City of Riots (Book One) The Undesirables

Prologue

He became a murderer when he held his daughter in his arms for the first time. Her eyes were the first thing Lucius noticed. Her eyes were just like her mother's. A bright green with hard rims that softened as you looked closer to the center. She was only a baby, so small and fragile. And in that moment Lucius knew he would kill the thing that tried to hurt her. He would break it so thoroughly that it never pieced together again.

Lucius looked out the window as the train ate up the distance of the rolling prairie. The greens only reminded him of his the eyes of the mother of his child. It was high time he returned to his city, but the very thought of it tossed his brains around the hollows of his skull.

His fingers knotted a small piece of rope endlessly as he fidgeted in the cushioned leather seat. Lucius never liked flying, so the train would have to do. Especially since his brother had seized his assets and savings. Jack had taken everything away and practically exiled him from Clevane after Annie's death. Lucius could still hear her screams when he went to bed at night, could see the lines on her forehead as she begged him not to walk out those doors.

His hair still stuck to his forehead from the shower, and he wore a white towel around his waist. Her voice came from behind him like it often did. She moved as quietly as a cat most times.

"I let myself in. Don't worry I won't be long, I forgot a few of my magazines on the shelf," She said.

"Don't let me keep you," Lucius let his eyes linger on her breasts. Annie always looked good, smelled good and moved like the wind. "Don't forget the damned plant." He said instead of all the compliments building in his head. It was a bad idea to even think those thoughts of his ex-wife.

"You mean the cactus? Keep it." Yes. Smart-ass Annie was sending another message. The cactus had to mean something ominous like the many painful prickly memories of their seven year old marriage.

"When do I get to see my daughter?"

"When you clean up your life and stop working for Caruso." Standard response. He hadn't seen Kelly in almost a month, besides seeing when her bus left to take her to school. Ever since he had picked her up from school that time, Jack has been there to pick her up early every time just to make sure he didn't do it again.

Lucius ran his hands through his wet hair and fixed Annie with a stare, "Don't you start, you can get your magazines but it's not fair to keep Kelly from me, I'm still her father even if you and me didn't work out."

"This isn't about you and me, though you seem to want to bring that up. You brought drugs and guns into our house. Our house, you asshole!"

"I didn't see you complaining before. How did you believe I afforded such a nice house in the first place?"

"I'm not going there with you Luke, I'm done. You're not spending anytime with Kelly unless I know she's safe with you. Otherwise you can come over while I'm free."

"You mean when Jack's free."

Annie crossed her arms. Luke knew she felt guilty but was being stubborn. Jack was his brother, and she was sleeping with him just months after the divorce. "Yes. When Jack's free."

Lucius exhaled loudly, "I gotta go. Can you make this quick?"

Her eyes darted away towards the living room before focusing back on him. "Why, where are you going?"

"Ramone's place."

"What you play both sides of the mafia now?"

"You play the detective now?" He shot back and she spun him around by the shoulder.

"Tell me this isn't what I think it is?" Her voice cut deeper than he wished it did.

"What? Now you want me to understand how your mind works, not happening sweetheart," Lucius muttered, then turned away again, unwinding the towel and searching for a pair of boxer shorts.

Annie ignored his nakedness, knowing he was only trying to get her to leave him alone.

"Don't do it, Luke. Please, don't go there. You can't be lucky every time, sooner or later a bullet will end up in the middle of your forehead, then where will Kelly be?"

"She's pretty much fatherless right now as long as you keep me from seeing her, don't see much of a difference. And Annie.... You ever considered that I have no choice?" She would never get that. I wasn't easy to just back out of the mob. You don't decide to just leave. You survive, or you don't. Luke knew his choice.

Lucius always knew that he'd do anything to stay in Kelly's life.