Play with Fire.

Our eyes locked the moment he walked into The Arms, a club he shouldn’t even be in. Despite the hundreds of sweaty bodies between us, our eyes remain the only thing each of us see. A smirk grows on his pouty lips as he moves through the sea of people towards me.

“What the fuck is he doing here?” A voice behind the bar says. I turn around and look at my brother, Marco. He’s holding a beer mug tightly in his hands. If he tightens his grip around it any more, the glass will break. “He knows his kind isn’t allowed around here.”

“Honestly I’m surprised he even came down to the docks anyway,” David, our cousin states before taking a sip of his beer. “Pretty boys like him tend to stray away from the unbeaten path.”

“He’s probably just looking for trouble.” Marco shakes his head. “He not stupid enough to come here without knowing it won’t end well.”

“He’s still stupid enough to come here and alone I might add.” David shrugs.

“You really think Franco “Baby Face” Gambino is alone?” I question my cousin. “He probably had several bodyguard outside waiting to shoot first and ask questions later. He’s here for business.”

“And how do you know that, baby sister?” Marco asks me, narrowing his eyes at me. “You didn’t call him did you?”

“Do you really think your sister would be that stupid?” Franco questions my brother before I can answer. “Your sister is very loyal to you barbaric men. She’s not the one that reached out. In fact, I asked for this meeting.”

“What could the Gambino family want with us?” Marco asks, putting down the glass he was cleaning in order to cross his arms across his chest. “Last time I heard we were just lowly drug dealers to you guys.”

“We need to squash this feud and fast,” Franco starts. “We have a common enemy that’s trying to take over both of our territories.

“The Triad.” All three men say at the same time.

“Why should we team up though?” David asks. “It’s not like we can exactly trust you guys. You did screw Stacey and Marco’s father over. He was nearly killed when you father mentioned that he wasn’t exactly straight.”

“I wish I can atone for my father’s sins against your father, Marco and Stacey,” Franco sighs. “But I can’t. Trust me, I wish it was that easy. My father is old school and is an asshole but that doesn’t mean I want to let my legacy fall because of some beef that happened over 20 years ago.”

“Franco and I have been talking and I agree; we need each other.” I sigh. “I don’t like it any more than you guys but we need the Gambino family and they need us. Apart, The Triad will eat us alive. But together, we’ll be unstoppable.”

“You’re playing with fire, Stacey.” My brother tells me. “Pop loves you both of them do. But what happens when they find out you want us to work with the enemy?”

“I’m looking out for the best interest in our family; our whole family.” I tell them. “What will happen when The Triad takes over our drug trade and kills everyone involved? Because that will happen. They don’t just take over territories; they kill everyone involved. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want that kind of blood on my hands. The Triad is scary and to take them down we’ll have to work with people we were brought up to hate. I’m sure Pop isn’t that stupid to allow these people take over.”

“We’ll be playing with fire baby sister.” Marco repeats himself. “You do know this right?”

“I don’t know about you, but I’ve always loved playing with fire.”