Jonah Alvarez, Tyler Abney, Lissette Bradley, I thumb through the manilla folders until I find the one I'm looking for. Kyla should really lock these up. They're private personnel files. Spencer…Carlin. There you are. I pull the folder from the cabinet and slide the drawer closed, leaning against it.
"Are we going to talk about what happened Sunday?" Madison asks, pouring herself a drink at my sister's bar cart. "It was kind of a shit show."
Kind of? It was embarrassing, I hate being embarrassed.
"Fucking Temple Street dicks, they don't summon us." Aiden reclines in Kyla's desk chair, putting his hands behind his head.
"It wasn't just Temple Street, it was the Armenians and The Sons too." I push myself off the cabinet, folding my arms. "I lay low for two weeks and the gangs are already pushing back. I thought I was doing the right thing staying away, letting the heat die down. Not this time."
Madison sits on Aiden's lap and they share the chair, "You did do the right thing. I mean you could have told us about it sooner, but you did what we always do, keep a low profile and try to wait things out."
I had a lot of time to think about how I handled things while I stood in front of the gang's representatives as they tried to question me about my recent absence. I made it clear that I wasn't going to explain my movements to them, and that Madison and Aiden are who they are answer to. Anything they need to say to me goes through them. If I didn't need them to take that message back to their crews I would have killed them all in that dirty warehouse.
Vic was right, secrets make us vulnerable. I took too long to tell Madison and Aiden about the surveillance and in that short time, we almost lost control.
"No one was following you Sunday, you think they backed off?"
"Vaughn get back to you yet?"
The couple throws out questions.
"I haven't seen anyone in the past day or so, they may have moved on but it could just be for show. Trying to get me to let my guard down." I answer Aiden first. "Vaughn says the LAPDs not looking into the shooting anymore." I look to Madison.
She sighs, "Why do we believe him?" Madison's never trusted Vaughn. None of us have. Our relationship with him and the rest of his dirty cops is one of mutual benefit and mutual destruction should it ever come to it.
"We don't, but he and his boys have done a lot of dirt for us and we pay them well. I don't see why he would want to screw us now." I've always been good at sizing people up, it's something my dad taught me early on.
Vaughn is greedy, the only thing he cares about is lining his pockets and renting luxury cars to get attention from women who wouldn't normally look twice at him. He could be lying, or maybe he's out of the loop but his word is all we have right now.
"Maybe we should slow down, at least until we figure out who it is and what they know," Aiden suggests.
"I think we saw Sunday that slowing down isn't an option," I shake my head. "It won't be a meeting next time, it'll be an attack." I bring my hand to my face rubbing my eyes.
The couple nods in agreeance, "So what do we do?"
"I have a plan that may get whoever it is to come out of the shadows. I set up Erick to look important, if they approach him we'll know who it is. It's a long shot but if they're under enough pressure it'll work." The problem is we're under pressure now too. If people feel like I'm hiding from something, or someone, they'll use it as an opportunity to try and take control of the network we've built.
"That guy is a moron, he told me about some crazy plan he has to steal a boat from that fancy marina in Del Ray." Aiden frowns, he really hated having to entertain Erick the other night.
Madison laughs kissing her boyfriend on top of his head, "Him being a moron is the plan." She looks at me, "Right?"
"Right, if we're lucky he gets himself arrested, and whoever's decided to take an interest in me will reach out to him." I don't think I've ever hoped someone would get themselves arrested, but there's a first time for everything.
Aiden, Madison, and I work together almost seamlessly. Aiden is a genius with operations and Madison might not be the most diplomatic but she's the best right hand I could ask for. The three of us started out collecting money from people who owed my father. I wanted something of my own so we started robbing houses in Santa Monica, Bel Air, and even North Hollywood sometimes. My father didn't approve and neither did Uncle Vic but it wasn't like they were the best role models. As I got older the robberies got more and more elaborate. Madison and Aiden were there every step of the way. Things escalated quickly, it was exciting, addicting, and I had no idea it would lead us to where we are now.
I watch Madison whisper something I don't want to know in Aiden's ear. His face turns pink and he hides in her neck. Ugh, they are disgustingly cute. I've never had any desire to do anything else, but what we do leaves little room for trust and new faces, and there are a lot of new faces at FADE now. I open the folder I've been holding. Spencer's employee file is practically empty, with only the first sheet of the hiring paperwork, an emergency contact form, and a copy of her driver's license. Spencer Carlin, I let out a heavy sigh, both disappointed and intrigued. Who are you? Where did you come from? I look up and see Madison and Aiden both staring at me.
