Page 5 of Merciful Lies

“There’s a door on the left, go in. Get undressed. And wait for the king.”

CHAPTER THREE-NICO

The first time Sam Keller walked into my bar I knew the punk was nothing but trouble.

Young. Cocky. Arrogant. Practically fucking oozing bad luck.

The Vipers are involved in a little of this and a little of that. Most of our money got made through real estate. But that isn’t all we did.

Technically, very little of our business is legal. But that’s just the particulars.

Laws change all the time. What’s illegal today might be legal tomorrow. Seriously, it’s lawmakers who are some of the shadiest fuckers around.

Especially on the East Coast. Politicians are just so slimy. I hated doing business with them.

But they’re a necessary evil. Like me.

I keep my territory the way I like it. Sure, everyone has vices, and we run some of them.

Gambling, drugs, sex.

That’s small change stuff. But that is what brings Sam Keller to my door.

He likes to gamble. On anything from horses to sports to fights. He’s got bad luck though, and it makes me itch.

The first time I see him, I want to rub the malocchio tattoo on my right arm, but I don’t. I keep still. I show no emotion.

I can’t.

“This one’s trouble, Boss,” Angel says, and I nod. He is.

But I let him in. I took his marker.

Weeks passed since Sam Keller made his first bet. And now, I fucking own him.

We’re not the only game in town, but we’re the ones with the worst rep. I don’t know why he picked us.

This close to New York City, there’s always something brewing. I let other guys have their say on that side of the Hudson, but here I’m the king.

Anyone who’s anyone knows it and they don’t cross me.

Not unless they want to end up dead. Not boasting, just stating facts.

I’m not an arrogant fuck. I know there are other organizations led by other men.

But we operate in complete symbiosis. We have to. There is no other option.

Our rep keeps us safe and the fact that I’ll do any fucking thing I have to in order to keep whatever I deem mine safe.

You fuck with a Viper, you get bit. That’s something no one survives.

Period.

I earned my crown through blood, sweat, and cunning. I live in a world shrouded in darkness, built on shady promises and lies.

In that kind of world, you learn not to trust. Not to want things you can’t have.

But I’m the king. I can have anything I want, I just need the balls to take it.

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