Chapter 14
SILAS
My men keep their mouths shut the closer I get. I can tell Valen is dying to say something, but is wiser to wait until we’re alone in the car, not in front of the others.
Valen gives them orders, and a few others walk out with the body and place him in the trunk. Mitch was cocky and let the power go to his head where my bullet squarely landed. No longer cocky now, I guess. Walking over to the car, Valen gets into the driver’s seat while I take the passenger seat.
“The men seem rattled about Mitch’s death, but considering he was acting like a fuckwit, they understand it,” Valen says.
Good, not that I care whether they fucking like it or not.
I don’t have time for jacked hotheads in my crew.
Especially ones who would dare raise a hand to a woman.
We’re monsters, but we’re not that cruel.
My entire crew knows that our strength is to defend the family—to defend my sister and niece at all costs—and they earn power, money, and reputation from it. A place to belong. If anyone so much as steps out of line, then they’re no use to me. I pluck out poison quickly.
The drive to the morgue is quiet, and that’s very unlike Valen. I can tell he’s holding it in. I grind my jaw as I finally say, “Just fucking say it, Valen.” His hands squeeze the steering wheel as he cracks his neck.
“You have taken an interest in the doctor,” he states.
“She now works for me.”
“Hmm,” he says in a knowing way. “You never take an interest in those we hire to do the dirty work.”
He’s annoyingly right.
“She’s just…” What exactly is she, apart from a woman who is not in the least bit afraid of me or thinks of me as less than? Probably wouldn’t even blink twice if I was carried onto her steel table. “She needs a different motivation.”
He seems to choose his words carefully. “Yes, she is very interesting, but has she assisted you in finding out more about Pietro?”
I charm a wicked smile. “Not directly. But it’s because of her actions that Elias dared show his face tonight. Here I thought the Neros were avoiding me,” I say, lacking in any playful tone.
For a whole week, we watched their movement and the lack of it in the town Mikhail provided. My stomach turns. From what little information we did find, since they seem so quick in dissolving it before their next venture, I suspect they are trafficking people.
It wouldn’t be beneath the Neros to do something so distasteful, and more than likely, that’s why they’re not conducting that particular business in Boston.
Although the crews stick to their own business, we all watch one another carefully.
I know for certain that Mikhail won’t appreciate such movements either.
As for the Hayes crew, well, Cian’s always a wild card.
He does prioritize profit, and if it doesn’t affect him directly, he’ll most likely stay out of it.
“Is Elias still alive after your discussion?” Valen asks with a shit-eating grin. He knows he is, or we would’ve been dealing with a second body tonight.
I look outside the window. “I told him to organize a meeting with his father. He said he knew nothing of Pietro’s murder or the whereabouts of his body. Instinct tells me he’s not lying. Something else is going on here, and I’m wondering if even he knows what’s happening among his family.”
“It’s not new that the siblings fight among one another to be the next boss in the Nero crew. Maybe it has something to do with that? Internal conflict,” Valen suggests.
“That might be the case, but regardless, they took something precious from us. A statement needs to be made.”
“So why didn’t you just kill Elias tonight?”
“That would’ve started an outright war, one I’m willing to deal with. However, I want to be cutting off the right heads of the operation that murdered my uncle.” I don’t care to admit liking anyone. “If anyone is to take over Apollo in the Nero crew, ideally, it would be Elias.”
“So we cut the other brothers loose?” Valen asks curiously.
My jaw tics; it’s taking too long to find my uncle’s murderer.
But considering I’ve given up on the idea of getting my uncle’s body back now, I have nothing but time for his vengeance.
I don’t intend to shoot up an entire crew until I’m certain who the perpetrator is.
Then it will be a loud message for all the other crews.
“No, I have a feeling the brothers will sort one another out. Elias can be reasoned with. Now that he’s aware of what I’m coming for, he’ll most likely figure it out sooner than anyone who’s involved.”
Besides, it’s another way to monitor my little raven. With Leonore’s friend working there, it gives me another entry point into her world—even when uninvited.
I might have convinced myself I’m using her as a lead, which to an extent I am, especially since the other crews seem so interested in her. I also may have advised myself to monitor her personally, since she works so closely with the other crews.
In truth, I’m curious to see more of this woman as she shows me her true self.
As she blooms into the Grim Reaper everyone’s nicknamed her to be.
I think they’ve only seen her with the dead bodies, and I wonder if any of them understand the threat that she is, because the way she held that gun tonight—she’s killed before.
Blood is on her hands, and she’s comfortable with death.
Like a moth to a flame, I’ve only fallen more curious.