Brutal King (The Seven Deadly Sinacores #7)

Chapter 5

5

GIDEON

“You’re leaving, Father?”

“Only for a few days.”

“Please don’t leave me again. You promised to stay this time.”

My father sighed as he dropped down onto a knee in front of me. “I’m building an empire, son. One that will belong to you one day. I cannot stop until it’s done.”

He pulled out the pennies he was so fond of, and flicked one through the air. He caught it between his fingers and handed it to me. “The Ferryman will expect his payment when he returns. Do not lose it.”

“Take me with you. Don’t leave me.”

Sighing, he placed his hands on my shoulders. “I can’t. But know that everything I do, is for you. You understand?”

I nodded and he left. When he returned several days later, he extended his hand, palm up. “Do you still have it?”

“Why do they call you the Ferryman?” I held onto the penny, waiting for his response. When he hesitated, I added, “I read about it. He takes souls across the river in Hades.”

“Ah.” He nodded. “Well, I help transport important things across the river.”

“Do you transport souls?”

His gaze narrowed as he seemed to think on how to answer that. “Sometimes.”

“And they pay you in coins?”

“They must.”

“What about me? I’m your son. Does that mean one day I’ll be the Ferryman?”

“Not if I can help it,” he said sadly. “It’s a curse, you see. One I must break before you grow up.”

“And if you don’t?”

“I will teach you everything you need to know so that you can ensure my work is done. Now, do you have my coin?”

M y father’s eyes stare at me from his portrait above the fireplace in my study. Steely and ruthless. It’s the same hard look he had whenever he returned from business, as if whatever he’d done out there clung to him until he stepped through the front door.

It wasn’t until I returned the penny to his palm that the furrow between his brows would ease and something that was completely unreadable to me would cross over his expression.

I replay that now, still wondering what thought had entered his mind as he peered into me. Though I ponder it often, I’ve never solved the mystery.

Reaching into my pocket, I pluck out a coin. The coppery surface has been dulled by the years of handling.

The Ferryman will expect his payment when he returns.

His last words echo through my mind so clearly it’s as if I heard them only yesterday, yet years have passed and the coin remains in my hand because of six men.

Francesco Gianni, Giuseppe Tadesco, Bryan McKenzie, Sean Murphy, Clive Maxton and Sergio Ramos.

They envied my Father’s knack for business and his fast-growing influence in their underworld. They took his life for fear that he might amass enough power to dethrone them, and they unwittingly created something worse.

Father had power and a wide-ranged ambition. He wanted everything for us.

I have power and a single, sharply-focused purpose. Revenge.

Francesco Gianni and Sean Murphy were spared by the hand of fate, taken before I was able to strike.

But one by one, the others are beginning to fall, taken out by my lethal blade, starting with Giuseppe Tadesco, Don of Chicago and the man that sounded the alarm against my father. Bryan McKenzie of Boston followed soon after.

Only two remain.

Lifting my gaze from my hand to my father once again, I nod. I’m the Ferryman now. It is my curse to end the men that came together to bring Stephen Black down. End them and their legacy.

I will not rest until I’ve sent them all to Hell and made them pay.

An hour later, I get an alert that Scarlet, my lethal blade, has entered the premises. Several minutes pass before she appears at the doorway to my study. Without bothering to knock, she saunters in and plops down in the chair across from me. “Where the hell is all the staff? I didn’t grab dinner thinking Derek would be here.”

“Everyone but security is on a limited schedule.”

“The fuck does that mean?”

“It means, no one comes to the house unless I ask them too. That includes you.” I give her a pointed look.

“I’m not staff.”

“You also don’t live here anymore,” I remind her. “Why didn’t you just send me the files electronically?”

“Pfft.” She digs through a leather bag pack and pulls out a folder. Tossing it on the desk, she says, “This is how it was handed to me. No one wants—” She lets out a burst of laughter when she glances up at me. “Holy shit. What happened to you?” She points to my lip and I frown. “Did you fall down the stairs or get mauled by a wild animal?”

I automatically touch the spot that still stings from Sofia’s bite and smile. “It’s a love nip. A kiss that got a bit out of hand.”

“A nip?” Scarlet throws her head back and really laughs this time. “I hope that kiss was worth it. You might need stitches.”

“It was worth it,” I assure her.

“Hmm.” Her green gaze narrows on me. “Who was it? That Hannah Daigle girl doesn’t seem like a biter. Too uptight.”

“It’s none of your business. Now, give me what I need and you can be on your way.”

Her brow arched, she asks, “Are you trying to get rid of me?”

“Always.”

She sighs. “Don’t say that unless you mean it. One day, I’ll be gone and you’ll be sorry.”

“I’m sure you’re right. For now, I need privacy in my own house.” I open the folder and begin to flip through the report.

“I thought this was my home too.”

I peer at her over the documents. “You moved out, remember? In fact, you made a big deal about gaining your independence.”

“What? No.” She waves a hand dismissing the notion. “I was just proud.”

“You forbade me from going to that first shitty apartment you bought without calling first. Now, it’s time to return the favor. Next time, call.”

“I did. I said I was on the way.”

“You said the report—” I stop short as a line in the document catches my eye. “Clive Maxton is in the Bella Vista Assisted Living facility. That’s right outside of Philadelphia.” There’s a photo of the old man in a garden, two nurses flanking him as he takes a walk.

“Security’s tight,” Scarlet says. “His son isn’t taking chances.”

“I would expect as much from Arran.” I tap a finger against my chin as I scan the map of the large complex.

