Chapter 3
MASS
Two Years Earlier
I hate coming into the city. The place writhes like a pit filled with worms. People are everywhere. Difficult, pain-in-my-ass people. If I had my way, I’d remain at the Fortress and send my orders out into the world. But sometimes business isn’t done that way.
Especially when I’ve made important promises to people I refuse to let down.
Lucy taps away on her phone, not speaking. She stares at the screen with her lips pursed. Sometimes I hate her. She’s the reason I’m here. She convinced me that this deal is a good one and I’d only be able to seal it in person. I’m aware that I’m blaming the messenger, but still.
“You’re doing it again,” she says without looking up.
“Doing what?”
“Brooding.”
“I don’t brood.” I turn and stare out the window. Midnight in New York City. A light rain mists the dirty streets.
“You’re right. I must be thinking of some other famously difficult Dragon.”
“You’re bold tonight.”
She sighs and lowers her phone. “I apologize, sir. It’s been a taxing week. Border disputes in Mexico. Suppliers fighting each other in Algiers. I had to personally dispose of a traitor in Afghanistan this morning. And our guest hasn’t improved at all.”
I flinch slightly at that last bit of news. I’ve been hearing it consistently for five years now, but it never fails to stab a thorn of regret deep into my stomach.
But I appreciate how frank she is. The only person in the world who can talk to me this way is Lucy.
She’s been my right hand for the last twenty years.
We’ve been through more violence and pain than any normal human should endure.
She helped me grow my empire from a small crew in the slums of northern Naples to a multinational conglomerate.
A hydra with many heads and even more talons.
I trust her implicitly.
But even she should know better than to cross certain lines.
“I keep you busy.”
“That’s my preference.” She looks back down at the phone. “This shouldn’t take long. Giulio Ferrante is old school, but he’s not stupid. We’ll supply him our vodka for his clubs and our heroin for his dealers. He’ll pay well. All you need to do is shake his hand.”
“Sometimes I wonder what the point of being a Dragon actually is.”
“Fear? Respect? Something along those lines.”
“We should have made him come to me.” I close my eyes for a moment. Under other circumstances, that’s exactly what I would have done.
But promises are promises.
“Getting out is good for you,” Lucy says.
“Easy for you to say.”
“When’s the last time you left the Fortress?”
I try to remember. “Two months ago.”
“You need to show yourself from time to time. Make sure everyone knows you’re still around and just as scary as you’ve always been.”
I lean back, a slight smile on my lips. “Is that what I am? Scary?”
“Terrifying.” She looks back, face completely flat. “We’re here.”
The car parks out front of a high-end nightclub.
There’s a line out front. Hopeful people wait in the light drizzle.
Girls in skimpy dresses and men in expensive suits.
Giulio runs a string of the most exclusive and expensive clubs scattered all over the world from LA to Tokyo and back again. This is his latest venture.
We’re immediately allowed inside. Lucy stays by my side.
Enzo, the head of my enforcers and primary security, remains around the perimeter with a team of former special forces killers.
All of them are obscenely well paid, though I’d bet half would work for me for free, mostly just for the excitement.
I stride into the club, struggling to maintain my composure in the chaos.
People are difficult. They’re complicated and messy.
Especially in a place like this. Men and women grind against each other, pouring alcohol down their throats, yelling over the music, laughing and shouting.
It’s disgusting and painful. I scan the crowd, searching for a familiar face, jaw tight as we’re led toward a set of stairs.
But I slow and nearly stop. Through the crowd, standing alone at the edge of the bar, is a girl.
She’s small. Pretty. Big brown eyes and thick dark hair.
Italian heritage, if I had to guess, but definitely American.
Her skin is paler than the women from the slums of Scampia.
Her features are delicate, but she holds herself upright, like she’s daring people to approach.
She’s not drinking and seems almost bored.
Her eyes meet mine and, for a second, she looks right back at me, bold as can be.
Most people shrink from my stare.
But not this girl.
It catches my attention, but only for a moment.
A young man cuts through the crowd and approaches her. They speak and clearly know each other. I watch them a moment longer, the promise I made years back complete once again, before I follow Lucy and Giulio’s men up to a private conference room.
The old club owner shakes my hand for a few seconds too long and talks far too loudly, but at least the room is soundproof and mostly empty.
