Page 8 of Fixate (Devious Mafia Daddies #2)

Pharrell

Returning to Vegas without my wife should have bothered me more than it did. I recognized the anger that still simmered beneath the surface. It was dangerous to go straight back to work after the ordeal I just went through.

There was no other option, unfortunately.

I had rats to weed out. And the longer I waited, the worse it would be.

On top of those issues, I had to focus on how I’d go about telling Stasia’s family about the depths of her betrayal. I fully expected blowback from them. They have never been my biggest fans. Probably because they understood our marriage was in name only.

Or maybe it was because they knew I was gay.

I suspected it was my sexuality that had their feathers ruffled the most. It was an insult to them for me to not procreate with Stasia. They wanted genuine heirs to take over the family business.

Even if I were able to create a child with her by natural means, I wouldn’t want to bring them into this life. I’d seen far too much happen when children existed in our environment. They became pawns, items to move around the chess board until ultimate power was achieved.

Dante was a prime example. Granted, his father was a psychotic monster with a god complex, which made their dynamic much worse. It still never sat well with me to have to defend my desire to not have children, my sexuality aside.

“Boss,” the men stuttered out when I strode into the warehouse. They were all gathered there after having received a notice through Stasia’s email to be here. The ones who had been with us at the compound knew something had happened to her, though they didn’t know the extent.

Today, they’d find out.

“Weapons on the tables,” I said as I pointed to the long metal tables running down the side of the room. “We have something to go over. I need you unarmed.”

Two of my most trusted men, Henri and Jean, stood by the table. They searched each man before dropping their own weapons on the table. They moved to stand beside me. I’d warned them both that violence would erupt at the meeting, yet I still told them they had to drop their weapons.

While I did trust them, I didn’t need another person to betray me until I was a hundred percent certain I had all the rats taken out.

“As most of you know, Stasia and I left to go assist Dante Romano with a problem. We were successful in our venture. Dante is now head of the Romano family. He will be our point of contact moving forward. Him and his husband Preacher.”

I caught a few sneers at the words. Those men went down on my list, though I didn’t count them as traitors right away.

Not everyone was comfortable with same-sex relationships.

I wouldn’t force my beliefs on them; however, I also wasn’t going to hide who I was for their sake.

They could be reassigned if they didn’t want to get an up close view of my life.

That reassignment often meant less of a cut in the profits and doing the tasks others hated. Most of my men knew this, which is why they got over my sexuality pretty damn quickly.

“During our talk with the former late Romano, Stasia revealed something that led to…” I paused, gathering my thoughts.

“Stasia is dead. She was having an affair with Romano. She’d led me there to die in order to take over the organization.

Dante’s husband shot her when things became hostile.

Romano died shortly after at the hands of the Yakuza. ”

I hear a few curses and see more than one shocked expression. It’s the looks of anger and resentment that give me pause. They are also why I had them remove their weapons. No reason for them to attack me in their misguided fear and frustration.

“Since I know my late wife wasn’t working alone, I’m going to ask her men to step forward. If you volunteer yourself, the punishment for your betrayal will not be as intense as if I have to continue searching for answers. And trust me, I shall find them all. Nothing gets past me.”

A dark chuckle rose above the soft murmurs of the men. When the figure stepped through, I wasn’t all that shocked to see Tommaso. He’d always been a bigger fan of Stas than me.

“You want us to believe you’ll figure everything out when you didn’t even know your wife was against you. That’s a fucking joke — ”

He’s cut off when a bullet lands dead center of his forehead. His body dropped instantly; the life gone from his eyes in an instant.

“Anyone else want to shit talk the boss today?” Jean asked.

There were a few head shakes. It didn’t ease my concern at all since I knew there were others. So be it.

“Bring the first three to the training room.” Henri nodded at my words then whistled to get the group’s attention.

I felt safe enough to turn my back. Glancing up, I saw my sniper friend, Pip, in the rafters. He was a crazy as fuck contract I’d hired a few times in the past. When I told him the situation I was in, he eagerly agreed to come play ‘whack a mafia man’ as he called it.

The training area wasn’t actually a space meant to do such. It was more like an interrogation space where we could torture people in the privacy of a small space. Stas preferred the big displays of power. I knew a more subtle approach could be just as effective.

We were blending both at the moment given how Pip had given away his hidden status. Tommaso would have died anyway. It was just a bit sooner than I’d have liked.

I rolled up my sleeves and smoothed back my hair as I waited for Henri to bring in the first batch of men.

It took less than two minutes for them to file in.

Their reluctant gazes moved around the room.

Whether they knew what the space meant or not, they understood enough to know they’d be the first of many questioned.

“Let’s not waste time, men. I’m going to ask a few questions. Henri and I will decide if you are lying. If so, then you’ll be treated the same as Tomasso. If not, then you’ll be free to go about your workday. Last chance to confess.”

None of them stepped forward. Henri looked to me for the go ahead, then he proceeded to rapid fire questions at them while I watched for any signs of dishonesty. As a pair, we were the best human lie detectors out there. There was no chance of hiding information from us.

We went through the process of questioning the men for hours. Several were found innocent. Too many were found to either be lying outright or knowledgeable of what was happening.

Since we were cleaning house, we executed every possible deserter. There was no room for lies in the organization, especially those that were done because they were too afraid to speak up. I only wanted to be surrounded by people who unequivocally had my back.

After the last of the men were released, the door to the room burst open. Henri raised his gun toward the figure, only lowering it when Pip strutted in with his rifle leaning against his shoulder.

“What a fun day. When can we do it again?”

I chuckled at his excitement. “Hopefully not for a while. And maybe next time, it will be with people not in my employ.”

