Page 32 of Room One Hundred and Six

Around me, I get the same energy from my men. They don’t seem nervous or on edge at all. I look at each of them with a quick glance and sure enough, they are the epitome of casual.

Some would take this time to measure dicks and remind everyone of their positions on the ladder of power, but I like that my men are past that at their age and the other guys seem to care more about the color of my shoes and the lack of my pants.

“Sorry to have interrupted whatever you four had going on.”

“Don’t be, Harlon. Did you get everything in Chicago sorted?”

Jasper reaches out and takes the middle guy’s hand first and then moves to the other’s.

Harlon. That name rings a bell. I tuck it away to do more research later.

“Not quite.”

“Lovely day for a get-together.” The one with the deep tan to Harlon’s right has an easy smile as he takes in the dreary basement with cracked cement and little else. “I thought Chicago was blistering hot this time of year, but damn. Next time we do this, let’s use a roof top or something.” He curls a lip in an arrogant grin. He’s got a deep baritone that makes him sound years older than the mid-thirties he appears.

“Ignore Santi. His ass is always hot or cold.”

“You the son of Constantine?” Shayne asks.

Ah. Yes. The son of a notorious drug lord.

“Yes. Is that a problem?” His gaze is hard and challenging like he’s faced shit recently for being the son of an asshole of a mafia man who went away for life about five years back. His girlfriend at the time got a little nosy and wondered where all the millions came from. Turns out she was an undercover cop looking to take down the organization from the inside. All she managed to do was shift the power from one Constantine to another. My father went on about it for a while.

“It seems the better Constantine is running the show now,” I say and he seems to be shocked by my opinion.

“My father had a few run-ins with yours. From the way my father described their dealings, Constantine senior wasn’t a nice man.”

He takes another long puff on the cigarette before stomping it out underfoot. “I can’t contest it. Arrogance destroys a man’s jugement.”

“The same goes for women, too,” I confess. “I thought I could take on the world by myself and I forgot I could ask for help.” I look at my men and the understanding in their expressions tells me all I need to know.

“That is why we are here. There’s a war coming to Chicago. I would stay out if I were you. Take that as the helpful advice it’s meant to be. We're going to kick a big nest of killer wasps and the queen bitch who commands the tiny soldiers loves the taste for blood.”

I pucker my lips. “Dramatic much.”

“You would agree if you knew who we were talking about.”

Shayne wraps an arm around my shoulders and tucks me into his side. “Who’s the unlucky bastard catching your wrath?”

“Heard of Society 69?”

A wave of curses rolls through my men. “Yeah, we know. They’ve wanted us as the middle men in their deals for a long time. You think you can take them down?”

That is Jasper. His face hardens and the look of pure rage passes over his expression before he locks his emotions down. He doesn’t want to scare me, I realize. But he doesn’t have to protect me from the ugliness of the world. I know a lot. And what I don’t know I’m willing to learn.

“I’ve heard of them,” I offer. “The leader of the Belladonnas has had issues with them. Ivy, the leader, warned me before I did my trial interview with her about the kind of trouble we could run into on the streets. There’s a whole list of who not to steal from and I recognize the name Society 69 in parenthesis next to some powerful names.”

A light goes off in Harlon’s eyes. “We could use those names, if you have that list.”

“I’ll give it to Jasper. He can see that you get it.”

Harlon Constantine holds a hand out. I don’t know if he wants me to shake it or put the diamonds in it so I wait for one of my men to tell me.

“It’s okay, Luna. Give him what he came here for.”

“I’m sorry to part with these, but at least they are going to help clean the streets. After you get done with Chicago, maybe think about Seattle.” I look to Jasper, Shayne and then Voss. “Maybe I’m out of place in saying it, but I think these streets could use a good sweeping, too.”

“No doubt,” he says and then he opens the bag and takes out three diamonds. He drops each glittery stone into my open palm. “For the information.” With that the man and his friends glide back into the shadows he stepped out of like fucking ghosts.

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