Taking Over the Dark (High Stakes Syndicate #2)

Chapter 3

THREE

MARCELLO

“Do we have a mirror of Zamir’s phone yet?” I’m nearly screaming into my car speaker at Noah on the other end. He’s back at his apartment, which happens to be one of the units in my building.

Ellie’s tracker went black about ten miles north of the Club, but Noah has endless programs checking traffic cameras and nearby businesses they could’ve passed. Whoever did this, planned it out perfectly. They had to have anticipated the traffic from the game giving them extra anonymity to grab them from the club, which means they’ve likely been watching us for a while to know our schedules so precisely. The anonymity the traffic gave them was not to our advantage. They were easily able to hide in the traffic and then took the extra step of wiping the footage from cameras they passed across the city.

Once I was done screaming at Zamir, I put Vin in charge of calling everyone we know in this city to have them keep their eyes peeled and to stay on high alert until we find them. With my reputation, nobody would be stupid enough to keep any vital information from me. They know if they keep anything from me that could help us find Ellie and Nash, I’ll be pulling out their organs as my stress relief. People are quick to turn on one another when they know I’m after them.

“I’ve got it, Boss. It looks like somebody else had just been in here and had it mirrored as well. This all could be from them…” I’m half-ass listening to Noah explain when I peek over at Vin to see what expression he’s wearing. There’s no way in hell Zamir didn’t have something to do with this. Everything is pointing at him. Trusting him may have been the biggest mistake I’ve made since taking over my empire. This is precisely what I get for trusting new people and bringing them into my circle.

? * “This could all be an elaborate setup to get us to the stadium. I don’t trust him or his fucking family,” I snip at Noah through the speaker.

This is why I’ve kept my heart so closed off. This obsession, the soul-deep pull to keep Ellie protected, is a double-edged sword. Allowing Ellie into my life so openly brought nothing but danger to her—I knew this. But I couldn’t hold off anymore once Zamir and Nash worked their way into her life. And I sure as hell wasn’t going to be pushed to the side to watch as she fell head-over-ass for these two. I’ve sat by and watched as her exes treated her like shit, which led me to scaring the shit out of them—causing them to run off like little bitches.

Pathetic .

Taking a breath in, I count while holding it in for a couple of seconds before I release it, trying my best to stay calm to get the answers we’ll need to find out where my Ragazza Dolce is. A couple more minutes and I’ll have my hands around Zamir’s goddamn throat. Vin looks over. “I would ask if you’re okay, but I know that answer is a no… we’ll find her, Cello. I promise.”

As I fly through red lights, dodging cars left and right, I send a silent thanks to whoever the hell is listening that the traffic from the game has dispersed. After answering Noah’s call back in my office and hearing him say shit was hitting the fan at Club Onyx, it took everything in me not to act on instinct and run into the night looking for them. That’s exactly what they want though. I have to keep my head on straight if I have any chance of finding out who has them.

“It’s not only her that I’m worried about, Vin… and that scares me even more.” I see the wheels spinning in his head. He’s trying to process what I just said.

It finally clicks, and he hums. “Ahh, got it, Boss. We’ll find both of them. Nash will protect her. Actually, I take that back. Ellie will be the one protecting. We’ve trained her, Cello. For this exact reason.”

He’s right, we have, but I never wanted it to come to this.

I watched the footage as two random men shoved needles into Ellie and Nash, drugging them with god knows what, and carrying them out of the club.

I’m the only one allowed to drug them.

They didn’t even bother to hide their faces either… making them dead men walking when we find out who the hell they are. Noah’s running facial recognition on them, but nothing has come of it yet.

Like they weren’t in my club, and that’s not both of my worlds in their arms. Every goddamn guard I had protecting the place had a snapped neck or their flesh hanging open, blood pouring out from a knife wound that ran ear to ear. Those were some of my best guards, too. So whoever these two are, they’re good.

“The Prifti’s hacker just sent us an email. It looks like the footage from the stadium… you need to watch this, Boss.” I don’t have the time to watch this footage. I want to hear it straight from the source.

Zamir Prifti.

“I’m pulling into the stadium now. I’ll get to the bottom of it. Keep looking for them, Noah,” I say through the car’s Bluetooth.

“Ten-four, Bossman. Vin watch his back. I don’t like this shit one bit.” I hit the end button with Noah’s parting words. Not really giving him the reassurance I’m sure he’s wanting.

We’re driving into the lower-level parking garage that most people don’t know exists, let alone have access to, and I ask Vin, “What do you think, Brother?”

“I need to talk to him or at least watch while you are. I don’t have a good feeling about this, but I don’t think it was necessarily Zamir that did it.” I let what Vin said sink in, but not for long.

Pushing in the clutch to shift into neutral, I pull the E-break before I turn the car off and begin patting my knife holsters to confirm they’re strapped into place. As I holster my gun in my underarm holster, I turn to make sure Vin is doing the same before we step out. “You strapped and ready to go? This could be the setup of a lifetime.”

* ? LET THE WORLD BURN (with G-Eazy & Ari Abdul) - Chris Grey, G-Eazy, Ari Abdul