1. Jordan

Three Years Later

"Stop it."

She whimpered at me, silently begging with her eyes.

"No."

The look she gave me had me nearly caving.

"This is ridiculous." Standing, I walked toward the door with her trailing behind me. Who knew she could be so needy? When I offered to take her under my roof, I had no idea of the kind of attention I would have to give her.

I stopped in the kitchen and opened the refrigerator to get a drink. There was a light tug on my slacks.

"Do you not know what the word no means?"

Another whimper.

"Fuck's sake," I growled and slammed the refrigerator door, startling her. She shrank back, making me feel guilty as hell. "I'm sorry, okay? I didn't mean it. You just… I get it. This is how you are, but can't you find a way to entertain yourself? I've bought you everything you could possibly need. You're spoiled beyond belief."

A chuckle from across the room drew my gaze up.

I cocked an eyebrow. "Do you have something you'd like to say, Reghan?"

He coughed to cover another laugh. "No, sir."

Reghan was lucky I liked him more than most of the men I employed. Others kept their mouths shut around me. Reghan did to an extent.

Another whimper sounded, this one much closer. When I glanced down, there she was again, with her eyes on me and a bit of drool coming from her mouth.

Sighing, I opened the refrigerator and pulled a package of cheese from the drawer. That got a little yip from the furry baby sitting at my feet. She'd do just about anything for cheese. Romeo said I shouldn't indulge her, but how could I not?

I'd offered to watch his Samoyed puppy while he was with his partners, Tristan and Dash. Dash's band was on tour, currently traveling around the U.S. I didn't realize what I was taking on by agreeing to care for Latte. This led me to hiring a dog walker and a trainer. I had an empire to run. I couldn't give her all my attention. What kind of mafia boss would I be if I walked the streets of East Dremest with a white ball of fluff by my side?

Once I handed off the cheese and she ate it, she retreated to her bed, where she contently curled up to nap for the fifteenth time today. If anyone had the good life in this place, it was Latte.

My phone vibrated in my pocket. There were no days off, no time for relaxation. Given the businesses I ran—both legal and not—I always had to be accessible.

Barry's name flashed on the screen.

"What?" I probably shouldn't have barked the question at him. He was loyal to a fault. A zebra couldn't change its stripes though.

"There's a problem with the shipment."

"What kind of problem?" I growled. Every day there was an issue, a pile of shit to be cleaned up and not the kind from Latte. That would have been easier to handle.

"The truck was pulled over as soon as it entered Dremest. The cops have it impounded. They discovered what the cargo was. It wasn't as concealed as it should have been."

"Whoever is responsible, I want them dead." Trying to get the truck out of the secured lot the cops were holding it in would be nearly impossible. Once it was logged into their system as evidence, it was a bitch to get back out. A shipment of guns wasn't worth the favors I'd need to call in to retrieve it. If it were small, I could have it snuck out, dropped into a pocket and out the door. There were enough cops on my payroll where I could make it happen. A truckload of weapons was not an easy feat or one worth me mobilizing the men I paid.

"Yes, sir."

"Get Leeland on the phone and tell him I won't give him a dime until the entire shipment is replaced and shows up at the agreed upon location. I also want whoever loaded the truck dead."

"He's going to argue?—"

"Do you think I give a shit? If he wants to make a name for himself in East Dremest, he'll do what I ask or find somewhere else to bury his cock." Leeland was trying to get in my favor. The local senator's daughter was on Leeland's radar. A senator I had a lot of secrets on. If Leeland wanted to get closer to this woman, he'd have to do something for me first. The senator kept his daughter busy running his campaign. However, I knew she had a wicked side too and liked to party in underground clubs.

"Yes, sir."

I disconnected the call and dropped my phone on the counter. A simple shipment of guns. One I could turn around and sell for triple what he paid for them. It was easy money in my pocket. Yet Leeland couldn't get them to the location we agreed upon without being fucking discovered. Every day I trafficked guns and drugs in and out of this city. He had one damn job and couldn't do it.

My phone started vibrating again, Leeland's name flashing on the screen. I silenced it and walked toward the floor-to-ceiling windows in my living room. My home was on the top floor of the building, looking out over the half of the city I called mine. I wasn't their mayor, or an elected official. Instead, I was self-appointed after years of building my reputation, not only with the dark side of my business, but with the legitimate one as well. I owned multiple prominent businesses in East Dremest. I had companies in my name, a payroll of employees who weren't cops, and I kept my half of the city cleaner than any around.

