Chapter Eight
Several hours later
Emily closed her eyes as she pressed her back against the wall trying to ignore the sounds of bodies being taken away. Her father was talking with her husband and his friends. The man who had attacked them, the one she had shot, had known Bracken. From what she heard the name of the man whom she had shot was Craig. He’d worked for The Family since he was a kid and had been loyal until they killed his father.
Donnie, Luiz, Tonio, and Jake had killed his father, and he’d sworn his allegiance to Damon Seagus.
“Craig was a good man,” Bracken said. “His father, he was stuck in the old ways. Even when I saved him from your fathers several years back, he was still determined to follow their orders. Man was loyal to the very end.”
“He was loyal to a cause that was all but dead,” Donnie said.
“Not to him. You need to understand that when fresh blood takes over, there are always a lot of the old timers who struggle. They remember the old ways. They remember being protected, and a lot of mess happens in the process. At least they’re still alive, as are most of their family and friends, Donnie. This shit, it’s not a game, and you four have been playing this as if it’s a game you can just restart.”
“This isn’t a game to us,” Jake said.
“It’s not? Then why have I heard more whining about how you four want to completely annihilate The Family?” Bracken asked.
Emily had heard her father talking many times over the past couple of years about those four men. He admired them for having the courage to take out their own fathers. What he always said was he hoped they had the wisdom to know what they had really done. They had simply sped up the process of them taking over, and with it, put their own lives at risk.
Silence met her father’s question.
“You all thought you had the choice to walk away. There is no walking away. Now you should see that more than ever before. I was fucking dead to The Family, but I couldn’t just walk away. The moment you become part of this world, there is no backing the fuck down. You make your place, and you work like hell to get your fucking loyalty worth something. Those men I have, they would die for me, and they would die for my family before they saw anyone else take my place. All four of you have that capacity. I see it inside all of you. If I didn’t, we wouldn’t be having this conversation right now. Get your heads out of your fucking asses, and fix this problem.”
Bracken moved away, and when Emily opened her eyes, she saw her father standing in front of her.
“Hey, Dad,” she said.
“You made me proud tonight, baby girl.” He pulled her in for a hug and kissed the top of her head. “Thank you for protecting those women. I taught you well.”
“Are Mom and the others okay?”
“I’ve got everything covered. You need me, call.”
She watched her dad leave, and then one by one Jake’s friends left with the promise they would be meeting early the next morning at Donnie’s house.
When they were alone, Jake looked toward her. “Are you okay?” he asked.
“I’m fine. Peachy.”
“What you heard, and what you witnessed, I never wanted you to go through that.”
“It’s fine.” She was a little shaken, but there really was nothing to say or do. “The threat was very real and very scary.” She blew out a breath. “I’m just pleased those women were here with me rather than at home.”
“Paige is pregnant for the fourth time. She’s only just showing, but she wears large clothes to hide it,” Jake said. “She already has four kids. Donnie wants to keep her barefoot and pregnant. They’ve been together a long time now.”
“Oh.” Emily frowned. “I think I recall someone saying that. She has a set of twins, right? I’m so sorry.” Her parents had been looking after Paige, Zara, and Raine’s children.
“Don’t worry about it. You did everything you could, and Paige was fine. She’s a fighter, and she has been through a lot more. She’s married to Donnie.”
“This isn’t a joke. Those men were sent to kill everyone in this apartment block. Is that what you guys are doing? Playing a game? Wanting out of this life?” She knew that Jake had wanted a life outside of The Family. Wanting it and having it were two different things. She knew there was no way out for her. She had been born into this life, and being Bracken’s daughter always made her life that little bit more interesting.
There was no getting away from this, not for either of them, unless they killed each other.
“We, erm, were hoping that it would bring the end of The Family. It was our end game. We’d get to live separate lives, divide the legal businesses among the four of us, work together, that kind of thing.”
Emily laughed. “I can now see why some people believe you’re just boys.” She saw him clench his jaw. “That’s a fantasy, Jake.”
