“Holy, shit! Look at this!” Martin exclaimed as he walked towards the counter with the newspaper in his hands.

Martin and I had opened the bakery this morning, and while the staff was putting pastry items in the display case, he had a million-dollar smile on his face.

“Trip Janssen and three others in close relation to the Janssen family have been arrested!” Martin read aloud the headline and sat down at the counter. “This is huge, Wes. I wonder if Dad has seen this yet!”

I knew of the Janssen family just from things I had heard over the years and had learned that they were the first family on the streets for ecstasy. Supposedly, they had two facilities that made the stuff in mass quantities.

Their mass production on top of having so many customers meant that they could afford to undercut us and any other distributor, and still turn a huge profit. They were able to sell a pure tablet for fifteen euros while we sold them for twenty euros. They made up for the difference in volume.

Not only did the Janssen family have a monopoly in Amsterdam for ecstasy distribution, but they also exported the most to other countries. They were a huge player in the Great Britain market, and they were starting to cause a shakeup in the United States.

Ever since I became part of the family, Dean had been visiting the States meeting with potential clients and trying to get our foot in the door in that market. But it seemed that each time we thought we had an “in,” the Janssen family ended up sealing the deal. But the States were a huge market, and there were still plenty of stones unturned there. Dean still would go and sometimes he would take Kyler with him.

They still wouldn’t take me or let me help out much. Yet. I was “learning by watching,” Dad said. I’d been trying to convince them that I wasn’t a boy anymore.

Dad and Dean had talked for years about getting a piece of the Great Britain market. But like here, the Great Britain market was very tight, and it’s mainly a few families over there that had the control of the market. The Janssen family had the bulk of the business from Great Britain, and now that they had fallen, this opened up a huge opportunity.

“See you the fuck later, Janssen!” Martin exclaimed and slammed his fist down on the paper.

My brothers all had a special place of hate reserved for the Janssen family. They believed that some members of the Janssens killed their uncle, Bram Van Doorn. Despite Thom and Dean saying Bram killed himself, Kyler and Mason believed otherwise. Over the years the two of them would spew their theories, and Martin seemed to see-saw back and forth with agreeing with them and then not siding with them. I stayed out of it. I didn’t know Bram Van Doorn, and Thom said it was a suicide, so I wasn’t challenging that.

The conversation with their theories had come up many times before, and it seemed to fire up Mason the most. Dad and Dean were pretty quiet and calm about it, but Mason seemed to get the most pissed off when talking about it. Each time the conversation ended the same; with Dean or Thom citing there’s no proof that the Janssens had anything to do with it and Bram had killed himself. Dean had mentioned several times that Bram Van Doorn had become addicted to the ecstasy and had been mentally a mess from it. That topic always led to discussion and reminders about how dangerous the stuff was, and about how we needed to not only know but understand how our bodies reacted to it. Dad always preached to us to be mindful and take care of one another and not to be afraid to speak up when something didn’t feel right.

I think it’s a great message and I’d always look out for Martin when we’re out together. I’d do the same for Kyler and Mason because they’d do it for me. Well, maybe Mason wouldn’t help me if I was ever in need, but I’d like to think that he would.

“Fuckers killed our uncle,” Martin began.

“Martin, you’ve been down this road, man. Dad said it was a suicide,” I carefully reminded him.

“He wouldn’t have done that, Wes. He was a cool guy. Mason was the closest to him, and they saw eye to eye a lot regarding the business.”

I remembered back to when we were told. I had only been living with them for a few days when we heard the news that their Uncle Bram had been high on drugs and killed himself. Martin took it the hardest and kind of went into a depression over it.

“Uncle Bram did whatever he wanted and partied hard. Unfortunately, he developed an addiction to the pills and Dad found out he was keeping some of the pills that were supposed to be given to potential clients.”

Martin warned me of addiction to the tablets, and I’d been very cautious around them. I wouldn’t do more than one a month, and Martin and I tried to keep one another honest about it.

