“Boss didn’t tell us you were fucking pretty,” the dark man sneered, licking his lips as he looked me up and down.
Here we fucking go.
Chapter Thirty
Sullie
“We need to rein him in, before he does something stupid.”
I regarded my friend slowly, taking him in as he stood against the wall in my office. Hell, it wasn’t much of an office—just a wooden desk covered in papers, bullets and a few handguns. A couple of metal chairs and a mini fridge off to the right side, against the wall.
He was a big man, bigger than me, and thirty years ago, when our paths crossed for the first time, I was surprised by that. His arms were folded over his chest, his dreads hanging down to the middle of his torso. Dom was all muscle, something I used to envy.
Scrubbing a hand down my face and over my beard, I sighed. We were discussing my nephew, Jeremy. He had been going off the rails since the disappearance of his adopted sister, and while I appreciated that deep love, I feared that it would be his downfall.
“I know, Dom.”
A dark brow rose, wrinkling the dark skin on his forehead. “Do you, brother? Because you've been avoiding it as of late.”
I scoffed, sitting back in my chair. “We've been a little busy. Finding Kay is—”
“Was,” he corrected smoothly. “She was a concern, but the girl doesn’t want to come home, Sull. You and I both know Kay is strong and can handle herself. She is safe and where she wants to be. Jer isn’t coping with that.”
Silence filled the room as the bar buzzed full of life outside. This was the first time that we'd been open in weeks. The shy little redhead of my niece’s group, Haley, was taken about a month or so ago. She is back now, thanks to Kay, but since then, my bar had been sort of a hub for the FBI. While I am happy to help, the neighborhood still needed its “watering hole.”
I chuckled at Mr. Jackson’s label for my bar, the old bastard.
“Something funny?” my partner deadpanned.
“Life, brother. Life.” I raised my palm. “I know we need to rein it in on the boy, but this could be good for him.”
He pushed off the wall and braced his hands on the back of one of the chairs before me. His brown eyes landed on a frame on the wall with the first dollar I ever earned from this place. Beside it was a picture of me and Dom from a different life. A darker time.
“What happened to protecting him?” he asked quietly.
Dread settled over the room. “No matter what I did, Dom, you and I both know that there was no protecting him after Ty.”
Jeremy was a good man. Strong, loyal, with a heart full of love, but he only opened it to certain people.
Jeremy was like a son to me.
I never had the time for the white fence life, and I had too many enemies. If I married and had children, they would have been the target, so I chose a life of solitude. It was the safest for all the people I loved. Did I have any regrets? No. I got to see my niece and nephew grow while protecting the city I loved.
My seat would be filled by Jeremy soon. He was already supposed to be in it, but plans changed five years ago when Gwen brought Dean Connors to my doorstep.
“I don’t think he's ready,” Dom said, looking back at me. I understood his doubts about the boy.
“Were we so different, Dom?” No. Dom was a hotheaded young man with a thirst for power and blood. The mafia had killed his mother when he still in his twenties. Cal Matthews had just come into power. Young. Hungry. He shot Dom’s mother in the chest and dumped her body at their door.
I wanted to keep the mafia out of this city, and he wanted revenge. We were the perfect pair. Romano had been trying to control St. Louis for years, and I’ll be damned if I let him have it.
This is my city.
My partner smirked. “He reminds me of myself, Sull. His fury. His passion. His bloodshed. It’s like looking into a mirror.”
I smiled. “It’s a damn good mirror then, my friend. We need to let him show his ruthless side so that the Crew knows the chair will be filled with strength and not weakness. Jer will be able to protect this city.”
“And if he still doesn’t want it?”
