Big was the one I’d pissed off this time, trying to reach out and grab for me, but I hopped off the desk and out of his way. Father shot out of his chair, slamming his hand down on his desk. “Lay one finger on her, and I’ll let her kill you before I destroy the Red Tigers for good.”
This had Big’s face changing colors as he stepped back from me and took a seat as did Father. “You better teach the bitch her place, and I won’t have to do it for you.”
I tossed my head back and laughed. “Oh fuck, if only you knew just how good of a job he did teaching me about my place in the world. Trust me when I say my education isn’t lacking in the slightest.”
No one really knew what to say to that, so I resumed my place standing next to Father. We wouldn’t get anywhere if I kept trying to lead this meeting, so it was better to just let the boss speak.
“Did you have matters to discuss with me or not? She’s not leaving the room, so either say your peace or get the fuck out of my office. I have other things to do with my day than worry about your issues with women,” Father stated as he placed his hands in his lap, looking completely relaxed.
“The economy has changed, and you taking thirty percent is too much. It’s cutting our legs off, leaving us unable to grow our crew,” Big informed us. “Not to mention that whatever you’re doing to keep the cops off our fucking back isn’t doing a damn bit of good.”
What Mr. Big Time didn’t realize is that the old police commissioner stepped down to retire, and the new man in his place isn’t seeing the benefit of the same deal his predecessor had. Of course, we weren’t going to tell anyone else that since it would reflect poorly on us, but it was part of my duties to help our new friend see reason or replace him.
“If your men didn’t think because they have my protection, it means they can be idiots that would help,” Father commented. “One of your prospects was trying to deal on school grounds. That’s an amateur move for anyone, not to mention bad for business. So you’re correct, I didn’t protect him. He deserved to deal with the consequences of that kind of stupidity.”
“That prospect is my nephew,” Crow interjected. “Now he’s serving ten years on his first offense.”
Father leaned forward on his desk, looking the man dead in the eye. “That isn’t my problem, Crow. If he’s blood, then he should have fucking known better than to pull that kind of stunt. My guess is he was trying to impress you but got caught with his pants down. I leave your business alone, the Caprioni Family has no say in how you run your crew, but as you said, when it affects my business, then I have a problem.”
“If we had the protection, then he would’ve only served a year or two which would have been fine butten years? The idiot’s never been pinched before. This was a power move, and you let it happen,” Big argued. “That judge knew he had the perfect opportunity to stick it to me and mine, so he slapped the full sentence on him.”
“Actually, the full sentence would have been fifteen years,” Athos commented. There were many times I forgot he went to law school, using that skill to help keep us out of hot water even if he didn’t take the Bar.
The president didn’t seem to like that correction, and I was happy to see I wasn’t the only one who got the murder eyes. It made me feel less singled out in the group, but this man needed to be reminded that the Caprioni Family was the big fish in this pond.
“You say that our thirty percent is taking away from what you need to grow,” I spoke up, bringing the conversation back to the real matter at hand. “What do you feel is more reasonable?”
Big Time frowned at my directness, and I knew he didn’t want to answer my question, but Daddy would have asked it all the same. “We were thinking fifteen.”
A burst of laughter popped out of my mouth at his number. “No, really, be honest and tell us what your number is?”
“That was my number, you little bitch,” Big snarled, shooting up from his chair. “You dare laugh at me, the president of the Red Tigers?”
Mathis started to stand, not liking how aggressive Big was acting, but I waved him off. I wasn’t scared of this overgrown thug. He liked to push his weight around, but I wasn’t going to be that easy to maneuver. “You could be the Queen of Revalia, and I’d laugh at a number like that. Do you know what it costs for us to bring the drugs, guns, and women you receive from us? Don’t answer that because I know you don’t. Let’s just say your measly thirty percent doesn’t begin to cover it. You don’t even pay for the fuel it takes to have the boat get here for our provider. Yet you expect us to consider dropping our tax in half?” I demanded.
