Page 15 of House of Payne

“Oh, wow.” He turns to look at her. “You mean you’re good for something other than…”

“Enough,” I interrupt, aware of where the conversation is headed. “Continue, Carlisle.”

“Right.” His face is all business. “I thought now was as good a time as any to do checkups because of quarterlies. We’ve got the city officials breathing down our necks.”

“Is that so?” We’ve always had minor problems with the city. They’re aware that not everything we do is legal, but they don’t have a way to prove it, so there’s nothing they can do.

“It’s become quite the hindrance. They’ve been placing more checks and seizures at the ports. Our men are barely getting through.”

I don’t like the sound of that. That’s a big source of income for us. I frown. “What are we doing to fix that?”

“The Fitzpatricks are getting agitated,” he answers. “They’re asking us to set up another checkpoint because they won’t risk getting caught.”

“That’s no surprise.”

Setting up another checkpoint isn’t as easy as the Fitzpatricks think.

Contrary to what they might think, I can’t just snap my fingers and make it happen. Still, I know it’s only a matter of time before they starthounding me again.

It’s one of the downsides of being in business with the same families for so long.

Their sense of entitlement has always rubbed me the wrong way.

You can’t afford to make an enemy of them, remember? You need them as much as they need you, so just give the pricks what they want and be done with it.

“The Fitzpatricks have always been pussies,” Katia mutters. I spare her a quick glance. When it comes to these meetings, she’s nobody, and her opinions doesn’t matter. She can be seen but never heard.

She swallows, casting her head to the side while Carlisle sends her a triumphant glance before focusing back on me. “She’s right, though. Out of all the families, the Fitzpatricks have the most to lose if their true business ventures come to light, and they’ll do anything to prevent that from happening.”

A key reason we don’t fully trust them.

They would probably throw us under the bus to protect their family name. We have several measures in place to prevent that from happening.

“Then we don’t have much of a choice.” There’s nothing I dislike more than being left with few options. I huff. “And the campaigns? Any improvements?”

The subtle shake of Carlisle’s head gives me my answer. “If anything, they’ve grown worse since Jefferson was elected mayor. He’s been really pushing to end the corruption of the city, which has led to secret raids. I was there the other night when the Fitzpatricks nearly got caught at the port with imported guns. It’s a miracle we weren’t caught.”

He calls it a miracle; I call it a lucky distraction. I don’t believe in chance.

The Fitzpatricks control the flow of more than guns; they’re involved with drugs, the cartel, and other things. If we want to continue doing business with them, we have to play by their rules whether we like them or not.

All the families have a role. Apart from the Paynes and Fitzpatricks, the Everetts run trucking, and the Thayers are the muscle. We’re a well-oiled machine.

Until now.

Jefferson fucking Monroe is threatening to undo everything we’ve spent years building.

Our empire has thrived for far too long to be undermined by an arrogant son of a bitch with a hard-on for cleaning up the city.

I know that, sooner or later, I’m going to have to figure out a way to deal with our newly elected mayor.

Briefly, I debate whether to send Carlisle to remind Jefferson of his place.

Even pests need reminding of the hierarchy.

Except I know there are too many eyes on us, and too much to lose. One wrong move and all hell will break lose.

“The Fitzpatricks won’t run any more transports without a new checkpoint,” Carlisle points out. “They’ve made that clear.”