CHAPTER SEVEN
Maude Harris sat at her kitchen table and watched as her oldest son, Caulder paced back and forth. She could see the rage on his face and it matched her own. “Have you found the little bitch yet?”
Caulder glared at his mother. “No I haven’t. Haven’t found the little bastard either. I know he led Frankie straight into a trap. Not sure which of them shot him but I know one of them did. They left him to die like a dog on the street and that’s gonna cost them both.”
Maude snorted. “That little bitch has been taunting us for years now. She comes out of the shadows just long enough to make her presence known, then she disappears again. She does it only to cause unrest on the streets. The girls look at her like she’s their lifeline and that undermines my authority over them.”
Caulder huffed. “Well, we can’t have that now can we?” he sneered.
Maude surged to her feet. Taking a few steps over to where he stood, she slapped him across the face.
Rage brought his head back to hers and he told her in a cold voice, “Do not ever do that again.”
“You and your brothers are sniveling little brats, just like you’ve always been. I’ve given you every opportunity to make your mark in this city and you’ve failed me at every turn. You should have taken over the Kings by now and you haven’t. You should have found that little bitch at some point in the last four years and you haven’t. Your brother should have grabbed that little bastard off the street as soon as he ran and he not only failed to do that but he got himself shot instead. My client Rosco isn’t happy with the delay.”
“In case you care, Frankie is going to be paralyzed for the rest of his life. He is your son and all.” Caulder growled. “He will never walk again, and we still haven’t found the little brat that shot him.”
Maude poked her finger into her son’s chest. “I know he’s my son. But I have more on the agenda right now than just him. We still have to find the kid and you still have to find the gun that killed Banger. Without it, the Kings won’t believe the Advocates killed him. Did you plant the body where everyone would find it?”
Caulder nodded. “We need to find the gun soon or the body will be too degraded to tell who it is. We’ve got the whole city wired but so far, nobody has seen either of them. I’ve got my guys all over the city keeping track of things.”
Maude rolled her eyes. “If your men knew what they were doing they would have found them already and I’d have my books back a long time ago. They are about as worthless as the three of you are.”
Caulder glared at his mother. “What’s the matter mommy?” he mocked. “Is there someone out there nastier than you are?”
Maude’s cheeks reddened. “Don’t call me that. You know I hate it, why do you do it?”
“Because it pisses you off, that’s why,” Caulder grumbled. “You’ve never shown me even a tiny amount of respect and I’m getting sick of it.”
Maude shook her head. “You only get respect when you give it and you and your brothers don’t respect me either, so I guess we’re even in that department.”
“We’re getting sidetracked. We need to get back on the mark,” Caulder insisted. “We need to get this city tied down in the next few days or the plan goes south and we’ll all be dead.”
“Your deal has nothing to do with me.” Maude stressed. “Eugene and I can’t be involved it that.”
Caulder leaned forward just enough to get right in his mother’s face. “You are involved right up to your pretty little wrinkled neck. You are demanding your share of the money, it’s your neck on the line same as mine.”
“Nobody but you is supposed to know that fact. Eugene can’t be seen as anything but legit or this whole thing falls apart.”
Caulder smirked. “Just how much of your enterprise does Eugene actually know about?”
“He doesn’t know anything about anything. He thinks I run a foster home and that’s it.”
“How dumb is this idiot?” Caulder scoffed.
“I didn’t marry him for his mind.” She smirked.
“Why exactly did you marry the sap?” Caulder asked. “It sure as hell wasn’t for love.”
“I married him for what he could do for us, mostly for me. This city like every other city has its secrets and most of those secrets people want to keep. When I married Eugene, he couldn’t keep his mouth shut. He told me every secret he knew and I’ve been using that against the people he works with. I’ve got quite a sideline going here and I don’t want to give it up.”
“Don’t you mean you had it going?” Caulder rubbed in his mother’s mistake in. “When Stevie left here four years ago, she took most of what you had set aside didn’t she?”
