It’s been a week since we took down Adam at that church. Yesterday, we realized that a little over a month had passed since we lost Priest. Last night, my brothers and I stayed up late reminiscing about the man that raised us.
“I got about three hours, but my mind wouldn’t rest though. What about you?”
I smile. He doesn’t need to know that I haven’t slept more than an hour a night since Priest died. My problems are not my brothers’.
“Like a baby,” I lie.
Hawk is the next to enter. He looks exhausted.
“I’m never drinking with you guys again,” he grumbles as he takes a seat.
Lucien and I both laugh at him.
Many and Kimi walk in together. Kimi takes a seat beside Lucien. Many leans against the wall.
“We are not equipped for alcohol,” he says, grabbing his head.
“No one told you guys to stay up drinking,” Kimi jokes. “All of you are too old for late nights.”
Maksim enters with a bag of frozen peas over his head. “All of you are too loud.” He flops down in the chair beside me.
Beast is the last to enter, looking perky and relaxed. He didn’t have a sip of alcohol last night. He explained that because Summer couldn't drink, neither would he.
Beast takes the seat at the other end of the table from Lucien.
“What’s the latest?” He asks as soon as he sits down.
“DOE has moved diligently through Corbyn’s homes. They’re down to the last three on Maksim’s list. They plan on hitting those three tonight. After that, it will be up to you, Lucien.”
He nods. “I can handle that. I’ve also tracked down Micah. He’s back in the states.”
Micah has been one of the harder siblings to find. He does a lot of Corbyn’s business overseas. He’s rarely ever on US soil.
“If Micah is back home, keep an eye on the underground sex clubs. His favorites are Aces, Pearls, and the Red Dragon,” Maksim says, laying his bag of frozen vegetables down on the table.
“I’ve heard of Ace’s, but I’ve never heard of the other two,” Beast says.
“Pearls is a lot like Aces, except only the very wealthy are allowed membership,” Kimi explains. “Vito runs Pearls.”
The funeral was the first time I met Vito and his brothers. We have yet to meet the one they called Mason, but they have been lending us their support this entire time. Guns, money, anything we’ve needed, they have offered. Even before Priest died, they were helping us and we just didn’t know it.
“Now, Red Dragon is a different beast completely,” she goes on to say. “It’s a lot grimier, and they have a lot stricter rules than Aces and Pearls. Their clientele is mostly criminals, and I’m not talking about your petty thief. I’m talking about the type of people that have no problem dropping bodies in rivers.”
“So not the type of place you want to run in with guns blazing?” I ask.
She nods. “Let’s just say it would be much better for all of us if he goes to Aces or Pearls. It’s easier to get into both of those with no negative outcome. Heck, I’m sure Vito would let us walk right in and put a bullet into Micah’s head at Pearls.”
We don’t need any more enemies right now. We had enough to last us a lifetime. Best-case scenario, Micah goes to Pearls, we call up Priest’s friend to set him up. One of us goes in and makes a quick kill. Worst-case scenario, we piss off a fucking crime lord and now we have a bunch of gangsters trying to kill us.
“Reach out to Vito now,” Lucien says. “I’ll go ahead and hack into all three of their databases. No matter where Micah decides to go, he will need to make a reservation.”
Lucien starts typing on his computer.
Kimi pulls out her phone. She taps at her screen as if she’s sending off a text. Only a few minutes pass before she speaks again.
“Vito says if Micah comes into Pearls, we have free range to do what we want.”
We all nod.