Arranged love

My brother plops down in one of the black leather chairs and leans back in it, chewing away on a toothpick. I toss the suitcase onto the surface and sit down.

“Thank you, Nigel,” Bones says from the head of the table, dismissing him.

“My pleasure, sir.” He folds his arms behind his back and nods before backing out of the room, closing the black double doors behind him.

I pull my cell out of my front pocket and set it on the table in front of me, making sure it’s in sight, even though I know the moment we stepped off the elevator the jammers took away any signal. These guys don’t fuck around. That’s why we do business with them.

The Dark Kings are known for many things-and tolerance is not one of them. You betray them; they kill your ass. No questions asked. Just like us.

I remember one time, as a child, sitting in church and the preacher discussing the satanic bible and the four satanic crown princes of hell; Lucifer, Leviathan, Satan and Belial.

Belial is the closest to Bones as I can see. See, in the satanic bible, Belial was associated with independence, the earth, and the north, the direction of darkness. He was also frequently associated with sex, lust, confusion, and darkness. All things that Bones lives for.

Leviathan, who I associate with Titan, is the great sea monster, sexual desire from the unknown and feared depths. He’s an unstoppable force from within man. And associated with water and west.

Lucifer would be Grave; bringer of light, enlightenment. He is a person’s inner light that society attempts to drag into the darkness of conformity.

Then there’s Satan. AKA Cross. The adversary of mundanity, mediocrity, right-hand path, stupidity. Self-destruction, religion, and Gods. He is associated with the element of fire and south. And his father was also the preacher. But believe me when I say, Cross was just like his father.

Our arrangement was solidified long before the six of us were born. The Dark Kings didn’t start the alliance. No, their fathers did-the Three Wisemen made a deal with my father back in the late eighties. That was also when the Three Wisemen started Kingdom. Now at twenty-six, their sons run it like a well-oiled machine. They were all raised like me and my brothers-were getting our hands dirty before we knew any different. So, we continued that alliance and struck a new deal. We cover the streets, and they cover the sheets. They have eyes and ears everywhere. They thrive off other people’s addictions. Drugs, gambling, and alcohol to name just a few. And sex-it can be very powerful when used properly.

Titan sits next to me with his inked arms crossed over his chest. The guy thinks he’s God’s gift to women. Hence the nickname Titan. He rules over the queens-the ladies of the night-and is also head of security here at Kingdom.

Grave sits across from me. The guy has a death wish. Has since he was a kid. I’ll never forget the time he skipped class his freshman year in high school, stole a motorcycle off a showroom floor, and crashed it into a lake. Word on the street was that his father was the one who put him in a weeklong coma, not the accident itself.

Cross sits to my left, his Zippo in his hand. He keeps flipping the lid open and then closed. It’s not a tic, just something he has done since grade school. The guy is obsessed with fire. He lights things up just to watch them burn and gets a sick pleasure from it. I remember our senior year. Things took a turn when …

“I’m guessing it went well,” Bones interrupts my thoughts.

I look over at him sitting at the head of the table. His tatted forearms, covering up part of Kingdom written in gold. Bones got his name in middle school. An older kid picked on his younger brother, Grave. Bones beat the shit out of him right then and there in the hallway. Broke twenty bones with his hands. I’ve liked him ever since.

“It did,” I answer, reaching forward and unzipping the suitcase. Pushing the top open, it slaps the conference table. I grab a brick of hundred-dollar bills.

Titan arches a brow. “That better be half.”

I grab another and toss it beside the other. “Two bricks,” I inform them. A brick of hundred-dollar bills is one hundred thousand dollars, and I just gave them two. Leaving them with fifty grand each. “Thanks for the tip.”

Then I reach into the suitcase and grab two dime bags and toss them over to Grave. He catches them midair. “A little extra.”

He gives me a smile before placing his treat in the pocket of his holey jeans. I take care of Grave, and he takes care of me.

Bones clears his throat, letting me know he disapproves that I just gave his younger brother some drugs, but I don’t give a fuck. We’re all adults here, and we all have our vices.

He places his palms flat on the smooth surface and stands. “We’re done here.”

I nod and zip up the suitcase. “As always, it was a pleasure doing business with you Kings.”

Grave smiles, and my brother laughs.

I nod and turn to Titan. “Tell your queen I said thanks for the information.”

He nods. “Anytime.”

I pick up the suitcase when Grave speaks. “How is the wedding coming along?”

I smile at him. They know my plan. Have known for a few months. I filled them in because they can benefit from it too. “As well as predicted.”

“Ah, come on, man, she can’t hate you that much,” he jokes, but I don’t laugh because the truth is my soon-to-be wife hates me with a passion, and if I cared at all I’d call it off.

Just to clear things up, I don’t care, and the wedding is still very on.

“Aren’t all weddings like that?” Cross asks.

Titan snorts. “Fuck that shit.”Upstodatee from Novel(D)ra/m/a.O(r)g

“Not like she had a choice,” my brother chimes in, still chewing on that damn toothpick.

The Kings know our life and how things work. Theirs aren’t run much differently. But where marriage gives us power, they all see it as a disadvantage. Being tied to one woman all their life would be horror. To me, it means millions in my pocket. And I don’t pass up money. Ever.

“I look forward to the engagement party.” Grave laughs.