I rolled over and stretched my arms above my head. I kicked the blanket off and got out of bed.

I sighed and walked into the kitchen. I pressed the button on the coffee pot and then threw 2 pieces of bread into the toaster.

I sat at the table and checked my phone. Nothing new, thankfully. I sighed and tossed it down. I don't wanna deal with people today. I'm not in the mood. 

There was a knock at the front door. I groaned and got up to unlock it. Ash stood there. "Hey Ricky!"

I just stared at her. "How are you this hyper this early in the morning?"

"Early? It's 3."

"It is?" I looked at the clock on the wall. "Huh."

I let her inside. She walked into the kitchen and sat down. 

"I gotta talk to you."

I poured myself a cup of coffee and grabbed my toast. "About?"

"Some of the girls have been talking. There's someone new trying to set up somewhere across town and they wanna go work with him."

I shrugged. "Let them. You know I never really wanted this position."

"Yes, but if you want to continue living in this fancy apartment, and having all the nice clothes, and real food, you have to keep those girls on your side. You need to go out there and show them who's boss."

"That's what I have you for."

"No. I'm just your eyes and ears. The ones that were around when you worked the streets know you, they won't leave, but the new ones don't even know who you are. They just know your name, and they don't fear you." She told me. "That was the one thing Devin did right. The people who worked under him knew that they couldn't leave. If they did, there would be consequences. That's how he kept his business alive."

"I'm not Devin. I don't care if people fear me."

"If people don't fear you, Ricky, then you will lose this position as quickly as you gained it."

I sighed. I guess I could go take care of this new guy. I may not like being the fucking king of the whores, but I do like the money. I take 50% of their earnings, which is a lot nicer than Devin, who took all of it, so the girls do like me for that. I need to keep their income though. "Fine. Get me a 20 on this new guy. I'll take care of that problem. Then I want you to gather all of the newer girls. I want to talk to them."

"From what I heard, he's operating outta some bar on Providence."

"There's only one bar on that street. I know it." I said. "I'll deal with that. Just get the girls." 

I walked into my room and got dressed. Nothing crazy, just a tight black tank top with a high collar and black skinny jeans. I fixed my hair in the mirror. I grabbed my gun and tucked it into the back of my pants, strapping my knife to my belt. I pulled my jacket on, making sure it covered all of my weapons. It was a simple black trench coat with gray fur around the collar.I pulled my boots on and walked back out to the kitchen. 

I grabbed my phone and keys put them in my pocket. I left my apartment and headed down stairs. I went into the parking garage and walked over to my car. I got in and started it. I sighed and pulled out. 

I drove down the road, getting stuck in the normal traffic. I knew which bar it was. It was a small dive bar. It wasn't super nice or anything. 

I grabbed the pack of cigarettes from my cup holder and took one out. I found my lighter and lit it. I rolled down the window and blew the smoke out. 

I don't really know what I'm gonna say, but I guess I figure it out. I rarely go out anymore. I don't really feel the need to. Now that I'm off the streets, I don't really wanna be anywhere but my apartment. And since I never really wanted to be the king, I don't interact with anyone who works for me. 

I took another turn and parked on the street in front of the bar. I got out of the car and put out my cigarette. 

I walked into the bar and looked around. There was only one person at the counter, and I immediately knew it was him that I was looking for. You could just tell. He looked like a douchebag. 

I walked over and sat next to him. "I heard you're looking for girls."

He gave me a weird look. "So maybe I am. What's it to you?"

I knew the bartender here. I used to deal with him a lot. He was cool. I handed him a hundred dollar bill without saying a word and he nodded, walking into the back room. 

I pulled my gun out, not letting him see it yet. "I have a few girls that are looking for some more work."

"Who the hell are you?" He asked. 

I pointed the gun at him. "Someone you don't wanna fuck with."

He stared at the gun. "What the fuck, man?"

"I own these streets. Anyone who works the streets in this city, works for me. If you don't step the fuck down and find somewhere else to pull your shit, I'll kill you."

"Hey, I'm just looking to make some money. I didn't know. Really." 

