Page 4 of Rebels & Rejects
“You know, a man could get his feelings hurt. Is my company really that bad?”
I purse my lips, trying to keep my cool as I let out a long, suffering exhale. The last thing I want to do is piss him off. While I have other, more lucrative means of income now, his money means I don’t have to get on my knees for some asshole if I don’t want to.
“I’m sorry,” I grit out with a tight smile. “I just have a lot to do today.”
He nods, downing the rest of his whiskey with an unimpressed frown. It’s the same expression every time. You’d think he’d stop ordering the damn drink if he truly didn’t like it. It’s as if he’s trying too hard to fit in, to appear like one of us. When you put all of his minor abnormal behaviors together, he stands out worse than a polar bear in the desert. Even though I file all of the weird mannerisms away for future analysis, I don’t let myself dwell on who he really is for long. I don’t give a shit, and it’s better not to ask; not to get involved. If I know jack shit, then I don’t have to worry about some gangster showing up at my door in the middle of the night, waving a gun in my face, and demanding answers.
So instead of overthinking it all, I let it go and hold out my hand in a silent gesture for him to give me my payment. Fucking finally, he slaps the bills into my palm, but when I go to tug them out of his grip, he tightens his hold around the pile of notes until I look up at him in confusion.
“Same time and place next month?”
“Isn’t it always?”
He grins brightly, finally letting go and getting to his feet. “Looking forward to it.”
With that, he turns and strides out of the pub. I don’t relax until the squeaky door swings shut behind him. If push came to shove, I’m not sure if he’d be an ally or a foe. If he’s not from Black Creek, who knows what sort of people he has backing him or how much money lines their pockets. I just hope I never have to find out.
Chapter 2
Standing in the doorframe with my arms crossed, I watch my men hard at work as they rip off wallpaper, tear out kitchen cabinets, and drag worn mattresses along with rotten furniture from the bedrooms of the long-abandoned apartment complex I’ve claimed as home to the Reaper Rejects. Our numbers have grown considerably in the last few months, and it was past time I found a base of operations for all of us. Not to mention, many of these men deserve a place to call home, somewhere they can rest their heads at night and feel protected. Given the harrowing past of many of my newest—and youngest—members, I want them, more than anything, to know they are safe here. That their lives are theirs, and they are free to come and go as they please. I might need every able body for my war, but these men are more than just soldiers to me. They are my responsibility and under my protection, but more than anything, they are my family.
Pride and hope swell in my chest as I watch them all hard at work, turning this shell of a building into a home for us all. It will take some time, but I know we will get there. And, in the meantime, I plan on continuing to take over the southern part of the city. With every passing day, more and more people recognize our name, and with every block we claim as ours, they’ll come to realize we are an indomitable force not to be messed with.
It’s all just killing time as I wait to go after my actual target. The source of everything that has gone wrong in my life. The cause of all my pain and suffering. The Antonellis—the Italian Famiglia who hover like a dark cloud over this city for as long as anyone can remember. Always present, always watching, yet rarely ever seen.
Anger burns through my body as I think of them. Vengeance sears a path through my veins, increasing the pounding of my heart so it pulses in my ears, and my vision blurs as the scene before me is replaced with the image of a girl with a rueful grin and long, black, untameable hair.Evie.My sole reason for existing; the purpose behind everything I do.
I’m getting closer, Evie. I’m almost there. One day soon, revenge will be mine. Their blood will run beneath my boots, and they will rue the day they took you from me. From us. Your death will not be in vain.
This promise has been my driving force since that fateful day. The one I recite over and over in my head. I was only a boy when they stole my sister from me, but the horrors of that day molded me into the man I am now. I’m no longer the helpless kid who hid when bullets started flying, unable to help my sister as she screamed and cried for me. I may be too late to save her from her fate, but I refuse to let her death pass without consequence. What the Antonellis did to my family, they have done to countless others; to anyone who gets in their way. Of course, I’ve managed to recruit many of the aggrieved family members—brothers, fathers, sons—to my cause, and one day, we will rise up against them.