Before the bakery opened, Dad called and told us the fantastic news about Janssen that we already knew about. The excitement in my Dad’s voice was unmistakable. He said that he would be strategizing with Dean and Mason during the day but wanted for all of us to get together tonight to work on the plan to get some of their business.

* * *

“While your uncle and I were discussing strategy this morning I received a call from Gareth,” my dad said as we began eating.

My brothers all remained quiet and gave their full attention to our dad at the mention of “Gareth.” All I knew was that Gareth was the head of the first family in London; the Olsens.

“Gareth is interested in sending some people to Amsterdam to talk with the remaining families and sample the products. So, get ready boys, we’re going to work our asses off to lock in a deal with them.”

My brothers all began talking about who Gareth might send. Knowing who they planned on sending would help us devise our negotiations. We weren’t worried about our product but knew that a few other families also had pure tablets.

“How can I help?” I spoke up as my brothers all received their assignments.

No one was listening to me or acknowledging that I was even talking.

“Hey, I’m part of this family,” I said.

“Not by birth,” Mason mumbled.

“Mason, knock it off,” our dad said before he turned to face me.

“I’m not a child anymore. I’m twenty-five, and I can handle something. Please. I deserve a chance,” I reasoned.

My dad and Dean looked at one another as I held my breath and hoped to be granted a chance.

“You can help—” Dad started, but Mason cut him off.

“What? Dad, you can’t be serious. He doesn’t know what he’s doing,” Mason protested.

“He can help, Mason. Now end of discussion.” Dad glared at Mason for a few long moments before turning to look at me. “You can help watch—”

Again, Mason burst out laughing at the job I was assigned.

“Enough, Mason. Wes, you will keep your eyes on the liaison the Olsens send from London.”

Alright! This sounded more exciting! Now Mason wasn’t laughing as he realized my task was pretty damn cool.

“Wes, you only watch. You watch where they go for their meetings, and I want to know which families they’re talking to. I plan to undercut their prices. I want the business with the Olsens.”

I nodded, confirming that I understood my task.

Dad continued, “Wes, you’ll be dropping back into the shadows on this, literally. Keep your head down when you’re out and about following them.”

I nodded again. I could do this. I was used to staying out of sight.

“How many of them am I following?”

“From my talk with Gareth, it sounds like he will send two liaisons on separate weeks, starting at the end of this week.”

Dad pulled out his phone and brought up a picture before he turned it around for me to see.

“This is Daren; Garth’s right-hand man. He’s a jittery guy. I think he probably enjoys the tablets a bit too much.”

Some chuckles broke out at the table and then died down when Dad took the phone back. He pulled up another picture and tilted the phone towards me. A beautiful brunette filled the screen of the phone.

Shit.

That woman was hot! My brothers made similar noises insinuating that they all thought the same thing.

“Get yourselves under control! This is business, not some college boy game!” Our father slammed his fist down on the table and stared at each of us. “This is our livelihood. Think at all times before you react. Do not mess up this chance.”

Everyone agreed, and we all focused for the rest of the meeting on the goal: getting the deal with the Olsens.

“This is Chloe. Chloe Olsen. She is Gareth’s only daughter, and she is the apple of his eye. My guess is that he’s training her. I’ve not seen her before, so I assume this will be her first, or one of her first times, with the initial talks,” Dad said. “It’s possible he has her doing set up meetings in London.”

“There’s a chance that she’s accompanied Daren before, right?” Kyler asked.

“Maybe. I really don’t know, son. We just need to treat it as though it’s not her first time. She’s probably well versed in the business.”

“Yeah, and also keep in mind that how we treat Chloe during our meeting will most definitely get back to Gareth,” Dean added. We all nodded and remained quiet. “The little girl will likely run to tell her daddy if someone was mean to her.”

“Yes, we keep it professional and do not treat her like a child,” Dad said as he put his phone away.

“Do we know how old she is?” I asked.

“Twenty-three. She’s Gareth’s youngest,” Dean chimed in.

Dad turned to face me again, and his expression had dulled.

“Our initial meeting with Chloe isn’t until sometime next week, so you’ll have time to follow her and see which families she’s talking to first.”