"If I see you, or hear anything about you again, you're a dead man. Get the fuck outta here."

He got up and quickly left the bar. 

The bartender came back out. "We good?"

I nodded. 

He poured me a drink. I thanked him and threw it back. 

"Sorry bout that."

He shook his head. "All good. Been a while, man."

"Yeah. Yeah it has."

"Heard you moved up in ranks a few years ago."

"I did. I run the streets now."

"That's good for you though. You make good money."

I stood up. I placed a twenty down. "I do. I gonna run though. I'll catch you later."

"See ya, man."

I walked out of the bar and got back in the car. I checked my phone. Ash had texted and said that she got the girls gathered at my apartment. I really didn't want them all at my apartment but whatever. 

~~~~~~~~

I walked in the door, seeing about 12 girls and 2 guys standing around. I heard a few of them whispering. They didn't notice me come in. 

"Who even is he?"

"I don't know. I've just heard rumors. Allegedly he killed the guy who came before him and took his business. I heard that he didn't even want the job. The guy just abused him or something so he killed him for it."

"That doesn't sound right though."

"I'm not positive that it is. It's just a rumor."

"It's not a rumor." I said. "That's the truth."

They all turned to look at me. They just stared. Some of them looked really young. 18-19, maybe. 

"My name is Ricky. Most of you don't know who I am. You've heard rumors, and whatnot. Very few of you have ever seen me." I spoke, standing in front of all of them. "I prefer to keep to myself and stay out of things because it's true, I never really wanted this job. None of you knew the man who ran this whole thing before me. His name was Devin. And yes, I killed him. Because once, years ago, I was in the same position as all of you. I sold myself to whoever was willing to pay me for more than 10 years. I was out of the game for a while though, and when I came back, this man wouldn't leave me alone. He'd taken control of the streets and wanted me to work under him. So he attacked me. He held me captive and assualted me repeatedly. So I killed him, not realizing what I would have to take on from doing that."

They all were just staring at me still. It was kinda unerving. 

"The reason I decided to finally show myself to you today is because I need you to trust me. I heard that a few of you were thinking about breaking away and going to work for some new guy. Well, I took care of that. He isn't going to be working around here. And none of you will be leaving. I'm not an asshole. You keep most of your money. All I do is set up some of the stuff. I'm not going to control what you do, but I need you all, as much as you need me." I explained. "I know that many of you do not have homes or places to sleep. I have 4 unused bedrooms in this apartment. Some of you can stay here, or you can rotate, whatever works for you. Figure it out amongst yourselves. I'm currently working on getting a house that will have enough space for all of you, and then some."

Ash smiled at me. 

"Now, I know none of your names. Just go around and tell me your name so I can make this a little easier."

I looked to the first girl. She was short and skinny with red hair. "Chloe."

"Arya." Said the 2nd one, a young girl with black hair. 

"Sapphire." This one was pale with blonde hair and electric blue eyes.

"Tanya."

"Elizabeth."

"Eric." He was actually pretty attractive. He had silver hair and green eyes. He was muscular and covered in tattoos.

"Athena."

"Crystal."

"I'm Tara and that's Alyssa. We're twins." They were identical. I'm gonna have a hard time remembering which is which. Tara has purple hair. Alyssa has pink hair.

"Ash." Said the other guy. He was pretty basic looking. Black hair, blue eyes, a few piercings. 

That's gonna be confusing though. Now I have two Ash's and a set of identical twins.

"Ruby."

"My name is also Krystal but with a K."

And now I have Crystal and Krystal with a K. They're all so creative with their names. I guarantee you most of these names are not their real names. 

"And I'm Abbadon." The last one said softly. "Yes, that's my real name. My parents were in a cult or something."

I nodded. "Alright. If you need me and can't reach me or find me, talk to Ashley. She can get ahold of me."

The one named Abbadon spoke up. "Um, can we stay for a little bit? It's snowing."

I looked out the window and nodded.

This was going to be an interesting night.

~~~~~~~

comment what you think is going to happen or smth

~xxLux