He sighed. “Yeah, well, that part sucks. Still, I love a good brain blow. It’s so beautiful to watch how they splatter. It’s art.”

“That’s a bit disgusting, man,” Henri told him.

My new second wasn’t a huge fan of the blood and gore that came with the job. It’s why he spent most of his time behind a computer screen.

Pip shrugged, motioning to the bodies around the room. “Would you rather worry about one of these fuckers trying to slit your throat in the middle of the night? Yeah, didn’t think of that. You’re second now, Henny. Have some sense of self-preservation.”

Henri scowled at Pip as color rose to his cheeks. I didn’t know if it was anger, or if he was more embarrassed by the entire interaction. Pip was a brash person. He didn’t hold back his thoughts, which was why he was more a free agent to do as he pleased.

Plus, he had no desire to lead or be led. Pip liked money, plain and simple.

If it made him a strong profit, he did it. If it wasn’t worth his time, he let the leads die.

Sometimes literally.

“Henri, I need to go make a few calls. You handle this. Pip, you’re with me for a bit longer. I’ll pay an hourly rate to have you watch my back until Henri and Jean are done.”

Pip saluted me. “You’re speaking my language, Boss. Lead the way.”

I’d long given up the need to have him call me by my full name. He just wasn’t going to listen. At least Rel was better than Henny. Poor Henri was never going to escape that.

He and I left the room, moving down through the building to the office tucked deeper in the back. It wasn’t a space I used all that often. Truly, it had been Stasia’s domain since she coordinated so much of this.

It was obvious in how the space was decorated. Pip whistled, a sneer on his face as he took in the gaudy furniture and painting on the wall.

“You do all this yourself, or did you bring in a prissy bitch to do it for you? Gotta say, it’s not my fave look.”

I shook my head as I took a seat at the desk. “Stasia took care of all this shit. I prefer a much subtler look. No need for the rest.”

Pip landed in the chair across from me. His boots kicked up to land on the edge of the desk as his hands moved behind his head.

He was the picture of calm and relaxed. Even so, I knew he’d take out any threat that popped up should danger arise.

I took out my phone and dialed a number I hadn’t contacted in years.

Not since before the marriage alliance. I had no need to.

Once we were married, Stasia dealt with her family.

It was part of the beauty of it all. She got to keep in touch with them and coordinate deals, all while gaining access to my business as well.

Should have known she would be greedy and gun for even more of it.

The phone rang twice before his deep voice answered, “Da?”

“It’s Lyon. I’m calling with news.”

“Pharrell. Why are you calling and not my lovely niece?”

I sighed over the line. “It’s hard to call someone when you’re dead.”

Silence.

Utter silence.

Then the line was filled with shouts — all in Russian and only with a few words I understood. Pip leaned forward; his eyes wide. He snatched the phone away. It was on speaker the next instant. He put his finger to his lips as he listened to whatever was being said.

By the time English was brought back into the conversation, Pip wore a menacing scowl that made me more than a little nervous.

“Why is my niece dead? Did you not protect her? What is the meaning of this?”

“Your niece betrayed me and my family. She sold us out to Domenico Romano. They were having an affair, and she was giving access to our shipments to others. I’ve had problems for months. All of it traces back to her.”

I wasn’t absolutely sure about the last part; however, I knew there was something more going on. Even without proof, Stasia’s actions spoke volumes about her loyalty.

If it had only been about her fucking the asshole Domenico, I wouldn’t care. She had needs and so did I. This was worse though. We’d lost good men with those attacks. And the products and income destroyed — it was a clusterfuck.

“That does not give you a right to murder! This is going to be considered an act of war. Where did this happen? What happened to her body? We deserve the right to bury her.”

The request is not surprising. I knew they’d want to know where her body went. Stasia had told me early on in our union that she and I couldn’t be buried together due to certain traditions in her family. I didn’t feel bothered by the fact.

“I will have someone contact you to coordinate her arrival. I made sure she was able to get back to you. It’s what she would have wanted.”

He replied with a dark laugh. “As if you care about what she wanted. I knew she shouldn’t have married you. Fucking f?—”

“That will be enough of that. No need for us to have bad blood over this. If you found a traitor in your midst, you’d have handled this the same.”

I didn’t even tell him that I wasn’t the one to kill her. It wouldn’t matter. Passing the blame would only put a target on my friend’s back. Since we were in our own partnership, I refused to do so.

He switched to Russian, then the line went dead. I turned to Pip, my brow raised in question.

“Picked up some of the language over the years. I wanted to make sure I heard what he was spewing,” he said. “It’s not looking hot, Rel. The guy was talking about taking you out and showing us what the Bratva was truly about.”

“Us?” It was the most interesting part of the information. Pip didn’t deal in ‘us’ or ‘we’ ideas.

He stood, a smile coming to his face. “Yes, I meant we. Sounds like you might need me to stick around a bit longer. Not sure Henny and JJ can take care of everything. I’ll even give you a discount on my rates.”

I laughed at the way he grinned widely. Pip might be a psychopath with a deep love of blood and destruction, but deep down, he had a good heart. Even offering up the information he’d had today was proof.

“I’d appreciate it. I could use all the help I can get.”

My phone buzzed on the desk, drawing both our attention. I snatched it up when I saw it was Ricardo who’d texted.

Ricardo: Did you make it back safe? How are things there? I can help if you need it.

I ignored the message, not quite sure what to make of it. Why would he want to know all that? He didn’t owe me anything.

Sure, he’d been there to see my immediate reaction to Stasia and all that went down. I might have been a bit distant as I processed the facts.

But I was better now.

I was home, and I’d figure the rest of this out. It wasn’t for him to deal with.

Tucking the phone away, I ignored the hollow feeling ignoring him brought out. I didn’t want to think about what it meant.