“Yeah she did, but I’m getting it back slow but sure. But it’s taking too long. If I can get back what she took I’d be set up again, then I could get rid of Eugene and be queen of the city. No more stinky brats to worry about, nothing but easy street for me while you and your brothers rule the streets.”
“Yeah well, if this cartel deal goes south, we’ll all probably be sharing the same jail cell instead. Jose is taking a chance making this deal under his boss’ nose, so it will be his hide as well as ours.”
“Then we’d better not fail.” Maude stressed. “Your men better find that little brat, so I can get Rosco off my back and you can get the gun back. The state police will root out the Advocates and we can get everything else set up.”
“We have to finish this without attracting any more attention to ourselves. We don’t want to catch the wrong person’s attention before we’re ready.”
“Then find those two little bastards. Drag their little butts back here and show them who the boss is, Mr. Tough Guy.” Maude poked Caulder’s chest again. “But to do that you have to find them. I want that kid. What you do with the little bitch is up to you but I want my money back and I don’t care if she has to earn it on her back or not.”
“One of them owes for Frankie too.” Caulder’s eyes narrowed as he scowled at his mother.
Pappy and Jackal made their way down the darkened street. Keeping to the shadows, they marked where Caulder’s men were watching. Slipping up behind the thug, Jackal hit him in the head and caught his body before he hit the ground. All of this was done without making a sound, so no one else was alerted to what they were doing.
Dragging him back into the shadows, they passed him off to the four men waiting for them.
One of the men was older than the rest, he’d been watching for this. He was dressed different than they were. His clothes were older and rugged but he wore them with pride.
Turning his head, Jackal caught the eye of the man still hidden in the shadows and he gave a nod.
Silas saw this and slid further back. The next moment, he disappeared completely. Silas had been watching these men invade his city and begin taking it back. This was the fifth of Caulder’s men that mysteriously disappeared from his post. When they brought back word from Stevie and Benny, he had begun to hope that this plan might just work.
Now they had to catch Tony and Caulder and get them under wraps then they would have a chance to win this war. Silas knew he didn’t dare go to collect the evidence Stevie had hidden yet. He didn’t want to take the chance it would fall back into old lady Harris’s hands. For now, she could think, she still had all the cards—for now.
Silas let himself grin just a little bit. When these men had found him and told him what was going on, he and the others were ready to pack up and ship out but when he heard Stevie was behind them, he felt hope again. This was the city he’d been born in, he’d grown up here and came back here when he got out of the Army. This was his home, he hated what it had become since Caulder, and his brothers started gaining ground.
For the first time in years, he felt hope that things could turn around and this could be a decent place again. The Kings weren’t all bad, they had kept the crime under control under Banger’s hand, and now that he was gone, Luca could take over and still be a good leader. But if Caulder got top position, the Kings would rule the city with a harsh hand.
As they slipped away into the shadows, Pappy and Jackal paused long enough to receive a message over their headsets.
Jackal looked at him and gave him a thumb’s up then showed the universal sign for everything was going according to plan. “My second team got hold of Tony and five more men. With the ones we just picked up and the men the third team collected, we should just about have all of them,” Jackal whispered. “We also got word that Caulder just left the Harris house. We should be able to get to him next.”
“What about old lady Harris?” Silas asked. “Please tell me she gets hers when this is over?”
“Oh, she’ll get hers, don’t worry about that. With Stevie’s evidence, we’ll nail her hide to the wall.” Pappy grinned.
“Come on, let’s collect Caulder and get off the streets before we tip them off that there’s something going on,” Jackal whispered.
“I think we should be the ones to take care of Mrs. Harris,” Silas stated. “We can’t leave her fate to the court system. She’s slimy enough to slip under the radar and get off scot free.”
“Oh, I don’t think she’ll get off scot free.” Pappy kept grinning. “We aren’t going to forget her role in all this. We have a rather unpleasant surprise waiting for her. Don’t you worry about that.” He paused then suddenly had an idea, turning to Silas he asked, “You wouldn’t know anything about a man named Rosco would you?”
