Page 42 of Up in Flames

It’s not something I have ever liked about the Bachelors.

But it’s steeped in tradition.

And though I am second-in-charge, it’s not something I can change.

We walk to the bar, and I glance up at the topless woman behind the bar. “Couple of beers and my usual, thanks.”

“Coming right up, Cain,” she states, pours the beers and the sparkling water, and slides the three drinks our way.

I hand the beers to Maxxy and Hoodoo, pick up the sparkling water for me, and wait for Hoodoo to start talking.

“Not sure how much you know, but we’re light on staff at The Plantation due to some run-ins with some less-than-delightful people.”

“You need manpower?” I ask.

“Yeah! Your guys already distribute our product in Baton Rouge. They know what our shit is like. They know us, so what we’re asking is for a few men to come work with us at The Plantation. We gotta get the distribution happening faster.”

It’s not an unreasonable request.

Without the product from these guys, we’d be screwed.

So if they need our help, then we damn well better help them.

“I don’t see why not. I’ll have to run it past Boss. But I can see it would benefit us because the better you run, the better it is for the Bachelors. We can distribute more drugs in Baton Rouge if the supply is available… it can only be a win-win.”

“So, how many men do you think you can offer?” Hoodoo asks.

“How many do you need?”

Hoodoo side eyes Maxxy, and she exhales. “We could do with at least five or six.”

“We can manage that. Some of our soldiers are itching to get their hands into some grunt work. Let me talk to Boss. Will you be okay here if I go have a word with him? He is out back.”

Hoodoo dips his chin. “Go. We’ll have a drink.”

Standing, I gesture to Trap to come over. He’s not my first choice to handle the NOLA brothers, but he is the next in charge. So the duty falls to him. The idiot saunters over like he owns the place. “Trap will keep you entertained. Watch out for Hoodoo and Maxxy from NOLA Defiance while I take care of some business?”

Trap sits where I just got up from and nods. “Sure thing.”

He looks Maxxy up and down and tilts his head. “I don’t see many women bosses here, but you look like you can handle your shit.”

“Thank you. I’ll take that compliment. See, Hoodoo…” Maxxy raises her drink to Trap, “… you had nothing to worry about. Icanhandle my shit,” I hear her say as I walk off to find Boss, leaving them to it.

I head to his office and gently wrap on the door. The smell of cigar smoke lingers in the air, almost choking me as I step inside.

“What?” he calls out.

When I enter, his back is to me. All I can see is the high back of his chair, the smoke bellowing from his cigar, and the back of his greasy head. He doesn’t make any effort to move around to talk to me face-to-face, so I continue from where I stand. “Boss, NOLA Defiance is here… they need five or six men to help out at The Plantation as extra hands on the farm. Their numbers are down, and they’re struggling to get product out in the quantities they need in the time required. We have the men. We can help. It only benefits us in the long run—”

“You’re overselling, Cain. You have a vested interest here?” He gruffs the words out, puffing out another ring of smoke.

“No, sir. Just want the best for the Bachelors, and what is best is if production doesn’t halt. We can help make that happen by providing hands.”

He clears his throat, putting his cigar out in the ashtray on his desk beside him. “You’re second-in-charge, Cain.”

I raise my brow, not knowing if that was a question or a statement. So, I answer the best way I can. “Yes, sir.”

“Then use some damn initiative and make some fucking calls. You think Defiance need men? You give them the damn men. You don’t need to interrupt my thinkin’ time for this bullshit.”

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