“We all know that. We have known it for a long time, but we’ve been half-asses with it. We got fucking tired of fighting. Donnie was with his woman, and so were Tonio and Luiz. We never asked for this. Our original plan was to take over and to change shit. It’s hard to change a poison that is on the inside.”
She ran fingers through her hair and looked down at the red spots of blood, like little ponds on their floor. Just looking at it made her sick to her stomach. “This isn’t a game.”
“We know it’s not. We’ve known for a long time, but clearly we took our eyes off the ball, and now it’s coming to bite us in the ass.” Jake moved toward her, holding onto her shoulders and staring into her eyes. “I’m sorry I failed you, and I failed the beginning of our marriage. I won’t do it again. I’ll fight for us, for our Family. I need to know you’re on my side.”
“I proved that I’m on your side tonight. I don’t shoot anyone for the hell of it, Jake. Never have. I need a good reason.”
“You’re a good shot.”
“Thank you.” She released a breath. “We can’t stay here.”
“No, and the next few months are going to be tough. We can’t have anyone thinking we’re weak, not anymore. I’m going to have to do things you’re not going to like. Will you be able to handle that?”
“I can handle anything,” she said. Her mother had taught her how to be, what to do, to be strong.
Jake needed a strong woman by his side. He needed someone who wouldn’t turn her back on him and would continue to be there for him no matter what.
“We’re going to declare war, and it’s going to get ugly.”
“Make sure I have a gun, and I can help you.”
He cupped her neck, his thumb stroking across her cheek. “I’m going to do everything I can to protect you.”
“I know. I trust you, and I believe you.” She cupped his face. “You need to stop feeling guilty, Jake. This is who you are, and you can’t keep fighting that, no matter how much you want to. We got handed the shitty bargain of lie. That doesn’t mean we can’t make the most of it.” She pressed her lips to his. “I’m going to go and start packing for the two of us.”
There was no way they would settle in this apartment, and she wouldn’t sleep well here either.
There was no doubt in her mind that war was coming. Jake, Tonio, Luiz, and Donnie had often been judged as children, boys. Someone now intended to take their place, and by doing so, cast doubt on their leadership, on their own struggles as young men.
She grabbed a large suitcase, and began to fill it. Jake surprised her as he stood by her side, helping.
“We’re in this together, right?” he asked.
“Yes.”
“You’re a strange woman, Emily.”
“I guess I’m nothing like Charlene then.” She was aware of the woman he’d thought he was in love with.
“I didn’t love her. Talk about a reality check,” he said.
“What do you think you felt for her then?” She threw in several pairs of sneakers, and no heels. She made sure to pack jeans and long shirts. There was no way she was going to be caught in dresses and heels, at least not yet.
“I helped save her from Donnie’s father. She’s the mother of Donnie’s half-sister. She had been captured with the intent of selling her, but Anthony Martinez, Donnie’s dead old daddy, decided he wanted her for himself. I helped to save her, and I spent a lot of time with her. In our line of work, you don’t meet a lot of good woman. My friends found their soul mates, and they had nothing to do with this life. Apart from Paige, whose dad was a soldier, but she didn’t know it at the time. You’re a good woman as well.”
“Thank you. I will take that as a compliment.”
“You should. You’re a fighter, I like that. Charlene was never a fighter. She was more the damsel that needed to be rescued. Over time, I stopped feeling anything for her. I think I was in love with the idea of being the savior.”
Emily smiled and touched his arm. “That’s not a bad thing. You’re not a bad guy.”
“Thank you.” He took her hand and kissed it. “So you’ll forgive me for thinking you would be a mega bitch?” he asked.
“Totally not. We’re so not being friends.”
“You can’t resist me. Admit it.” He winked at her, and she liked the change inside him. There was a part of Jake that she was sure he kept hidden from the rest of the world. She was determined to find out his every secret, and to prove to him, the world was not all bad.
****
The following morning Jake sat with his friends and Bracken around Donnie’s table. Before they left the apartment building last night, all of The Family had decided to go to Donnie’s safe house. There were enough bedrooms, and security to house all of them, including their kids. Bracken and his family were also in residence. Emily had woken early, helping out the women to take care of the kids and breakfast.
