Zayden #2
“Him,” she says, and we approach the corpse. He’s young, early twenties, maybe even late teens, with dark hair. Two purpling marks on his chest look like puncture wounds from a knife, straight into his heart.
“Recruits die all the time,” I say. “Why is he any different?”
“Because he isn’t just a recruit. He’s Gio Morelli.”
My gaze snaps to meet Envy’s. “As in—”
“The Morelli family,” she finishes for me.
The Morelli family are Italian mafia on the East Coast. Not as powerful as some of the families out there, but they’re under the rule of the McEwans, and they are not the kind of people you piss off.
“How did he even end up here?”
Envy shakes her head. “Yale and I did our usual checks, and nothing came up. I only know who he is because he made a friend here and confessed.”
I circle the body. “And let me guess, that friend decided killing a Morelli was a good way to get his name known.”
“Exactly.”
This is a nightmare. Beyond a nightmare.
“Where’s that friend now?” I ask.
“Dead. I figured the longer he lived, the worse it’d be, because he likes to run his mouth. The problem is, there’s no way to know if he already bragged about his kill. We found a phone in his room.”
“Fucking hell, Envy.”
“I know,” she snaps. “But I’m dealing with this shit pretty much alone, so cut me some slack. He made a few calls after Gio’s murder, but no texts, and when we tried to trace the numbers, they were already disconnected.”
This is where I need Yale. He makes it his job to know every possible threat we face in our line of work. I lead, Yale plans, Xavier does the most violent thing he can think of.
And right now, I need Yale to think of a way to fix this, because we have decent resources, but not enough to take on the mafia. And definitely not enough to go up against the McEwans if the Morellis go to them for support. They’d wipe us out.
“What do you want to do?” Envy asks.
I exhale deeply. “We keep him on ice for now. I need to think.”
And pray I can pull a solution out of my ass—and fast.
She nods. “Okay. Just let me know whenever you decide. Why couldn’t the others come?”
On the flight over here, before Silence called and gave me the most painful hard-on in fucking history, it occurred to me that I can’t trust anyone other than my brothers and her.
Grant was turned and he was my best friend for years, so Envy could have been compromised, too.
It’s hard to believe, given how much work she puts into this place and considering that she called me about this.
It’d be a good way to take us down, after all. But I won’t be caught out again.
“I’m about to tell you something that I expect you to keep confidential,” I say, keeping my eyes on Gio’s face. “It doesn’t leave this room.” Envy’s brow furrows, but she nods. “I’m pushing my brothers out.”
She huffs a laugh, but her smile fades when I remain expressionless. “You’re not serious?”
“I am.”
The line between her brow deepens. “Zayden, we’re a fucking team.”
“And they’re holding us back.”
“Bullshit. What’s really going on?”
“What’s really going on is that I’m taking over, and they’re either with me, or they’re not. I won’t hesitate to do what has to be done if they challenge the decision. I’m at the head anyway, and they need to accept that.”
Envy’s energy seems to crackle. “What is that supposed to mean? ‘You’ll do what needs to be done?’”
I shift my gaze to her. “Exactly what you think it does.”
Tense seconds pass between my friend and I. The hairs on the back of my neck lift as she watches me with the kind of contempt I hope she keeps for her enemies, because it’s more than a little unsettling.
But if she accepts what I’m saying, I’ll know she’s been compromised. The best way to destroy my family is by dividing us, and anyone looking to worm their way in would take this opportunity to side with me and watch my brothers burn. That would leave only me to take out.
Barely a heartbeat passes before she snatches up a scalpel and lunges.
I try to grip her wrist, but she strikes out and catches my palm with the blade as I back up.
“I’m guessing you’re against me.”
“Too fucking right!” she hisses. “You traitorous fucker. You think I’d turn on them?”
“You’re turning on me right now!”
“When you’re in a den of snakes, you kill the venomous one first.” She darts toward me, but I fake a left and grab her wrist, spinning her so her back is to my front.
She throws her elbow behind her, cracking into my nose—again and again.
She brings her boot down on my foot, and as pain sluices through my face and toes, I loosen my grip.
Envy whirls and shoves me, my back meeting another slab. Light reflects off the scalpel’s blade as she drives it forward into my—
I hold my hands up. “It was a test!”
Envy pauses with lethal timing, the sharp metal against my throat. She breathes fast, eyes darting between mine, as if searching for the truth. It wouldn’t surprise me if she somehow got it, given how intense her attention is. My skin prickles, but she doesn’t kill me. A good sign, I guess. “What?”
“Grant was turned. I had to check you weren’t, too.”
She presses the blade into my skin, nicking it. “Liar!”
“I’m not lying, Envy. That’s why Xavier and Yale aren’t here. Grant was leaking information, they attacked us on Silence’s birthday, Xavier got stabbed. This guy, Ryker Blake, bugged everything, so we’re at the safe house.”
Envy wets her lips, keeping the blade far too close for comfort. “Prove it.”
“Call Cleo. She’ll verify everything.”
She takes her phone out of her pajama pocket and holds it to her ear.
The scalpel remains against my throat, and Envy’s eyes don’t leave my face.
“Cleo, fill me in on what’s happening with the Silvers.
” She’s quiet, remaining stoic as Cleo talks.
I can’t hear the conversation, so I wait patiently so as not to get my throat cut.
“And where are they now?” She pauses again.
“Okay, thanks.” She hangs up and takes the scalpel from my throat—only to then slap me up the side of the head. “What is wrong with you?”
I wince. “I had to check.”
“Fuck you, you had to check. Ask me next time!”
“You know that wouldn’t have been enough.” I inspect the cut on my palm. “I can’t believe you turned on me that fast.”
She folds her arms. “Yale is my favorite. Anyone touches him, they die. Even you. It’d be worth remembering that before you piss me off again.” Noted. “Now, tell me about this Ryker guy.”