Honored (City Series Book 4)(4)

And maybe I had.

"Hey, lady," one called out to me.

Immediately, I pulled back.

"Shh, Petey!" I said, quieting him down. The squirrel was gone, but Petey was still on high alert.

"Stay there, lady," I heard the voice call out again.

Why would they need to yell up at me? The whole thing was weird and shady, and I didn't want any part in it. I had been in plenty of fucked up situations in my past, and I had developed a sixth sense for danger. Without a second thought, I began walking fast, heading back toward the museum. Petey could tell that something was wrong by how fast I was moving, and he whined softly, his tail wagging hard. We began to climb back up the steep hill, angling toward the relative safety of the museum and the more crowded sidewalks. I knew my best bet was to reach light and a crowd, assuming that they wouldn't do anything insane in front of witnesses. I got to the top of the hill when I heard him call out again.

"Stop, lady!" he yelled.

He appeared at the top of the staircase that led down to the ledge on which they had been standing. His face looked enraged as he began to move toward me.

Fear and adrenaline spiked through my chest, and I began to run. Petey kept up beside me, trotting hard as I jogged fast toward the sidewalk. We hit the pavement hard and I kept my pace up, not slowing down to look back. I jogged down another hill, toward Kelly Drive. Cars whizzed past, their headlights making shadows of the trees. I glanced back as I began to cut right, heading back toward my apartment, and saw the man following me, far back but coming fast.

My heart raced, pure fear nailing down to the core of me as I picked up my pace. I had no clue why he would chase me, but obviously they had been doing something illegal that they hadn't wanted me to see. What was he planning to do if he caught me? I kept running, Petey keeping pace, as we made our way south, running toward my apartment. There were more people out on the sidewalks, and I felt a little bit safer, but not nearly enough to stop running. The fact that the guy would run after me meant he was serious, and crowds probably wouldn't be enough to deter him. I kept moving, hoping people would mistake me for a jogger, and not sure why I cared what anyone thought.

As I made a left, I glanced back but didn't see the man behind me anymore. I had crossed over from the relatively open space around the museum back into the crowded city blocks. I couldn't tell if I had lost him or if I just couldn't see him through the other pedestrians. I slowed down my pace to an easy jog, my breath coming in ragged gasps. I realized how exhausted I was from my short sprint, my whole body on fire, my leg muscles tight and painful, my chest heaving. Petey kept moving beside me, glancing up at me with confusion.

I made another right, heading back to my block. I weaved my way through the other evening walkers, past closed bodegas and barbershops and beer stores, past local bars and delis and more, and finally crossed onto my block. I climbed the stoop quickly, unlocked the front door, got Petey inside, and slammed it shut behind me.

Breathing deep, terror still pulsing through me, I moved up the stairs, unlocked my apartment door, and went inside. I took off Petey's leash and slammed my deadbolt shut. I ran to my front window and peeked out: nothing unusual. I watched for what felt like ten minutes, but I didn't see the man that had been chasing me.

What was in those packages? They were pretty large, and they looked really heavy. They were crudely done, so they must not have been professionally wrapped or something. And they didn't sink immediately, which I thought was weird. It must have been something bad if that guy was willing to chase me for catching them, though. I was in a relatively secluded spot, and I guessed those guys had dumped whatever into the river before without any issues.

I moved away from the window, my heart rate and breathing coming under control.

"That was crazy, wasn't it, Petey?" I said to him, and he whined at me. "What's the matter?"

Then I remembered that I hadn't fed him yet.

Sighing to myself, I pulled his food out of the cupboard and gave him his nightly scoop. As he devoured it, I put the teakettle on to boil, hoping something warm would calm my nerves.   





 

I had never run from someone like that before. For a second there, I had genuinely feared for my life. I had no clue what that guy would have done if he had caught me, and I was glad he hadn't.

I shook my head. I would have to alter my dog-walking route for a while, at the very least. That, or risk those guys seeing me again. Briefly, I wondered if I should call the cops, but what would I have told them? I couldn't really describe the men I had seen very well, and it wasn't like they'd still be there. As the kettle boiled, I decided it was best if I just forgot about the whole thing.

