Power (Romantic Suspense) (25 page)

Mary Jane caught me off guard. I’d figured it would only be Butterfly and me conversing.

“Yes, Noah.” Butterfly twirled the knife in her hand. “What do you mean by that?”

They both looked ready to kill me.

Mary Jane’s hand was too damn close to her fork for my comfort. “Women only rule with emotion?”

“I’ve been told,” I muttered.

“Clearly, not by your mother,” Mary Jane said. “Do you not think that a woman can be president, too?”

“What? Of course.” I held my hands out. “I was just thinking Butterfly could’ve been President, if she wasn’t such a bitch.”

“What?” Butterfly glared. “Did you just call me a bitch?”

“You were just thinking about Butterfly?” Mary Jane raised her eyebrows.

What was that thing Dad would always say to do with women? Oh, yeah. Say sorry and shut the fuck up.

I coughed into my hand. “I’m sorry.”

Mary Jane still didn’t look pleased.

I leaned her way and whispered, “Let me handle this and you and I can go over women’s rights later.”

She nodded, but I could tell that the discussion was not finished.

Damn it! This night is not going anywhere near the way I wanted. I hoped to have my face buried between her thighs by now, not sitting in front of Butterfly and having another disagreement.

Chapter 16

Noah

A greedy man wrote his will.

For the heir,

he named himself.

–Philogelos (The Laughter Lover)

I
should’ve had Mary Jane stay outside. There’s no way I’m going to be me and keep her safe.

I sighed. “Let’s get to why we’re here, before I fucking start opening veins.”

Crusher gestured for the other men in the room to come over to the table. Like the punks they were, they stood behind Butterfly. It was a smart move. If anything, they could blame her and get less of a punishment. She and Mary Jane were the only people I probably wouldn’t touch. I’d never been a fan of killing women. In all sixty-five kills, I’d murdered one woman. She’d stabbed my side as I took off her panties. It had been some revenge plot for killing her brother.

The men stayed by Butterfly, treating her as if she was the boss. She had their loyalty. From that moment on, there was no reason to keep them alive. Why spend time earning a soldier’s loyalty, when you need only kill him and get another?

Butterfly pointed to Mary Jane with her knife. “Are we going to discuss everything in front of her?”

“I’m hungry.” I placed my hands on the table. “And don’t refer to my lady again.”

Butterfly swallowed and said through clenched teeth, “Your lady?”

“Why did you call the business meeting?” I asked.

“Domingo and Rasheed are gone.” Butterfly’s hand shook as she turned to me. “The North and South have no one running them.”

I cocked my head to the side. “I’m not running the city?”

“Yes, but you need more eyes.”

“Do I, Butterfly?”

She sneered. “Yes.”

“And why is this important to you? Our business doesn’t run together.”

“They do in some ways. Your men are my customers. The regular guys in the city are my customers. All of those politicians and judges who you have in your pocket, come over to my brothels first and get their rocks off.”

There were clear messages between every sentence. Politicians and judges. All my guys getting their rocks off at her spots. She wanted me to know that she’d been working on all of them? You’ve got people, too, Butterfly? The brothels weren’t enough? You want to run the whole city?

Too cocky, she continued, “We need someone in the North and South. I’ve been nice enough to pick two people for you.”

“Did you now?”

“Yes. Choppa for the South. Hugo for the North.” She gestured for the men to come closer.

“And which one is your little bitch?” I didn’t have to look their way to know that they seethed.

She didn’t defend or respond.

“So instead of calling me, you show up here?” I asked. “How did you know I would be here?”

She winked at me. “I have my ways.”

Earlier today flashed in my head.

“The girl from the shop. The one that was taking pictures. You had her do it?”

Butterfly didn’t respond.

“Of course, you did. Who else would want to know about the woman who I’m with.” I raked my hair. “One of the store girls called you?”

Again, she said nothing.

“What I’m wondering is if you’d decided to call the meeting before you realized I took someone to the store, or if you decided to declare war afterwards. No, you’re smarter than that. How long have you been planning this?”

Finally, she spoke, “I’ve been planning nothing. I decided to help you out for the betterment of all of us. I would like us all to get back to making money. All of the guys are scared to walk out on the streets, and when everyone is afraid, no one pays for pussy. They would rather jack off in the safety of their rooms.”

“How long have you been planning this, Butterfly?”

“You’re being paranoid.”

Domingo’s barely been dead for a full day and she already has a replacement. Sure many people would’ve guessed that I would kill him, but it wasn’t certain.

I leaned back and checked her foot under the table. She tapped it more than usual.

You’re not scared. You’re nervous. What are you nervous about?

Bluffing, I decided to see how deep the rabbit hole went. “I’d planned on coming to you.”

That got her attention. She widened her eyes. “Why?”

Time to go fishing in Butterfly’s head.

“Due to Rasheed and Domingo,” I said.

Her voice grew shaky. “I didn’t start their war.”

“But you had a hand in it.”

“I never—”

“You did.”

“I said the things that needed to be said,” she mumbled.

And there we go. I bet you did. Everyone knew Domingo was always insecure about me having power. All someone had to do was get him close enough and whisper in his ear. I bet Butterfly did a lot of whispering as well as sucking. Domingo could never get out of the poisonous clutch of pussy.

