The Bad Things (Book 5)

Chapter 14. Watch Your Back

            The weeks that followed weren't much easier. Abigail learned a lot from my parents and me. It stunned my mother how quickly Abigail learned. Mom insisted that Abigail would turn out almost as dangerous as me, if not just as dangerous as me, because I trained her mostly.

There were times it got to be frustrating, but my parents kept me sane through it and insisted that she would get better, which she did. Mom and Dad said she should never stop practicing. However, by the end of the sixth week, Abigail was fully trained. She knew how to fight in just about every way that I could, but she still had to continue to practice with me to get better and stronger. In a sense, it was a learning experience for me just as much as it was for Abigail.

Angel taught me the things that I didn't know, but there wasn't much of that. Over the last few weeks, I had to work much harder than ever before. Angel wanted me to take the chair before his next birthday. He said he didn't want to have to go through the big birthday bash.

Apparently, it was a tradition that the person in the chair have a birthday party. Can't say I was happy to hear that. There were other parties too. When I took the chair, there would be a party for that as well. The Latin Kings were pretty much a monarchy, but an illegal one, and it didn't run a country. It just ran the Latin Kings.

Some of our business associates weren't happy about me taking over the chair. They preferred that Angel keep it. Angel said this was normal, and it would take time for them to grow accustom to me and how I do things.

Relationships would now be my choice and mine alone. What we dealt would be my choice as well. Mom, Dad, Carlos, and Angel worked hard to walk me through the past of the Latin King family—who ran it and what they dealt. Carlos took us out of drug-running—Mom and Angel never went back to the drugs.

Drugs caused a lot of wars for the Latin Kings. They said drugs were my choice, but I didn't want that kind of scene. Bombs and guns were enough. Not to mention, we sometimes smuggled immigrants into America and made them legal without the government knowing. We also created fake ID's, birth certificates, and social security cards, but that was Darren's job, not mine. Darren could hack into government computers and programs, so we would never be taken by surprise if we got a warrant or anything like that.

Austin and Carley's kids, who were a couple of years younger than me, would be working beneath me too.

Everything seemed to be going according to plan. Well, almost everything.

Angel walked into the study with me on his heels. "Look, I know the first encounter wasn't good, okay? You have to understand that they just aren't used to you. It'll take time for them to grow accustom to you, is all. Plenty of them like you. The French and the Russian are just grouchy fuckers—they don't like change."

"And what the hell do I do if one of them tries to take me out because they don't want me to take the chair. Even Mom and Dad know it's a possibility. Relationships end all the time when a new person takes over," I said.

Angel sat down in his chair with a nonchalant attitude. Everything seemed to bounce off Angel. He rarely lets things get to him or ruin his good humor. "And if they start shit with you, we will retaliate, and that'll be the end of the relationship. Honestly, Andrew, what you're worried about isn't what you should be worried about. What you should be worried about isn't what you're worried about."

"What should I be worried about?"

"Be worried about the future of the Latin Kings. You need to think about what you're doing differently or better for the Kings—that is what will make you a successful leader." Angel poured a cup of bourbon and handed it to me.