AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Oh…um, nice to see you, Captain Marsh. Any information on the robbery?” She asked.
“No, ma’am. Nothing yet. I’ll be sure to let you know when we hear something.” He nodded his head politely at her and opened the door for me.
We ended up at a beautiful spot, Bestia, that served Italian cuisine. It was about forty-five minutes from my job and a half-hour away from the police department. Marsh always took me to places further out to minimize people seeing us together. I appreciated it because the last thing I wanted was to run into his wife or worse, one of his kids. Ugh.
“Can I bring you two a bottle of wine to start?” The server asked us with a polite smile. I flicked my eyes to Marsh and he shook his head, asking for water with lemon instead.
“Are we behaving today, Marsh?” I asked, lifting an immaculately arched brow in his direction. He sighed at me, leveling a look my way over the menu.
“I have dinner with Carla tonight. She’ll know if I’ve been drinking.” He glanced around the outdoor patio like someone could hear our conversation…like anyone cared enough.
“Aww, gotta make sure wifey knows you’re on the up and up, huh?” I smirked. “She still doesn’t know you love stolen money?” I made sure to lean in and lower my voice because I knew what a whiny little bitch Marsh could turn into if he thought I was being too obnoxious.
“No, she doesn’t know but she enjoys the benefits.” He held his hand out and I slapped a nondescript black wallet in his palm. It was filled with four debit cards to different savings accounts all over three million.
“Rotate them in the order I listed,” I told him quietly. “After this month, freeze the spending. I’ll get you more.” I had several accounts I rotated for Marsh and so far, none of them had been flagged for suspicious activity. I had the perfect spending schedule that I lined up with the customer’s yearly vacation time. They never noticed the money disappearing because they were living it up on yachts. My schedule of spending had to be followed to a tee though. If it got thrown off for any reason, it would raise red flags.
I knew how to stagger spending on all the cards I kept in rotation because I was smart about it. I refused to be one of those pitiful tellers on the news in the middle of an embezzlement scandal. That’s why no matter how many times Marsh used debit cards issued by me, I gave him the rundown.
He was my police department connection and my best bet for protection from getting caught. As long as his dirty-ass was in on it with me, I was protected and I didn’t worry about anything.
“Thanks, Juju.” His smile was warm and genuine as he tucked the wallet into his pocket. “You have no idea how much this is helping me with the upcoming campaign.”
“That’s right,” I smiled as the server approached with our glasses of water. I mouthed a thank you to her before taking a sip. “You’re still chasing that gubernatorial dream, huh? Have you officially thrown your hat in the race?”
“I’m planning to do that tomorrow so this was right on time.” He patted his jacket pocket where the wallet was.
“I think I like the sound of having Governor Marsh in my pocket,” I purred, relaxing in my chair. Marsh glared at me and shook his head.
“I’m not in your pocket, Jupiter.”
“The hell you’re not. I’m not here to argue though. I’m here to be pampered like the princess I am.” I crossed my legs and grinned. “Have you thought about what I said anymore?” I questioned.
“I need more detail,” he huffed.
“The Legion of Kings…” At the mention of the LOKs, Marsh stiffened and swiveled his gaze around the area before settling his deep brown eyes on me.
“Watch your mouth out here in public, Juju. Anyone hears you talking about them while out with me and…”
“And, you must have mistaken me for someone who cares.” My voice rose an octave, making Marsh flash me a pacifying smile. He was so perfectly poised to be the governor of California. Fake smile, fake morals, and a dirty life.
“To answer your question,” he grumbled. “No, I haven’t given what you mentioned anymore thought. I still don’t think it’s a good idea to get involved with them. They’re too brute force.” His top lip curled with the thinnest sliver of disgust.
“If you’re going to be the governor, you need people who are brute force. They get shit done.” I couldn’t deny that the Kings held their own as a gang. People were shook whenever their names were mentioned. I didn’t care about their influence before they waltzed into my bank. I’d vaguely heard of them but clearly, I’d been sleeping on them.
“Like…enforcers?” Marsh asked, rubbing his chin. I didn’t know much about King besides his uncanny ability to end up wherever I was, but I did know that he wasn’t the kind of man to work for or under anyone else. Trying to bring the Kings on as enforcers was stupid.
“No. Not like enforcers. Like you scratch their backs and they scratch yours.” Honestly, if I could get Marsh off King’s back, it would probably guarantee me a spot in the LOKs.
I hated how desperately I wanted to belong to them. The need sprang up even stronger after talking to King last night. When he was like that, I could tolerate him. He didn’t get on my nerves as much. He was still an arrogant asshole though. I wondered if I could be a part of the Kings and take orders from him. From Sumo…
I hated the thought of Sumo. I didn’t know him but I could read energy and I didn’t like his. I didn’t give a fuck about him being King’s boy. Something wasn’t right with him.
Still, the thought of belonging to a bigger family besides the tiny one I’d carved out with Jay pulled me in the direction of the Kings. I wanted to choose people who chose me. For a feeling like that? Yeah, I’d kill someone.
“With gangs as dangerous as the LOKs, I wouldn’t feel comfortable unless I had full control over them.” Marsh’s words made me laugh loudly. I was still laughing when the server came to take our orders. I had to catch my breath long enough to order casarecce al Pomodoro, a pasta dish tossed in tomato sugo and ricotta, and a glass of Riesling.
“I’m sorry for laughing,” I said, pressing my hand to my chest. “Actually, I’m not sorry. That’s a stupid idea. You can’t control a gang like that. That’s what you have officers for. You use the Kings to keep the peace in the areas your officers have no control in. Like Inglewood. You heard those shots yesterday, right?” I looked at him and he nodded, pressing his full lips into a tight line. “Did anyone get brought in?” I asked him knowingly. He didn’t respond, only tossed a look at me proving my point. “Exactly. You already know Inglewood belongs to the Legion of Kings.”
