Page 2 of One (The Towns Syndicate #2)

Ally

T he sounds of gunshots had become so familiar, it was like a comfort at this point.

A man fell on the ground as two more shots rang out and two more bodies fell to the floor.

I expected people not to like the change of power, I just didn’t expect men to die for Nic.

Was having a woman in charge so bad that they would wish for death instead?

“Fucking idiots,” I huffed, walking around the bodies and out of the room.

The halls of the compound were empty as I walked towards the room of the ladies who packaged the drugs for me.

At least these women didn’t bat an eye at the change of power.

Honestly they didn’t care as long as they got paid, and that they got to keep working.

It helped that I had given them a raise and treated them better too.

I had a drug delivery in less than a week and the mayor was coming in two days. It felt like nothing was coming together except dead bodies and at this rate, I couldn’t run Christmas Town by myself.

“Little One.”

A hand graspedmy upper arm, forcing me to reign in my emotions. I hated that he was here to see me like this, but also very fucking grateful he was here for me. It was selfish for me to wish Boogie and King would stay here to help run this town. I was an idiot to think I could do this alone.

I kept my head down letting my hair create a barrier between us, giving myself a few minutes to compose myself.

“Little One, look at me,” he commanded.

I swallowed the lump of emotion down as I looked up at him.

Boogie had his mask pulled down, showing me his gorgeous face, and I don’t know if I would ever get over how truly beautiful he was.

The light blonde hair, gray eyes, sculpted cheekbones and those full lips disguised the reaper as an angel.

“We are cleaning house; we knew this would happen,” he said, pulling me towards him.

“I know, but at this rate I will have no one,” I murmured against his firm chest. “It’s not like I can put a LinkedIn or craigslist ad out for hired killers or trained men, though I would prefer women.”

Boogie pulled away and looked down at me, confused.

“Wait, do they have that?” I asked, a little shocked, but I really shouldn’t have been surprised.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” He shook his head at me with a smirk.

“Oh, don’t tease me.” I bit his lip. “I just…”

I sighed, not wanting to say my worries out loud.

“It’s growing pains,” he said, kissing the top of my head. “Would you rather keep the poison in the veins or suck it out?”

“There are better things I could be sucking,” I said, running my hand down his stomach.

Boogie chuckled darkly.

“As much as I would love to see you on your knees for me, we have two people we need to see before we walk the town,” he said, begrudgingly stopping my hand from continuing further.

I growled, frustrated. “Fine, lead the way.”

“Don’t be a brat, I need to leave tonight, and I need to know at least one person who's got your back,” he said, leading me into a room we had been using as a conference room.

That’s one of the reasons I had been panicking and was in such a foul mood. Boogie was leaving me for the first time since the Mayor had given me power. I would be alone. It terrified me. I might act tough, but that was all it was, an act, because I was scared shitless.

“Before we go in have you decided on a name?” he asked.

I rolled my eyes. “Is Ally not badass enough?”

Boogie sighed. “Every Town head has their own name. You really think King’s name is King? Or Madam Red or Kris were their names? It’s for their safety.”

“You mean to tell me your name isn’t Boogie,” I acted shocked.

“Ally, I’m gonna swat your ass red,” he growled.

“Fine, fine, I was thinking Noelle. It sounds Christmassy and instead of a Santa, I was going to use a little doll as my symbol,” I said as I winced.

In my head, it sounded way cooler.

“Fitting.” He nodded. “I like it.”

I followed him as he walked into the room.

Upon entering, I saw a bald man who was bigger than Boogie, dressed in leather, and another man who looked like he had just left a college campus.

They couldn’t be more opposite if they tried.

For a moment, I was worried the college dude was in the wrong place, but when he glanced at Boogie, he looked bored, not an ounce of fear on his face.

He was either stupid or he really wasn’t afraid of Boogie.

I was hoping it was the latter because I needed someone like that on my side.

“Who wants to go first?” Boogie said. pushing me to take a seat.

I stayed quiet as I watched the men take a seat. The bigger guy didn’t pay any attention to me, but the college guy kept his eyes on me, and I liked that he felt the need to look at me. He occasionally glanced over at Boogie, but he was on me like a hawk.

The big guy spoke first and before he even finished his first sentence, I shook my head at Boogie, and he nodded his agreement with me.

“You can go,” he told the big guy.

“You didn’t even let me finish,” he growled.

“We don’t need you to finish. Leave,” Boogie said, his tone left no room for discussion.

The big guy finally looked at me, and sneered. The college dude smirked as the other guy walked out of the room.

“Start talking,” I said, getting a good feel about this guy.

“Lance, twenty-eight, nine years in tech, last two years watching over a man who needed a twenty-four-seven watch. Arms specialist, Explosives and Ordnance training, Krav Maga, and I’m pretty good at picking a lock,” he said leaning forward, never taking his eyes off me.

I didn’t know if that was good. It sounded great, but what the hell did I know.

“What about your moral compass?” I asked, feeling like he was too innocent, even though he sounded like a trained killer.

“Died the moment I killed my sister’s rapist,” he said without a hint of emotion.

I glanced at Boogie who gave me a small nod. He had already done his research on them, and it seemed he checked out.

“Great, you don’t seem like a sexist asshole,” I said getting up. “Boogie will give you the details. If you choose to stay, I will see you tomorrow.”

He nodded at me before I walked out of the room like Boogie had instructed me to. This was my show of power. I ran Christmas town and everything I did now would reflect on me.

I was no longer the scared girl. I needed to be Noelle, the bitch who showed no mercy.

She wasn’t afraid, and she ruled with an iron fist because as a woman, men would always try to undermine me.

Not many men wanted to see a woman rule, and seeing Boogie kill twenty men because they refused to follow me, this showed me how far men would go before they would ever allow a woman to rule.