Chapter 9 : Lookout

*Daniel*

I woke up much later than usual, laying in bed thinking about Audry. Was it smart of me to offer her a partnership? Was I making the right decision? Would this finally be the thing that made my father hand me over the leadership of our family? Or would this whole thing blow up in my face? There were so many ways this situation could play out and it made my head dizzy thinking about each one.

I got out of bed and took a shower. While I was under the hot streak of water, I thought about Audry, but not about our plan. No, her body was on my mind this time, just like it had been since she joined our gang. Her beautiful face, her expressive blue eyes, the same color as the sky just as the sun was rising. Her long blonde hair that I wanted to run my fingers through. I bet it was as soft as a feather. Audry’s tight little body. Idly, I wondered if other parts of her body were tight too.

I looked down at my dick and saw that it was rock hard. Annoyed with myself, I shut off the shower and dried off.

As I dressed for the day, in a red shirt and black jeans, I reminded myself for the hundredth time that Audry was off limits. She was part of our gang and we were working together now. Besides, I couldn’t have anything serious with a woman. I needed to focus on gaining my father’s approval so I could take over leadership one day.

And if I had anything with Audry, it would definitely be serious. She wasn’t the kind of girl you just wanted to spend one night with. She was the kind you wanted to spend all your nights with.

I went downstairs to get some breakfast even though it was closer to lunchtime. There wasn’t anyone in the kitchen, so I prepared a quick meal because I was starving. Just as I was bringing my egg and cheese bagel to my mouth, my best friend, Jace, walked into the room.

“Well, look who finally woke up,” he said, grinning at me.

Jace went over to the coffee pot that I had just brewed and poured himself a cup. He came over to sit next to me at the long kitchen table.

“You missed the meeting this morning,” he pointed out, and blew on his warm drink.

“Shit,” I murmured around my bagel.

I completely forgot about the meeting my father had scheduled for eight this morning. This didn’t look great on my part. My dad was very strict about attendance.

“Was Audry there?” I asked, then took a sip of my coffee.

“Yeah, why?” Jace gave me a curious look.

“No reason,” I said hastily, finishing my breakfast.

It annoyed me that even though Audry had been up as late as me, she had made it to the meeting. And she lived twenty minutes away. What did they say about my commitment to the family? Was this why my father wouldn’t retire? Because he was nervous that I didn’t take the job as leader as seriously as him? Well, I would show him just how serious I was.

Jace studied me with that penetrating gaze of his. He knew me better than anyone. We had grown up together. His dad was higher up until he got shot three years ago. With a start, I realized it was in the same arms deal I told Audry about last night. The one with the Russos.

Should I tell Jace about my new mission with Audry? I had to. He would probably want to help since his father died just like hers.

“I have to tell you something,” I asked him, then stood up to put my plate in the sink.

“Sure.” Jace brushed his brown hair away from his face and gave me a look of interest.

We walked outside and I shivered at the fall air. Jace and I sat on the rusty red bench in the middle of the garden. My mother was the one to start this garden and some of the family had kept it up over the years. This was something I was told about since I never knew my mother. She passed away during childbirth. As an only child, it had always been my dad and me.

“So, what did you want to talk about?” Jace pressed.

I glanced around to make sure no one was listening, then told him everything that happened last night with Audry. Jace’s eyes grew wider as my story progressed.

When I was done, Jace smacked my arm.

“What the hell was that for?” I asked him, outraged.

Jace rolled his eyes. “You’re thinking with your dick. Why would you team up with someone you don’t trust?” he said, looking far angrier than the situation warranted. “That’s the dumbest decision you’ve ever made and that’s saying a lot.”

“I found her snooping around in the storage room where we keep the important documents, Jace. I offered to team up so I could keep a close eye on her. Besides, we both have the same common goal. We want to take the Taddeos out of the picture. It’s a mutually beneficial partnership. I don’t have to trust her to work with her. Honestly, I don’t think she trusts me either,” I confessed.

