Matt

 

I had an appointment this afternoon and I’d wasted more time than I intended with Annie that morning. Not wasted time when you’ve got a woman like that, I thought with a little smirk. All the same, regret or not, I was now running a little later than I’d planned.

 

I glanced down at my watch: ten ’til one. I didn’t have a lot of time until my meeting with the mayor.

 

I hadn’t mentioned that I was meeting with Mayor Louis that day to Annie. Only a few of my lieutenants knew about it, actually. The whole thing was pretty hush-hush, and for good reason. I was not known for little things like diplomacy, and I was worried if I told people what was going on, they’d assume I was starting a war—and act accordingly. Which was not going to be productive to this meeting.

 

The whole thing had been set up last minute and it was a bloody miracle that I’d managed to get a slice of time with him in the first place. He was a busy man and it was only through charming his secretary—with flattery and nothing more—that I’d gotten anything with him at all.

 

Normally, I wouldn’t have even bothered with all of this, but Annie had sparked something inside me, and not just a desire to be inside her. She made me want to approach things differently. I wanted to handle my boys with care instead of that iron fist I was so infamous for. Why? Well, it was too early to really say, but something told me it had to do with the way they’d reacted to her so far. Open. Genuinely interested. Lighthearted. I’d spoken with people in the club that normally thought of me as the enemy over the last day and the change was so abrupt and noticeable that there was no denying the cause.

 

It had caused me to make a bold move with the mayor. We had been at war since forever. Since my mother’s death, really, when things had gone in the shitter for me in a big way. But war wasn’t sustainable and I was tired of it. It was time to see if we couldn’t meet on some common ground and settled the differences between us.

 

It was a long shot and I knew it, but I had the sudden, blazing urge to try.

 

I pulled up outside the city hall where the mayor’s office was. I hadn’t ever been inside and didn’t think it was the kind of place I had any desire to spend a lot of time in, but I admitted it was a beautiful building. I parked my bike in the back, mostly for the sake of discretion, and headed up the steps inside. It was as beautiful in there as it was out, complete with polished marbled floors and tall white pillars. They really went all out.

 

Maybe a little excessive, I thought mildly, but kept it to myself.

 

I went to a man dressed in a dark navy blue suit who was sitting at the front counter. “Can I help you?” he asked, giving me a once over. I’d settled on jeans and a button-down shirt today, but there wasn’t much I could do about how I looked. People knew who and what I was and I didn’t put a lot of time in trying to appear as anything else.

 

“Yeah, I’ve got a meeting with Mayor Louis at one.”

 

The man looked unconvinced, but asked for my name and did a quick search. He nodded, slightly surprised when he found my name on the list. “All right. Here you are. Any weapons, legal or otherwise, need to be left here.” He pointed to a plastic bin.

 

I resisted the urge to snort derisively, only because I was really trying to make a decent impression. If I had illegal guns on me, would I really hand them over? But I didn’t explain how stupid his statement was. Instead, I just opened my jacket to reveal that I was unarmed.

 

The man didn’t look convinced, but gestured towards the metal detector anyway. “The guard there will escort you to the mayor’s office.”

 

I thanked him and moved through the metal detector. I had to empty my pockets and they checked my boots about a dozen times, but at least I didn’t have piercings to worry about. That would have doubled the time and I was already worried I’d be late if this got prolonged. Eventually, I was waved through and the security guard who was dressed like Men in Black escorted me to the elevator. We went to the third floor and he took me down the hall to the office.

 

We went inside and I noted the decadence of the place. Rosewood furniture. Huge, original paintings. Windows that took up practically the whole back wall. This was the lap of luxury and it sort of disgusted me. I held that in as best I could, however, since I was trying so hard to make peace.

 

The mayor, an attractive older man with graying hair and a slightly bored expression that made him look arrogant and patronizing, was sitting at his desk talking on the phone. He barely even glanced over at us, continuing to speak to whoever was on the other end.

 

I cleared my throat; the mayor shot me a dirty look. But he did tell whoever was on the other end, “I have to go. No, no, just a meeting. It shouldn’t take long.”

 

I felt the muscle in my jaw twitch at the dismissive tone he used to refer to me, but otherwise remained calm. “Mayor Louis,” I greeted formally.

 

He looked me over, leaning back in his plush chair and considering. After a moment, he said, “Mateo. I was a little surprised when I found you on my schedule for today.”

 

That muscle twitched again at the use of my full name. No one called me that. No one had since my mother’s death. I cleared my throat, trying to keep my composure. “I suppose it’s not usually my style,” I admitted grudgingly. “But that’s why I’m here. To try to change some things. Mainly, between us.”

