Page 21

Zyon

“ O ur lawyer just called,” Dorian announced, plopping in the armchair opposite me with a bleak expression. “Ramzan's parole was denied.”

After last night, my body and mind were overwhelmed with satisfaction from a job well done, but my youngest brother's prolonged stay in a Russian prison had the power to ruin it.

"Do we know why?" I asked, placing my legs on my office desk and crossing them at the ankles.

"Not yet, but Mom decided to go there," Dorian answered, checking his phone. "She just boarded your plane. She'll keep us posted."

"Fine." I nodded, pushing thoughts about it aside. Mom would call if she needed help, and I could peacefully review the previous day's achievements in the meantime.

At the first opportunity, Valeria left her husband, not even visiting him in the hospital. I never played poker against Chester, but I sure as hell almost sent him to the city morgue.

Malin and his observant eyes noticed the envelope in Chester’s hand, and it was the excuse I needed to smash his idiotic face. He took money from his wife—the money she earned and needed. I wouldn’t tolerate something like that happening under my nose, not to the woman I cared about .

“What about Kellerman? Any news?” I inquired, remembering how close to death Chester truly was the other day.

A picture of Valeria dressed in all black, standing over the coffin of her mutilated husband, appeared before my eyes, and I smiled dreamily.

She would be the most gorgeous widow on this fucking planet, but it just wasn't the right time.

I had to be patient, yet it didn't mean I wouldn't help her.

If I had known earlier she only needed a few thousand dollars and a chance to escape, I would’ve provided it weeks ago.

She felt imprisoned by Chester to the point of jeopardizing her life by blackmailing me.

If I didn’t like her, she would’ve ended up at the bottom of the ocean like every person who ever tried to make threats.

“No, but I’m still surprised you prevented me from finishing him off,” Malin said, his voice drenched with boredom. He was prepared to erase Chester’s existence, but I stopped him seconds from executing it.

“I can’t kill the fucker without knowing how Valeria feels about him,” I reminded him harshly, playing with my glass filled with whiskey.

“She left him,” Dorian pointed out, frowning. “I thought this was a celebration.”

“If I murder the father of her child, I can strip myself of the opportunity to have her willingly,” I explained, moving the booze to my lips. The smell of alcohol tantalized my nose. “Call me prudent, but I won’t risk anything regarding her.”

“Who are you?” Malin asked, shaking his head in annoyance. “You never cared for the consequences before.”

“I never wanted any woman like I want her,” I admitted, making both of them stare at me with surprised faces. “It has to be done smoothly, without her noticing he’s gone. We’ll make him vanish into thin air like a reeking stench.”

“Is it even possible?” Dorian asked doubtfully, examining the bottom of his empty glass. “He is involved in every shady business going on in casinos. He’s done money laundering for Italian families. He’s protected.”

“If the Italians find out he’s stealing from them, they won’t be happy,” I uttered, pouring us another round. Malin grunted his agreement, but Dorian wasn’t satisfied.

“Disclosing Chester’s sins could put Valeria in a precarious position,” he claimed, narrowing his eyes at me when a deep sigh of irritation left my lips .

“She’ll be under our protection!” I rumbled, slamming the drink on the table hard enough that the contents spilled. “No one touches her.”

“Then we’ll risk war with the Five Families.

” Dorian shrugged, frustrating me even more because he was right.

I knew the worst-case scenario. It had been on repeat in my head since I discovered Chester’s activities.

“You already escaped death three times. With half of the New York underworld going after you, survival would be tough.”

“But not impossible,” I objected, clasping my hands before my face. “I won’t run away from a fight.”

“With a kid and woman relying on you, you would,” Malin interjected, walking from the window to the table. He sat in the armchair beside Dorian, grimacing.

“I can keep them safe,” I stated confidently, anger coursing through my veins because they underestimated my capability to care for Valeria and her daughter.

It was ridiculous thinking. I was the most powerful man in the city.

Italians couldn’t take me down for years.

Albanians almost died trying. Russians worshiped the ground I was walking on, and the Irish never crossed paths with me.

The safest place for Valeria was by my side.