Negotiations are easy. Lucy did most of the hard work up front. I have to listen to the old man tell stories for a half hour about his glory days, but mostly I get the feeling he’s trying to ingratiate himself to me.
“It’s not often a Dragon visits the city,” Giulio says once we’re finished and the details have been agreed on. “You do me a great honor.”
“I’m glad you appreciate it.”
His smile is insufferable, and I don’t start to feel better until we’re back through the club and out on the sidewalk.
“Painless. Told you it would be easy.” Lucy keeps tapping at her phone. I swear, at this point, it’s like a part of her nervous system.
“Maybe for you.”
Enzo falls in once we’re outside. He’s in his late thirties with dark hair streaked gray and an athletic frame. Ten years ago, he was the best sniper the Navy Seals had ever seen. Now he’s one of my closest allies. “Sir, perimeter is locked down. No problems found.”
“Good. Gather the team. We’re heading to the airport.”
Lucy sighs and looks up. “You should stay the night. Let the New York families come pay their respects.”
“They can pay their respects to you.”
“They already do. It isn’t the same.”
I glare at her. “Bad enough I put myself through that worthless meeting. Now you want me to shake hands and play politics?”
“Yes. I do.”
I turn to Enzo. “Make sure the plane’s ready when we arrive.”
He nods sharply and melts back into the night.
Lucy sighs but doesn’t argue. She knows better than to disagree with me when I’m in this kind of mood.
The truth is I know she’s right. I’ve gotten more and more reclusive over the years.
As my power has grown, I’ve been able to keep the world away.
Layers and layers of assistants, soldiers, caporegimes, and lawyers act as a buffer between me and the massive web of businesses I keep afloat.
When I was officially raised to the position of Dragon five years back, that new level of power and respect only made me fade into the background even more.
Lucy’s always saying I need to get out more. Sometimes she even offers to fly women to the Fortress for me. But I always make it clear.
I don’t pay for sex. And I’m not interested in people.
“Makes it hard to find a partner then,” she likes to grumble at me.
Only Lucy gets to talk like that.
We approach my town car limousine and I’m already thinking about home. But before we make it, a voice cuts through the night.
It’s a woman. She sounds frustrated, angry, and a little afraid. I turn to the corner and come to a sudden, fascinated halt.
The girl from the bar earlier is standing near my car. She’s facing the young man, but now she seems angry. Her jaw’s tight and her hands are fists. The young man comes closer, talking softly, but she yanks her arm away.
“—told you already, I don’t want to.”
“What’s wrong with you, Allie?” The young man seems exasperated and drunk. He weaves a little as he snatches at her again. “My place is like ten blocks from here.”
“I’m going home, Thomas. Would you just stop? My Uber’s coming to the corner over there—”
“You don’t need a fucking Uber. I thought you were into this?”
“We’re friends. Would you stop?”
Thomas reaches for her again. I tilt my head curiously as she slips to the side gracefully. The young man loses his balance and snarls as he swipes at her suddenly, his open hand catching her in the side of the face.
Her chin snaps sideways and she gasps.
“Should I clear them away?” Lucy murmurs, looking bored.
I hold up a hand. “Wait a second.”
The girl touches her face. Rage burns in her expression as she stares at the young man. He steps back, mouth hanging open, hands raised in apology. “Oh, fuck, Allie. Oh, fuck, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean—”
“I’m going home,” she says fiercely. “Don’t call me. Don’t try to stop me.”
“It was a fucking mistake,” Thomas says, hands falling. “Don’t be such a bitch. Come on, we were dancing. You were having fun.”
“You’re drunk. I’m not interested. Just leave me alone.” She tries to push through, but she’s small and delicate, while Thomas is built more like a linebacker. She has to dart around him instead, but she only makes it a few steps before he shoves her from behind.
She hits the ground hard, her knees scraping on the concrete. She cries out in pain and surprise as Thomas looms over her.
“Fucking bitch. You shouldn’t have teased me all night like that, you stuck-up slut.”
Enzo’s voice cuts in through my earpiece. “Sir, the plane is gassed and waiting for your arrival.”
I look at the young man looming over the girl. She’s beautiful and fascinating.
But just another person. And I don’t do people.
They’re messy and complicated.
I followed through with my promise already, and now it’s time to leave.
“Let’s get moving,” I tell Lucy and stride over to my car, already forgetting about the petty drama playing out a few feet away.