"Let's talk Gallo," I close the folder, and open Kyla's filing cabinet, slipping the file back in where I found it.
"He wasn't there Sunday, that's a good sign. It means he still trusts us." Aiden points out.
"Or he just couldn't be bothered to bring his fat ass down from that McMansion of his." Madison chuckles.
We all laugh but I break it up quickly, "The situation with his son. Do we know if Dante stole weapons from the shipment?"
"Yeah, and I can tell you that he sold them to a low life in Irvine who turned around and sold one to a kid." Madison gets serious. "The kid didn't hurt anyone, but Irvine police traced the gun back to the dealer who Gallo had taken care of before he could give up Dante."
Irvine is only an hour away. If someone connected the dots this could blow back on us. What the hell was Dante thinking, "What a fucking mess." I nod for them to go on.
"The Irish are demanding retribution. Not only was their shipment short but Gallo's boy sold guns outside of the network, he broke the rules. Your rules." Aiden drags his thumb across his throat. Of course the Irish want Dante dead, they're always looking for a chance to make the Italian family suffer, but this time they have a strong argument.
"All for a little extra cash? I say we let the Irish have him, they're right. He broke the rules." My face is hot thinking about what could have happened, the damage that kid from Irvine could have inflicted if he wasn't caught. Dante's been a liability for as long as I've known him, I won't lose any sleep.
"The Irish are in the right but Gallo's not just going to hand over his oldest son, and if we take him by force we risk making an enemy out of the Gallo family forever. Checks and balances remember?" Madison uses my own words against me.
I'm ready to throw Dante to the wolves and Madison wants to spare him? That's new, but she's right having both the Gallo family and the Irish in our network is one of our greatest assets. If we ever need an army they have the numbers and would be at our disposal.
"Tell the Irish I won't be used as a pawn in their wanting to hurt the Italians. They don't demand anything from me. The Gallo family will make them whole for the guns that Dante stole from their shipment." I tell Aiden, he has a better relationship with the Irish than the Italians so he'll be the one to deliver the message. "Tell Gallo his son will pay the price of being a thief. The Irish won't touch him, I'll do it myself. If he doesn't deliver his son by Saturday night, or if he tries to sneak him off somewhere, I'll track him down and the Irish get what they want." I give Madison the message to relay to Gallo.
"The Irish and Gallo are both going to hate this," Madison tucks some hair behind her ear but it falls to her face again Aiden retucks it. The two of them are perfect for each other.
"That's why it's a compromise. It'll work, trust me." I assure her. "There's one more thing I wanted to talk about,"
"Spencer," Madison reads my mind.
"Yeah. I know Kyla hired a lot of new people but something about her is different, and her file is empty." I look over at Kyla's filing cabinet as if it'll somehow give me answers.
"Different how? Different like you want to fuck her or different like she's a cop?" Madison's crude as usual, but not off base. Spencer looked fucking amazing Saturday night.
Secrets make us vulnerable, I remind myself. "Both," I answer.
Spencer's smart. She's already gotten on Kyla's good side. She doesn't ask a lot of questions, but she asks the right ones. She was friendly during the car ride when I took her home, but not flirtatious. The Tylenol she gave me with my meal, she's observant. She's not afraid of me, why?
"I didn't find anything in her car when I searched it," Aiden reminds me. "But it would be smart for the cops to sneak someone in now during the reopening."
"It can't be both, Ash. Figure it out." Madison reaches out and nudges me lightly. "Trust your gut."
"What are you all doing in my office?!" Kyla comes through the door barreling toward us. "And why are you two in my chair?" She scowls at the couple.
I ignore her questions, asking one of my own. "Why didn't you run a background check on Spencer? You didn't make a copy of her social security card either, just her ID."
"You went through my files? You don't work here, Ashley. You can't do that, leave my bottle girl alone." Kyla deflects, "Besides Carmen already beat you to it. They had their first date last night." She knows exactly how to get under my skin.
Carmen. My jaw tightens.
"Kyla maybe you should just answer the question," Madison warns seeing the shift in my body language.
"Ugh, Fine! Spencer really needed the job, she said it would be a fresh start for her, and I could relate to wanting to start over," Kyla throws me a look. "She was nervous about the background check, and so I told her I wouldn't run it. Everyone is entitled to their secrets, Ashley."