“But at what cost, Zyon?” Dorian inquired, sadness crossing his features. “This is the exact reason we don’t have families. We can’t go to full capacity of our abilities when we have kids at home.”

“Don’t lecture me!” I blasted my fist on the table, glaring at him. I knew he meant well, but his remarks pained me to the bones.

“I have to because you’ll bring war on all of us!” Dorian yelled, abruptly standing up. I instantly mirrored his movements.

“I’ll bring the ten plagues of Egypt combined with a fucking apocalypse on anyone who would dare lay a finger on Valeria or her daughter,” I ground out, staring at my brother with so much resoluteness he looked away.

“And it goes for my family as well,” I added in a calmer voice, but my stomach quivered with fury.

“I have no boundaries, fear of consequences, or remorse when it comes to the people I love. You two know me better than anyone. Whoever starts the war with me has already lost it.”

“Duly noted, boss.” Malin grinned contentedly, nudging Dorian with his elbow playfully. “It’s going to be fun to disembowel some Italians. ”

“We have to deal with the contractors first,” I said, sitting back down and opening the file, which rested peacefully on my desk. It was the reason I called my brothers to discuss the best approach. “Fucking punks didn’t react to our warnings. We must make an example.”

“We already tied one to a tree in Central Park, and the second is buried near the river, patiently waiting to be rescued,” Malin replied with a glint of absurd insanity burning in his eyes, and I chuckled.

“I need results, not demonstrations of your creativity.” I moved the file toward him, waiting until he reviewed what our men had discovered.

“We would have to demolish the Starlight building to confirm it,” Dorian huffed, wrinkling his nose.

The entire building was an entertainment complex.

There was a dance club on the ground floor.

The casino housed the first, second, and third floors.

The ten floors above were designed as apartments for guests.

My penthouse crowned all of that, complemented by the magnificent view of the Central Park.

“If it’s true,” I pointed to the papers that Malin still studied, “then they buried the bodies of at least seven people in the concrete floor in the underground garage. We only need to spread the rumors about the gas leak or something.”

“Do you think they’ll buy it?” Dorian shot me a hesitant glance, going through the pictures of five men and two women allegedly put to rest under our building.

“It’s worth trying.” I shrugged, checking my phone because the notification about Valeria leaving her new apartment came.

My men placed cameras and security devices inside and outside so I knew about her movements.

My obsession was getting out of hand quickly.

“I would appreciate getting our money back without running around with guns like in the Wild West.”

“Didn’t they charge us double for the last order?” Malin frowned, leafing through the papers.

“Unfortunately, no. It’s been happening for quite some time, and we didn’t catch anything because we trusted our lead accountant.” I circled the liquid in my glass, giving my brothers time to digest the new information .

John Porter worked for our father and us for almost thirty years and was responsible for the many irregularities that occurred last year.

But he was brilliant, and no one would’ve noticed anything if I hadn’t started digging into Chester’s involvement with our business partners.

They did a fantastic job with invoices and fake payments.

Kellerman was a fucking genius, but he stood on the wrong side of the food chain.

“Do we have any idea how much money Porter and our contractors stole?” Malin asked, closing the file and returning it to me. He was icy calm but prepared to cut the man to pieces for the audacity to take what wasn’t his. His dark eyes blazed with the need to deliver a proper punishment.

“We’re getting there,” I reassured him, briefly looking at my phone again because Valeria’s new car just parked before her daughter’s school. “For now, I need you two to use your contacts and leak the information about the cracked floor in our building. We’ll see how they react about it.”

“And Kellerman?” Dorian inquired, lifting an eyebrow at me when I checked my cell for the third time in the past thirty seconds.

“Make sure he stays in the hospital for a few more days,” I commanded, scowling at the GPS tracker. Valeria drove her daughter to her mother-in-law’s house. It served as an excellent opportunity for me to spend some fun time with her.

“I really hope you’re not thinking about kidnapping her again,” Malin said out of the blue, causing lightning of surprise to shoot through me. “Oh, yeah. We know.” He crossed his arms over his chest, and Dorian nodded eagerly. “You’ve been quite busy this past week.”