Page 5 of Shadowed Obsession

My feet shuffleinto the house, and I’m greeted by darkness as I feel around for the light switch. With a flick, my living room is illuminated, revealing a near sterile home. I step inside the kitchen where the stove light was already on and release an exhale that feels like it’s pushing the stress of the day out of my body. Resting the manila envelope on the kitchen island to scour my fridge for dinner, I decide onpollo guisado y arrozleftovers. My decision window is hours away from closing, so I’ll need to review this file soon.

I warm up dinner, staring down the envelope as if it’s going to tell me what to do while I wait for the microwave to beep. I recount this morning’s strange meeting and the warnings thatdidn’tset off alarms in my head the way they should’ve.

I’ve taken many assignments with dangerous subjects, and not once have I been deterred. Always doing the job and accepting my check, nothing more, nothing less. But half a million could helpa lot. It could cover expenses forAbuela.

Flying back and forth to Puerto Rico to get everything settled for her hospice care hasn’t been cheap, nor will it be when she eventually passes. She insists on being home when that happens, and work has served as a nice distraction from the inevitable. Outside of work, I spend as much time with her as I can, trying to make her laugh. I can hear her now, calling mefresco.

Then there’s my sister and her tuition. While these high-profile cases have their challenges that often involve bending the law, they’ve also helped to put her through school, and I don’t regret it. Crime pays far better than doing the right thing, and I set my own boundaries. As far as I’m concerned, anything that benefits my familyishonest work.

I eat in silence as curiosity fills me about what I’ll find in that folder. Anticipation builds as I fill the dishwasher, and I’m practically buzzing with excitement once the envelope is in my hands as I head to my bedroom.

After changing into sweats, I climb in bed and lean against my headboard. I retrieve the stack of papers from the envelope that detail all the things I need on the subject, or in this case…subjects. Elgin Klarke moonlights as the chairman of Divin Distilleries, specializing in whiskey and more recently cognac. Impressive and all while maintaining as the head of the Klarke crime family, a role he assumed when his mother, Celosia “Cici” Klarke, passed away in 2014.

Elgin married Dorothea Gardner thirty-three years ago, and they have a set of twins, Darius and Deirdre. They reside in Brooklyn and operate mostly in the tristate area, but this new venture has brought their chief operating officer, Deirdre, to Austin.

I scan several clippings of articles about Elgin and his family’s impressively grim history making a name for themselves in white-dominated fields.

Another article I come across links Elgin as a known associate of Angelo Biavati Sr. and Regina Delvecchio (née Biavati). Angelo, the head of the Biavati crime family, happens to be his brother-in-law. Regina, his niece, is the newly appointed head of the Delvecchio crime family upon her husband’s recent disappearance. I remember hearing about this on the news, and can now understand the Hales’ reservations about this assignment.

My eyes catch on a grainy family photo featuring multiple generations of Klarkes surrounded by whiskey barrels. A magazine spread shows a more recent image of Elgin and Divin’s CEO, Darius.

Then a smaller envelope falls from the stack of papers, containing more photos. As I riffle through them, I come across several shots of a woman who’s seemingly unaware she’s being photographed. She must be the disruptor and my “dangerous” subject.

A chill dances across my body as I take her in. This must be Deirdre, who is…fuck, she is breathtaking. She steals your attention with those dark doe eyes and media-trained smile. Her wrinkled forehead and slumped shoulders clearly indicate she’s far from comfortable at this event, and I wonder where it is she would rather be.

She sports a unique piece in every photo that compliments her shapely figure and deep-brown skin, carrying herself as someone who doesn’t wish to blend in. Someone you can’t help but to admire. Assuming she uses that to her advantage, the Hales hired me to cut her off at the knees.

“Deirdre Klarke,” I say out loud, savoring her name on my tongue. Laced with sugar, and I bet she’s anything but.

Dulce.

A buzzing sound snaps me out of my trance. Tanya’s name lights up my phone screen with a text. She’s informing me she has a layover for the night, something we’d typically take advantage of. While we usually hook up whenever she’s in town, it’s never been serious.

I could blow off some steam tonight, but for once, I’m not interested. And technically Iamworking.

I thumb through the stack, and a photo of Deirdre stops me in my tracks. Her hourglass figure stuns in a backless formal gown, hair pulled back into an updo revealing her big brown eyes, and I relish the idea of those eyes looking up at me.

What a pretty, deadly little thing you are, Ms. Klarke.

Beautiful, troubling, and spoiled.

I’m familiar with her type and can imagine by how flashy she seems, that this’ll be an open and shut case. One weekmax, maybe two, depending on how clean her dealings are.

Not much about this job reads differently from the others, mafia affiliated or not. Surveil, gather intel, deliver the blow to the Hales, and don’t get burned. Same shit,different case. But a part of me is curious as to what’s so terrifying about this family, specifically her.

All signs point to my decision being a firm no.

Still, I impulsively pick up the phone and dial Dax.

I have until the morning, but I’ll do this now. The line picks up, and he clears his throat.

“I didn’t expect to hear from you so soon.”

“I’ll do it, but not for five hundred k,” I grit, leaving no room for argument.

“I’m listening,” he responds calmly.

“One mil. Half upfront, half upon completion. I won’t put my life on the line for less.”

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