The Prince's Narc

Chapter 9

Luke knew something was wrong. After he'd gone home the morning after his dad had caused a scene, he hadn't talked to Jud. It wasn't unusual. If he was working a case, he would always go on radio silence. He had to, to make sure nothing went wrong.

But something was wrong, absolutely wrong. Luke couldn't tell what it was, but his gut was telling him something wasn't right. Warning bells rang loudly in his head, but he couldn't figure out what was bothering him.

He checked his phone. Sometimes if he sent a text message, Jud would answer immediately, usually something simple as 'can't talk right now' or 'going out'. The last one always meant he was going on a mission and wouldn't be able to talk. This time he hadn't said anything. There hadn't been any response or communication at all.

In true overthinking fashion, Luke began to panic. He wondered if Jud really wanted to be together. Was he not saying something because he didn't want to be in the relationship anymore? Was he mad because of Luke's father? Was he okay? Had he gotten hurt? What was going on? All of these thoughts ran through his head as he sat in his office.

He could hear the music thumping languidly outside his door. He hoped his team was doing its job. Tonight was a busy night. A bridal party had booked the club for a ninety minute party. Usually, he didn't allow it, but it was for Raymond's sister. She was getting married next month, and Raymond had offered to foot the bill. They had opened early just for this party, and the regular hours of operation would be enforced at eleven.

Luke sent a text to Jud then tried no to stare at his phone. He willed his other half to answer him, even going so far as to curse the phone out loud. He was really feeling lost without knowing what was going on.

There was a knock at his door and he looked up as Raymond and Andrew came in. Andrew was one of his and the general manager of Hamilton. It was rare for him to show up at Bennett's especially since Hamilton was a regular bar that opened at ten in the morning and closed at 9 pm. He didn't leave until well after eleven.

"Hey, Luke," he greeted.

Luke glanced at him briefly before staring back at his phone. "A little out of your element aren't you?"

"Queenie's manning the bar. I had to come talk to you."

Queenie was Kendra Martin, another one of their friend's and Andrew's girlfriend. She was the hostess and ran the front end while her twin sister Emma ran the kitchen. Like Kendra, Emma didn't go by her real name. Her nickname was Rook and Andrew's was Joker. Naturally, Luke's nickname was Prince because his father was the leader of the Kings. Raymond got the lovely moniker of Jack. Their last friend was named Ace but he hadn't been away from work for a while.

Luke finally looked up after nothing came across his screen. "What is it?"

"Whiskey Roberts was raided last night," Andrew said. Stunned silence filled the office. Both Luke and Raymond could only look at him. "No one heard any rumblings, but one of the Saints was found. He had enough coke on him to knock out an elephant."

"What about Amos?" Raymond asked. He was usually the first to recover from the initial shock. "Where is he?"

"Protective custody. They whisked him away before it even happened. He knew the man was there." He paused for a moment. "Did you know about it?"

Luke's mouth fell open. "Do I look like I know? Dad barely even told me what was going on?" He stopped to take a deep breath, warning bells ringing louder than before. "Which team?"

"It was Jud's team." His friend smiled when Luke's mouth straightened out into a line. "We're not stupid, but we did wait for you to tell us?"

Luke muttered sorry. He didn't want to keep anything from them, but Jud was a cop. Sometimes that didn't mesh well with the mafia. Especially if they tried to figure out what Jud knew like Amos had. But unlike Amos, some wouldn't let him go as easily as his dad had. It would end in blood.