Play With Fire [h.s]

Two

I try to catch my breath as I reach the top of the stairs, the stupid elevator not working. This is fucking New York, and they expect me to take the stairs?

Knocking on Lilith's door, I wait patiently for her to answer so I can share the good news. Lilith is my cousin, and just so happens to be the biggest distributor of cocaine in the city. They call her Prophet, and only few have seen her face. My father used to be Prophet, it's almost like it's been carried down through the family. He basically ran the city, importing so much snow but the people couldn't get enough. When my mother died and he committed suicide I was just a kid, but Lilith was older. She understood what happened and took care of me, but also grew into a leader, taking over the business and becoming Prophet in her own right.

She swings the door open, her black waves framing her beautiful face. Whenever we do business, there's a permanent scowl, but when it's just me she lets a small smile take over her features, her protective instincts kicking in. We might be cousins, but she's my sister. A dark leather jacket hangs on her small frame as she smiles brightly.

"Addy," She wraps her arms around me, her subtle perfume smelling like roses. "Any news for me?"

"Hey Lils," I hug her back tightly, glad to finally see her after a few hectic days in court. "I'm only here for a minute. Someone text me about a low-profile distributor who wants to buy in bulk."

I don't hide the anxious look on my face, and she waits in silence to hear why I'm not impressed with a new deal.

"There's too much money coming in, Lils," I say softly, "I can't keep laundering it through my office. I already make a fuck-load from clients, but with your money coming in every week on top of that..." I trail off.

"Shit," She huffs, backing through her corridor and flopping down onto the couch. She lays back a moment before she springs back up into a sitting position, rubbing her temples. Her black boots tap the floor over and over. "Think, think, think."

"I actually had a thought," I offer.

"That's what she's here for," Lilith grins, her straight row of startling white teeth gleaming. It's strange to see the difference between public and private - she even scares me a little when we're around other people. "That's my girl. Hit me with it."

"Okay, hear me out. I think we should buy a nightclub."

Lilith stares in silence at me, and I worry she hates the idea. It takes me a moment before I realise I didn't really explain a fucking thing and she's waiting for me to elaborate.

"Nightclubs are on a cash basis, right? It's reasonable to make an investment with the type of money I'm making, and when everyone is paying cash it's difficult to trace the cash flows." I explain, watching the cogs turn in her head and a smile run up her face.

"You are a genius," She claps.

We'd always worked like this. She was the face, the dangerous one, the one not to be fucked with on the criminal side. I went through law school as she rebuilt my father's business, making sure the legal side of everything was covered. Our dealers got arrested? Fine, I'll be down the station in five getting them out. Suspicious amounts of money? I know how to launder it. I'm the brains behind the scenes, and she's the force, terrifying everyone in her wake and making people shit themselves at the name Prophet. Our set up works. Every good business needs someone behind the scenes, picking up the crumbs that are left and ensuring they never see the light of day. That's me.

I bid my goodbyes to Lilith, leaving her with a few options of clubs to look at as I hop in an Uber and speed read documents on my laptop. I'd been called this morning by a guy I used to work with asking me for a favour. He's a defence lawyer I used to know who happens to be sick on the day of his client's trial. Pussy.