The deadliest sin series.., p.43
The Deadliest Sin Series Complete Collection, page 43
I chuckle and spread out my hands. “It’s a good thing I have friends like you.”
He grins at me and shakes his head. “We don't have an issue with you as long as you steer clear of us and our men…which you didn't.” He lowers his voice and leans forward slightly. “You retaliated by taking out Oleg and Padraig without any evidence we were involved in the shooting—which we weren’t.”
I shrug and shift slightly to ensure I’m close enough that no one else will hear. They won’t be getting an apology from me for what I did. “So, what, you're here to kill me? To retaliate for my actions?” I motion around the restaurant. “It wouldn't be wise to do it in such a public place.”
They both lean back and examine the restaurant as Arvin brings a bottle of wine. He pops it open, pours three glasses, and backs away like his ass is on fire.
Galen watches him, and once he’s gone, he returns his focus to me. “As much as we would love to do to you what you did to our men, we’re here about something else.”
Oh, well, this just got interesting.
“I'm shocked. Wasn't it only a few months ago you had your big meeting to try to figure out a way to get rid of me?”
They glance at each other and shrug.
Valerian inclines his head toward me. “Things change.”
I raise an eyebrow. “What's changed so much recently?”
The huge Russian takes a sip of his wine and stares at the glass for a moment. “Have you heard anything about what Rose is up to?”
“Rose?” I reach for my wine and take a slow sip.
His question definitely piques my interest. I hadn't expected them to bring up our other friend. I had assumed this conversation was about me.
I shrug nonchalantly. “I hear he has his hands in a few things. Why?”
Valerian sips his wine and twirls the glass in his hand, watching the red liquid swirl. “I understand he may be looking into a new investment opportunity.”
Shit. Kat…
I keep my expression neutral even though I sense where they're going with this. “Really? What's that?”
Galen offers a hard smile that doesn’t reach his green eyes. “Girls.”
I raise an eyebrow. “Girls? I'm not sure I understand what you mean.”
He rests his elbows on the table, leaning toward me slightly. “There's a new player in the market. A woman named Katherine. And it seems she's looking for a partner—Rose.”
How the fuck did they find out about that?
Concern tightens my gut, the wine churning there like acid. I force myself to take another sip anyway and watch the two men across from me. Kat has been careful, or so I thought. So if they know about her and her meeting with Rose, then there’s a lot more talking going on somewhere that I’m not aware of. Either that or they’ve managed to follow Rose better than I have. “I don't understand what any of this has to do with me?”
Valerian leans forward and glances around to ensure no prying ears. “One thing you've always stayed out of our way with is our girls. This Katherine hasn't been too problematic because she only had one location and was running a very particular business model that didn’t conflict with ours.”
“Okay.” I nod slowly, waiting for him to continue. “But…”
“But if Rose gets involved with her and begins backing an expansion, then we may see it eat into our business.”
Ah, that’s why they’re here.
They're concerned their cheap street hookers and cat houses will be affected once she gets a large-scale operation up and running. I’m not so sure they have anything to worry about. Their clientele and Kat’s aren’t anywhere near the same league, but maybe some of her clients had been slumming it before she popped up.
“I'm not sure how I can be of any help in this situation, boys. It's not really my area of expertise.”
Erjon may have been trafficking girls during his brief stint at the head of this organization before I took over, but it was never anything Saban or Aleksander were ever interested in or were historically involved with. And everyone knows I’ve made my agreement with Cutter and his crew to stop trafficking.
Valerian grins at me and glances around the restaurant again. “It's no secret Rose has it out for you. Hell…we all do. But if Rose were to disappear…it would certainly help the bottom line of all three of us.”
I tilt my glass toward him. “What about our Italian friend? Her partnership with Rose could make your plan troublesome.”
Galen grabs the wine in front of him and takes a sip, then twists his lips and sets the glass down. “This is shit.” He motions for Arvin. “Bring me a Jameson.” As Arvin scurries away, Galen returns his focus to me. “I have a feeling Valentina doesn't like Rose operating out of her area any more than we want him involved in ours. If he were to disappear…and if you were to assist with that…we might be willing to overlook some of the other things that have occurred recently.”
I fight the grin pulling at my lips. It seems everyone in Chicago wants Rose gone, but no one has the balls to do it except me. The plan was already to take care of him for Valentina, so if I can let these assholes believe I'm doing it for them…all the better.
“I'll tell you what…if an opportunity were to arise for Rose to disappear, I would certainly be willing to take it in exchange for some goodwill and a mutual agreement of sorts regarding any business he may leave behind.”
Both men nod slowly and glance at each other.
Valerian inclines his head toward me. “I don't think that would be a problem.”
I offer them a grin. “Thank you for stopping by, gentlemen. This has certainly been an interesting afternoon.”
They both push to their feet, and Arvin returns with Galen’s whiskey. He grabs the glass and downs it in one gulp, then steps away from the table.
“Oh, boys.”
They stop and turn back to me.
I pull my now-cold plate of food back in front of me. “Next time, just call. I don't like having my lunch interrupted.”