The reason crime was minimal and the unhoused were taken care of was because of me. Not the police, not the fundraising. It came from my pockets, my donations. I took care of those around me and expected their loyalty in return. It was a lot of work building trust and proving to them I wasn't all bad. They had a sense of security here, thanks to me. If shit went down, I handled it better than the cops did. The power was mine to hold.

Reghan's voice drifted to me after my phone went off again, but I ignored him, content to look outside at the slowly vanishing sunlight. Soon the city would be lit with fireworks, heralding in a new year.

"Sir?" Reghan asked as he approached. He held out his phone. "It's Romeo."

I sighed. Of course, he'd call Reghan when I didn't answer. I took the phone and pressed it to my ear. "Yes?"

"She might be afraid of the fireworks." Romeo worried like a mother would over her child.

"My home is quiet. If need be, I can put her in the bedroom."

"She won't like being alone."

"I'll stay with her."

"I'd say you're a good man, but that's too far." Romeo knew what buttons he could push of mine before I'd had enough. He got away with more than most. Why? Because he was Malik's son. A son I didn't know Malik had until I was at Malik's attorney's office for the reading of his will.

"Is there anything else you'd like to direct me to do?" I asked drolly.

"We both know no one can tell you what to do."

"Is that Jordy?" I heard asked in the background. Only one person called me that and made me grind my teeth together every time he did.

"You know it is," Romeo said.

"How's our girl?" Dash asked.

"If you'd let me talk, I could ask." Romeo let out a breath. "She's okay, right?"

"Your puppy is in excellent hands. I won't let her be upset by anything." I catered to the dog more than I did any person. There wasn't much I wouldn't do for Romeo.

After losing Malik, it took a while to come to terms with the decision I'd made. It wasn't the first time I'd killed someone I loved. I guessed it was my curse. When I fell in love, I had to eventually end their lives. First my wife, then Malik. They both deceived me.

My son was alive though. The man who had my blood pumping through his veins. I would die for him. Our relationship was strained but getting better. Slowly. That was what happened when I spent most of his childhood not being the father he needed, especially after I killed his mother.

The guilt I harbored, not only because of Jordan but because of Romeo, sometimes kept me up at night, tossing and turning in bed, wondering if there could have been another way to handle things. There wasn't, that I was certain of. Yet, I took two lives. Well, I'd taken many more over the years, but none of them affected me like those two did.

"You aren't going out tonight?" Romeo asked. He was a soft spot, a weakness. I'd die to protect him, as I would my son.

"No, I'm staying in. I'm not much of a partying type."

Romeo chuckled. "You don't say?"

"You've been hanging around Dash too much."

"That happens when I spend day and night with him."

"How's Tristan?" He was their other partner, a sweet man who deserved the best in life. He was also my personal stylist and helped me with my clothing.

"He's doing good. Do you want to talk to him?"

"No, there's no reason to bother him. I already informed him I have a meeting with Mr. Weathers next week." He was one of the local fashion designers I was looking into for new suits. After dealing with his personal issues, he was back in the city for a while and agreed to meet with me. I was a patient man when I wanted to be.

Hartley Weathers had intrigued me from the start with his list of demands for working with me. He had a set of balls. I'd give him that. Not many would tell me how things would go.

"Okay. And, Jordan?"

"Yes?"

"Happy New Year."

"Happy New Year to you as well." I ended the call and handed the phone back to Reghan, who walked over to retrieve it. He'd given me space while I took the call. Since he was one of the few allowed in my home as protection, he'd earned a bit of my trust.

Tonight was the end of the year. Another would dawn tomorrow. I didn't dare hope for more than I had. As long as those I cared about were alive and safe, that was what mattered. Everything else I could deal with. Everything else I could remedy.

A life… I couldn't get that back once it was gone. There was no reversing it, no rewinding time, or traveling in reverse. It was permanent.

I'd already buried two people I loved. I refused to do it again. If that meant I would be alone forever with just the people who worked for me and those in my inner circle, so be it. At least no one else who lived in my heart would be killed by my hand. I'd had enough of that and learned my lesson the hard way. One I didn't want to repeat.