“It’s Damon Seagus. He’s taken all of Conwell’s and Charles’s territories,” Donnie said. “I got a call from our informant on the inside. Their bodies have just washed up to shore. Their throats slits, and their cocks shoved inside them. Nasty business but totally Damon’s signature.”
“Classy,” Tonio said, wrinkling his nose. “Would you hold the cock, and then sever?” Tonio made the hand actions, grabbing a cock, and then drawing the blade down.
All of the men winced, and shook their heads.
“Nasty way to go,” Bracken said.
“Did they do it first?” Tonio asked.
“For fuck’s sake, Tonio? What does it matter?” Donnie asked.
“I’m just curious. This guy is coming after us, we should know everything. If I lose my dick, I lose my will to live.”
Jake sat back, and he couldn’t help laughing. Donnie was getting angrier with every passing second. It probably shouldn’t have been a big deal, but even Jake knew he wouldn’t want to live without his cock.
“Moving on,” Bracken said.
“He’s heavily guarded, and he thought he was in a position to take us out, and last night, we wouldn’t have seen it coming,” Donnie said.
“What we need to do is begin to reclaim what was ours. We need to find the people who betrayed us, starting with the soldiers,” Jake said. “I know how to do that. According to Matt’s records, whenever Damon wanted to meet, he would send out a key text with a location where to meet.”
“What do you suggest? Sending out a mass text and see who turns up?” Luiz asked. “We do that, and all of our guys will respond.”
“It was a burner phone. One word, Loyalty, text, and it would hand out coordinates of where to meet,” Jake said. “It’s lame, and kind of tacky, but it worked, and it kept them low key. None of our men questioned their messages.”
Bracken sat back, laughing. “You guys don’t see it.” Jake smiled as he saw that Bracken understood.
“Well enlighten me?” Donnie asked.
“We gave them their phones,” Jake said, putting Matt’s cell phone on the table. “We pay for them as part of The Family. We have access to every single phone who is given that location.” Jake then put another file down. “Last night while you guys were sleeping, I did a little computer work, and cross-referenced the same number, and I have found out every single man that has betrayed us, and you’re not going to like it.”
“I knew there was a reason I wanted you to marry my girl,” Bracken said.
“It’s not good news though. There are a lot of our men who have betrayed us, Donnie.”
He waited as his friends looked through the file. Some of them they had thought were their allies.
“We’ve got to do a mass purge,” Luiz said. “These men, some of them control our stocks. They’re businessmen, Donnie.”
Jake knew there was going to be some trouble. He’d spent all night doing his research, and Emily had been helping him as well. She was hot when it came to a computer, and they had worked side by side.
“The trafficking of girls has also restarted up. Three women have gone missing, all of them last seen leaving one of our nightclubs,” Jake said. “I checked in at the docks as well. My guy Reese, he’s the one that lets me know if something has been going shifty. Told me that he was given papers signed by me to allow a shipment to be received of women, Donnie. My signature.”
Donnie cursed, stood up, and paced.
“We fucked up. People think they can take from us. That we are too young to rule, and that’s not the case. We have to make our stand and show everyone that when they fuck with, they won’t like what they’re dealing with.”
“We can’t split apart and handle this shit ourselves. We’ve got to fight this together, the four of us,” Jake said. “Starting with the soldiers.”
“You want to take out that mass scale?” Luiz asked.
“Got no choice, do I? They betrayed us, and you know what? I think it’s time those who fuck with us get to see how well our fathers trained us. I am tired of being considered a boy. I’m not a fucking boy. I’m a man, and they are going to show us the respect that we are due. That’s fucking final. We take no prisoners. We don’t allow anyone to escape this. They made their decision, and I’m not going to allow them to make the same mistake twice.” Jake looked toward Bracken. “Are you going to have a problem with that?”
“No, I’m not. You’ve been betrayed by those who pledged their life to you. They walked away, and now they must suffer the consequences. This is good what you’re all doing. My men will be there to help you,” Bracken said.
“Why are you helping us?” Luiz asked. “Why not partner with Damon Seagus?”
