Page 39 of King of the Bronx

“Where’s Raven?” she snapped, her hands going to her hips. I’m amused by her confidence, especially since she has seen me kill a man in this very building.

I smirked at her. “Alive.”

Her shoulders visibly relax. Erica must have known what Raven set out to do when she left the brothel the other night.

“She won’t be back for a while,” I added.

Erica’s eyes narrowed. “What do you mean? What the fuck have you done to her?”

I furrowed my eyebrows at the suggestion that I hurt her, but I shouldn’t be surprised. That’s the reputation I needed to uphold anyways. It’s better if people believe I’m a monster. Fewer people try to cross me that way…the exception being Raven.

“I swear to god if you hurt her—”

“Then what?” I challenged.

“I’ll kill you my damn self. You might think she just runs this place, but she’s family. She has helped all of us in ways that we could never repay her for, so if that means going against you, I wouldn’t hesitate.”

I’m speechless. Erica’s a prostitute at Raven’s brothel, but she thinks of Raven as family. I don’t know a lot about the business, but I doubt many prostitutes would refer to their madam or pimp as family. From what I knew about Raven, though, she had a bigger heart than most people probably realized. She isn’t greedy or money hungry like other people in the business. The front door opened, and a man dressed in a tight suit walks in.

“I’ll have Raven call you,” I tell her before walking past the man and back out to the sidewalk.

“Everything good?” Cal asked. He stood next to the building like a bouncer at a nightclub. I shook my head. Nothing was good. Everything was going to shit. There’s only one way I saw to get out of this situation.

I’d have to buy the brothel from the Irish. I could add it to my lineup of other businesses. Raven could continue running the place how she wanted. With my protection and the Irish off her back, she’d have nothing to worry about, but I’d have to fix the money issue. The prostitutes were probably getting paid more than Raven was, and that wasn’t going to fly.

“I’m adding another man to the watch. Let me know if anything else happens,” I said to Cal.

“Yes, Boss.”

*****

When I got back to the apartment, I found Raven in the guest bedroom. She sat up against the headboard. Her long red hair fell over her shoulders, covering her exposed skin. Her skin was perfect. Her nipples poked through the tight tank top, and my dick twitched at the sight. Fuck, I wanted to bury myself inside her again.

“Can I help you?” she snapped. I directed my eyes away from her breast and back to her face.

“You’re eating with me. Come on.”

She raised an eyebrow. “And why would I do that?”

“Maybe because I’m the only thing standing between your girls and the Irish taking them and selling them on the black market.”

Her features softened as the truth hit her. If it wasn’t for me, the girls would probably already be sex slaves to some sick bastard that got off on that kind of thing. Reluctantly, she climbed off the bed and followed behind me to the kitchen. She sat at the island as I warmed up the Chinese food for both of us. I grabbed two forks from the drawer and handed her the box of rice before sitting across from her with my food.

“Thanks,” she mumbled.

I nodded, and we ate our food in awkward silence.

“So what’s your plan?” she asked me.

“For what?”

“For everything. When can I go back to the house?”

I shrugged. “I’ll let you know when you can go back. My plan right now is to buy the business from the Irish.”

Her eyes widened in shock like a deer in the headlights. “Why would you do that?”

I tilted my head, trying to figure out what she meant.

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