Read Online Gods of Chicago: Omnibus Edition by AJ Sikes - Free Book Online Page A

Farnsworth winked out of sight and the city draped back into place. Brand staggered another step back and fell against the cab. He searched the area, glancing in every direction, landing his eyes on the steps leading into the gala. Madame Tibor and her husband had vanished.
    The cabbie’s voice shook Brand from his vigil.
    “You getting in, buddy? I can get another fare—”
    “Yeah,” Brand cut him off and slid into the rear seat. He gave the cabbie the address to his rooms and closed the door. Outside, the snow stopped falling and the wind died down. The car sluggishly pulled away from the curb. Brand thought about what he’d seen on the steps and what he’d seen on Valentine’s morning. Something bigger than The Outfit and the Mayor combined had come to Chicago City. Maybe it had been here all along, and this was Brand’s first glimpse of it. Maybe he was finally cracking up, the shell shock catching up to him like it had so many other men. He couldn’t shake the images from his mind. The tramp in the empty lot outside the Brauerschift building. Old Man Farnsworth dressed in rags. The twinkling landscape behind a curtain of. . .of what? The city itself? Brand closed his eyes on the night and its mysteries and settled back, letting the cabbie carry him off to whatever was coming next.

Chapter 7
    Emma pulled her car up outside the plant offices. She turned to her passenger and kissed him. He returned the kiss with hesitation, finally pulling away to look Emma in the eye.
    “Lovebird, you took some kind of risk putting me in this car with you tonight. Front seat, too. What’s got you so crazy you’re breaking all the rules now?”
    “It’s nothing, Eddie. Just dad again. He’s drunk and probably needs me to clean up after him, like always. I’ll just be a minute in there. Lay low, okay? I’ll be back and then we can get out of here and back to your place.”
    Eddie’s dark skin reflected the light from a lamp hanging over the office entrance. Emma saw the worry in his eyes.
    “Don’t, Eddie Boy. Don’t worry.”
    “I’ll be all right. You just be quick in there like you say. Coppers don’t come around here at night, but just the same. Be easier to smile when I don’t have to worry about a hangman’s noose coming up behind me.”
    Emma got out and held her coat tight as she walked to the entrance. It was after two in the morning but sure enough, the light was still on in her father’s office. Kicking snow off her shoes as she went, Emma wondered if this was the time to spill everything. She thought she’d made up her mind after talking with Brand, but standing in the snow outside the plant, her gut twisted and her tongue felt like it would do the same.
    Eddie and his band were there at the gala, just like she’d asked. If the Mayor hadn’t known before, he was suspicious for sure now. And that investor who pulled her onto the floor after she spoke with Brand. The man caught on when Emma couldn’t stop looking at Eddie as they danced. After the dance, the young man snarled something about dark meat and the smell of smoke before he disappeared into the crowd, leaving Emma standing alone in front of the bandstand.
    She shook off the memory and the fear it inspired as she unlocked the office door and stepped inside. Even with all the foyer lights off, Emma knew something wasn’t right.
    The secretary’s desk was a mess, like she’d closed up shop and left in a rush. A waste bin dripped with water, lying on its side in front of her father’s office.
    Emma could hear Eddie’s voice in her mind, warning her to watch her step. She had different ideas about what it meant to be careful though. She stepped over the waste bin and pushed the door open. Her shriek came fast like a razor through the curtain of the night.
    Eddie was there in a flash, but to Emma it seemed like everything happened in slow motion. She stepped into the middle of the room, tears falling in sheets from her eyes. Her father’s