Maybe that cocktail was stronger than I thought.
We find Frank playing cards with Raven who remains in jeans paired with a sparkly green top, and Valentina who wears a silver dress that hugs her body so perfectly, it makes her look like she was dipped in silver and placed nearby as decoration.
“Your dress is beautiful,” I say as my heart hammers wildly in my chest.
Valentina is somewhat terrifying given her sharp, gorgeous features and the slightly dangerous air about her. She looks at everything and everyone with a slight shadow of disdain in her eyes, and I fight not to take it personally as she glances me up and down.
“As do you. Ivy’s dress?”
I nod quickly.
Valentina slowly sips her drink and her gaze lingers on me. “It suits you,” she says with a slight chill in her voice. “Blue is your color.”
“Was that a real compliment?” I gasp as we leave Raven to her cards and Valentina to her drink. “It felt like one.”
“It was,” Bradley assures me. “Valentina is a tough woman, but she is fiercely loyal and exceptionally kind in her own way.”
“Sort of felt like she was going to stab me if I stared at her too long.”
Bradley lifts his other hand and pats my knuckles. “I would say she will warm up to you, but given that we don’t know how long you will be with us, I can’t say.”
His words bring reality crashing back around my shoulders as we return to the bar and he orders another round of drinks.
“Tell me about your group, then,” I say, leaning back and fluffing my hair from underneath. “You’ve brought me into the fold, but I don’t understand. What’s the card thing? Tricks?”
“Card?” Bradley glances back at me.
“I worked that out because I heard Cassian call Raven the Joker and someone called Ruslan the Ace, so… cards?”
“Code names,” Bradley replies. He leans over the bar and scoops up a small handful of cocktail umbrellas and lays them down on the bar, sticks skyward. “The easiest way to explain it is this. Every single criminal family in the entire city wants to be on top. Everyone wants to be doing the most, making the most, and soaking up the most power. With me so far?”
I tilt my glass and nod while I watch.
“There was a time when that’s all there was. Just fighting and killing, constant war in the streets. People were dying, businesses were dying, no one was winning, and to make matters worse?” Bradley then picks up a handful of cocktail sticks and tosses them over the umbrellas. “Cops. The government. FBI. You name it, they were there. Either killing each other, wanting a piece of the action, or more. This was countless years ago, but New York was getting destroyed. No one was winning. So, a couple of families banded together and then a couple more. Eventually, through talks, they came to an agreement, a way for everyone to go about their business,remain rich and out from under the eye of the law. But at the same time, when it was needed, the law would get their own cut. The Fifth Suit was created. That’s us. Five members voted in from various families and allegiances who, when chosen, leave all that behind to focus on ensuring that the criminal underworld runs smoothly and the political overworld doesn’t lose respect in the public eye. It’s a very delicate balance, but the five of us maintain it. The Ace, King, Queen, Jack, and Joker.” Bradley turns on his stool to face me. “Make sense?”
“So you’re like a criminal government?”
He nods.
“That’s insane.”
“And yet it’s what keeps New York safe.”
“How does everyone even agree to that? What if someone gets greedy?”
“We only oversee what might tip the balance into disarray. For example, a politician getting too close to home or…” He leans in close. “An Irish Captain supporting hundreds of small families that will imbalance our whole world if he doesn’t get his diamonds to pay the Cartel.”
I swallow hard. “They’re that important?”
Bradley nods. “It’s… tough to decide where to intervene. Until recently, we weren’t very involved with anything but the big dogs, but thanks to Ruslan and Ivy, things have shifted.”
I glance out to the dancefloor where the aforementioned couple embrace in a slow dance. “She came from outside.”
“Mmhmm. Do you remember the plane crash last year?”
Our eyes lock. “That was you guys?”
“Not exactly, but we cleaned it up.”
