I get any more short-staffed, we won't meet demand."
I pinched the bridge of my nose, causing Tory to laugh.
"You look like your brother when you do that." she said when she'd stopped chuckling.
"Offend me like that again, I dare you." I smirked, giving her a pointed look. She moved to sit in one of the chairs facing my desk and watched me for a second, looking thoughtful. I raised a brow. "Something to share with the class."
"Well… Seems like your problem has a pretty simple solution." she said hesitantly. "I don't want to step on any toes here–"
"Tell me what you're thinking, I won't be upset or anything." I smiled.
"Seems to me like you need to take this Russ guy out back and shoot him. And Leighton's nervous nellie, the expectant father, give him the job since it will be open. Solves two problems at one time. A nervous street guy doesn't seem like an effective one, and you need to keep your team moving." she said, tapping her chin absently as she thought. "Honestly, if Leighton could afford to move the nervous ones to here for the time being, that seems like it would benefit everyone."
I stared at her, blinking slowly. She looked at me after a few beats of silence and scrunched her face.
"What?" she asked indignantly.
"I'm just… surprised is all." I answered.
"Well, it seems like a simple solution to move the nervous people off the street to a place they perceive as safer so they can do effective work. Starting with the expectant father," she said.
"That's not the part of your suggestion that surprised me." I chuckled. "I just didn't expect you to go for the obvious solution after everything that's happened."
"Well, with all the training with guns that you walked me through, it helped a lot. And during our conversations about it… well, I may have learned that sometimes people just need to be shot. If that wasn't the route you were planning on going though–" She rambled, looking a little sheepish.
"Oh no, I was going to shoot him. He's breaking major rules here. First, he's skimming off my product. Second, he's dealing in off-limits territory. Third, he's dealing to kids. He was a dead man from the moment he was caught, it just hasn't caught up to him yet." I shrugged. "It was just a little surprising coming from you is all."
"Well… I've been paying attention. I mean, eventually, all this other bullshit we've got going on will end, and I'd rather be useful to you guys than not. I don't want to always be sidelined or doubted when something needs handling, I don't like it there." she said, lifting her chin. My heart squeezed in my chest at her words. I moved around my desk and pulled her up from her chair.
"None of us deserve you, you know that, right?" I felt like I smiled so much around her that my jaw hurt sometimes, but I couldn't help it. I wove my fingers into her hair and kissed her with everything I hadn't said yet. I didn't think I'd ever get over how sweet she was.
When I pulled away, she had that adorable flush on her cheeks I adored so much.
"Stay here, Sweetheart. Why don't you call Leighton and fill him in on your idea? He'll love it. He hates nervous trigger fingers in his people. He might be reckless, but he doesn't like his people to be." I said, brushing an errant strand of curls away from her face, stepping away from her, and giving her my phone. I checked my clip as I moved toward the door, more out of habit than necessity. "I'll be right back."
I shut the door behind me, letting my impassive mask fall back into place as I moved out onto the production floor. A few of my people waved as they did their work, but I ignored them. I cut a beeline to my floor manager, who knew what was up when he saw me coming.
"New guy. Russ." I clipped, raising my voice to be heard over the noise of the floor, handing him the bag that Terry had given me. The manager's eyes widened, and he motioned for me to follow him.
We found the guy cutting up and laughing among a few people who worked with him as they headed out the back, likely for a break.
"Russ." I said coldly. Everyone froze and turned toward me.
"Uh, yeah boss?" The one in the middle spoke up. I swept my gaze across the group, doing a quick mental check that there wouldn't be any unintended casualties before I lifted my gun and pulled the trigger. The man was dead when he hit the floor, blood and grey matter leaking from the holes in his head.
I turned around to the rest of the production floor.
"If there is anyone else on this floor that's thinking of making themselves a little side profit, ask yourself if the cost is worth it when I find out." I snapped. "Someone get this fucking mess cleaned up!"
The floor manager pulled a couple of people off the line who rushed across the floor to move the body until we could get a clean-up crew out to dispose of it. I stalked back to the office. Those who had waved at me previously kept their eyes on their work, everyone having just been who they were working for.
As I approached my office, I saw Leighton pulling Victoria out with a big grin on his face.
"Leighton!" I hollered over the noise.
"Loved her idea, gonna take her out to lunch as a thanks!" Leighton hollered back until I got close enough to talk normally. Well, there went my plans for how to spend the afternoon. Just as well, though, I did actually have work to get caught up on.
"Keep it in the territory right now, alright? Word's got around, and I imagine it's on sight more than usual." I said, leaning in to kiss Victoria before Leighton pulled her away.
"Duh, I'm gonna take her to the club for lunch. I'm reckless, not stupid." Leighton said, waving as the door to the warehouse swung shut behind them.