Frozen Savage (Cinder Crew: Mafia Fairytale Retellings)

10. Ten Gia

Ten: Gia

I slammed the receiver down, the echo of the call still screeching in my ears. Gustav was dead, his blood a message written in the darkest ink. My fists clenched, nails biting into my palms as a feral growl ripped from my throat. Fucking fuck. Kai fucked me like it was the last time and then left me, unconscious in that room and turned around to do this? He truly was a goddamn psychopath. He killed literally the only person who was financing Arizona.

"Prick!" The word was a bullet, shot into the expensive silence of my office. I swept my arm across the desk, sending crystal decanters and polished awards crashing to the floor. They shattered, their destruction a mirror to the chaos in my head.

A week – that's all it took. Seven days since Kai had me pressed up against the wall, and now this. Millions stacked in the safe, peace deals brokered with the vermin of rival gangs, paving the way for an empire of white powder through my warehouse. And then this goddamn knife in the back. I…

"Boss..." Damien stood at the door, flinching as I picked up the marble paperweight and hurled it at the wall. It left a dent, a scar on the pristine surface. Good.

"Out!" My voice was a whip, cracking the air between us. “Actually, wait.”

I circled the room. Each step was a promise of retribution, each breath fueling the inferno within. Gustav had been my last string to this world. He’d come groveling to me when news of Priscilla’s death spread and now he was dead. Who the fuck knew where his money goes now?

"Find him."

I paused by the window, the city sprawling before me, traffic moving as if it had no idea what the hell was going on inside this house. My reflection stared back, a ghostly image of power wrapped in silk and ice.

"You stupid motherfucker," I whispered. "You've just signed your death warrant."

I refused to be outplayed, not by him, not by anyone. He thought he could rattle me with his sex games, his mind fucks. But he was nothing more than a rabid dog, chasing the thrill of the hunt. I thought that maybe he cared about me, in some way, but no. He couldn’t, could he? I became who I am because my life demanded it of me. But he was born this way. Maybe I’d been deluded. After that night, I’d hoped that maybe we could live out some fucking fairytale. We’d live twistedly ever after.

But no.

He wanted to play fucking games. And play fucking games.

And play fucking games.

The rage simmered, a constant companion as it always had been. It wasn't enough to find Kai. No, I wanted him broken, begging, destroyed. And I would relish every fucking second of it.

"Get ready, darling," I murmured to no one but the dark. "It's going to be a hell of a ride."

I grabbed a phone off my desk. My fingers dancing across the keys as I sent messages to every informant, every snitch that fed off my hand or John’s at some point. John had almost every in his pocket at one point. That’s gotta count for something.

"Kai Christian is a dead man walking," I dictated into the phone, watching as the words appeared. "Bring me his whereabouts and you'll never crave anything again."

The underworld buzzed with whispers, the air thick with greed and opportunity. My new allies were excited, eager for a chance to prove themselves. I may have told them that I had spots available on my team if they proved worthy and everyone was looking for a slice of the pie. The pie that was very quickly dwindling if we didn’t kill this pain in the ass.

I stalked through the dingy corridors beneath my club, heels clicking like the ticking of a time bomb. The musk of fear clung to the air, thick as the bloodstains on the concrete. Men hung from chains, their bodies bruised canvases for my rage. I'd find Kai, even if I had to carve the truth out of every last one of these bastards. My metal nail tips waited for me on a table, gleaming in the light as I slowly pulled them over my fingers, one at a time. Damien had done well sharpening them to little points.

"Talk," I snapped, looming over a rival thug whose eyes bulged with terror. My hand wrapped around his throat, squeezing just enough to see him squirm. "Where's Kai?"

"Fuck you," he spat, blood and defiance painting his lips crimson. “Thought we were allies now.”

"I don’t give a fuck about alliances. I want to kill the man who destroyed my life." My smile was ice as I tightened my grip, nails cutting into his flesh. He choked, gasping, clawing at my arm. His panic was delicious, but not as satisfying as the secrets he'd spill.

"Please," he wheezed, legs kicking futilely in the air.

"Please won't save you," I replied coldly, releasing him only to slam my fist into his gut. Air whooshed from his lungs. I leaned close, whispered against his ear. "But telling me where Kai is might."

He coughed, sputtering, words tumbling out in a desperate torrent. Useless information, none leading to Kai. I left him dangling, a wasted husk of false leads.

