Chapter 22 Mass
MASS
Lucy sprawls on the chair across from me. She’s not typing on her phone, which is a very bad sign. “Should I come out with it?” she asks.
“You know I prefer bad news straight.”
“That’s half your life these days.”
“My job is to deal with problems.”
Lucy smiles weakly. “Medved hit a safe house in Brussels, a warehouse in Bordeaux, and three of your brothels in Lisbon.”
I stiffen and push back against the frustration burning in my stomach. “Casualties?”
“Extensive. Honestly, the one whorehouse—” She whistles, shaking her head. “Outright slaughter. That was before our security forces could show up.”
“The girls are all dead?”
“Dead is putting it mildly. Want the details? I can send you the report. Medved’s people were extremely thorough.”
My jaw tightens and I shake my head. “He’s taunting me.”
“How’s that?”
“He knows I got married. He’s killing the girls as a message.”
Lucy’s eyebrows arch. “Sounds like a stretch.”
“I know him. I know how he works.”
“Or maybe you’re a little too wrapped up in your new wife to think clearly.” I stare at her for a long moment. Lucy sighs. “Okay, fine. Regardless of the message, he’s escalating. Turkey was just the start.”
She’s right. It bothers me deeply. Medved’s been pushing at the fringes of my operation, but hitting positions directly in the heart of Europe is disturbing.
He’s always been strong in Asia. Medved’s deeply embedded in China and most of Russia. My people in Europe have been safe from him for a long time, at least until now. That means his reach is getting longer and he’s beginning to flex his muscles.
“How does he even know about these places?” I say softly, glaring at the wall, trying to think. My head feels like sludge. All I’ve done since coming back to the Fortress is put out fires. I’ve barely spent any time with Allie and Rosie.
I crave my wife’s touch. I want to hold my baby daughter, at least for a few minutes.
Instead, I’m here in my office, trying to keep the sky from falling.
It’s tumbling down anyway.
“That’s what I’ve been asking myself.” Lucy taps at her phone, chewing on her lip. “The brothels, those aren’t hard to find out about. But the warehouse was tightly guarded, and the safe house was a straight-up secret.”
She stares at me and I stare right back. I’ve known her for a long time now, and she doesn’t have to say it out loud. I sigh, leaning back. “You think we have a leak.”
“There are only so many ways Medved could’ve possibly found that safe house location. I’m having trouble coming up with anything remotely plausible.”
“No. That’s not possible.”
“I know you believe your organization is ironclad—”
“They care about me.” I meet her gaze and hold it, daring her to deny what I’m saying. She only looks back. “Each and every person in the Fortress owes me their lives. I’ve saved families, fixed problems, given them everything. That’s why they’re here.”
“Sometimes it isn’t enough. New problems come up. You know that.”
“It isn’t like that here.” I don’t know why I’m being so adamant about this. I know Lucy’s most likely correct.
But this is how I rose to power. I surround myself with people who owe me something.
Not like debt or money, but something deeper.
I treat them like my own family, and they do the same for me in return.
I’m not warm and fuzzy, but I pull strings for the people in my orbit.
I go out of my way to ensure they’re taken care of.
I give them everything I possibly can, and all I expect in return is their loyalty.
It works. Because I believe in it. This isn’t some bullshit act.
I care about these people. On a fundamental level, they matter to me.
The thought of one of them betraying me hurts more than I want to admit.
“We’ve been lucky for a long time,” Lucy says quietly.
She’s more subdued and thoughtful now. I think the idea of a traitor bothers her as much as it bothers me, but she’s better at hiding it.
“I always knew this could happen. We treat the people here well, but there’s always more.
There are always pressure points to push against, and Medved’s good at finding them.
All it takes is one little seam, and he can split this place wide open. ”
I blow out a long breath. “The dead boy from the other day. Do you think he was involved?”
“I have a strong hunch that he was.”
I hesitate, frowning. Lucy’s avoiding my stare now. “What did you do?”
“I didn’t want you to know. I thought I had it handled.”
“Lucy. Tell me.”
“He was caught sending messages from an encrypted phone. We don’t know who he was texting or what he was saying, but he knew the rules. No communications from the Fortress. That’s why people work three months out of the year.”
“You had him killed? For messaging an outside number?”
“He also met with Allie hours before we caught him.”
That stuns me. I lean back and stare at her, feeling like someone kicked me in the chest. “I don’t believe that.”
“It’s true. Lady’s listening systems were disabled by some convenient glitch in the short period they were talking. We don’t know what they said, but based on Allie’s movements that day, they were definitely in the same room.”
“Coincidence.”
“You know that’s unlikely.”
I stare at my hands. I feel sick at the thought of my wife betraying me. And yet… “We don’t know anything for sure.”
“That’s true. All I can say is that young man messaged people outside of the safe zone against explicit orders and met with your wife briefly during a freak surveillance failure.”
I shove my chair back and stand. My head’s a swirling mess, and I need to start moving before these emotions threaten to overwhelm me. “Compile a report. Figure out who that young man was talking to. I’ll handle the Medved fallout later.”
“I’ll see what I can do.” I move to walk past her, but Lucy stops me. She touches my arm lightly. “You don’t know Allie’s doing anything wrong.”
I don’t look down. “Do you believe she’s innocent?”
Lucy doesn’t answer. For all her faults, my second-in-command won’t ever lie to me.
Not even to make me feel better.
The door to the west wing opens after I punch in the code. The gyros hidden in the wall pull the massive metal barrier down like something from a sci-fi movie. Warm air rushes out, and I smile to myself.
“You’re like a lizard, I swear.” I step into the room.
