Power (Romantic Suspense) (53 page)

“You’re squinting,” Aristotle said. “That can’t be good.”

Mary Jane snorted behind me.

I glared at him. “I believe you should take the bass out of your voice when you’re talking to me.”

Aristotle raised his eyebrows. “Will you be able to stand down, when I take over? This was a test and you failed. You looked like you were close to killing me.”

“You’re in my bedroom. You woke me up. My lady is in here half-naked, and you’re talking to me like I wouldn’t kill you.”

“You won’t.” Aristotle smirked and walked out. “You’ve seen the light. Put on some clothes. We have some shit to talk about.”

Rage rippled inside of me. It was more the alpha in my core that didn’t appreciate the order.

“Will you be able to stand down?”

Aristotle needed to exert his authority with me and my men. Well, his men now. I had to get onboard if I wanted to really start a new life with Mary Jane.

I glanced over my shoulder.

She smiled. “You’re not used to being bossed around, but none of this is worth your life or mine.”

“True.”

She got up from the bed, walked over to the chair, and handed me my pants. “I love you.”

“I love you, too.” I kissed her delicious lips.

Damn. Who fucking cares about Din City when I have Mary Jane?

Once we both dressed, we went into the living room. Everyone sat, while Aristotle stood. 305 looked pissed. He’d driven all night. When we arrived, he crashed onto the couch and passed out right next to a snoring Crusher. Fuji didn’t even try to pretend like he was awake. Instead, he opened his eyes every other minute as the recliner held his big body.

“Okay.” Aristotle cleared his throat.

Waking up, Crusher held his dwarves and grumbled.

“So things have changed.” Aristotle leaned on the cane. “I thought I had a good week or two before transitioning into my position, but I’ve been yanked into a new situation that apparently all of the people in this room have caused. So let’s figure out a solution.”

Aristotle’s news woke everyone up like he’d splashed us with coffee.

I held Mary Jane’s hand. “What situation?”

“I thought you would wait to kill Butterfly,” Aristotle said.

“I never promised that,” I replied. “In fact, our last conversation was for you to get better. And then I left the club.”

“And killed her,” Aristotle said.

“Yes, I gave her the kiss of death.”

“I heard.” Aristotle frowned. “The whole city has heard.”

Mary Jane stirred on my side.

Everyone kept looking from side to side at Aristotle and me as if we were a tennis match.

“Why is this a problem?” I asked.

“Because this morning the FBI woke me up in your condo.” Aristotle gripped the cane hard. “Senator Webster was with them.”

“The Spider?” I muttered.

“Yes.”

Mary Jane was the only one who looked confused, and I didn’t have the energy to explain this sick man. He’d grown up on the streets like all of us, but he hid it better. So well that he ended up still controlling several cities’ drug games while sitting in the U.S.’s capital. In this life, there were dirty cops and bad politicians and then, there was an evil that fed on the poor and innocent just because it was fun. The latter was Senator Webster, known in the streets as the Spider.

“So those were The Spider’s men that I killed along with Butterfly?” I asked.

Aristotle nodded.

“Why would he care about three bullshit guards?”

“It’s not the guards that he’s pissed about,” Aristotle said.

“He didn’t love Butterfly. That I know. He was a top customer in her brothels, but nothing more.”

Sighing, Aristotle lifted the cane in the air and twisted it in front of him like one of those sequined girls in a high school marching band. “See. That’s where the problem lies. He doesn’t care about those guards. He’s pissed about you destroying the brothel at Old Miller’s Plant. Apparently, you took some merchandise that belonged to him.”

“I didn’t take anything. I destroyed it all.”

“No.” Aristotle shook his head. “They have Crusher on tape taking—”

“What?” Crusher sat up. “On tape?”

Worry creased Aristotle’s face. “Yes, you’re taking away a woman from the stage.”

“Harmony,” Crusher muttered.

“No, The Spider’s merchandise,” Aristotle corrected.

Crusher got ready to rise.

I waved at him to sit back down. “The Spider wants the singer we saved?”

“Yes.” Aristotle stopped twisting the cane. “And he doesn’t want her right now. He wants her right naw. N-A-W.”

“What?” I quirked my eyebrows.

“Never mind. That’s ghetto humor.”

Crusher cracked his knuckles. “He won’t get her, but I’m going to get him.”

“Hey, man that’s not what I’m saying.” Aristotle shook his head. “He has me as the person in power over Din City, mainly because I happened to be the only dumb ass in your condo who could complete full sentences.” Aristotle glanced my way. “What the fuck is up with that guy that talks like a frog, man? That shit messed me up. And you got this kid that is the creepiest motherfucker I’ve ever seen. He slept under my bed last night.”

I barely registered any of what Aristotle said. I was still trying to think of a solution to this new problem. It wasn’t that the Spider figured Aristotle was in charge of Din City, the senator had simply appointed Aristotle as the person in charge of fixing his problem.

The evil man wanted Harmony. Why? I didn’t think he had any daughters so I doubted that she was related to him. Anything that brought the Spider joy, would be the suffering of someone else. Had he been the one to put all of those scars on her? It must’ve been some sick infatuation. Unfortunately, Harmony had probably caught the Senator’s eye one of the times he’d visited Butterfly’s brothel and became trapped with her. Was that how Butterfly had the power to get the Spider to supply her with extra men? She dangled Harmony in front of him?

“Crusher, come with me.” I pulled out my phone, googled Senator Webster, found his picture, and walked toward the other bedroom.

“What are you going to do?” Crusher asked.

“I’m going to see if she knows him.”

Crusher blocked me, before I could open the door. “I don’t want you to upset her.”

