Page 75 of Heritage of Fire

“Okay, man, okay …”

I ease up and stomp around to his front, arms folding over my chest.

“It w-w-was Mr. Ravensburger. I worked for him at his office as an errand boy. H-he knew I was strapped for cash, man. I’ve got some gambling debt. He told me he was part of a group in the city that would pay well; that I could make extra money on the side. They brought me on as a server.”

Finally, someone who’s been on the inside.

“Walk me through what you know. Now.”

“I—I don’t know what you mean.”

I let out a breath and poke my finger into the middle of his forehead. It slips with the sweat pouring down his face, but I press harder, shoving his head back.

“What you have in here.” I poke again for emphasis. “I want to know it.” I slap his cheek three times. “Okay, Red?”

“Uh, I don’t know, man … I serve drinks. The high-end shit. I was told not to touch the girls and was told not to talk about them. So much for that. Uh, oh—the EV is led by the Eight.” He shrugs his shoulders. “That’s all I know, man.”

Bursts of vibration in my pocket cause me to pause, and I pull out my phone to see Luna calling. I grip the device, fighting the urge to answer. I’ll have to call her back.

“Tell me about the Eight. Who are they?” I ask, stalking in a circle around the chair. The man tries to follow me with his eyes, his head jerking around each time I pass. Eyeballing the mirror, I stop in my tracks.

The man—I haven’t even gotten his name—is shaking, tremors racking his body. More sweat has soaked through his clothes, and his legs bounce rhythmically against the hard floor.

This is more than fear.

“I—I don’t know, man, come on. All I know is there are eight of them. They’re the leaders. They contribute one representative for EV at the national level, but the Eight are members selectedby the other local chapter members.” His shaking increases and his neck keeps rolling in every direction. It’s creeping me out.

“How long have you been using?” Another round of vibrations in my pocket causes me to grimace. I check the caller ID. It’s Luna again. I should?—

“Three years, man. Can you help a brother out?” He blinks the sweat out of his eyes.

I toss my phone back in my pocket. “Tell me what I want to know and I’ll help you out.”

“But I don’t know anything else, man!”

He’s irritable. Good. Desperation is the finest truth serum.

I start toward the door, pretending to leave.

“I—I serve drinks to the members—all big names, I guess. The working girls put on several shows, and they have the others in cages. Some nights they bid on them. Outsiders aren’t allowed to know about the girls; it’s supposed to be discrete, but one of the members told me.”

Interesting. They’re messing around with two of the most powerful mafia organizations in the world, expecting to hide behind money and influence.

“All right, man. Hey, I helped you out. Going to help me out now? I need a f-f-fix, man.”

I glance over my shoulder at him. His pupils are wide and his eyelids are blinking erratically.

“Yeah, I’ll help you out.”

“Thank you, brother, you have no idea?—”

Blood splatters across the back wall of the room. The man’s head snaps back, staring at the ceiling from the force of the bullet I put between his eyes. I grip my gun tight as I shove it back in my holster under my suit.

I’m not your brother.

Chapter 29

Luna

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