Both men scowl at me before they make their way out of the restaurant.
The enemy of my enemy is my friend.
That’s how the saying goes. Though I’ve never experienced it for myself. But now, things just got a whole lot easier while they also got a whole lot more complicated.
Taking out Rose will please everyone, but now, the brothels are on the radar of the other families, too. It means I can't go back there…ever. I can't risk anyone seeing me with her again, either.
Things can never be simple in this business.
Still, I wouldn't trade it for the world.
It just means we're going to have to be more careful, and once Rose is gone, perhaps strike some sort of deal with the Russians and Irish. We’re far from friends, but after today's conversation, I have a feeling they might be amenable to some sort of an agreement that the door might not have been open to only hours ago. One that could hold them off until I can take them out one by one.
I take a bite of my cold food then push it away. Someone might normally get a bullet in their head for interrupting my lunch, but today, I can’t even manage to get angry about it. Not with the opportunity that was just dropped in my lap.
Arvin rushes toward the table, a ball of nervous energy. The poor guy knew what I might bring into his restaurant with me when he began to allow me to come here and use the back room, but I doubt even he expected Galen and Valerian to waltz in and sit with me.
I motion toward my ruined lunch. “Bring me another plate. This one is cold now.”
He nods, grabs the old plate, and moves off toward the kitchen. Genti and Altin approach and take the seats vacated by Galen and Valerian.
Genti peeks over his shoulder before focusing on me. “Everything okay, boss?”
I grin at him and take a drink of my wine. The sour feeling in my stomach has dissipated, replaced by warm contentment. “Things are definitely looking up.”
If I can just get rid of that fucker Rose.
Kat makes her way through the door of my condo and lets it slam behind her. A flush touches her pale cheeks, and she storms across the room and tosses her purse down onto the coffee table.
I set my drink onto the table beside me and watch the tension vibrate through her body. “What's wrong?”
She makes her way straight over to the bar and pours herself a shot of vodka, which she tips back in one gulp before plopping down on the chair across from me. “I had a visitor today.”
I raise an eyebrow and lean forward slightly to close the laptop in front of me where I’ve been viewing the videos from Kat’s Cradle. “That's interesting…so did I.”
Her eyebrows wing up, her brow furrowed. “Who came to see you? Rose?”
I shake my head and take a sip of my bourbon. “Galen and Valerian, while I was having lunch at Sofra.”
The blue of her eyes darkens. “What? What did they want?”
I shrug and recline against the back of the couch. “What everyone wants—Rose gone.”
“Shit.”
“I'm guessing he was your visitor today.”
She chews on her bottom lip and nods slowly. “Yeah. Showed up unannounced at the house.”
“You had to expect it would happen eventually. You couldn't ignore his calls forever and put off meeting with him.”
She nods and then pushes up from her seat to pace behind the chair.
“What did he say?”
It's not like her to look so nervous, which has my good mood from earlier dissipating as fast as my buzz from my drink.
Kat freezes, and her eyes lock with mine. “He wants to move forward right away. With our partnership.”
“Personal or professional?” The green monster of jealousy floods my system again, tightening my skin and heating it until it feels like it can barely contain my body
She contemplates her answer.
The delay in her response tells me everything I need to know. I jerk to my feet and stalk over to her, stopping directly in front of her. “Did that fucker touch you?”
Her pause before answering makes my heart climb up my throat.
“What did he do?”
She sucks in a deep breath. “He made it very clear that he wants more than a professional relationship.”
I grit my teeth and growl. “What did you say?”
She runs a hand over her slightly disheveled hair and shrugs, trying to make it look like whatever happened wasn’t a big deal when she’s already made it clear it was.
Oh, no. You are not blowing off this question!
I grab her shoulders and give her a shake. “Tell me what the fuck happened, so I'm not imagining you bent over your desk with Rose behind you.”
She scowls at me, those perfect lips twisting down. “He said he would set up a joint account for us. He made it sound like it was for the business as well as…personal.”
“He was trying to pay for you? Or he wants you to be his kept woman? I don't understand.”
“I don’t entirely, either. I told him what I've been telling you. That I work the girls, but that's the extent of my involvement in the business. All I know is he definitely does not want a professional-only relationship.”
I tighten my grip on her shoulders. “That isn’t going to fucking happen. You need to tell him no.”
She chews her bottom lip again and averts her gaze.
The way she talks about Rose and after what I saw when they met, the idea that he’s propositioning her is enough to make me drive around town tonight until I find Rose and can shoot him myself.
“I don't know, Michael. I’m not sure of what will happen if I try to put off this business agreement any longer.”
“Then do what you have to on that front.”
She whips her head around to meet my gaze again. “You want me to sleep with him?”
I step into her until her breasts press against my chest. “If Rose fucking touches you, I will tear him apart piece by piece, limb from limb.”
“But I'm not sure how to keep him from doing that once were partners. He seems like the kind of man who always gets what he wants.” The true uncertainty in her voice makes her words waver. “You need to get rid of him…and fast.”