Maybe that guy didn't mean me any harm at all, and I overreacted. Maybe he just wanted to explain what they were doing, and it was a totally innocent misunderstanding. As I poured the hot water into a mug, I decided that was what happened. I dropped a bag of mint tea into the hot water and let it steep, remembering the slap the packages had made on the muddy-brown river water.

Petey looked at me quizzically, and I smiled at him.

It was over. Things would go back to normal. I could forget that guy and move on. At least it was a good story I could tell people in the future.

I sipped my tea and smiled, laughing at how stupid I was to run like that.





Chapter Three: Liam


Every morning was more or less the same: I picked the kid up at his mom's house, hoping that nothing had happened overnight, I drove him to school, dropped him off, and then I headed out to my territory. Day in and day out, like punching the clock at some regular-ass job.

Except there was nothing regular or normal about what I did.

I pulled around back behind my place and stopped my truck at the end of the alley. I cut the engine and climbed out, stretching.

My place was one of the best pub spots in all of south Philly, at least in my humble opinion. It may have been a front for laundering my less-than-legal business transactions, but I made sure to take at least a little pride in it. Some guys had Laundromats that stank of urine, and some guys ran delis with disgusting meat, but not me. I made sure to keep my beer list fresh, my menu delicious, and my décor modern. The hipsters loved my shit, and they had no clue that they were buying their overpriced beer from a violent mobster. I loved looking out over my place on busy nights at the rich kids in their trendy glasses, wondering how many of them would run screaming if they knew who I was and what I did.

I pushed through the back door and into the kitchen.

"Morning, boss," Luis said, looking up from prepping for lunch.

"Morning," I grunted back.

Luis ran the kitchen and wasn't involved in the shady part of my business. Like all my other workers, he probably had a pretty good idea about what went on, but I paid him well and he kept his mouth shut and did his job, which was exactly what I looked for in an employee.

I nodded to the other kitchen guys and pushed out into the main room.

"Morning, Liam," Colin said.

"Morning," I said, walking behind the bar and pouring myself a coffee.

Colin was my number two, although that didn't mean much. I controlled a good-sized neighborhood near where my restaurant was located, which meant that I was tasked with selling the drugs, protecting the businesses, and extorting anyone who refused to pay. Sometimes we broke knees, and sometimes we just threatened. Overall, my territory was clean and easy, but mostly because I worked to keep it that way.

In terms of the overall Mob's structure, I was middle management. Colin was one of many up-and-coming young guys, stepping into spaces left by the older generation that had either run off or been killed during the chaos of the past month. I didn't know much about him, but he had come highly recommended. I had no clue how he had gotten the promotion to my second, but he was a decent worker.

And I didn't trust him. Not one tiny bit.

Colin was about my height and strong. His dark hair was kept short, and he typically wore the same uniform of a button-down shirt and loose-fitting chino pants. He said he liked to look professional when he collected the take from the junkie dealers we employed.

Personally, I didn't give a shit what he looked like. I was more worried about the knife he was inevitably going to try to slip into my back.

That was how you lived when you began to climb the ranks. One eye open all the time, even if you weren't one of the top bosses.

I sat down at the bar, taking a sip of the coffee and letting the caffeine hit my veins. The hot, bitter taste felt great and woke me up. I looked over at Colin, and he was idly flipping through his smartphone.

"What's on the menu?"

He shrugged. "Luis got something."

I nodded and sipped my coffee.

"You seeing Brink today?"

Colin nodded. "Take goes up."   





 

"Bring Joey with you."

He looked confused. "Why do I need Joey?"

"Just do it."

He shrugged. "Whatever you say, boss."

Brink was our local junkie dealer, and our go-to guy for picking up the week's cash. Joey was one of my soldiers, though I didn't know him all that well. From what I could tell, he wasn't interested in fame or climbing the ranks: he just wanted to be made Right, to crack skulls, and to live honorably. Also, he wanted money and pussy, but who didn't?

"Luis," I yelled.

The kitchen door opened. "Yeah, boss?"