It didn’t surprise Amberleigh that Giovanni decided to remain standing while he greeted the daughter he’d last seen five years ago. Born and raised in a fucking slum, yet he’d always felt himself better than most of the people in it. But Giovanni was only fucking kidding himself in the end. The gang at his back and the money in his pockets gave him a false sense of invincibility and importance.But Giovanni still bled red and would likely wind up with a bullet in his head in a filthy alley one day or in prison. Old age and/or retirement were rare concepts in The Fringe. You lived in the gang until you died in the gang and often sooner rather than later. Or you were killed by a gang. As about ninety-five percent of those who lived in The Fringe were affiliated with one of the gangs who ran the streets.“Ciao Giovanna, you are all grown up. You look just like your mother.”That wasn’t fucking true, but then again her father always had his own versions of reality. Amber only had her mot
Giovanni carried his bottle of Disaronno down to the docks just a short walk from Thirsty Joe’s. That is where he suggested for their talk as it was less crowded this time of night and in psycho territory. Amberleigh got no propositions or any shit while walking side by side with him. Everyone knew and respected Giovanni Costa. And didn’t dare disrespect him or his woman friend.On the way, Giovanni made a deal with a man who looked a bit like Leo but with more tats, less teeth, and less pleasant smelling. Her father also hooked up a woman of the streets who offered herself to him as well as the money she slipped into his palm. She wasn’t impressed as she eyed Amber. Amber wasn’t impressed with her bad pixie cut and botched red dye job either. They just let anyone be a whore these days really. If not for her dealer’s presence, she would have no doubt started some shit about Amber being on her hunting ground. Amber gave her a smile and complimented her boots. That bitch had nothin
Amberleigh was freezing her tits off, but she felt warm and fuzzy on the inside. She was catching the Christmas spirit that was in the air even in a place like The Fringe. All things seemed possible tonight, all right with the world, and come tomorrow Grayson would be back in his own bed. Warm. Safe. Surrounded by those who loved him. She just had to keep the faith. And place it in the man who walked by her side.It seemed that Giovanni had some decency left inside his blackened soul after all as he walked his daughter safely to the subway. They didn’t say much on the way, but no words were needed, both of them living in their own heads. He could work out the logistics of the revenge and getting Grayson out of there alive. If anyone could do it, it was the psychos. They knew these streets and the people in it. All the places the rats liked to hide. And now the psychos had a personal stake in it as well beyond gaining a billion dollars. Heads were going to fucking roll for this for su
Amberleigh and Leo made their way back to the warehouse. The chef immediately began packing to fill the time. But Amber had other things in mind when she grabbed him by the hand and led him towards the bed. “Babe, you really need to get some rest. At least a couple hours until the buyer shows up.” “I have an idea of what I’d like to do in this bed and it ain’t sleep,” he grinned.It was tempting to say the least. Making love to Leo on this magical night would be a good distraction indeed. But one look at him, and she could tell how exhausted he was. Poor Leo was running on fumes, his eyes starting to look a shade darker beneath, and even his steps had seemed to slow. He hadn’t slept since that night in Paris, while Amber had grabbed some sleep here and there on that cot in Grayson’s office. She pushed him down onto bed. “I wasn’t asking. You can’t help Grayson or anyone in this state Leo. I’ll take your watch and keep an eye out if the
Needless to say, Leo wasn’t sold on the idea of Amberleigh returning to The Fringe alone and she hadn’t even told the chef exactly where she was meeting her father. She decided to keep that minor detail to herself, as The Rabbit Hole had quite the bad reputation. For shady deals, cheap and questionable pussy, abundant violence, and people walking in and never coming back out. Not that Amber was particularly worried about not making it out of that bar alive, but she wondered if she’d walk out with some dignity and self-respect. She would have to deal with groping hands and lewd comments all night. And she was hella tired already and teetering on a bad mood as it was. It was both a good and bad thing she was taking her gun with her. Leo would probably have a heart attack if he knew. There was no need to add extra stress and worry onto his already overburdened shoulders. So, she gave him a kiss and skimmed over the details of her father’s meet and greet. “It’s not like we can talk
It was almost easy to believe that The Rabbit Hole was just like any other bar in The Fringe, at least on the surface. It did have a bit more flair with its décor, the tables- looking like oversized Queen of Hearts playing cards- was a nice touch. As well as some of the barstools which hugged the counter, resembled huge ass mushrooms. Around here, you could score the fun kind of mushrooms and take a trip down your own rabbit hole. Lights flashed in neon colors, casting distorted shapes against the walls, like taking an acid trip without having to place anything on your tongue. The background music also sounded wrong, distorted, like it was being played backwards or some shit. Axes were mounted to the walls representing the Queen Of Hearts weapon of choice. In fact, scrawled on the wall above the bar, were the words “Off with their heads!” The psychos took that shit seriously around here. Life imitating art for sure. A large statue of the Cheshire cat had a dart board on his chest,
As Amberleigh followed her father deeper down that rabbit hole, she began to wonder if they were going to hell both literally and figuratively. Because with as many fucking stairs they descended down, they were in the bowels of the Earth for sure. This was literally the underworld of The Fringe as deep in as one could get. Amber felt in so far over her fucking head, she had to fight down a moment of panic.Those black stone walls were crushing in on her as those damn stairs seemed to be never ending! If Amber lost her shit before she ever made it to the actual underbelly of the Mad Hatter’s kingdom, she didn’t stand a chance in his lair. Pull yourself together bitch, this isn’t about you, she mentally scolded herself. This was bigger than herself. Grayson’s life was at stake. Leo’s heart was at stake, as it would be crushed if they failed. He would never recover from losing Grayson in this way.Amber slowed her breathing by taking deep breaths in through her nose and out her mouth. Sh
Amberleigh had always imagined The Mad Hatter was an older man with crazy hair, crazy suits, a Joker smile, and a top hat. Well, she only had two of those features right about the man sitting in the plush chair grinning at her in an unsettling manner. He was wearing a purple velvet suit and looked like one crazy mother fucker for sure.However, the king pin was maybe thirty-five at the most with a shock of red hair and red stubble. But the most disconcerting thing was the fact Amber recognized him. But he’d looked different then. It was only a month or so ago, but then he’d had brown hair, almost military in style. And he also hadn’t looked like a cat about to devour a canary. He kept that grin on his face as Amber processed. He obviously recognized her too.“Blaine?” she spat out, “what the fuck?”“Forgive her Hatter. She has had a long day. I apologize,” said Giovanni quickly.But the Hatter waved his hand magically. Like all was forgiven.“No need to apologize Cavallo Nero. I’m su