Page 2 of Dangerous Deviance
I whistled. That would get a man to move. At least his wife wouldn’t be held back by him anymore.
“You’ll take care of him for me?” I asked.
Axe nodded, then slipped out through the back hallway, presumably to get his supplies to dismantle the body. While Axe was the main enforcer, the family’s gambling hall was mine. It was a place to network. I was supposed to be an enforcer too, but I had wanted my own branch of the business.
I went out the door to the main banquet hall of Jimmy’s. The atmosphere was full of smoke and wood and alcohol being poured like rain from the sky. Dark-paneled walls surrounded us, without a window in sight. It didn’t matter what time of day it was; it was always night when it came to Jimmy’s. You could get lost in there, and I often did.
There was a restaurant in the front, but this ‘banquet room’ was hidden in the back. There was a bar along the back wall, and the rest of the space was set with various tables: poker, craps, blackjack, roulette, and in the back, another door that led to a luxury theater with plenty of sporting events on display.
An older gentleman smacked my back. He was a regular here who liked to spend his hard-earned retirement funds. Who was I to stop him?
“I hear it’s your big day,” he said. “Congratulations on making it to the big three-oh, my good friend. Wait until you join me in the over-sixty hall of fame.”
I shook his hand. “You’re telling me you’re not fifty?” The dude was well into his seventies, but I knew how to butter him up. He cackled at the joke.
“I bet you’re making your dad proud,” he said.
“Yeah! Happy Birthday, Wil!” another man said.
I flicked my finger at the bartender, and she started pouring us a round of shots.
“What shall we do to celebrate?” I asked.
“Did you want Sarah?” he asked. He winked, then nodded towards a young woman with her legs tucked underneath her to the side of the room, a slim metal collar on her neck. Hearing her name, she sat up, her gaze pegged on me. “She’s been eyeing you for a while now.” The gleam in his eyes was like a lantern in the night. He must have wanted to watch us fuck. Perhaps he couldn’t please her like that anymore? I wasn’t sure. “She’s come prepared. I had her practice last night.”
With dark hair and eyes to match, Sarah was gorgeous, and decades younger than her husband. That old man had bought her outright, mail-order-bride shit, but Sarah didn’t care because she would live off of his money until the day she died. The idea of sampling her was a pleasant one, but unlike him, I wasn’t one to share. If a woman was mine, she was mine. And Sarah was far from that.
“I want one for myself,” I winked. The man slapped my back.
“I can get you the number for Sarah’s house,” he said. “I got her from Brackston.”
Brackston was another big city a few hours away, controlled by the Midnight Miles Corporation, one of our biggest rivals, turned ally and connection. At least, that’s the way we had hoped to push it. The way my father, Gerard, wanted to.
For a moment, I let the idea roll around in my mind; if I could buy a woman who was mine to take care of, mine to control, mine to play with when I wanted, why not? It made it simple.
But I wanted a woman who would fight me too. Taking control was only satisfying if you could feel the woman relinquishing it. If she gave it freely, like Sarah, then what did it matter? Most of the women from Sarah’s house would probably be obedient to the core.
But again, it was my birthday. Why the hell not?
“Sure, give me the number,” I said. “Now, are you going to take a shot with me, or are you too old for that now?”
“Do you know who you’re talking to?”
A cocktail waitress in black booty shorts and a corset brought us the round from the bar. I eyed her round ass, and she winked at me. That was an ass I could use and forget about. The only problem was they always wanted more. I needed someone who I could keep at a distance, someone to keep for myself.
“Get a shot for yourself,” I said to her. She thanked me and slinked away.
“To your big day,” the older man said.
“To thirty more,” another regular said.
“Cheers,” I said, lifting my shot. We clinked glasses, then threw back the alcohol, the liquid numbing my throat. Another day on the job, another shot guzzled down. It was my kind of career. I went to the side of the room, taking my place at my favorite felt-lined table, one with a view where I could watch everything from afar. The gambling. The dealers selling our products. The women strutting around.
Derek appeared at my side. He was older than me and Axe; he was in his mid-thirties and kept his dark hair styled. His dark brown eyes judged the room, always watching everyone, always ready to fight at a moment’s notice. The man didn’t know how to have a good time; it was business, business, business with him. That’s why I was in charge of the gambling hall, and he wasn’t. Leave him to the leadership crap; give me the pleasure of crime.
Derek nodded to the different groups, acknowledging the fact that Jimmy’s was in full swing.
“Are they celebrating your birthday?” he asked.