The smells are all so familiar. Antiseptic, cologne, and last night’s dinner.
There’s a thick carpet on the floor. The walls are hung with old photographs and decorated with wood paneling.
The main space is dominated by a couch, an old laminate table, an ancient television, and a massive hospital-style bed surrounded by beeping equipment.
The man in the bed glances at me. He’s got thick glasses, his gray hair fuzzy and unkempt, a deep frown on his pale and scarred face. His hands shake as he lowers a book. “And you’re like a bad dream I can’t seem to shake.”
“More like the answer to all your prayers.”
Elias Thorne laughs softly. His voice is a rasp, like wind through the trees, and his once-massive frame is a withered husk of his former perfect health. He puts the book down as I walk over and lower myself into an old folding chair.
The entire room is a perfect recreation of his boyhood New Jersey home, right down to the seating arrangement. It wasn’t easy making this room look exactly how he remembered, but he’s much happier in here ever since we made it happen.
“You haven’t been down here in a few days. Busy out there in the real world?”
“I wouldn’t call the Fortress the real world, but we’ve had some issues.”
“Medved.” Elias’s face twitches at the name. He touches his chest, right on top of an old puckered scar, one of dozens riddling his weakened body. The machines around him beep as his heart rate increases. “Still bothering you, isn’t he?”
“Don’t worry about him.”
“He’s kicking at my operations still too. Even after all this time.”
“None of that matters, Elias. You only have to rest up.”
He waves a hand ruefully. “I know, I know. I’ll be healed and ready to leave soon, don’t you worry. I bet you can’t wait to get rid of me.”
“Can’t wait to watch you walk out of here.” I smile at him and pretend like that’s true, but we both know he’s never leaving this room.
We make small talk. He tells me some news he heard. Despite his health, Elias remains sharp as ever and he’s still managing to hold his empire together from a distance, even though he hasn’t been seen in public in years.
“By the way, I heard a rumor recently. Apparently, there’s a woman living in the Fortress? And a baby?”
I grunt and lean back. “You don’t ever leave this bed. How the hell do you know about her?”
Elias’s eyebrows raise. He coughs into his elbow and grins at me. “I was a Dragon when you were still sucking at your baby bottles. I have my ways.”
“Your nurse talks too much.”
“But she’s got a fine ass. Don’t fire her.”
I grunt and cross my arms. “I married her, you know.”
“My nurse?”
“The woman. And the child’s mine.”
He nods slowly. His eyes unfocus for a moment and his face twists in momentary agony. But the spasm quickly passes. “Congratulations then, Dragon Cardone. I never thought I’d see the day.”
“Thank you, Dragon Thorne.”
“How’d she rope you into that one?”
“I got her pregnant and decided to do the right thing.”
“More like you couldn’t imagine letting another man touch your property.”
“Something like that,” I admit, glancing away. His television’s playing an old black-and-white film. “Or at least that’s how it started.”
“Things changed?”
“I feel for the girl.”
That surprises Elias. He leans back and tips his glasses forward. “Don’t tell me you’re falling in love.”
“I wish I wasn’t, but I can’t help myself.
You’d understand if you saw her.” Allie’s smile, her perfect lips, the sound of her laugh, the smell of her.
I hate it all and need it so badly it hurts.
There’s not a soul in this world who I could ever admit any of this to, including Lucy, but Elias is different.
We understand each other in a way nobody else ever could.
“That’s a big deal, Mass. Love’s not a small thing. How’d this happen?”
“Slowly. Without my knowledge.”
“Now you can’t stop thinking about her?”
“It’s disgusting.”
“I’ve been there.”
My eyebrows shoot up. “Really? The blackheart Dragon was in love?”
“Dozens of times!” He laughs until he doubles over in pain. Another spasm takes him. Today’s a decent day, all things considered. I’ve been here during some of his terrible episodes, and those are hard to watch. There’s a reason he can’t get out of bed and won’t survive long out in the real world.
Despite the way this room looks, it’s essentially an isolation ward. Very few people are allowed inside, mostly to make sure that Elias doesn’t get some kind of virus or bug that’ll drain the last dregs of his remaining physical strength.
He tells me about his younger days. About all the women he loved, or at least women he thought he loved, and all the times he let them down. “That’s the curse of a Dragon,” he says softly. “In the end, the job comes first.”
“I’m afraid that’s not the case with Allie. That’s the worst part. I’d burn down my entire empire if it meant keeping her safe.”
“Then you really are hopeless.” Elias smiles and his eyelids flutter. Even having a conversation drains him faster than normal people. “Don’t let that stop you though. If I learned anything in this life, it’s that love comes around rarely and shouldn’t be ignored.”
“Really? That’s your takeaway from years of being a Dragon?”
“I learned other things. Like power is the best drug imaginable. Killing is easy, mercy is hard. I could write a damn book.”
“You should. I’d read it.”
“I’m taking all these secrets to the grave, my young friend.” Elias looks at me thoughtfully. “Send her to see me sometime. I’d love to speak to the girl that stole Massimo Cardone’s heart.”
“I’ll do that.” I stand and pat my old friend’s shoulder. “Some other time. You should get some rest.”
“There’s always more work to do. Even here, I’m still a Dragon.”
I leave him alone. Guilt gnaws at me as the door closes behind me. It was good to talk to him, and it felt like dropping a weight from my shoulders to finally admit out loud how I feel about Allie, but I should have told him the full truth.
Except that might complicate my life more than it already is.
Elias Thorne, the Hidden Dragon. My greatest secret, biggest ally, and closest friend.
I’m afraid it will ruin the foundation of our relationship if he ever finds out who my wife is.