Page 89 of A New Era

It’s like no one else in the room, only the two of them. Until a throat is cleared from someone’s phone. I didn’t see it when we walked in but there’s a phone propped up on the table and someone’s on a video call.

“Sorry, Dad,” Eva chirps and pecks Ben on the cheek before her smile vanishes and she sets her gaze on the two men.

One of them starts to cry and the person on the phone laughs. “Fucking brave enough to rob from us but not enough to own the consequences. Fucking disgraces.”

Eva flicks the lighter wheel, and the flame burns bright against the dark backdrop. She drops it to the floor where the gasoline trail ends and steps back into Ben’s embrace.

The two men are covered in flames and their screams are bloodcurdling. Briefly glancing at the brothers, the violence excites them. I like to see someone face the consequences but setting them on fire while alive is a little extreme even for me, especially over something as theft.

“She’s something else, isn’t she?” Ritchie murmurs. Before I can agree or disagree with him, he carries on, “I once saw her slice off a man’s dick and shove it in another man’s mouth, taped it in and everything.”

My dick twinges and not in a good way. “What the fuck did they do?” I ask, hoping it was because of something more than theft.

“They raped her,” he explains bluntly.

Fucking hell.

Looking back at the burning bodies, their screams are silenced, clearly dead. Ben grabs a fire extinguisher and puts out the flames.

I light a cigarette to mask the smell of burning flesh and it makes me wonder if this is what Holly woke up to with her hands.

“Enjoy the show?” Jamie Boy asks while Cody talks to the guy on the phone.

“It’s not every day you see men burned alive. Is this a backhanded way of showing me something?”

“Not at all. Unless you need to be reminded?” Austin scoffs.

Ritchie barges on his brother's shoulder. “This is just entertainment.”

* * *

I expect to be taken back to the hotel but I’m following behind Ritchie as we head toward an underground tunnel.

I’m learning quickly that I should drop all expectations. When it comes to the Haywards, it’s never what you expect.

A strange smell comes from the nearby river, and I light another cigarette to mask the smell.

“You’re the only one outside of our family and the most trusted here in England we’ve brought here,” Jamie Boy says. “We want to show you, now that Effie is out of the picture, what the future holds for both our families.”

I appreciate him calling my club my family because that’s what it is.

Only because I’m used to scooping out every inch of my surroundings, I notice the camera looking down over us from a hidden nook. I notice the alarm system and I certainly don’t miss the two guys sitting in what looks like an old, abandoned van.

I take one last pull on my cigarette and grind it out under my boot.

Jamie Boy presses his hand to a panel that I didn’t notice, and the door opens. It’s like Batman’s fucking lair or some shit.

After taking the first left, crates of heroin all wrapped up and ready to go are piled up on both sides of me. Through another tunnel, lights above us flicker. Another door is unlocked with Jamie Boy’s palm. More crates line both sides of the tunnel but this time they’re packed with various weapons.

“This will be the first shipment using the Dog City pipeline,” Jamie Boy says, and I have to tear my gaze from the product. “From now on you won’t see us unless people need us to be seen.”

“This is impressive, but can you keep this size up each month?”

All four brothers smile. “Show him.” Cody laughs.

We take yet another turn and tunnel after tunnel is full of crates. “Is this enough for you?” Ritchie quips.

“It’s a start,” I grunt, not wanting to show the awe I’m feeling.

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