I hadn’t been interested in working at the time. I knew if I wanted anything, my lack of skills left me with one real option. I had to take what I wanted or needed.
I reached for an orange with my dirty fingers, and a perfectly clean, tanned hand clasped my wrist.
“What are you doing?” a stern voice asked me.
My first instinct had been to run, but when he didn’t let go, I looked up into his dark, sparkling eyes. He grabbed a bag of oranges, paid for them, and handed them to me. I simply stared at them and blinked.
Then, I tried pulling away again. He’d given me what I wanted, and it was time to make an exit, but he wouldn’t let me go.
“No, dear, these come with a price,” he said with a wide grin.
“I don’t have any money,” I told him. “Keep them.”
“No, it’s not money I’m after,” he added.
“What, then? Sex? You’re not getting that either,” I snapped, and tried to pull away again, but he just would not let go of me. Then, it occurred to me that the people walking by could see what was going on, and I did not want to draw attention to myself.
“Let me tell you what I want,” he said, walking me out of the market and away from the people bustling by us.
He’d been wearing that same black suit, dark red shirt, and black tie. Over the years, I wondered if he didn’t just have a closet full of the same outfit somewhere.
“What do you want?” I snapped.
“I want you to work for me,” he told me calmly.
“I’m sorry?” He let go of my wrist, but I didn’t run. Instead, I stood in front of him rubbing my aching wrist.
“You heard correctly,” he answered. “I want you to work for me. I want to teach you how to do that very same thing you did in the market, but I want you to be the best at it.”
I glanced back at the market and back at him.
“You want me to steal for you?” I asked. Up until that point, I’d never considered that anyone would want to hire a thief.
“I do,” he answered with a smile.
I narrowed my eyes suspiciously at him.
“Listen, I can teach you how to do it professionally,” he explained.
His eyes looked deep into mine. I couldn’t look away. Before he said anything else, I could already feel in my bones that he was offering me something bigger than just a job.
“You’ll be provided for while you work for me. You won’t have to worry about anything. You want oranges? You can have all the oranges you want while you’re in my care,” he explained.
Care? At the time, I couldn’t remember the last time someone had used that word in relation to me. He hadn’t been made to force my hand since.
The sun had just started to crack the horizon when I made it home from Fang’s office. I had my newest assignment, though I didn’t trust his intel. I knew I could do it, but I didn’t expect to find anything. Since that day at the market five years ago, our relationship had reached the point where I didn’t have to wait for instructions before I went to work. I figured I’d sleep off the daylight and go after the Overlords that night.
Chapter 1
Cole
“I’m putting everyone on high alert status,” I announced to the members sitting around the boardroom table at HQ.
I looked around at the stern faces staring back at me. We all came from different backgrounds. Some of the guys grew up on the streets. Others had run from the quiet, sterile suburban life to find something with more meaning. And we had members who hit every point in between, including military vets who hadn’t been able to find a place among the normals after returning home from war.
“We’ve lost a lot of money because of this thief. We were hit on the south side again last night,” I explained. “Whoever it is, they’re good. No one sees or hears anything. They strike in the blink of an eye, when you turn to investigate a noise, when you step away for one moment to take a piss.”
“I’m sorry about that, Cole,” Andre said, raising a hand. “But at least I checked the bags when I returned. Something told me to.”
“That’s good,” I complimented him. “That’s more than we’ve been doing. See, we don’t know when they’re hitting us. Most of the time, we don’t realize it until we’re delivering the drugs. I’m surprised no one has been shot over this yet. For that, you can thank the reputation I’ve built for this MC. But it won’t be long before they start asking for more concessions than just a lower rate.” I leaned on the table, hoping they all got my meaning without having to have it spelled out.