Page 14 of King of the Bronx

“Come on.” I moved around the car to open the passenger door for her. She strode slowly toward the car as if scared to get close. “It doesn’t bite.”

She rolled her eyes. “I know that.”

She slid onto the red leather seat, and I closed the door before rounding the car to get in on my side.

“I guess the underground does well?” She asked once we were on the road.

“That, and a few other businesses.”

If she hasn’t figured out that the underground is owned by the mafia, I wasn’t going to be the one to tell her.

“Where is this place?” I asked.

“Oh, make a left.”

I turned the wheel. The streets were empty at this time. The only people out were ones like me and Raven, people who lived on the wrong side of the law.

“Make a right.”

I did as she said, the Lamborghini smoothly taking each turn.

“It’s coming up right here on the corner.”

It wasn’t a coffee shop, but a small diner with a big red clock hanging on the outside. I parked out front and rounded the car to open her door, but she was already getting out.

“You come here a lot?” I asked, trying to get a better picture of her. She was a mystery to me. If she owned the brothel, she had to be bringing in money, so why was she gambling it away at the underground? She wasn’t winning anything. I’d asked my bookkeeper; she was barely breaking even.

“I’ve gotten to know the owner real well. He’s a nice guy,” she said, leading me into the diner. The door chimed as we walked inside. The place needed an upgrade, but it also had a homey feel to it. Pictures lined the walls of what must have been their grand opening. In one picture, a man stood in front of the bar with his arm around a smiling woman. Just from the photo, I could tell they were in love. It was the same kind of love I remembered my mom and dad having before he passed away. A love so strong, you could see it, even in print.

“How’s it going, Raven?” a man said from behind the counter. He was the older version of the man from the picture. His hair was graying. He wiped down the counter with a rag.

“How’s it going, Elmo?” Raven seated herself at a booth. I took the seat across from her.

“Just keeping busy. The usual?” the man asked her as he tucked the rag under the counter and turned around to wash his hands.

“Just a coffee.”

The man dried his hands and walked to the front of the counter. “How about you?” He turned to face me.

“I’ll have a coffee too. Thank you.”

The man nodded and started to brew a fresh pot of coffee. The smell filled the small diner, covering the previous scent of burgers and fries.

I focused my attention back on Raven. “I’m guessing you come here a lot?”

She nodded, causing a piece of her long red hair to come out of the bun and land on her shoulder. Her hair was so long and thick, it was a mystery how she’d gotten it up so high on her head. I preferred it down so I could imagine wrapping my hands around it. She didn’t look like the usual girls I hooked up with. Something about her was different, exotic.

She lifted an eyebrow, having caught me staring, and I shifted in my seat. The man returned with two steaming mugs.

“Thanks, Elmo,” she said.

“Let me know if you need anything else.” Elmo walked away, leaving us alone at the booth.

She pulled the organizer that held creamer and sugar packet toward her and instantly started dumping a hefty amount of creamer into the coffee.

“Holy shit, do you even want to taste the coffee?”

She smiled. “I have a bit of a sweet tooth.” She set the creamer down and started opening up packets of sugar.

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