Secrets. What kind of secrets does Spencer have? Why does she need a fresh start? Who is she? The questions make my whole body tense. Madison's right it can't be both. Whatever my gut is trying to tell me about Spencer I need to figure it out.
Kyla shoos Madison and Aiden out of her chair, "When she comes in, stay away from her. She doesn't need to get sucked into your shit." She tells me.
"She's coming in now? It's midday on a Tuesday." I look at my sister curiously.
It doesn't make sense.
"Lots of work to do before the grand opening." Kyla's voice takes on a weird pitch.
"You called her in because you want to hear about her date," I call her bluff.
My sister the fucking matchmaker.
"Maybe," Kyla shrugs, proud of herself. "I have to go to The Rush, I'll be back soon. Your crap is in your office how about you go unpack it so you can stop using mine?" Kyla ushers us all out into the hallway and then closes and locks her door before leaving. As if that would keep me out.
I start to call after her but stop. Kyla's been dragging her feet getting my office ready, at this point I might as well just do it myself.
"You guys should get going. Remember Gallo and the Irish don't have a choice but to accept the terms. There is no other option, there is no negotiation. Call me when it's done." I give Madison a hug and Aiden wraps his arms around us both.
… …
For the life of me, I can't understand why Kyla had my furniture taken apart before she put it in storage. I don't even remember putting this stuff together the first time. I'm pretty sure Aiden did most of it. All of it, actually. I screw the final leg onto the chair I've been assembling and flip it over. It's wobbly.
"You gotta be kidding me," I push the chair, and instead of falling over it just wobbles some more like it's mocking me.
I'm just about to kick it over when I hear a knock. I turn my head towards the sound.
"Hey," Spencer stands in the doorway, her body leaning against the frame.
"Hey," I straighten up. "How long have you been standing there?"
"Long enough to see you were about to kick that chair." Spencer smiles knowingly. She comes closer pointing to two of the legs. "You have to switch these two then it will be even"
Once she says it, it's obvious. I was so annoyed with having to put it together myself that I rushed it and put the legs on wrong.
"Thanks," I tell her, flipping the chair back onto its side and starting to unscrew the legs I placed in the wrong spots.
"Don't worry about it. I'm guessing you don't have instructions for this stuff." Spencer looks around at all the boxes. "Have you seen Kyla?" She asks.
I'm still working on unscrewing the chair legs but stop momentarily noticing Spencer's holding two coffee cups. "Are one of those for her?" I point to the cups in her.
Confused, Spencer raises one of the cups in her hand slightly and says, "This one."
She doesn't stop me when I take the cup from her, I take a big sip and let it swirl around my mouth before swallowing. "Overly sugary, too much milk, yeah Kyla would have loved this." I take another drink.
It's exactly how my sister likes her coffee. Too bad she's not here. I smile inwardly. They'll just have to catch up about Spencer's date another time.
"Where's your sister, Ashley?" Spencer tilts her head to the side, she's trying hard to hold back a smile but I know it's there. Or maybe it isn't? She's hard to read.
"She went to The Rush Lounge in Hollywood. Her and the owner trade supplies sometimes." I give Spencer a real answer. "But before she left she said you should help me with my office." I nod toward all of the boxes.
"Did she really?" Spencer questions holding her cup near her lips.
"Yeah,"
"Your office?" She looks around the room once more, slower this time.
"Yeah," I say again.
"You don't work here," Spencer says grinning into her cup.
My brows pull together in surprise, but my cheeks raise and I smile wide despite my best effort not to at Spencer's jab. Kyla's so worried about my influence maybe I should be worried about hers. Spencer sounds just like her. Ashley, stop that you don't work here. Ashley, you can't do that you don't work here.
Spencer's dressed more casually than the other times I've seen her, her white v-neck is loosely tucked into a pair of distressed grey skinny jeans that stop just before her ankles. Her hair is up in a messy bun and she's not wearing makeup. Casual looks good on her. The bruising on her arm is almost gone. Spencer clears her throat and I realize I've been staring.
"You going to help me or not?" I ask, a roguish smirk on my face.
Spencer looks at me for what feels like minutes, her blue eyes searching my brown ones for something. She has to know I'm lying about Kyla saying she should help me. Spencer's mouth turns up into a smirk of her own.
"Well if Kyla said so," Her voice full of sarcasm as she walks past me to the stack of boxes against the wall of the office.
