Chapter 1
Excerpt: Dominant Nature
CHAPTER ONE
The NCS Headquarters below the Restaurant Wholesale Depot, Marginal Way S, Industrial District, Seattle, Washington...
“I SWEAR IT WASN’T ME. I WOULD NEVER betray your trust; least of all steal from you! On the life of my wife and children.”
Torin Caruso, aka The Slayer, known only as Mr. S, the Crime Lord of the National Crime Syndicate, Kings Inc., watched the cowering man with disinterest.
“Since you insist.” His gravelly voice floated through the air with solid confidence. If the vibrations of voices were stories of emotion and honesty, Torin would fail at both. Emotion in his opinion was a waste of time, and honesty—like that fucking existed in the world he lived in.
Proof in point was the wiry older man watching him with growing terror in his eyes.
As one of the most feared crime lords in the United States, honesty was the one aspect he expected from everyone who swore allegiance to him.
Except for keeping his true identity from those in the crime world, and of course vice versa to those who were part of the normal life he lived otherwise, Torin was honest to the point of being insulting.
Lying to him came with a hefty price tag. Betraying his trust—well, that increased the debt exponentially—sometimes to a lethal level. William Kent was about to learn that the hard way.
Torin’s eyes remained locked on the trembling man, his eyes glowing like the darkness of Hades.
“Fetch his wife and children.” He got up and walked toward the elevator, ignoring the fearful protest of the man who struggled violently against the ropes keeping him tied to the chair.
He cast a sideways look at Razor, the Enforcer, who was almost as feared as he was.
“Call me when they’re here.” He smirked as William Kent’s wails turned shrill.
“Please! I beg you, leave them be.”
“Shut his fucking mouth. He’s giving me a headache,” he said as the elevator doors silently slid closed behind him and immediately shot upward, carrying him the two stories to ground level.
His entry upstairs as the CEO owner of The Restaurant Wholesale Warehouse was quiet.
Since the elevator was hidden behind a bookshelf in his luxurious office, his coming and going underground to the operation hub of The Kings Inc.
headquarters went unnoticed. Besides, no one would get past his PA, Lee Powell, who barricaded his privacy like a vicious guard dog.
He’d spent millions of dollars creating a myriad of tunnels from the entrance under the West Seattle bridge at the Duwamish Waterway.
It had been done with the sole purpose of keeping the actual location of the underground hub a secret .
.. not only from his enemies but also from his own followers and those who manned the operations room on a daily basis.
Every time someone entered through the hidden hatch, accessible only by using an eye scanner that appeared to be a black pebble in the concrete bridge pillar, a preset electronic system lit up a different passage and locked the others with sliding walls.
From there it wove in so many directions, no one could keep track of the direction they were going in.
The same applied when they left, and never via the same passage as when they arrived.
To this day, no one knew about the shell company above that was one of the many he ran as a reputable businessman in the community.
He removed the black cap and large pilot shades that he always wore as Mr. S.
It covered his silver hair and half of his face which aided to make him unrecognizable.
He removed the long black coat that was part of the crime lord persona and replaced it with a blazer before he opened the hidden bookshelf and walked into his office.
To date, none of his trusted captains or soldiers knew his true identity.
There were only two people, aside from his brother, who knew who he was to the outside world.
One was his cousin, Matteo Caruso, who was the family representative on The Commission, as well as his advisor at the NCS.
Since Matteo was a well-known sports star, he had to keep his identity secret to the crime world as well.
The two cousins had become known for the disguises they wore.
No one challenged them about it. They were too shit scared.
The second was Razor, who had been his and Matteo’s friend since Torin arrived in the U.S. thirty-five years ago and moved in next door to his family. He was the only man he completely trusted with his life.
He flicked the switch next to the door, which turned the small light above it on the outside to green, indicating to Lee that he was available. Not surprisingly, she walked in minutes later after a sharp rap of knuckles against the wood.
“I’ve got messages for you.” She handed him a steaming latte and placed a plate filled with sandwiches in front of him as he settled behind his desk. “You missed breakfast,” she explained as he regarded her with a rising eyebrow.