Jace thought about what I said. “Is she even actually on our side?” he finally asked.

“I think she just wants to find the people who killed her father and get revenge on them,” I told him. “That reminds me… I, um, I think the Taddeos are responsible for your dad’s death too.” My voice dropped as low as it could go, barely above a whisper.

Jace’s eyebrows raised. “What? Why?”

I could see the pain in his eyes, but also the surprise, since we never really talked about his father before.

“Well, Audry and I think that a lot of the deals gone wrong are set up by the Taddeos,” I explained.

“But I always thought the Russos shot my father. Weren’t they the ones there that day?” Jace asked, his leg bouncing up and down.

“Yes, but I think they were under Taddeo’s orders. You know how tight they are.”

Jace considered this for a moment. “All right, well, if that’s true, I’m in this now too,” Jace said, determination all over his face. “You’re my boy, and even if I think you’re making a big mistake, I got your back.”

We clapped hands and thumped each other on the back.

“Thanks, man. I knew I could count on you,” I said, grinning. “I actually need your help right now if you’re free.”

“What do you need?”

“A lookout.”

***

“Do you remember the signal?” I whispered to Jace when we made it down to the basement.

Jace gave me a look that meant ‘of course I remember the signal’. We had been sneaking around in places we shouldn’t be since we were kids. Our signal was always the same—humming the theme song to our favorite show when we were kids, Rugrats.

Jace was the rule follower, but I slowly corrupted him with my trouble-making ways. I was always the one to do the actual sneaking and Jace had always been my lookout. We even got matching tattoos on our upper arms last summer. Mine said ‘I’m no one without…’ and Jace’s said ‘...my lookout’.

We were in the basement where we kept all the top-secret paperwork. Audry had been looking in the wrong place. If we had a report on the night her father died – which I was certain we did – it would be in here. This archive room held information that could take our gang down in a second if it was leaked.

For this reason, my father set it up where he had a button to set fire to the basement if our house was ever compromised. He was a very prepared man who always thought ten steps ahead. It was one of the many qualities that made him a great leader.

I had a key to the archive room, but I was only supposed to use it in case of emergencies. That was why I needed Jace as my lookout. If my dad caught me in here, he would be pissed and I’d be giving him another reason not to hand everything over to me.

I looked around and listened hard to make sure I didn’t hear any footsteps on the stairs, then I unlocked the door and slipped in. The archive room was stuffed with rows and rows of file cabinets. The room was huge; you could fit ten times the amount of file cabinets in here than in the storage room.

It took me a moment to find the right cabinet. I knew the date I was looking for, but I didn’t know where it was exactly. As I searched, I kept my ears peeled for the signal from Jace.

Thankfully, the only sound I could hear was my rapid heartbeat.

Finally, I found the folder that had the date of the shooting a year and a half ago. Quickly, I flipped through the documents. The papers outlined the gang members we lost and the arrangements we made to help out their immediate family members to help them through the loss of a loved one. I needed to remember to do that once I took over as the head of the family.

My eyes moved back and forth as I took in everything that we had about the shoot-out. Most of these details I had already known or Audry had told me.

Damn it.

Was this pointless?

I moved to close the folder and stuff it roughly back into the file cabinet, but then something strange caught my eye.

I stared down in horror at the last piece of paper that was in the file. My hands began sweating and I blinked twice, hoping that something different would be on the paper. But no, it was plain as day.

Holy shit.

The last paper appeared to be purposely ripped down the middle, half of it now missing. I couldn’t figure out exactly what it had said originally, but I thought it had something to do with the Taddeos. Hurriedly, I took my phone out and snapped a picture of the paper. Even though I couldn’t gather any information from it, it might come in handy later on.

I swallowed nervously as I put the file back into the correct place and shut the drawer. Only a person who was high up in a gang could have tampered with the piece of paper.

That meant there was a traitor in our midst.