Silas grunted loudly, the sound breaking the silence surrounding them. “Yeah, I know the man, or should I say I know the scumbag. He’s a real lowlife.”
“He wouldn’t be Russian by any chance would he?” Pappy questioned.
“How did you know that?” Silas frowned.
Pappy looked dumbfounded for a moment, then glanced at Jackal and back to Silas. “Would you happen to know where this man lives?”
Silas nodded. “Yeah, we keep an eye on him. It’s better to know your enemy than be surprised by anything he does.”
Pappy nodded. “Did you know that Benny was supposed to be his next victim? The night Frankie was shot, they were supposed to deliver him to the scumbag as you call him.”
“The hell you say,” Silas swore.
“I wish I were wrong.” Pappy shook his head. “Thankfully, he was able to escape.”
“Now that’s a man who really needs killing.” Silas seethed. “Too bad, murder is against the law.”
Pappy looked down at the ground for a moment. “Yeah, I know that feeling. I’ve run into a few of those people myself. But I also have a feeling he isn’t gonna be long for this world.”
Silas frowned. “What makes you say that?”
“Just an idea.” Pappy wouldn’t say any more than that. “So if a person was looking for him, where could they find him? You know if they were looking…”
“He’s got a house down by Highland Perkins. It’s a big estate, set back off the street, surrounded by a massive wall, fifteen feet high. He’s even got armed men walking the top of the walls. Now tell me why does he need that? Why would any man need all that security?” Silas asked.
“Why indeed?” Jackal stated as he stared at Pappy.
“From what I hear, he came to this country about seven years ago after some kind of trouble back in Russia,” Silas informed them. “He and the Harris woman made friends very quickly, if you know what I mean. I’m not so sure that alliance is a very good one or not.”
“It isn’t,” Pappy assured him.
Jackal suddenly lifted his head as a message came across his headset. Then he turned and smiled at Pappy and Silas. “Get in place. Caulder is coming our way.”
All three men stepped back into the shadows and waiting as footsteps echoed closer to where they were waiting.
Roman stared out the window in his living room. Darkness had fallen, so he couldn’t see much beyond the glass of his window. But then he wasn’t so much staring outside as remembering the past. In another time and place, his memories were locked into a time when he was ten years old.
Usually, this time in his life was something only his nightmares let him relive but now he was forcing himself to remember it. In his mind’s eye, he saw again, the cold dead eyes of the man who tried to steal his innocence from him. The man who hurt him in ways no child deserved to be hurt and the man who he almost killed because of it.
Now he’d learned that same man was here not even a hundred miles away and he was still up to his old habits. This time, their meeting would end in a different sort of way, this time when he left the nightmares behind him, they would stay in his past.
Roman sighed and hung his head. He knew before he could move forward, he had to admit to his brothers a little bit about his past and that was something, he hoped he never would have to tell them.
“Are you ok?” came a soft voice from behind him.
Roman turned and saw her standing there.
Benny came up behind her and wrapped his arm around her shoulder.
They both stood there waiting for him to say something.
“I’m fine but we need to talk.” He motioned toward the sofa and waited until they sat down before he began, “I need to know some things about you two. How did you get here from Baton Rouge?”
Stevie glanced quickly at Benny then faced Roman. “I had a friend bring us but it turns out, he wasn’t much of a friend. He brought us down river in a house boat, but before we got to the city, he dumped us in a row boat and left us there.”
Roman nodded. “Do you happen to know why?”
“He told me just before he hit me with the barrel of a gun he was bringing in contraband.” Stevie rolled her eyes. “He couldn’t be seen with anyone else on his boat when he made delivery.”
“Do you know what he was bringing in or who he delivered it to?”
“I assume it was drugs and he never said who it was for.”
“Why do you think it was drugs?” Roman asked.
