The Rogue of Fifth Avenue by Joanna Shupe

Author:Joanna Shupe
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2019-05-27T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twelve

There was a man in New York City, a powerful and dangerous man, one who frightened even the most hardened criminals. This man oversaw much of the city’s underworld from a throne in the Lower East Side, not far from where the Porters lived. Many knew his name, thanks to legendary tales of his cunning and brutality retold as folklore. Parents invoked the name to keep small children from acting out, a bogeyman that would come and steal the bad ones away.

Jack Mulligan.

Frank had met him. Jack had once asked for Frank’s help in representing his brother on a smuggling charge. The younger Mulligan had been caught unloading over one million dollars’ worth of stolen French silk and lace at the docks. Every lawyer Mulligan had consulted said the brother should plead guilty and serve his time, which Jack refused to allow. Frank took the case—even though losing meant putting himself in danger.

But nothing risked meant nothing gained in Frank’s opinion. He’d been young and eager to prove himself. To make his mark. Taking an unbeatable case and beating it . . . the opportunity had been too great to resist.

In the end, he’d convinced the jury the brother was a somnambulist and therefore couldn’t be held accountable for his actions while asleep, all corroborated by a physician. The brother had been acquitted. Perhaps that was the moment where Frank had sold his soul for wealth and glory, yet he’d never regretted it. His reputation as the solver of unsolvable problems had been solidified. Plus, a grateful Mulligan had promised Frank a favor in return.

Now he meant to call in that favor.

“Are you certain about this?” Otto asked. The investigator had insisted on tagging along when he’d learned of the errand. “If you need something, I can help—”

“I wouldn’t ask you to do this.” Frank dodged the line clustered around an oyster cart. “Not when you hope to gain a spot on the force someday.”

“You really think Byrnes is having your house watched?”

“I know he is.”

“I take it he noticed a guest of the female variety, one he recognized.”

Frank kept quiet and continued on. Hard to say if Byrnes knew for certain Mamie had visited Frank’s home . . . but he couldn’t take the chance. Duncan Greene would tear Frank’s balls off if he learned of what happened on that billiards table—after he turned all of New York against Frank.

God, but when he closed his eyes he could picture her, head thrown back and mouth open in absolute bliss. Body trembling and her moisture flooding his tongue. As long as he lived, he’d never forget how beautiful, how bold she’d been.

He must forget, however. She belonged to someone else. Even if the marriage agreement hadn’t yet been signed it soon would be.

They turned onto Great Jones Street where the New Belfast Athletic Club, Mulligan’s headquarters, came into view. It was a large building, unassuming, with a boxing club and saloon in the front and a dance hall in the back.

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