Bottle girls are usually loud, naturally boisterous, and flirtatious from my experience. They're the former captains of their cheer squads, aspiring models, or goal diggers who are hoping one of the musicians or athletes they serve takes a liking to them. Spencer doesn't tick any of those boxes, except maybe former cheer captain. She's a blond-haired blue-eyed California 10 but she has too much personality to want to be a model. She doesn't strike me as a gold digger either. Where did you come from? Why are you here? The questions burn at the front of my mind.
"Where did you go to college?" Spencer's back is to me so I can't see her face, but she pauses for a second which tells me my question caught her off guard. Good.
I already know Spencer's smart. I want to know how smart.
"Uh,..UNC,"
"North Carolina? Must have been a boring 4 years." I start putting together the second chair, making sure to pay attention to where I place the legs this time.
"6 Actually, I have my masters in psychology,"
So the answer is very smart. Spencer doesn't say it like she's bragging or even like she's proud of the accomplishment, it's the same enthusiasm someone would have when crossing something off a to-do list.
"Why not UCLA or USC? They're the dream schools aren't they." I was never interested in going to college but that's what I've heard from almost everyone.
"Not for me, UNC was my first choice."
"But it's on the other side of the country." I raise a brow.
Newly 18, just out of high school, leaving everything familiar to spend 6 years states away from home, I don't think I could do it. Spencer's got grit.
"It's a 36-hour drive or a 5-hour flight and I wanted to get as far away as I possibly could." I hear Spencer take a deep breath in and let it out immediately after like she's pushing away a memory.
I stop working on the chair and turn to Spencer. "What were you trying to get away from?"
"My mother." Spencer stops sifting through boxes and turns to face me. "Our relationship was never perfect but after I came out in high school things got…rough. I knew college was my out and I took it."
What is it about mothers, no one can get under your skin like they can. "Are things any better now?"
"Not really. We don't argue as much but she still doesn't fully accept me. She tried to set me up with my ex yesterday and even if I was into men he's…."
I can tell Spencer's looking for a nice way to say what she's thinking. "A serial cheater? A gambling addict? A sex fiend?" I joke.
Spencer laughs shaking her head that it's nothing that scandalous, "He's the doting boyfriend that grew into the predictably soft-spoken guy who never has a strong opinion and agrees with everything. He's going to be a faithful husband, he and his wife will have sex three times a week on a schedule and he'll probably coach his future kid's baseball league." She paints a vivid picture.
"Sounds like the beginning of a suburban horror story," I mean really, sex on a schedule? I shiver at the thought, which gets a chortling laugh from Spencer. "But seriously, you don't want someone who adores you? Who thinks you hung the moon and the stars and all that?" I ask once she's able to answer.
I watch Spencer closely as she thinks about it, probably picturing what her life would look like. "I don't want to be put on a pedestal, I want to be seen. I want to feel-"
"Safe." I finish Spencer's sentence, and she nods slowly, letting me know I'm right.
I haven't had anything more than casual sex and short flings in years. Most of the women I meet don't really want me, they want the Ashley Davies they've heard about, and imagine in their minds, they want a thrill. The others are obsessed with saving me from myself or trying to change me.
Maybe asking someone to accept me as I am is too much. I mean what would that say about them if they were willing to look past everything that I've done, the things I'll continue to do? I hear Kyla's voice from the other day, shouting that something inside of me is broken.
"Does Carmen make you feel safe?"
Spencer doesn't seem like the type to call Carmen just because Kyla's decided to ship the two of them. She had to see something in her.
Spencer shakes her head, dismissing the question, "I just met her."
"Sure but what does your gut say?" I shrug lightly, hoping she'll humor me with an answer.
Spencer chews on her lip, thinking, "It's early but I think we can be a safe space for each other, yes."
Like a moth to a flame, I guess this means the date went well.
"Be careful Spencer. No matter how beautiful a snake is, it's still a snake." I warn.
My gut has decided, but I have more questions about Spencer now than before. Why is a psych graduate from a prestigious school working as a bottle girl? Even if she had a change of heart about psychology there are a number of things she could do, Why work at FADE? How bad did things get at home that she felt like she had to run across the country? What the hell does she see in Carmen? Why do I find that head tilt she does so cute? The list could go on and I want answers to all of them but not right now. Spencer's not something I just want to get to the bottom of. I don't want to have to trick her into being around me, even if she does know I'm doing it.
Spencer takes a second to answer, "I'll keep that in mind."