"Damien!" The shout echoed off the walls. No reply. That man had better be scouring the earth for Kai, or he'd find himself next in line for questioning. Grabbing my gun from off the table, I shot the fat fuck in the face with a heavy sigh. Maybe I should just let all this go. It was proving to be more effort than what it would be worth.

Frustration boiled inside me, a raging inferno that threatened to consume everything. I needed more than these small-time crooks could give me. It was time to play with the big fish. Fishing my phone from my pants, I dialed numbers ingrained into my memory. Mafia leaders, powerful men used to bending others to their will, little squirrely rat bastards.

"Peter," I began when the line connected. "It's been too long."

"Indeed, Gia," he rumbled, a hint of amusement in his tone. "To what do I owe the displeasure?"

"Kai Christian," I said, cutting straight to the chase. "He's become a problem. One that needs solving."

"Ah," he mused. "And you need my help."

"An alliance," I corrected firmly. "Resources, protection... whatever it takes. You help me find Kai, and I'll make sure you're compensated handsomely."

Silence stretched between us, heavy with consideration. I tapped an impatient rhythm on my desk, each second chipping away at my control.

"Mmmm…. no can do. You fucked my boys last time and I don’t do business with bitches like you. Your time is coming to an end and its bad mojo.”

"Excuse you?”

The line clicked dead. The little fuck! How dare he! Oh, Kai must have done something to turn everyone against me like this. That little asshole.

I slammed my fist into the concrete wall, the skin splitting over my knuckles. Blood dripped down my fingers, a vivid crimson against the gray. Didn't even flinch. Pain was a trifle, a goddamn afterthought when every thought, every fucking heartbeat screamed for Kai.

"Damien," I barked without turning around, his footsteps loud against the cement.

"Boss?"

"Get rid of this trash. Useless fucker knew nothing," I growled. My clubs, my deals, they could all burn for all I cared. Kai had lit a fire inside me, one that wouldn't be quenched until I had him under my heel, begging for mercy I wasn't sure I had left in me. I’d make damn sure he burned, even if it meant I burned with him.

"Consider it done," Damien murmured, stepping forward to deal with the mess.

I turned away, the image of Kai's face burning behind my eyelids. The need to find him gnawing at me, eating me from the inside out. Every lead turned to shit, every alliance a false promise. But I wouldn't stop, couldn't stop. I'd turn this city upside down if I had to.

"Anything else?" Damien's voice cut through my reverie.

"Spread the word. Double the bounty. Someone must know something." My tone left no room for argument. "And get me the latest reports on our operations. The warehouse should have our goods by now."

"Understood." Damien's footsteps faded away, leaving me alone with the chaos churning in my mind.

Cracks in the foundation of my empire, spreading faster than I could contain. Clubs once brimming with cash and sin now bled money. Silence. No high rollers. No patrons. I stared at the numbers, the red bleeding into black, my fingertips leaving crescent indentations on the mahogany desk. Two more weeks passed. Silence. The only movement was a single drug shipment that secured a quarter million used to fund payment for security.

"Fuck," I spat out, the taste sour on my tongue. The Cinder Crew, my crew, squabbling like rats over the scraps I'd left unattended. Loyalties wavered, whispers of betrayal slithering through the ranks. They questioned my absence, second-guessed my commands. A kingdom fraying at the edges while I hunted one single man.

Days merged into nights, nights back into days. Time, that treacherous bitch, pushed forward, indifferent to my spiral. I prowled through my territory, eyes sharp for signs of Kai's chaos. But the motherfucker was a ghost, elusive as smoke. Each empty lead, another crack in my resolve, another piece of my world slipping from my grasp.

"Shit's hit the fan, Gia," Damien reported, his face tight with the stress lines of too many battles fought in quick succession. He flinched as I slammed my fist onto the desk, the solid thud echoing off the walls.

"Handle it," I growled.

"Gia… there’s almost nothing left to handle. Everyone… everyone is gone.”

I leaned back in my chair, stifling the urge to scream. Kai Christian had become my obsession, my singular fixation. The hunt consumed me, every resource poured into finding him, every ounce of my attention tunneled into our deadly game.

"Slippery bastard," I muttered, turning my attention back to the reports. Looking up at Damien, I smiled, “You can go.”

None of it mattered anymore. The game was lost, but I damn well would make sure that if my Queen was coming down, his King would too.

Looking for him wouldn’t work. But I knew what would.

Sliding open the drawers in my office, I eased out a large bottle of vodka, putting a glass on the top and pouring myself a double.

Come fuck me. Motherfucker.