As I push myself off the wall and take my last drag, I spot a woman stumble out of a window. Her ass hits the ground, but she doesn’t let it slow her down. She pops up and starts to run.What the fuck.She whizzes past me, and for a second, I think I recognize her.Where the hell have I seen this woman before?She doesn’t stop running until she gets to her car, and once she’s in, takes off, her tires peeling out.
Throwing my cigar into the grass, I stalk over toward Logan. Something’s wrong here. As I get closer, I see he has a gun in his hand, and his face is white as a ghost. I quickly assess the surrounding area, making sure there are no witnesses. “Get inside,” I bark. He steps back inside, and I follow him in, shutting the door behind me.
My eyes immediately go to the dead body on the floor. It’s not the first time nor will it be the last that someone has been killed by the hands of one of my guys, but with the business I run, I try to leave it as a last resort.
“What the fuck did you do?” I accuse, because really…there better be a damn good reason to kill a fucking cop.
“He left me no choice! He wasn’t listening.” Logan is staring atthe guy bleeding out all over the floor.
“I told you totalkto him, not kill him. You should’ve let me handle it. After I call Franco to clean up your damn mess, we’re going to have a serious fucking talk.”
Logan looks at me, not saying a word. He’s in shock. I remember the first time I was forced to pull the trigger. I had no choice, and if I had to do it over again, I would still make the same decision I made back then. But knowing I did the right thing to save the person I loved doesn’t change the fact I still played God with a man’s life. It’s also the day I came to terms with the fact that if there is a God and heaven, there’s no way I’ll be walking through those pearly gates.
Taking my phone out of my pocket, I dial Franco’s number. With my eyes trained down on the screen, out of the corner of my eye, I notice a pair of women’s shoes.The girl falling out of the window. Fuck.
My head shoots up to Logan. “Was someone else here?”
He looks at me like I’m stupid but then looks around. Franco answers on the first ring. “I need a clean-up.”
“You got it.”
I give him the address while glancing around the room.A purse.I point to it, and Logan’s eyes follow my direction. I move to the kitchen and notice the clean dishes in the strainer.Two cups. Two sets of silverware.
After we hang up, I go back out to the living room and Logan is going through the purse. “I have a license. Her address isn’t here. I’m telling you, nobody was here.”
“She was here. I watched her fall out of the damn window.” I stalk down the hallway, knocking open each door until I find thewindow. The goddamn bathroom. “She was hiding in here.”
Jesus fucking Christ.
“Let’s go. Grab her purse and shoes. Franco will be here soon to clean this all up. You’re going to find the girl.” I point my finger at Logan. “Find her and bring her to me. Don’t fuck this up, Logan.”
“She has the same last name as the cop.” He stares at the license. “It’s got to be his sister or cousin maybe… unless he’s married and has been hiding it.”
“Just get her and bring her to me.”
He has her license in his hand, so I snatch the purse from him and walk out of the apartment and back toward my car so I can head back to the club. My anger toward Logan is increasing by the minute, but as much as I want to throw his ass to the wolves, one of the more crucial pieces of advice my dad gave me when he started teaching me the business was to keep my friends close and my enemies closer. So, for now, I’m keeping Logan close. Whether it’s as a friend or an enemy, only time will tell.
I’m pissed at myself for letting my guard down enough that Logan could get shit past me, but my guard is now up and my eyes are open, and once I get this all sorted, he’s going to regret ever crossing me.
I spend the rest of my evening making sure my face is seen at the club to ensure if anything goes down I have several alibies. At eleven o’clock, I grab my main bouncer, Rosco, and head downstairs to the underground club to check shit out. Logan was quick to throw Luis under the bus, but now I’m curious to see what else has been going on while my back was turned. My employees know damn well drugs in my club is unacceptable. The last thing I need is someoneoverdosing or acting a fool because they’re hopped up on something. They can do that shit elsewhere.
The underground club has two entrances. One is down a hallway, off the main area, and the other is outside, around the back, the stairs leading down to the underground level. The underground part of the club is invite only. There’s a large cover charge and all licenses are scanned so we know who is entering. From the outside, it looks like a shitty old door that needs to be replaced, like where one would go to throw the garbage out, out back.
With several cops on my dad’s and my payroll, including the Deputy Chief, my underground club gets overlooked, which is how I know Logan is up to something. Stephen wouldn’t bother making that threat because there’s nowhere to go with it, and as far as the money laundering goes, I have my shit locked air fucking tight.
But with Logan acting strange, I let him believe I was worried, when the truth is I wanted to see how he would handle it all. Him killing the cop tells me one thing: Logan is hiding something way bigger than some wannabe gangsters selling X and coke to a bunch of people at a club, and you better fucking believe I’m going to find out what it is.
I spot Luis standing at the door and he gives me a nervous nod, which tells me Logan has already warned him. “Listen, Ethan—” he starts, but I cut him off.
“We’re not going to discuss this right now, and definitely not here. For now, just do your damn job. I see anybody selling in my club tonight, you will never work in this city again. Got it?”
He nods in understanding, letting me through.
I have two fights scheduled for tonight. I get downstairs and theplace is already crowded, everyone with liquor in their glasses. The fights don’t begin until midnight and they go quickly, usually ending by 2:00 a.m. There are no rounds or rules other than no weapons and no killing the other person. My ref will stop the fight once one of the fighters is no longer capable of fighting back.
For the next couple hours, I watch the fights, watch my employees, and watch the patrons. I have Rosco throw several people out for doing drugs. He checks the bathrooms several times and makes examples out of enough people that it should get passed around quickly that drugs in my club won’t be happening anymore.
It’s been a long time since I was the last person to leave the club—that’s what managers are for. When you run your business right, you can delegate.Work smarter, not harderis my motto.
