Page 45 of We Will Rise

“You’re early,” he says gruffly.

I check my watch and roll my eyes. “By five minutes. If Miriam isn’t ready, we can wait.”

“She’s not here yet,” he admits.

I raise a brow and shoot a look over my shoulder at Kovu, who just shrugs and moves further into the club.

We’ve been here a time or two at night when we’ve been invited to events, but it’s a whole other story seeing it in broad daylight.

The dance floor is free of drunk patrons. The bar is clean and clear of empty glasses. And the place doesn’t reek of cheap spirits and sweat.

“We’ll wait,” I tell him, following Kovu further into the club.

We take a seat in one of the booths that line the dance floor, and I watch Donovan as he taps something out on his phone, presumably letting his mother know we’re waiting for her. Not that she’s going to give a fuck. If you ask Miriam Sterling, she’s the most important person in the city, and there’s no convincing her otherwise.

“Am I being overcautious or is this suspicious?” Kovu asks in a whisper.

I nod. “It’s suspicious.”

“Should we go?”

“No. She’s not going to do anything with Donovan here. She wouldn’t risk her only heir like that.”

He gives me a sharp nod, and I lean back in my seat, forcing my shoulders to relax. I pull my phone from my jacket pocket and type out a quick message to the group chat to let the others know what’s happening and to keep a close eye on what’s going on around them. I don’t trust anyone who isn’t one of the five of us.

I tap my fingers on the tabletop impatiently while Kovu keeps a close eye on our surroundings, never letting Donovan out of his sight.

It’s twenty minutes before the front door swings open and Miriam appears, her gray hair windswept as she rushes into the huge space. She meets her son’s eyes first, giving him a nod before she hustles toward the table we’ve taken residence at.

“Gentlemen, I’m so sorry for my tardiness. You know how business can be.”

“I do.” I nod. “And yet I always make sure I’m on time to important meetings.”

Her head snaps up, and she glares at me as she takes a seat across from Kovu, and he looks at me with a raised brow, silently asking if he can end this once and for all.

I give him a subtle head shake and fold my arms across my chest as Donovan places a glass of vodka in front of his mother, which she promptly drains.

“What exactly can I do for the Syndicate today?”

“Your quality has gone to shit,” Kovu tells her. “Knight has submitted a formal complaint due to a number of his customers overdosing on your bad drugs.”

She scoffs. “And you immediately think it’s my drugs causing the problem? Couldn’t possibly be the junkies that are taking too much?” She shakes her head. “Caleb and Charles are right, you’ll do anything to lord your power over the five families.”

“Excuse me?” I growl.

“You heard me, Crew. I’ve had enough of you thinking you can stick your nose in our business anytime you please.”

Kovu snorts beside her and earns himself a glare. “You weren’t saying that a couple of years ago when Davenport started eyeing part of your territory and you asked us to step in.”

“Hmm, you’re right, Kovu. I also recall when you had a mole inside your organization, which we helped weed out. But it seems you have selective memory when it comes to us, Miriam.”

They’ve got to her, that much I’m absolutely confident of. Caleb and Charles weren’t spewing their anti-Syndicate shit for long enough in the meeting for any of the remaining families to have a real opinion on it. But that doesn’t mean they haven’t been making stops to the other families while we’ve been distracted with our own shit.

Kovu leans close to her, and I don’t miss the way she flinches at his proximity. She’ll never admit it to anyone, but Miriam is terrified of him, and that’s why I always bring him to these meetings with me.

“So what have Charles and Caleb been spewing to you behind our backs? What are they going to give you to help take us down?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Her voice shakes slightly, and I can’t help but smile. The leaders of the five families are notoriously good liars, but we’ve found a way to get each of them to tell the truth, and Kovu is that way for Miriam.

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