I moved around the desk so I wasn’t trapped between it and the wall if I managed to make him pull his gun on me. It seemed likely as his face started to turn purple, and his hands were balled into fists. “You have more revenue streams than a whore has clients. We’re supposed to be partners in this, and you’re not doing what you promised. I think it’s only fair we ask to lower the tax on principle.”
“Oh, who fed you that load of garbage? We’re the motherfucking mafia… you think we give a shit if things are fair for you?” I demanded. “The Caprioni Family honors their commitments, and wedoprotect your asses from many, many things. So your VP’s nephew got put in the clink, he was a moron. Let’s instead talk about the drug raid we stopped two weeks ago on one of your crack houses. If we hadn’t been doing our end of the deal keeping you safe, then instead of them finding your competitor’s place, it would have been yours,” I explained, waving a hand, dismissing them. “You know what, take your fifteen percent and shove it up your ass. We have the Rebel Order’s president and VP coming in to talk to us. They were happy to give us thirty-five percent for the same deal we have with you.”
“What did you just say?” Big Time roared, charging at me.
Pivoting, I used my spike-covered heel to slam into his foot, making him grunt and his knee buckle. I used his unsteadiness to slam his head into the corner of Daddy’s desk, making him howl with pain as I broke his nose. Kneeling before me, the president clutched his bleeding face, eyes tearing up with the pain. Crow made his move, but with how big and bulky he was, nothing moved too fast. He pulled out a gun, and I took a step around the bleeding president and gripped the handle of Crow’s gun, dropping out the clip.
“Oops, clumsy me. I hit the wrong button, and you lost all your bullets. That’s unless you put one in the chamber already. Let’s check.” Grabbing his wrist, I twisted it down and back behind him and lifted it.
Aware I couldn’t put too much pressure on his arm since I didn’t want to dislocate his shoulder, I gripped the slide of the gun and pulled it back to see a bullet pop out, clattering to the polished hardwood floor. “Would you look at that, you did have one ready to go. You’re not a complete and utter buffoon,” I praised the VP. “Now, I think it’s best if we all took our seats and calmed down, don’t you?”
Taking the gun from his grasp, I shoved Crow back down to his chair with a grunt. Using the butt of the gun, I pistol-whipped him across the back of the head and knocked him out. The president was still trying to figure out what to do about his nose, but I crouched in front of him.
“Listen up, twinkle toes,” I ordered, grabbing the older man’s beard and pulling it so he looked at me. “There are more biker gangs in this city than you. If you don’t like the deal we have, fine, we’ll find someone else who’s willing to work with us. Younger, smarter crews are chomping at the bit to impress a shark like us, knowing they’re the little bitty minnows we’ll swallow whole if we don’t like what’s going on. So here’s the new deal. The tax is still thirty percent, we will ensure the police don’t bother your operation, and you’ll show me some goddamn respect. Don’t like it? Then we’ll find someone to replace you,” I whispered that last part, patting him on the cheek roughly.
Big spat a wad of blood at me, but I saw it coming and shoved him out of the way. The offending loogie of blood landed on the point of one of my favorite pairs of shoes. Furious he’d dare to spit on me, I grabbed his beard in my left hand, drew my blade with my right, and sliced off the hair. I nicked his chin with how close I got, leaving him with two tufts of hair on each cheek. Then because I just didn’t feel like that was enough for bleeding on my Louboutin’s, I punched him right in the eye hard enough I felt his cheek bone crack. President Big Time slumped to the floor, groaning as I used his shirt to clean off my shoe.
“Fucking savage, does he have any idea how much these cost? Red-bottom shoes, asshole, they’re sacred,” I snapped, walked back over to Father, and leaned against his chair. “I think that went well, wouldn’t you say?”
Daddy looked up at me with a questioning brow. “How did you know I had a meeting with the Rebel Order later this afternoon? I know for a fact no one but your uncles knew that, and we didn’t send along that information to you.”
“Isn’t this what you trained me for, to think like you only better?” I asked. “The Red Tigers are on the downhill slide, and it would only make sense to bring in eager fresh blood who understand the honor of being chosen.”