 

I saw the mayor’s eyes narrow fractionally at me and worried he’d just toss me out right then and there. He didn’t. “I see. And what exactly do you propose?”

 

Knowing this was probably my only shot at making a real case for the Reaper’s Thorns, I did my best to be calm, collected, and maybe even a little eloquent, though the last one was hit or miss at best. “The Reaper’s Thorns have no intention of leaving Mount Rose. We have as much right to be here as anyone else and we’re…” I hesitated, knowing I was getting into the territory of lying, but pushed forward anyway. “We’re law abiding citizens and should be treated as such.”

 

He snorted and I knew suddenly that this wasn’t going to go over so well. “Really? Are you telling me you have nothing to do with the drug problem in this town?”

 

I opened my mouth to ask if he was going to try to get rid of the doctors who were the real drug problem, but I snapped my mouth shut again an instant later. Saying as much would be incriminating and not useful. Once I’d regained my composure, I tried again. “I own a legitimate business. Body Canvas hasn’t been the source of any Mount Rose problems. Instead, we offer a specific service to people who are clearly interested—otherwise we’d have been out of business a long time ago.”

 

To my surprise, Mayor Louis rose from his chair and let out a sigh. He looked almost tired, like a normal person. But the moment passed and then he was just himself again. He came around the desk and began to speak to the man who had escorted me down here in the first place. “Have you heard anything yet?”

 

The man shook his head quickly. “No, sir. They’re still looking.”

 

I felt anger strike through me until it was molten in my veins. He was just finished with me? Like that? No care or consideration. I wanted to reach out and wrap my hands around his throat, to throttle him until he turned interesting shades of blue and purple. But I resisted the impulse, reminding myself I was making an effort to be a better man.

 

For Annie.

 

The thought of her calmed me in a way that nothing else ever had. I took a deep breath and tried again with the mayor. “I’m not finished. I still wanted to talk about—”

 

But the mayor interrupted me, clearly irritated that I was still talking. “Look, son, I’m busy. My platform is being tough on crime. You are crime. Period. It’s my promise to clean up the streets, and how am I supposed to do that if I let you and your goons run amok in my town?” He shook his head. “No. It isn’t feasible. This is an election year.”

 

I clenched my hands tightly into fists, debating the wisdom of punching him in the face. I reminded myself that wouldn’t be the kind of man I was. I would do better. So, I deliberately eased my hands open. But as he tried to walk away, I couldn’t help but reach out to stop him. I grabbed him by the arm, which got the attention of that guard plenty quick. He went for what I figured to be a gun at his side, but the mayor held up a hand to halt him.

 

“It’s time for you to leave, Mr. Samuels. You never belonged in this world.”

 

And with that, he motioned for the guard to have me removed. I considered resisting, forcing him to listen to what I had to say, but knew there was no point. This man had never been good at listening and he had never liked me. Not from the moment he met me. “This isn’t over,” I told him in a low, determined voice. I wouldn’t give up so easy. “I’ll go now, but know I’ll be back.”

 

I saw something like fear flash over Mayor Louis’s face just as the guard escorted me out of the office. I had the sudden feeling like this meeting had gone a lot worse than I had anticipated and when I got to the ground floor, I shook off the guard, telling him I could find the exit on my own. I was halfway to the door when I glanced back to see the guard pushing his finger to his ear, listening to what I had to assume was an earpiece.

 

Then he looked up.

 

Shit.

 

“Hey! Stop right there!”

 

I didn’t know what I’d done wrong. In fact, I was pretty sure I’d done the whole thing right down to the whole not punching that asshole in the face, but I knew that when someone shouted at you like that, it wasn’t a good thing. He started running after me, but I was already out the door and racing down the steps towards my bike. I heard the sirens and knew then what had happened.

 

That asshole called the cops!

 

And it didn’t even matter that I hadn’t done anything wrong this time. They’d take whatever the mayor fed them and run with it. I couldn’t let them catch me. Hopping on my bike, I started it in a hurry and blazed down the street. I passed four cop cars going the opposite direction back towards City Hall. Once they saw me, they squealed their tires as they made a one eighty back in my direction. I hit the gas and sped away through town.

 

The next intersection found me whirring past two more cop cars that immediately fell into pursuit. But I wasn’t worried. They wouldn’t catch me.

 

I ducked down an alleyway, banking a hard right once I reached the other side. I cut through the park and scared a few pigeons and some country club ladies on a picnic, but I didn’t slow down. I made it to the other side of town in record time, the sirens farther back still. I headed towards the highway that would take me out of town. I’d have to double back so they wouldn’t follow me home. My house was not public record and I wanted to keep it that way.

 

Well, this turned out exactly as planned, I thought sarcastically as I hit the highway at ninety miles an hour.