“I didn’t. I ate at home this morning.” He took a sip of his coffee. “But I appreciate that you take care of me so well.”
“It’s a shitty job, but someone has to do it.” She offered a bright smile to soften the insult. Of all the people in his life, Lee was one of the most honest and straightforward people he knew. For that, he held her in high regard.
“I don’t need to be mothered. I had one, and believe me, it’s an experience I could well do without.”
He sighed as his response brought a frown to her face.
If there was one thing Torin Caruso never did, it was open up about his private life.
As a businessman, he always kept associations with his employees on a professional level, but somehow the lines had become blurred with Lee over the eight years she’d worked for him.
For one, he trusted her and that was one thing he didn’t do lightly—ever.
If not for that, he’d have fucked her long ago. She was the type of woman he found attractive. Tall, curvy, and sassy as hell.
“Messages?”
“Matteo phoned to confirm your presence at the charity gala for tonight. He said to remind you it’s black tie and that you have to bring a date.”
“He should know better than to try and order me around,” Torin grumbled as he bit into a decadent grilled cheese sandwich. “I don’t know why I accepted the damn invitation in the first place.”
“Because you care for the homeless children of the city, that’s why.” She tapped her fingers on her iPad as she watched him with a grin. “I suppose since you obviously forgot about the event, you didn’t bother asking anyone to accompany you.”
“Nor do I intend to. Taking a date creates expectations of staying as late as possible, and I have no intention of being there very long.”
“Ah, you’re going to hand over a fat check and then leave.”
“Hmm.” He finished his latte and leaned back in the chair. “Messages?” he prodded again. He had no desire to ride the topic hollow.
Lee rattled off the rest, making notes of the instructions he gave in between. “That’s it. Anything you need before I go back to my office?”
Torin glanced at his watch and was surprised to see an hour had passed.
Lee had a way of keeping his mind focused and as always, he hadn’t realized how the time had flown.
The Enforcer should be back with William’s family by now.
The vibration of one of the two cell phones in his pocket proved to be just that as he glanced at the text message.
“I have a couple of calls to make and two conference calls with our Chinese and Swiss suppliers. It’ll take most of the day, and I don’t want to be bothered.
” He waved her off with a smile. “Once you’re done with those, take the rest of the afternoon off.
It’s been a while since you’ve taken some personal time. ”
“I won’t say no. I’ve been craving a pamper session at the spa.” She sashayed to the door, and her voice floated back to him. “Thanks, Boss.”
TORIN FELT NO EMPATHY FOR THE MAN crowing his fear as he watched the crime lord circle his family, who had been forced onto their knees, cuffed, and blindfolded.
“William, what is going on? Where are we?” The woman’s scared voice rippled through the atmosphere.
“It’s just a misunderstanding, honey. I’ll sort it out, I promise,” William said softly but the terror in his voice was unmistakable.
Masking fear was a survival essential in the lives they lived but few men could tap into it when their loved ones were threatened.
William was no different—other than Torin, who didn’t experience fear as others did.
He’d learned from a young age to process it differently, routing it through his prefrontal cortex instead of letting the more primitive brain do the choice-making.
Some things humans were born with, others were epigenetic alterations, adjustments so to speak.
People could be damaged by fear, and if he allowed it, could cause harm to him just like others.
The difference was, where it shut them down, it made him more alert, more adept, and creative at problem solving.
“What’s your name, Mrs. Kent?” Torin ran his hands through her short bob-style hair. She shivered under the unexpected touch.
“R-Rebecca.”
“Beautiful name. Did you know that it’s among the top Christian names, especially in the Hebrew language?” His fingers trailed through her hair again. “So soft and silky.” He smirked as she whimpered tearfully. He leaned closer to rasp against her ear. “Do you know what it means?”
“I-I believe it means to bind firmly.”
“Hmm,” Torin straightened, ignoring the continued struggles of the man sitting under the grueling light shining onto him from the low roof of the interrogation room. “Or to tie firmly and beautifully ensnaring.”
“M-my mother just loved the name,” she stammered, doing her best not to bear back against the hand in her hair.