I handed him the phone with the senator’s picture on it. “That’s not the goal. I just want to see if the Spider is her enemy or friend.”

Crusher took the phone and opened the door.

Harmony sat in the far corner of the bed. As far as I knew, she still hadn’t said a word and only took food from Mary Jane or Crusher.

“Harmony?” Crusher’s voice lowered into a kind tone that I’d never heard come from him. “I want to show you a picture and find out if this is the bad man that hurt you. Okay? You don’t even have to say anything, just nod yes or no. Okay?”

She widened her eyes, but didn’t nod in confirmation.

“Here you go.” Crusher placed the phone in front of her, since she didn’t hold out her hands. “Do you know this man?”

And then everything changed. The energy shifted in the room. Harmony jumped up from the bed, screaming so loudly the sound pierced my fucking ear drums. Tears fell from her eyes. She scratched at the walls, climbing them as if there was a hidden compartment to get out.

“No! No! No!” She dug her nails into the walls, breaking them on the surface. Dents and marks came. Tiny drops of blood smeared the paint. “No! No! No!”

Over and over, she echoed that word. “No! No!”

Crusher took her tiny frame into his huge arms and did his best to silence her. “No, he’s not coming. I’m going to kill him.”

“No! No!” She shook in his arms. “No! No!”

Crusher turned my way. Death blazed in his eyes. “Tell, Aristotle to go fuck himself. She doesn’t go to him. I’m going to kill him and if anybody gets in my way, I’m going to kill them too. Make sure he doesn’t get in my way, Noah.”

My heart boomed in my chest. “Okay.”

What else could I say? Crusher remained loyal to himself. He just always agreed with me, so there was never a problem. In his way, he loved Harmony. No logic existed in his love, but then reason never flowed in the heart. We fell for who we fell for and that was that.

Harmony finally settled down, closing her eyes, and shivering against him.

I remained in the doorway. “Crusher.”

“I’m not changing my mind, Noah.”

Sadness filled my chest. No longer would anyone call me
boss.
The path ahead of me was dark and unsure. If I was no longer the beast, who was I? And would I like this new man?

It doesn’t matter. I have Mary Jane with me.

“I’m not trying to change your mind, Crusher. I want you to know that I’ve got your back, if you need me. You helped protect Mary Jane several times. I will help you protect Harmony.”

A softness shined in his gaze.

I grumbled, “You better not fucking starting singing that damn
Lion King
song again.”

“But. . .can you feel the love tonight?”

Sighing, I turned around and escaped the room, before I took back my vow and shot him in the head.

So that was that. I no longer ran Din City. I’d lost the city, but won the war. I’d taken down a female, in order to run off with an amazing woman. I no longer had to kill my friends. I no longer needed cold metal in my hands or to hear the violence burst in the streets under me. I no longer needed to fuck faceless women or hunt evil men amid the night.

I no longer needed to sit alone in my bed and pretend to be happy.

Aristotle had Din City now.

Crusher had a new target.

I would help them both with their goals, as long as neither one harmed the other.

Aristotle met me as I returned to the living room. “What happened? Is that the chick? I heard a woman screaming from the back.”

I leaned his way and whispered. “Spider is going to have to be an unhappy senator that leaves Din City and finds another woman to be infatuated with, or the Spider is going to die by Crusher’s hands.”

Aristotle glanced in the direction of Harmony’s room. “My first day on the job and you leave me with a lovesick Crusher and a fucking demonic Senator?”

“Welcome back to Din City.” I winked. “I’m going to sleep.”

“Sleep?” He followed me. “We can’t sleep. We have to figure this shit out. The Senator gave me three days to bring Harmony to him. What the fuck am I going to do?”

“It’s simple. You’re going to help Crusher kill the Spider.” Making it to the living room, I rubbed my eyes and gestured for Mary Jane to come with me.

“He’s a fucking senator. You don’t just kill senators.”

I held the door open for Mary Jane and checked out her soft ass as she strolled forward looking like she was five seconds from falling asleep.

Anxiety decorated Aristotle’s face. “Noah?”

“Give me ten hours and we’ll come up with something. I’m tired.”

“Ten fucking hours? How much sleep do you need, man?”

“Six hours. The rest are for fucking.” I closed the door behind me, locked it, and attacked that beautiful vixen that had captured my heart.

But only for a few minutes.

I had to wait until Aristotle’s car started and left. He had to go.

After several minutes, I let go of Mary Jane. “Hold on, baby.”

“What?” She took off her top. “Come back over here.”

I hurried to the window. Aristotle had been driving my Ferrari. He sped down the road and disappeared into the rain.

Something hadn’t set well with Aristotle coming out of the blue like that. His story made sense on paper, but not in the streets. He could’ve just called to tell me this, but instead he came all the way out to figure it out.

“What’s wrong?” Mary Jane stared at me as I raced out of the room.

“Crusher!” I headed to the back.

“Damn it,” 305 grumbled from the couch. “You can’t get no fucking sleep in this place.”

Ahead of me, Crusher barreled out of the room. “What?”

“I’ve been thinking about something. Aristotle must’ve told the Senator that she might be here. If he didn’t, he will. Get her the fuck out of here now.” I shoved him into the room to hurry him up.

“What?” Crusher fumbled with the shit in his pockets. “You think so? No way. Not Aristotle.”

“He had no reason to come out here, unless he had to check for himself and make sure his ass was saved with the Senator. That’s our boy, but when it comes to the federal government people lose their loyalty really quick.”

Crusher grabbed Harmony’s hand. She’d been watching us the whole time. “Where the fuck am I going to take her?”

Where could I hide Crusher and Harmony? The Spider would have some serious connections. He’d make the mayor and police bend to anything he wanted. Where could they hide?