Chapter 1
Megan
There was one thing I hated more than anything and it was heights. Standing on the ledge with stories up with my toes the only part making contact with the ledge was unnerving. I could feel the wind and the way that my heels were perilously over the edge.
The black sweater molded over my delicate and nubile frame. The chill running down my spine was from the overabundance of adrenaline running through my veins.
The system was flawed and I fell through the cracks at an early age after my mother and father died when a drunk sideswiped them on the highway. It left me a victim with no discernible relatives willing to take me in. I became a ward of the state at the ripe age of five years old. Bouncing around from one group home to another had made it necessary to run away at 14. I had to learn to survive on my own.
I learned early on my body was a commodity. I’d almost fallen into the trap of selling it to the night. I was barely 18 and found myself on the receiving end of the law. I made a deal with the devil in a blue pressed uniform and badge to match. I became his informant with promises of my freedom never to come to fruition.
I should have known not to trust the bad boy next door. It always ended badly.
We were next door neighbors and I confided in him about what I did to survive. He didn’t reveal that he was the law until he had incriminating evidence on me.
He dangled the unattainable piece of fruit over my head out of reach. Nathan was cold and calculating, but he still elicited feelings from a certain part of my anatomy.
I was playing both sides with the possibility of jail or something even worse in my future. It led me to taking risks and flying by the seat of my pants.
Frankie Bones was hard but fair and he had a soft spot for me. His protection made it less likely to run afoul of one of his boys late at night. There was one who put a finger on me. It was the last time he put a finger on anyone.
Frankie was having a meeting and I had gotten wind of some high rollers coming into town. I was not privy to the information. His way of protecting me was keeping me out of the day to day business. I became his runner. It meant I was the fortunate soul to collect on certain debts with the muscle to back me up.
“I know you’re curious about the reason why you are here. Tonight is the start of something big for the city. I have systematically gotten rid of the competition. I have one last stumbling block and it’s going to take firepower. A shipment of arms is due in port in three days.” I could hear every word and it wasn’t my first time being a fly on the wall.
My jet black hair was tucked back underneath the sweater. The frame of my 5’3 body with 120 pounds made me invisible. I could’ve probably stood in the room without them even recognizing me. Frankie excluded. He could point me out in a crowd without a second guess.
I turned abruptly and almost lost my balance with 1 foot hanging over the edge. I was breathing heavy and trying to compose myself.
“I’ve heard rumors your businesses have been taking a hit. Nothing big, but it’s enough to raise some concern. Can you address what you are doing to stop the blood from flowing from the vein of your operation?” I didn’t know him, but his face had been seen on the media pressing the flesh and kissing the babies.
“Going legitimate isn’t easy and it’s even harder when you are trying to pretend to be an entrepreneur. I have a few feelers looking out for my best interest. My soldiers are willing to fight alongside me. I have graciously given you an influx of cash to your campaign. In exchange, I have your word the police are chasing their tails with false leads.” Frankie was always one step ahead never complacent and always in the loop.
“Power is the one thing you have to take in the palm of your hands. My voice holds a lot of weight. I don’t take chances unless there is a guarantee for success. My campaign and subsequent win in the race will make you very rich. The city will be ours and you will have the monopoly on the criminal element. I will, of course, take my piece of the pie.” This was unprecedented and somehow Frankie had stuck his nose into politics with designs on becoming the head of the snake.
“I like you, but this only works if you can get the voters on board. That’s where I come in. Crime is down 50% and falling dramatically every day. It’s a façade to lull the voters into a false sense of security. Everything changes after you are appointed.” I had noticed a decline in killings and a diminished presence of the oldest profession in the world.
Nathan had become suspicious and was working behind the scenes like a dog with a bone. He had 15 years on the force with 10 of those made more palatable by having me whisper in his ear. Cultivating me as a source had made him a rising star in the department. He probably didn’t know what kind of goldmine he had found when he had me over a barrel.
“Frankie, I don’t care if there’s blood flowing in the streets. I do expect you to be discreet. A certain part of the city will be zoned for the more extreme side of the criminal element. It’s a small demographic and won’t be missed. This is a very profitable arrangement. I expected results and you haven’t disappointed.” They shook hands, but they couldn’t look more different if they wanted to.
