Page 3 of Dirty Little Secrets
“I know. But they’re too young.”
He’s talking about Aiden, Leo, Colton, and Mason. They’ve been spilling blood since they were thirteen. Still, this job was too big to trust them with. The streets of Hillside are already theirs to control. Seattle and New York are left to us but as of tonight, New York is mine.
“Damn, ese,” Aiden says. “No faith?”
Relic glances at the body. “This had too much heat,” he agrees. “Xaiden was the only one they wouldn’t see coming.”
“Why’d you take him out?” Mason asks.
I look down at the dead man. His eyes are wide and blank. “He groomed teenage girls. Hooked them on drugs. Forced them to steal. Then passed them around the club like toys.”
Aiden spits on the body. “Fucking sick.”
“There’s more,” I say. “They’re running drugs for other crime families. If we’d taken them all out, the rest would’ve caught wind. They’d know who crippled their supply chain.”
“That’s why we couldn’t touch him,” Relic adds.
“If they found out it was the Kings of Seattle...” Colton says, catching on fast, “And the vice president of their club died by our hands, war.”
Relic nods at them all. “Lesson one…don’t shit where you eat. Don’t bring heat too close to where you sleep. Other crews will come after what you love most—wives, girlfriends, children, parents. These pinche desgraciados…they’re not like us.” We live by a code. No killing women. No killing kids. Unless the woman’s a hit.
Leo looks over at me. “Is that why you’re good at this? Why you didn’t want us involved. Because you don’t want a wife or kids.”
Everyone knows I don’t want a family. No ties.
Too much risk.
There are always women willing to warm my bed. It’s why we have sex clubs, where no one asks questions. No strings. No weaknesses. I know what losing someone you love feels like.
“I already lost my mother.”
They look away. They don’t want me to see the pity in their eyes.
“Thanks to my father.”
He couldn’t protect his mistress—my mother. He let her die for his mistakes. That’s what feeds the fury in my veins with every fucking kill.
After rinsing off the last traces of blood, I move toward the door. Relic’s voice stops me right before I push open the door.
“We’ll always have your back, Hermano.”
No matter if we stay legit or not. We’re family.
“Out of all of us,” he continues, “you get to choose. You want out? You want a real life in New York? Go. Just remember you are family. And we protect our own.”
Leo steps up. “You can count on me, Xaiden. I’m just a call away.” He glances at the others. “All of us.”
“Yeah, ese,” Mason says, the biggest of them all. “Don’t forget. Your father’s blood runs through your veins. We may not all come from the same man or have the same mother, but, like Relic said, we’re family.”
If I needed a reminder, this was it. But it’s not the life I want.
I clear my throat. “You need me, you know where to find me.”
I step into the cold Seattle night. The air stings my face, salt and steel in every breath. I climb into the back of the Rolls, knowing it’ll be a long time before I return. There’s no need to call my father. He knows this was my last job for the cartel. Anything they need, they can get from me remotely. This is my life.
My choice.
He owes me.