“What if he’s joined that alliance with the Sinacores.” She looks at me seriously. “If he has, it will make things more difficult.”

“It will complicate things,” I agree. “He’s becoming a nuisance.”

Fucking Luca Sinacore and the continued meddling of his family. He’s worse than Tony ever was. Having to deal with him had been one more thing added to my already long list of enemies to deal with.

Tony was the head of New York, but hadn’t been on my radar for two reasons. First, the Sinacores had nothing to do with the death of my father. Second, his rule over his territory was fairly harmless. He never veered, always stayed in his lane. Safe.

Unfortunately for Tony, and for me, he was murdered. It was a copycat killing meant to point the finger at me. Tony was found in a hotel suite, gutted. Two pennies over his eyes. My calling card used by an unworthy snake.

Luca has now made it his mission to interfere in my business, which forces me to interfere in his.

Although infiltrating his sources has been almost impossible, it’s been easy enough to figure out who has joined him in his mission against me.

Gregorio Di Persia was one of the informants that ratted out my father to Giuseppe Tadesco. His daughter, Carina, married Luca. When I got my hands on her and used her as a trade for Victor, I was able to get a good idea of who was in with Luca.

My suspicions were confirmed after Scarlet killed Francesco Gianni’s heir, Joaquin, and Noah Esposito boldly took over New Jersey. When I attempted to take him out and end that family line, he was protected by not only Luca and his right-hand, Gunner Sinclair, but by Sean Murphy’s brother, Gavin Alexander, as well.

While I didn’t see Arran Maxton there, it wouldn’t be surprising if he joined them in order to protect his father.

“Do you have any contacts at Bella Vista?” I ask Scarlet.

“Vicky is doing background checks on all the staff. Once she finds something useful, we’ll have a contact.”

Vicky is our data and tech guru. I didn’t find her, she found me. Offered up her services in exchange for mine. I took care of the rich playboy that raped her and walked free. She takes care of us now. I still pay her, of course. Killing a piece of shit like him was my pleasure, after all.

“I want this done fast,” I tell Scarlet. “If Arran gets even the slightest idea that we’ve discovered his father’s location, he’ll move Clive so deep underground, we may never find him.”

“Yes, sir.” She stands and collects her things. “It’s late. Can I crash here tonight?”

I give her an irritated glare. “Why did you come if it was late?”

“I told you. Food.”

“You can stay in the guesthouse.”

“The guesthouse?” She wrinkles her nose. “Why would I stay there when my room is—” There’s the sound of a door shutting upstairs. Scarlet turns her head, her ears acting like radar. Her hand drops to her side and hovers over the knife she keeps there. “I thought you said the staff was gone.”

Letting out a frustrated breath, I pinch the bridge of my nose. “They are. That’s someone else.”

“Who? The biter?”

“Yes.”

Her eyes widen and a wicked smile paints across her red lips. “You never invite girls over. Who is she?”

“No one.”

“She’s clearly someone if you have her here.”

“Just go,” I insist. “Call me when you have a contact.”

But she doesn’t go. She walks to the doorway and stares up toward the stairs. “Who would be here?”

Though I know she’s asking herself as she tries to figure it out, I respond, “No one. Go home.”

With a resigned sigh, she rolls her eyes. “Fine. I’ll go. Or will I?” Her expression shifts from sad to absolute mischief. “Maybe I’ll just hide behind the walls like I used to and find out your secrets.”

“If I find you lurking, I’ll kill you.”

“Empty threats!” She laughs. “I’m going to lurk and there’s nothing you can do about it. You don’t know all the passageways like I do. So just tell me.”

I scowl, but my annoyance doesn’t faze her. She’s right. I’d never kill her even though she gives me plenty reasons to. She’s also right when she says that no one knows this house better than she does. I didn’t have to hide for days at a time. I didn’t have to stick to the shadows or hidden halls. If she really wanted to disappear in this house, she could.

Deciding it’s futile to keep it from her, I relent. “It’s Sofia Sinacore.”

She lets out a cackle, but it dies instantly when she sees the seriousness in my eyes. “Tell me you’re lying.”

“Go hide in the walls and find out for yourself,” I say dismissively, hoping she’ll leave.

“Oh my God.” She blinks at me several times. “Luca Sinacore’s sister?”

“Yes.” I continue riffling through the papers she handed me.

“No.” She shakes her head. “What? How? Why?”

“We need leverage. Something to hold over Luca’s head if he insists on being a thorn in my side. I saw an opportunity and took it.”

Her exaggerated gasp has me glancing at her once more. “Did you kidnap her?”

“Since I actually wanted her to come, yes. I doubt she would have accepted an outright invitation.”

Scarlet is still shaking her head, as if she’s attempting to wrap her mind around it. Then, she points at my face. “Is she the one that bit you? You kissed her?”

“She made a deal with me. The kiss was what she bargained with. She lost.”

“What did you put on the table?”

“Her freedom. I told her that if she reached the door, I would let her go.”

“Would you have?” Her brows furrow as she studies me carefully.

I abruptly stand and go to the wet bar to serve myself a drink. Just like the house, no one knows me better than Scarlet does, and I can’t stand the scrutiny.

“Gideon,” she says after a few minutes of silence. “You already had leverage. You didn’t need the girl for that.”

“Maybe I want to have a bit of insurance when it comes to the men threatening my plans.” I throw back a shot of whiskey, then turn to her and grin. “Or maybe, I just wanted her.”