Mafia Kingpin: A Dark, Thrilling Organized Crime Romance

5

§ STEVE §

I walked into the car park with my phone in my pocket. It started buzzing so I took it in my hand, and a text from Louis appeared on the phone.

"Where are you?"

I took out a deep breath that I didn't know I was holding, and ignored the message, shoving my phone back into my pocket. Louis was the least of my worries right now. He was just a fucking kid... only 14. I didn't want him to get caught up in my life. As far as Louis and his mum were concerned, I was just a plumber. Not a fucking mafia kingpin. It was the best thing for all of us if they didn't know my real lifestyle.

I shrugged off my jacket and threw it to the ground. I nodded at Abid and Trex, walking closer to them.

"Boss is here now," said Abid.

I saw Bilal in his chair, trembling, and rage suddenly boiled over me.

"I trusted you, motherfucker!" I roared. "I saved your ass so many times, and this is what you do to me?!"

"Steve, I s - s - swear, I d - didn't have a choice!"

"Shut the fuck up, bastard!"

I freed Bilal from the ropes, and then punched him so hard that he knocked off the chair, falling onto the hard ground with a painful smack. It wasn't enough, though.

I began punching his face and beating him repeatedly, kicking him in the ribs in repeat succession. Bilal was wailing underneath my grip, but I wasn't satisfied. This motherfucker needed to suffer for double-crossing me. Double-crossing me, the very man who brought him into my organisation, gave him an opportunity, helped him level up in business, push product, make shit tons of money.

"P - please Boss, I was t - talking, I w - was!" Bilal cried.

"Sorry, I didn't quite hear that," I said quietly, and then stamped on Bilal's face. At this point, Bilal was struggling to breathe. I grabbed him with force, sitting him straight and slapping his face, which was already blue.

"Talk to me, motherfucker," I spat.

"I s - said they w - want territory!"

"What territory, motherfucker?!" I roared. By now, my white vest was drenched in sweat. I ripped it off and threw it to the side.

"O - over all the places we sell to. S - Small Heath, Alum R - Rock, S - Smethwick..."

My face dropped. It felt like my blood was running cold. Somebody was coming for my organisation? Everything I'd built from nothing, built from the ground up. They wanted to destroy everything I'd worked so hard for? Everything I'd put my blood, sweat and tears into?

They were coming for all of my territory? I didn't just own Birmingham in the drug business. I owned pretty much the whole of the damn United Kingdom. I had operations in London, Manchester, and even Cardiff, a city in Wales. I'd learnt the game well. I had somebody taking care of operations in all of the other cities too on my behalf. Was this the result of their own fuck-ups? I didn't know. I guess I needed to keep a better eye on the bastards that I allowed to represent me in my organization.

I wasn't going to let a pathetic cartel come and compete against me. They needed to be sent a warning not to fuck with me. Nobody was going to ruin what I'd built. Nobody. Maybe the Surenos being given a warning would also teach other cartels a lesson too, to not sell on my goddamn land.

I slowly turned away from Bilal, my heart thumping against my chest. My blood was boiling to the point it almost dried up. I got up on my feet, and the room was silent for several minutes as the sweat on my face fell onto the floor in tiny droplets.

Abid took a deep breath in. "So the Surenos want our territory, Boss..." He began, sighing. "What's our next move?"

I said nothing. All I could hear... All I could feel... Was my pulsing heartbeat raising through the roof.

I swallowed. I knew I owed them an explanation. I knew I owed them a plan, a strategy on what we were going to do moving forward. Abid and Trex, my fucking sidekicks. The only men who I could really rely on... The only men who I could really trust. The men who'd been there for me from the beginning.

"Boss?" Trex repeated nervously.

I lit a cigarette, taking several inhalations... before slowly turning around to face Abid and Trex.

"They want our territory?" I pondered. "We give them a fucking war. We go out for fucking bodies." I let my head get back into the zone, ready to assert my authority again.

"So what's the plan, Boss?" asked Abid.

I started elaborating my strategy to them, every word, every fine detail. They nodded in approval, and we started devising together who was going to do what.