“Because he was using again.” She shook her head. “When he wasn’t using that poison, he was a great friend but when he got that crap in his hands, he became a selfish little prick. That morning, he was the prick and if I ever see him again I’m gonna mess him up.”
Roman shook his head. “That isn’t going to happen.”
“Why did you say it that way?” Benny asked.
“My security team found a houseboat floating on the river. There was an empty hold and a body that had been beaten to death. I have a feeling it was your friend.” Roman looked at them both. “I’m sorry.”
Stevie grabbed her brother’s hand but didn’t cry. “Poor Marko. He never got it. He wasted his life for a dream that he could never reach.”
“What do you mean?” Roman asked.
“A man I met while living on the street taught me an important lesson years ago. He told me that every decision we make whether right or wrong, teaches us a lesson. That sometimes, fate will lend us a hand but most times those lessons make or break us and it’s up to us to decide which way we will turn.” She shrugged. “Marko never could see the bigger picture life had to offer. He was always living just for the moment and you can’t live that way for long. You have to have a future in mind cuz if you don’t, then the future will never happen.”
“A smart man,” Roman agreed. “But sometimes, it’s hard to see a future when you have nothing to look forward to.”
Stevie shook her head. “There is always something to look forward to. It doesn’t have to be anything but a dream but a dream is something. You get out of life what you put into it.”
“Want to know what I looked forward to?” Benny asked quietly.
“What is that?” Stevie asked.
“I was looking forward to the time when we could be together,” Benny admitted. “Every day I was with the Harris’ I hated it. I knew one day, I would get away and the two of us would be together again, and that was my dream.”
“Well, you’re together now.” Roman nodded. “And I’ll do whatever I have to, to keep you guys together.”
“What are you going to do about Marko?” Stevie asked. “About what he brought here I mean?”
Roman smiled slightly. “Yuri already has a lead on that. Leave it in his hands. He’ll use his connections, track down the problem, and take care of it.”
“You guys can be dangerous can’t you?” Benny asked.
“We can be to those who oppose us but never to the ones we care about,” Roman assured them both. “You don’t ever have to fear us.”
“Do you have any idea what’s going on back home?” Benny asked. He glanced over at Stevie then looked back at Roman. “I’m a little worried about Caulder and his brothers finding out where we went.”
Roman smiled. “I don’t think you’ll have to worry about Caulder or his brothers any longer. I have a feeling the people of Baton Rouge will be taking their streets back very soon.”
“Is everyone all right?” Stevie worried.
“I don’t know,” Roman admitted as he turned away from her. When he turned back, he noticed Benny signing his answer. “I’m sorry. I didn’t think about you not hearing my answer.”
Benny shrugged. “No problem. She just doesn’t like to draw attention to it.”
Stevie blushed when she realized he knew something that not everyone realized. She’d tried so hard to hide it but now, he knew her secret shame. Tilting her chin up, she faced him. “Yes, I have trouble hearing. That too, is thanks to Caulder Briggs. But I’ve learned how to read lips and I can still hear some out of my right ear. Benny and me learned to sign in our own way. It may not be the right way but we understand it, so for the most part, I don’t consider myself handicapped.”
“Can I ask whether you and Benny have been in school at all?”
Stevie scoffed as she shook her head. “Mrs. Harris told the state she’d homeschool her kids but she was too damn lazy to get up much before noon, so no, we never went to a proper school. What we did learn we learned on our own because we didn’t want to be stupid.”
“Well, we’ll get Benny into a proper school once we get this thing settled. And you can take classes to get a proper education, if that’s what you want.” Roman shrugged. “Nikoli insisted we get an education as well, so I know what it’s like not to have one.”
“Well, that will have to wait until we see what happens in Baton Rouge.” Stevie looked doubtful. “We can’t make any plans until that situation is over.”
Roman stared at her for a moment then said, “It doesn’t matter what happens in Baton Rouge, you and Benny are here now.”
Stevie just stared at him for a moment but didn’t say anything.
For once, Benny didn’t say anything either, he just looked from one to the other and back again.