Unfortunately, though, going after the Antonellis isn’t as easy as storming some street gangs’ territory and gunning them down. The Antonellis have resources, money, and men on their side, all of which makes them an enemy no sane man should try to conquer.Thankfully, no one has ever claimed I was right in the head.
If I want to go up against them and win, I need to play it smart, and that starts with building a secure home for us. One that will protect us from any backlash from the many unorganized gangs that run rampant in this city, or the Grim Bastards. I need to ensure we have adequate resources and a reliable income. I can’t hope to face the Antonellis on equal footing; however, I need to give us the best possible chance at success.
“Things are coming along well,” Oliver says, coming to stand beside me. “Most of the bedrooms have been gutted and are ready to be painted and furnished, and security cameras have been installed all along the perimeter. Once everyone has suitable accommodations, I’ll get them to start on the lobby.”
“Good.” I eye the insubstantial fencing along the sidewalk, still tempted to build a thick, cement wall in its place. Except, many here have spent their entire lives imprisoned behind concrete walls, and I refuse to make them feel trapped ever again. So instead, I’ve built a new, ten-foot-tall iron fence, topped with electrified barbed wire, and ensured every inch of the property is under surveillance. We’ve set up a room filled with monitors which will be manned twenty-four seven. I’ve also hooked up an alarm system to all of our phones, so we’ll be notified no matter where we are, if someone dares to breach our property line.
All in all, I’m confident in our defense mechanisms, although I’m hopeful we won’t need them. I don’t think many of the lesser gangs would dare darken our doorway, and while the Grim Bastards are an ever-growing thorn in my side, I don’t think they will start a war with us any time soon either. The main reason I’m so intent on establishing such a high level of security is in case the Antonellis catch wind of our plan, and inevitably make a counterattack.
Oliver claps me on the shoulder, giving it a quick squeeze. Looking in his direction, I find him scanning our surroundings, taking in the men hard at work, and the gradual coming together of the apartment complex before he turns to meet my eye. There is the same determined resolve in his eyes that he no doubt sees in mine. Oliver is my closest ally, the one person who I trust whole-heartedly. We’re together in this fight, unified in our hunger for justice, and it feels good to have him at my side in this. To see the same war waging in his eyes and the shadows darkening his features. He craves this vengeance just as fiercely as I do. We were all friends once—before everything fell apart. Before our lives were destroyed. Before Evie was taken.
“Evie would be proud of all you’ve achieved,” he says in a soft voice before quickly glancing away, hiding his pain from me. Not that he needs to. It’s an all-consuming ache I’m far too familiar with.
I give him a sharp nod, unable to respond to his statement with words. Would Evie be proud? I’m not so sure. She never believed in an eye for an eye. She was always asking me to take the high road. Evie was my moral compass, my guiding star when I was lost. I always felt like she was an angel, filled with an ethereal purity that shone so bright it should protect her from the violence of men. Of course, I know now that’s total bullshit.
I swallow roughly, clearing my voice before tilting my head toward the interior of the apartment complex. “Come on. We need to discuss our next moves.”
I hear the light scuff of his boots against the hardwood floor behind me as we make our way toward my office, stepping inside. The room isn’t much bigger than my old office, in what used to be my mother’s house—mine, now that she’s gone. As a gang, we’ve vastly outgrown the small terrace house, but I still own it. I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to bring myself to part with it. Although, I have to admit, it’s like a weight off my chest no longer living under the same roof I shared with my sister. I swear her ghost haunts the place, taunting me, whispering in my ear, and pursuing me into my dreams.
I hear the door close behind Oliver as he follows me into the room, and I skirt around the desk, sitting down behind it as he collapses into a seat on the opposite side.
“We have firm control over Joker territory, and I’ve sent men to help rebuild and aid the residents in whatever way they need,” Oliver begins, getting straight down to business. I simply nod my head, already expecting as much. The Unfazed Jokers owned the part of town we’re currently residing in. We had easily destroyed them and took control several months ago. So far, we’ve had minimal resistance, but we always have to remain alert.
“The fighting pit has proven to be very popular.” A grin flashes across Oliver’s face, similar to my own.
“Excellent.” I’d been hoping the fights would be lucrative and provide us with another viable source of income.