The politician was prim and proper without a hair out of place. He looked smug with cleanly shaven features and an air of superiority he couldn’t hide.
Frankie was an unpolished gem with many flaws in his personality. Being an orphan made it feel like he was my big brother. I hated betraying him, but my freedom was at stake. I did pick and choose the information I was willing to share with Nathan. Nothing had ever come back to Frankie’s door. I didn’t know if I could protect him from this.
“I will have the money transferred to your account by morning no later than 11:00 AM. That should give you more than enough time to get your ducks in a row. There’s one more thing. I like your style and I want your jacket. This is non-negotiable.” He was making a point to give this guy a better idea of who was wearing the pants.
“I don’t know where you get off with making this kind of demand. I’m not going to give you the satisfaction of giving you the coat off my back. How dare you presume to be on my same level? I gave you a chance at having a power base unbeknownst to the law. Spitting in my face makes me think I have chosen unwisely. I can give you legitimacy but I can also take it away.” The tension was thick enough to cut with a knife.
“This arrangement benefits the both of us and don’t you ever forget it. I have a good mind to cut my losses and your throat at the same time. I don’t usually get my hands dirty, but I will make an exception for you.” They were rallying for position and puffing their chest to see who was going to be left standing.
Everybody was wired tightly. One wrong move and things were going to turn bloody in a hurry. I scrambled for my phone and in my haste, it slipped out of my fingers. I watched it fall and explode into a million fragments on the concrete ground 30 feet down from where I was standing.
It meant nobody from the law was going to interrupt this party. The party favors were snug in the waistband of Frankie’s men. The four very stiff young men standing at the door behind the politician had their hands firmly enclosed around the butt of their guns in the holster around their shoulders.
“I’ve had a change of heart. I will gladly give you my jacket for your gun. It’s a fair compromise and we both save face.” That Desert Eagle was Frankie’s pride and joy.
He never went anywhere without it and he had it custom made with a pearl handle. I couldn’t swear to it, but I suspected he slept with it underneath his pillow for that added piece of protection. It wasn’t going to be easy to take it away from him without taking it out of his cold dead hands.
“I don’t believe in superstition. I don’t get afraid of black cats. This gun that you so callously want to get your hands on is the last thing I have of my father.” He took offense and made his feelings quite known by the way he was wielding that revolver.
He moved the barrel back and forth in front of the politician’s eyes. The politician didn’t waiver. The way that he was keeping a straight face looking down the barrel of the gun was making me realize how dangerous he was.
A piece of the ledge broke away and I panicked. My hand slapped against the window pane. The voices silenced and I heard footsteps approaching. I had no place to go.
I was reminded that people had a tendency to look straight ahead without looking up or down. This was going to work in my favor.
I took a deep breath and steeled my resolve for what I was going to do. I was literally going to have to take a leap of faith. I ran my hand down along my cleavage and across the top of my chest in the sign of the cross.
Religion was never my forte, but I had found my lost faith. I jumped hoping that my aim was going to be true. I dropped unceremoniously from the sky and bent my knees upon impact with the refuse in the blue garbage bin.
I held my breath and let my body sink deeper into the mire of last night’s take out. The putrid stench of day old Chinese Food assailed my old factory senses. It was hard to keep my lunch down.
I heard the squawk of a radio and it was no more than a few feet away from where I was hiding. The scuffle of his boots was soon answered with his hands digging into the trash. I wasn’t expecting him to be that thorough in his search.
I didn’t dare move from my current position. I saw his hand in front of my face with the ring of the lion giving me a better idea of what I was up against. Jerome had ice water running through his veins. I heard of his prowess with a blade and how he could filet information out of a suspect. That was not a position I would envy anyone.
“I fucking hate this job sometimes. I’m going to smell like Chinese rice for a week.” His calloused hands grazed my nipple and I had to stifle a moan of encouragement from coming out of my mouth.
He squeezed the flesh for a moment and the fear of being discovered had grabbed me by the throat. He continued his search. I could only hope he thought it was a rotting piece of fruit ripe beyond its days of expiry.
“It must’ve been the wind. Nobody in their right mind would have scaled the building without a fire escape. There’s no sign of anybody down here. I’m coming back up. Don’t go shooting anybody without me.” He was cursing underneath his breath and I waited for several minutes before emerging with a sigh of relief.