“First, do you see Emily accepting the Seagus name?” Jake started to laugh just thinking about it as Bracken went on. “Sorry, poor joke. It’s in bad taste. Damon is not a man of honor. I’m a killer. I’ve taken lives without asking questions, and I’m a monster. I know this, I accept it. My daughter, she’s a strong woman, a good woman, and I knew that Damon would hurt her because he could never hurt me. You,” he looked at Jake, “are a good man. You’re all men of honor. No matter what your parents did, you have come out ten times better than they would ever be. That’s why I help you. That is why I wanted my daughter to be with you. You’re loyal, you’re strong, and you will care for her. Do not let me regret my decision.”
Silence fell around the table.
“We need to eat, and then we need to send a mass text to these men and get them at the warehouse. Can we get this done by lunchtime?” Donnie asked.
“Already on it. I’ve got men from our side, and yours. They know the drill and what to do,” Jake said. “We’ll be there to see it through.”
“Are you sure you can handle that?” Tonio asked. “Some of these men, you were close to a lot of them.”
“And a lot of them screwed up. They made the wrong choice, and they’re going to have to live with that. Our family comes first. It always will. Let’s go eat. I’m starving.” Jake stood up, and headed toward the door. Not only was he starving but he wanted to go and check on Emily.
She had stayed with him, helping him cross-reference, and even handling the text on the computer that would go out. It was like an alert that had been registered to the phones. He was disappointed, gutted that so many of his soldiers had turned their backs on him.
“I don’t want to be a solider, Daddy.”
“You will be, son. It’s in your blood. It’s what you do, and you will have to look those men that you control in the eye, and see if they are lying or not.”
“What if they’re lying?”
“Then you will kill them.”
“I don’t want to be a murderer.”
“If you love your family. If you love Tonio, Luiz, and Donnie as your brothers, then you will do it. You have no choice but to kill or be killed.”
Jake pulled out the memory. They had been in the basement, and what he’d not known was his father held a traitor. At the age of eight years old, he had watched his father kill a man, a soldier, for daring to defy The Family laws by escaping. No one escaped. They wanted to leave, fine, they left The Family six feet under, never to be seen or heard from again.
Entering the kitchen, he saw Emily standing at the stove. She was the only one in the kitchen, and the scent of bacon and sausage was heavy in the air. He heard the kids in another room, laughing, and shouting. It was like something out of his own fantasies. Only, he didn’t have any children to his name. One day, he wanted to have loads of them.
He moved up behind Emily, wrapping his arms around her, and pressing his face against her neck.
“What’s the matter?” she asked, running her hand up his arm. She was turning bacon, and he liked how natural this felt between them.
“Nothing. I just wanted to hold you. I couldn’t resist.”
She sighed, leaning against him. “You’re done with your meeting?”
“Yeah, after breakfast I’ve got a lot to do. I won’t be able to linger. How are you feeling? Tired?”
“I’m fine. It’s not the first all-nighter I’ve pulled. It won’t be my last, so please don’t worry about me.”
“You’re going to be safe here.”
“I know.”
“I have a place out in the country. It’s about an hour from this place. I don’t go there often because my business always keeps me in the city. When this all blows over, I’ll take you there.”
“For now we’re just here, with your friends?” she asked.
“I know it’s not ideal. It’s all I’ve got. What I want you to do though is to take your time, and plan our honeymoon.”
“We’ve just gotten back from our first.”
“No, we didn’t have a honeymoon, we had a mini-vacation. I want to take you back to that island, and I want us to play board games, read to each other, take long walks.” Jake nibbled her neck. “What do you think?”
“I think it sounds like a very good idea.” She turned her head, and he couldn’t resist kissing her lip. Pressing his body against hers, her ass nestled against his cock, all Jake wanted to do was take her to bed.
“I want to hold you tonight,” he said.
“Then be home in time, and I’ll stay awake for you.”
Paige entered the kitchen. “Crap, I’m so sorry. I didn’t think. The kids are wanting breakfast, and so are the guys.”
Jake laughed, kissing Emily’s neck. “No worries.”
He was looking forward to tonight.