Page 56 of Phantom
“They fight me, Scarlett. As for the why… let’s just say people don’tchooseto come down here. But when they do, I’ve made sure they deserve it. That’s the Phantom’s—”
“—moral code,” I finish for him, remembering our conversation about justice earlier. “What’s, um, the success rate for choosing to swim?”
He pauses and I swear he’s literally trying to calculate the numbers before he finally answers.
“Low.”
“And what about the second choice?” The option where peoplefight for their lives.“What’s the success rate there?”
“None,” he answers quickly, not even needing to do the math. “So far, the latter option has a zero percent success rate.”
“And yet, the bastards keep choosing it,” Sabine sneers.
Damn… the Phantom of the French Quarter reallyisthe Bordeaux family’s enforcer.
Questions bombard my mind, but I’m not sure I want to know the answers yet. He’s said before that whoever gets his brand of justice deserves it, but justhow manypeople have deserved it over the years?
My chest aches, but my heart is a glutton for punishment when it comes to Sol because I don’t feel bad for the people who have lost their fight down here. For some reason, I trust the Phantom’s judgment in choosing a criminal’s fate. Especially, since he gives them a way to earn their freedom while still being guilty. No, I don’t feel bad for them.
I feel bad forhim. My demon of music.
How many deaths can someone be responsible for in their lifetime before their soul is black as night? Is there any coming back from that?
We continue down the walkway, and I try my best not to observe everything with my head on a swivel. But I can’t help my curiosity, even in the dark, so when we finally stop in front of a wrought iron spiral staircase I nearly crash into Sol.
“Careful, little muse,” he murmurs warmly before climbing the steps, still holding my hand.
“Where does this go?”
“All the way up to the roof, but we won’t need to go that far.”
He settles on the first landing outside another steel door, and keeps my hand in his as he presses another button on his phone screen. Once it’s unlocked, he opens it, and Sabine and I fall back in step behind him.
The cool, damp stone smell is immediately replaced by that of wood and varnish. The darkness still prevails as I try to see in the small corridor.
“Where are we?”
“We’re inside the walls of the opera house. These hidden paths were how patrons and liquor traveled in secret from the house to Madam G’s speakeasy. Of course, it was her grandmother’s then.”
“Madam G’s family has owned Masque this entire time?”
My conversation with Rand feels like a lifetime ago, even though it was literally just yesterday. He’d said the Bordeauxs are extorting Madam G, but with everything I know about the Phantom of the French Quarter so far, I’m not sure I believe that anymore.
“Yes, Madam G’s family, the Gastoneauxs—formerly the Laveaus—and the Bordeauxs have a long, beneficial history together. My great-grandfather rebuilt the burned-down French Opera House for his wife. Madam G’s grandmother wanted a safe place for trusted family and friends to gather without scrutiny. Building the hidden speakeasy at the same time as the New French Opera House was the perfect answer.”
“If Madam G’s family owns it, why do they have to pay you rent and protection money?”
Sol snorts and narrows his eyes at me before taking a left turn. With each passing step, the cacophony of sounds from Bourbon Street filters in louder and louder through the walls, but I hear Sol over it all.
“You think anyone can tell Madam G what to do? Her family has been running this town before mine even stepped foot on its soil. We’ve always worked together. And why would she ever pay rent on what she rightfully owns? Who told you that?”
It’s on the tip of my tongue to out Rand, but there’s obviously bad blood between the two of them. Getting in the way of either is the last place I want to be, even though it seems I’ve somehow already landed smack dab in the middle of their feud.
I let several steps pass by before giving the most noncommittal, true answer I can think of. “You know… just heard it around town.”
Sol grunts. “Well you’ve been misinformed. Always verify your sources, Scarlett.My brother and I provide legal, financial, and physical protection to those who are loyal to us. There are always factions in the city trying to rise up and harass business owners out of the French Quarter. Some will do anything to steal the success this city can provide. Ever since Hurricane Katrina, we’ve grown and we’re thriving again. Some people want to take it all for themselves, and some simply don’t want us to flourish at all.
“But beyond all that, Madam G is family. Her daughter, Maggie, is my sister-in-law and her granddaughter, Marie, is my niece. Ben and I would run security for Madam G for free, but her family line has always been proud and powerful. She’s no different and she refuses the ‘family discount,’ as she puts it, so Ben and I just put all the money she gives us in a trust for Marie when she turns twenty-five.”