“So you told Domingo that he should be me.” I smiled. “The first deaths were in brothels. Rasheed’s men. Knowing you, your chicks did the crime and blamed Domingo’s people.”

That got Choppa’s attention. He cracked his neck and he reached inside his army jacket. Crusher held his hand up, and Choppa let his hand fall to the side.

So Butterfly had started the war between Domingo and Rasheed, for what? With them gone, that didn’t mean it would be hers. Only taking me out would have worked.

I thought about what she’d said. How she’d been here tonight to help me pick someone for the North and South. She’d said that I needed more eyes out there. Had she figured that with Domingo and Rasheed gone, we’d be partners? Who else would I feel loyalty to now that my brothers were gone? Besides Domingo and Rasheed, she was the only other person I’d known for that long. I had another close friend, Aristotle, but he lived far out in the city. I only sought his help, in emergency situations.

Did she think that these two men were my foundation, the thing that kept me going? That without them, I would be weak and alone?

I laughed. The sound disturbed everyone. Even Mary Jane tilted a little away from me.

“Wow.” I stood and leaned over the table, hovering forward. “Life is a dice game, Butterfly. Tell me. How many kisses have you blown on those dice, today?”

“Well, you know how I blow?” She formed her lips and blew me a kiss. “I’ve always been lucky.”

“No. I don’t remember your luck. You’ve always been good at building treasures over dead bodies.”

“I’m not the only one with bones for walls and closets full of skulls.”

“No.” I shook my head. “You’re not.”

Still leaning over the table, I turned to the men behind her, searching for the one that was the most agitated with me being so near to Butterfly. It was always easy to figure out who was the most pussy whipped by her. Part of my death total dealt with men who’d gotten a sniff of her sex and decided to try me. All of her men tried me. It was an odd thing. I don’t know what she told them, but they became jealous when they should’ve been scared.

Which one has been playing in Butterfly’s panties? Ahhh, Choppa, there you go, looking mad and ready to fight.

“Come here, Choppa,” I said.

This would be tricky. There were things that I needed to teach. Lessons all of them had to learn, but Mary Jane sat at the table. I couldn’t let her see me this way.

If I told her to close her eyes, would she still keep them closed at I strangled Choppa to the ground? If I told her to go in the kitchen for a few minutes, would she understand why I’d changed clothes by the time she came back? Would she smell the blood in this room and be okay with it? Could she hear them scream and still want to lay next to me?

Butterfly stood up too. The flowers fluttering with her movement. “You wouldn’t.”

Choppa didn’t move. Not smart.

I didn’t glare, instead I smiled. “Make sure you thank God for every second that you get to inhale and exhale tonight, Choppa. Because tomorrow will be another day and your mother will be planning to bury you next to your brother.”

Choppa fisted his hands, but kept his attention fixed behind me. The poor Bordello brothers appeared confused and gave him a little room. Maybe they didn’t have any idea what was going on.

“Here’s the memo to everyone who hasn’t caught up,” I said. “The war hasn’t ended, and it didn’t start with Domingo and Rasheed. That was only the beginning.”

“And who’s at war?” Butterfly placed her hand on her hip.

“You and I.”

“Never. I’m the only woman you’ve ever loved.”

“Stop it.”

“And this bitch is nothing!” Before I could stop her, Butterfly charged over the table at Mary Jane, sticking the knife directly into her shoulder. The table fell over, knocking me back. Dishes splattered to the floor. Men ran, but I couldn’t see who.

“No!” I roared.

“You crazy, bitch!” Mary Jane shrieked and batted at Butterfly’s hair as the madam stabbed her again. My baby’s blood sprayed out and I fucking screamed bloody murder. Quick, Crusher went to grab Butterfly and probably take her away, but it shouldn’t have been his focus.

Butterfly’s guard yanked his gun out, targeted Crusher, and pulled the trigger.

No!

A bullet ripped through the air. The bang came next. Crusher caught it in his arm. Blood spilled out of the hole and poured down to his hands. Thank, God Crusher was a mountain. One bullet couldn’t take him down. It was the same as a mosquito bite.

He dove for Butterfly’s man, clasped those huge hands on the side of his face, and did what he’d been named for. Second by second, he crushed the man’s skull with his bare hands. Cracking ensued. Blood sprayed. The poor guy screamed as he died.

I had no time to process it.

Mary Jane?

Someone shut off the lights. Darkness engulfed the restaurant. Light only streamed in from the glass walls and the glow of the ocean waving around the building. It could’ve been one of the twins who turned off lights, but I’d bet it was Hugo ready to take his revenge for his brother. I had no time for that bullshit either. Mary Jane had been stabbed and they were still fighting, I could hear slapping and cursing, shrieking and banging.

“Mary Jane!” I yanked my gun out of the holster in my jacket and rushed over to where the ladies shrieked and struggled. The scent of blood filled the air. Subtle, but easy to detect since I’d been around it so often.

Bone cracking continued to fill the air. Once Crusher started, no one could stop him. He’d be focused on that skull until bits of bone fell around his fingers.

Movement came to my right. Without thinking, I shot.

“Fuck!” Hugo screamed. A boom came next followed by feet scuffling.

That’s right. Get the fuck out of here.