Page 36

Check Mate.

PRESENT

I t’s easy to hate. But it’s harder to crave the touch of the one person deemed forbidden by the world. Even when it makes you feel more alive than ever. If there is something to take away from the events that have unfolded over the past few months on this island, it’s that loyalty isn’t given blindly to anyone who asks for it.

Loyalty is earned.

A currency, like loyalty, might get you somewhere you’ve wanted to be your whole life, but you have to know the risk you take when you sell yours. You must prepare for the inevitable moment where that loyalty you gave away so blindly can end you.

“If you want me to bend the knee, it’s not going to go the way you want.”

“ Lealtà, ” Erhan whispers, a darkness growing behind his eyes. “Funny how the one thing you all pride yourselves on almost got you buried beneath six feet of dirt.”

“Let’s finish this.”

Erhan stands, and I feel my brothers’ support as they wait behind me. Erhan’s men surround us like a lion circling its prey before tearing into its jugular.

“Let’s think about how this will end if you continue.” Dante attempts to diffuse the intensity in the room.

“I’m sure we all know how this ends.” He reaches for his pocket, as do I, ripping my pistol from its secure spot. I’ve never felt the adrenaline thicken in my blood as much as I do now.

Guns raised, we all wait for the defining second of the first shot fired, but no one takes it.

“I have an offer.” I can almost hear everyone’s neck snap as they look to me for an explanation.

Erhan pinches the cigarette between his fingers, intrigue practically glowing in his eyes as he waits for me to continue.

“What the fuck are you doing, Raf?” Nicholas steps forward, aiming his gun at Erhan.

“Thinking about someone else other than myself for the first time in my life,” I whisper.

“Don’t leave us in suspense. I’m wondering what could possibly be worth more than your life in my hands.”

I smile, lowering my gun and motioning for my brothers to do the same.

“How about a lifetime of not only my life in your hands but the fate of Falcon’s Keep as an asset that continues to provide?”

“What the fuck?” Dante mutters beneath his breath and Ezra laughs, catching on to my plan.

“Erhan, we’re all businessmen here.” Ezra turns the safety back on and lowers his gun to his side. “Let me paint a picture for you…” He takes a step forward, the two now face to face. “Let’s say you kill us right now…What support do you have to take on the Lucchese family?”

“Not to mention, you’ll also have another war on your hands if you kill the Casella King,” I add.

Check. Fucking. Mate.

He came to Falcon’s Keep, thinking it would just be Dante and I, not knowing my brothers would also be here, and now he’s stuck choosing between the possibility of death or certain death if he takes the path he’s been frothing over since I called him.

Some believe being in this business is kill or be killed, but the longer you live in this world, the more you learn to use the cards you have in a way that serves you in the long run.

It’s easy to kill.

It’s harder to think ten steps ahead and see the opportunities that can be leveraged.

Erhan’s jaw tics and he nods, his men now lowering their guns to the ground, and one by one, they walk out of the office. As the door is shut behind them, Erhan takes a seat in Dante’s chair.

He chuckles, the expression on his face resembling fascination. “I have to say, boys, you’ve come a long way since Dominic’s reign.”

“Well, we’re meant to learn from history, not repeat it, right?” Nicholas places a cigarette between his lips as he takes a seat on the lounge by the bookcases.

“What’s the offer?” Erhan asks, flicking the ashes from his cigarette onto the floor.

“We run your cocaine trade through Falcon’s Keep to grow your business through to France and Spain.”

His eyes widen, the sparkle returning as he envisions the growth of his business.

“You have Istanbul’s port. All you have to do is run your shipment through to Falcon’s Keep and we distribute it to our contacts in France and Spain.”

“In exchange for?” