Kanyan (Gatti Enforcers #1)

51. Saxon

51

SAXON

T he faint hum of the air conditioning is the only sound that fills the room as I step inside. Kanyan De Scarzi, head of the Moreno family, stands by the window, his broad frame outlined by the faint city lights of the skyline. He hasn’t moved in the fifteen minutes that I watched him on the cameras, making him wait just to piss him off. He called this meeting, and while at first I refused, I relented when I realized he wasn’t going to quietly go away.

My eyes never leave the man who recently became more of a liability to me than an ally, even though our values are closely aligned. There’s nothing I’d like more than to put a bullet in Kadri’s head, but for obvious reasons, that fantasy has to remain just that.

Today, my suit is tailored to perfection, a far cry from the vagrant’s clothes he’s seen me in previously. My beard is gone, and my hair is neatly trimmed to resemble a boy scout. Persona number two.

The door clicks behind me and I move toward the table and take a chair. He doesn’t immediately turn around, though the tension in the room is thick enough to cut with a knife. My fingers drum lightly on the table as if I’m weighing my options, knowing this confrontation was inevitable.

“You asked to meet,” I finally speak, my voice smooth but edged with something darker, a clear indication that I don’t have all the time in the world.

Kanyan’s gaze turns away from the window and flicks to me. He doesn’t seem in the least bit surprised at the change in me. I thought at the very least, he’d be impressed. “I’m here to draw the lines between you and me.”

I raise an eyebrow. “Lines? I wasn’t aware there was a you and me.” Cocky, I know, and he doesn’t seem to take too kindly to this.

Kanyan’s jaw tightens. “You knew Kadri was mine to deal with, and yet you made your move and deprived me of my justice. You’ve pissed off a lot of people with that move.”

I exhale slowly, leaning back in my chair. “Kadri was getting ready to leave the country. He was going to disappear. I wasn’t ready to let him go.”

Kanyan’s eyes narrow. “You think that justifies what you did?”

I don’t flinch, and I know my calmness infuriates him. “I don’t need to justify anything. You had your chance at him, and you fucking blew it. I had my chance and I took it. Any other way, and neither of us would have gotten what we wanted.”

Kanyan clenches his fists at his sides. I can feel the surge of rage burning through him, the urge to somehow let his anger out.

“You think he’s protected behind your iron walls?” Kanyan asks, his voice low and controlled. “You have no idea what you’ve unleashed.”

My eyes flash briefly with something akin to defiance; Kanyan De Scarzi is next to untouchable in this city. He may be cut from the same cloth as Kadri, but he’s the type of man that keep the scum like Kadri well and truly under control. Without the likes of family leaders like him and Scar Gatti, the city would be drowning in crime and corruption.

“He’s in prison. Under heavy security. No-one can get near him for Kadri to do any more damage.”

Kanyan doesn’t immediately respond. His fingers brush against the edge of the table, and for a moment, the tension feels unbearable. Finally, he speaks, his words measured. “You misunderstood me, Saxon. I’m not worried about what he can do. But you should be worried about what I’ll do to him.”

He just threatened a federal prisoner. Literally outright told me he’s planning something. His words coil in my stomach, low and deep as I consider the implications of what he’s saying. I can’t say I’m too invested in keeping Kadri alive, truth be told; scum like him always seem to find a way out of their legal woes, and I really don’t want to be dressed like a homeless hobo for another nine months. But the law needs to run its course.

“You leave Kadri alone from here on out,” Kanyan adds, his voice cutting through the silence, more of a command than a request. “You did your job. And well, I’m sure. Now, I’ll take the leftovers.”

I don’t respond immediately, watching as his fingers tap lightly against the table once more. I don’t want to admit it, but I know Kanyan has the power to make my life much harder if it comes to that.

“Agreed,” I say finally, my tone laced with reluctant acceptance.

Kanyan’s towering figure casts a long shadow over the room as he steps forward from the comfort of the window. He shoots me one last piercing look. “Don’t cross me again, Saxon. Or I’ll make sure you’re sitting in the prison cell beside your new best friend.”

My eyes flicker with a dangerous glint, but I say nothing. I know better than to challenge Kanyan now, not with the stakes as high as they are.

With that, he turns on his heel, his footsteps echoing as he leaves the room. I remain seated, my thoughts churning. I would consider this the beginning of an uneasy truce - fragile, temporary, and bound to be tested in ways neither of us can predict. But for now, the next move as always, would be Kanyan’s.