Page 57 of Dangerous Men

23

ALEC

This trip is a nightmare.

The windows of the sterile meeting room I’m in overlook Empire City’s east midtown, a picturesque view that I can’t appreciate. My head throbs from one of the worst headaches of my life, made worse by the dull artificial light beaming down from the ceiling. I’ve been stuck in this spot since seven this morning, working diligently through lunch, and now the sun is setting behind the skyscrapers.

And in all that time we’ve discovered fuck all.

I’ve been listening to Dave—one of the men who manages our new Empire City clubs—walk me through the money we’re currently losing in our underground business dealings here. The contracts that keep falling through with little to no explanation. The money that is mysteriously disappearing, sliver by sliver, as our earnings trickle their way up to me. It’s not nearly enough to put a dent in our operations here, but it’s just enough to not go unnoticed. And over and over we keep hearing the same thing. Employee after employee admitting that they’vestarted paying protection money to someone calling themselves Dante.

And that money is coming out of our cut.

I roll my shoulders, trying to work out some of the tension creeping into my muscles. Someone is encroaching on our turf. Someone is working against us.

But no one has produced a shred of evidence that would convince me this is the real Dante, back from the dead.

The whole thing makes me nervous, and I’m never nervous.

I’m lucky to have my brothers by my side, but in situations like this, the pressure sits with me alone, weighing me down. I’m the one always in control, the one who keeps things organized and moving forward. I don’t have the luxury of going off the rails like the others do.

Ashton flits about, flirting and fucking and fighting, and never taking anything in his life seriously. I love him—he’s family—but he’s an unfocused mess when he’s left to his own devices. I couldn’t ask for a better right-hand man, but without direct instructions, Ashton would never manage to accomplish anything on his own.

His brother Sebastian sits behind an emotional fortress that grows more impenetrable by the day. He’s as stoic as I am, but he’s so disconnected from his feelings that I don’t think stress even registers for him anymore. I get it—it makes sense after what he’s been through—but nothing ever seems to touch him. Cold and emotionless as the numbers and research he spends his days staring at.

And Viper, well…Viper is simply Viper.

We all have our demons. Viper rose above his when he was still a kid and became something even demons should be afraid of.

Which means figuring out who’s behind this minor turf war and what to do about it falls to me. Today has been full ofstrategy meetings trying to do just that, but it’s not enough. I need to understand who it is that’s trying to turn our connections against us, and why they’re using Dante’s name to do it.

We might own this territory now, but someone is slowly cutting us off from some of our low-level connections. Someone is trying to undermine us.

But the way they’re going after us is little more than a nuisance, and Dante would know that. If he were alive and wanted to hurt us, he’d go over something bigger. Something we actually care about…

“Sir…?” Dave asks, cautiously. At my irritated scowl, he falls silent.

I’ve mentally checked out from this meeting, but these guys aren’t giving me any information that I don’t already know. Anger is slowly taking me over.

I hate wasting time.

I hate being in Empire City.

And more than anything right now, I hate not having my delicious Sydney quivering underneath my tongue.

Over the years, there have been a few women in my life who stayed long enough that what we had could be considered a relationship. But it was always casual. They knew when I called them it would be for a night or two of fucking, but that was all. Pleasurable, but transactional.

But with Sydney? My woman in red? I can’t get enough of her. I want her surrounding me in every way possible. I want her hair wrapped around my fist and to feel her panting in my ear, sure, but I also want to wake up with her in my arms. I want to take care of her.

Protect her.

And right now, I want to hear her screaming my name, begging me formore.

Slow, I remind myself.She wants to take it slow.

I sigh heavily, wishing I weren’t needed here. Wishing I were back with her.

Sebastian, that fucker, has ignored every message I’ve sent asking about her over the last few days. Though, that’s not unexpected. I trust him to tell me if something were wrong, and that’s enough. Silence from him means there’s nothing to report and no reason to worry.