I nodded. It seemed simple enough. I just had to watch a beautiful woman for a few days. How hard could that be?

The conversation shifted to a trip our uncle was making to the United States next week to meet with the Reznikov family.

“Thom, are you sure you still want me to go to the States next week and meet with Reznikov while Chloe and Daren in town?”

“Yes, Dean. I still want you and Kyler to go to Boston. While the Olsens are our focus, we can’t lose sight of a potential foot in the door in the U.S.”

“I just didn’t want to leave you and the boys shorthanded,” Dean commented.

“We’ll be fine for the few days while you and Kyler are gone. To my knowledge, Chloe and Daren are each briefly meeting with us and will get some samples to take back. Wes will find out who we need to undercut to secure a deal with Gareth. Mason, Martin, and I can handle the initial meetings.”

“You’re right, Thom, the Olsens are our primary focus. This is a huge fucking opportunity. Maybe I should stay and meet the Olsens with you,” Dean suggested.

Thom reiterated to Dean that he wanted them to still go to Boston. Maybe it was me, but I think Dean was annoyed.

“Dean, we can’t stop pushing in Boston. You’ve already been meeting with Reznikov. You guys have the communication going. We can’t lose sight of that.”

Dean just kept pushing though.

“What about Mason? We can send Mason to Boston.”

Mason’s facial expression didn’t hide how pissed he was at Dean’s suggestion to send him to Boston. There was a weird moment of tension between them. I don’t think anyone missed it.

“Mason will stay here and assist me with things until you’re back from Boston. I don’t have the specifics yet of our meeting with the Olsens, so chances are likely that you’ll be back to attend the meetings with me.”

The tone of Thom’s voice had changed too. I could tell that he was irritated by Dean pressing to stay behind. Dean let out an exasperated sigh. There was no mistake about it now. I was sure he was pissed.

It was settled; Dean and Kyler would still visit the United States as planned. I was looking forward to my task. It was the first for me. I was finally going to earn my keep and hopefully gain the respect of one of my brothers in particular…Mason.

After the family meeting, instead of heading back to the apartment we shared, Martin and I decided to venture down to the Red Light District and do what he called “window shop.” Though he frequented it every few days, I hadn’t been down there for at least a month. I was due a nice release.

We walked along the sidewalk and stopped here and there to watch some of the women in the windows. So far, I hadn’t seen anything that I felt compelled to go inside for. I had my mind on the beautiful brunette, Chloe Olsen.

“You get to follow that hot little number around,” Martin teased.

We laughed as we continued walking.

“Of course, you also get to follow that high strung guy, Daren, too.”

“Yeah, it’s cool. I’m looking forward to this assignment.”

“Really? It’s grunt work, mate.”

“Not to me. It’s a chance to do something for the family business. I want to earn my keep and gain some respect.”

“Wes, you’re respected.”

Mason didn’t respect me, but I didn’t want to argue with Martin about it.

“Forget what Mason says, Wes. I don’t know what’s going on with him. He’s just thick headed. Remember that day in the bakery when we were closing, and that guy tried robbing us—”

I cut him off.

“How could I forget that night, Martin? He almost killed us.”

Martin flung his arm around my shoulders and jostled me.

“He would have killed me if you hadn’t beat him with that pipe and got the gun out of his hands.”

I looked down at the sidewalk as we moved up the street. There wasn’t a week that goes by where I didn’t think about that night.

“Mason knew I could have been dead had it not been for you. You earned your keep, mate. Mason just doesn’t show it.”

I remembered Mason saying thank you to me that night. I wish he weren’t so confusing. Sometimes he’s nice, and sometimes he’s a dick.

We walked further and then Martin found a woman he was interested in. I watched him negotiate through the window and then he waved at me. This was where we separated for the night.

I continued up the street just about to the end. I wasn’t feeling it now. The mention of that night in the bakery was all I could think about. I looked to my right, and in the distance, I could see a few golden lights from the docks. I turned and made my way back to our apartment.

After I took a shower, I stared at the image of Chloe Olsen that I now had on my phone.

“I’ll be seeing you in a few days, my dear.”