“No shit.” I release her, taking a step back. “That's what the Irish and the Russians want, too.”
“So, everyone's on the same page now? They've flipped their target to Rose instead of you.”
I nod and shove my hands back through my hair. “It seems that way.”
“But no one has fessed up to the shooting or the bombing yet.”
“No,” I shake my head, “they haven't. Which means it could've been any of them or none of them.”
“So, what do we do now?”
That’s the ultimate question. One I feel like I’ve been asking myself endlessly since the day I stepped into place as the head of the organization.
I step away from her and pour myself another shot. The warm burn hits my throat and slides down to my stomach, a welcome break from the fiery anger. “We keep Rose on the hook as long as possible. Get him to set up the bank account. If we can take him out and get access to a bunch of money, that's only a win for us.”
“And in the meantime?”
I whirl back around to face her. “You stay the fuck away and never be alone in a room with him.”
“That might be easier said than done, Michael.”
“I don't give a fuck.” My roared words echo around the high ceilings of the condo, but she doesn’t even flinch. “That man is never touching you. Not while I’m alive and have anything to say about it. I'm going to post one of my newer men at the house, so if Rose shows up again, we can try to follow him. But it has to be someone who hasn't been with me long, someone Rose won't recognize.”
She nods. “Okay.”
I slam my fist into the wall, the pain radiating through it and up my arm, barely a blip on my radar. “It's all we have right now. Arden hasn't been able to find anything useful.”
At least on the Rose front.
Kat approaches me, and I turn and stare down into her blue eyes. Arden’s words echo in my head.
It looks an awful lot like her…
Her eyes are a different color.
I capture her face between my palms and tilt her chin up toward me. “I've been meaning to ask you. Do you have a sister?”
Her eyebrows fly up. “What? Where did that come from?”
“Humor me.”
“No. I'm an only child.”
Which is exactly what Arden said when he was giving me her background.
“Cousins? Other close family?” She doesn’t answer, and I brush my thumb across her lips. “Our involvement will make them targets, too. I need to know who I need to protect, especially if I take out Rose and his crew retaliates.”
“Oh.” She swallows thickly, a hint of trepidation in her eyes as she avoids my gaze. “I have a cousin, but she doesn't live anywhere near here, so it won't be an issue.”
She's lying.
And she's hiding something from me.
It's time for Arden to do more digging and find out what it is.
My vision begins to blur, and I squeeze my eyes shut and rub them to try to clear the ache and fuzziness. After days and days of sitting here and watching the videos from Kat’s Cradle while I wait for the club to be back up and running, I’m starting to even see people fucking with my eyes closed. It's like a constant stream of pornography, only the men don't seem to know what they're doing.
I snort and open my eyes to watch as the governor fucks one of Kat’s girls doggy style, with absolutely no rhythm. It's no wonder these guys go to Kat’s for sex. Their wives probably want nothing to do with them if this is how they think they're getting them off at home.
Maybe Kat should be giving sex lessons to these guys instead of just letting them rut like animals…
I rise up from the couch and stretch, rolling my neck from side to side and trying to release the tension in my shoulders. This would be so much easier to do if I were at the office, but the repairs and rebuilding won't happen overnight and everything needs to be done properly.
So that leaves me here, on the couch, watching and keeping a log of everything I see. It’s important. But I sometimes need to remind myself of that.
I make my way to the kitchen and grab a sheqerpare from the box on the counter. My mouth practically waters, and vivid memories of eating the pastry with Grandfather in the mornings growing up slams into my head.
The man may have been a monster, but he loved his sweets. And as long as I was in his good graces on any given day, he would allow me one.
Shaking off the things I’d rather forget, I toss it into my mouth and enjoy the sweet and buttery flavors before I swallow. I haven’t been eating nearly enough since I dove into the video files. My focus has been narrowed on my goal, not taking care of myself. But after being shot and almost burned alive, I doubt eating shitty food and drinking is going to be what finally brings me down.
And at least all this effort is paying off. Hours spent watching the videos have given me exactly what I had hoped to find. More blackmail material than anyone ever imagined. Exactly what it will take to start maneuvering the pieces around in the final game in the bid for control of Chicago.
The other families may have thought they could get rid of me, but they’re finding it isn’t so easy to kill a Syla.
I head to the bar and pour myself a drink before lowering my sore body onto the couch again. I glance at the time in the corner of my computer screen and sigh.
This would be a lot easier if Kat were here to assist. But she's been tied up, working on the new house and keeping things running at the old one. Including ensuring our friends from the various organizations are well-taken care of with free-flowing booze and tight pussy designed to open their lips. A steady stream of videos like this, plus men who can’t keep their mouths shut, will ensure this partnership gets me exactly what I want.
The phone buzzes on the coffee table next to my computer, and I freeze at the number that comes up.
Shit. Rose.
The man has been relentless in trying to nail down their new partnership. And I only have myself to blame for putting those two into each other's orbit, but the thought of them spending more time together and Kat’s suggestion the other night that he might know what's happening between us has my stomach twisting into a knot.
