Page 49 of King of the Bronx

“They took her—”

“Sit tight.” Fuck, I wasn’t fast enough. I hung up and quickly dialed Harris, who’s supposed to be stationed outside the brothel. When it went to voicemail, I knew something was seriously wrong. I started the Lamborghini and headed straight to the brothel.

Everything looked quiet until I opened the front door, and then chaos erupted. The girls were in the lobby in various states of shock as they stared at the body in the middle of the floor. Harris had been shot in the head, and from the way his body fell, it looks like they made him get on his knees beforehand. The women must have witnessed everything. Some were crying hysterically while others looked completely paralyzed with fear.

“Fuck.” Harris had worked for me for years, and he was a damn good solider too. I knew he wouldn’t have gone down without a fight. Pain tugged at my chest.

“They took her…they took Erica,” one of the girls stuttered through tears.

I turned away from them and called Cal back.

“Boss,” he greeted.

“I need you to bring Raven over to the brothel and get the clean-up crew here.”

*****

Raven was able to get the girls to calm down despite the frenzy she’d just been in moments before. Once everyone was upstairs, my crew came in, removed the body, and cleaned up the mess. I found Raven in the kitchen, leaning against the counter with a mug of hot coffee in her hand. Her eyes were puffy and her hair was down, but it wasn’t silky or straight like I was used it. It looked like she’d been rolling around in my bed. I preferred her hair this way.

“How did you know she was missing?” I asked, taking a step closer to her.

She jumped as if just realizing I’d walked into the room.

“I don’t want to get anyone in trouble,” she said quietly.

I raised an eyebrow. “Why would someone get in trouble?”

“Because I’m your prisoner, right? I’m not supposed to have access to the outside world.”

I shook my head. “All of that changed when you put that ring on your finger. If you want to go somewhere, just let Cal know.”

“You took my phone,” she said.

Shit, I’d forgotten about that. “I’ll get you a new one,” I assured her.

“Cal lets me use his phone sometimes to call and check on the brothel.”

“I thought you didn’t like him.”

She shrugged. “I’ve warmed up to him.”

We stood there in silence for a moment.

“What are they going to do to her?” she asked, wiping at her face. I gathered her in my arms and then she really started to cry. The tears shook her small body, and she was soaking my T-shirt. The smell of her shampoo filled my noise, and I ran a hand down her back as she sobbed. She’d been so strong when Cal pulled up with her at the brothel, but now it was all coming out. Everything she’d been holding in was finally breaking the surface.

“We’ll find her.”

“Promise me,” she demanded, pulling back to look into my eyes. Her face was streaked with tears.

I hesitated. There was no telling where Erica could be or even if she was alive.

“Promise me you’ll find her,” she repeated. She had never asked me for anything in the entire time we’ve known each other.

“I promise.”

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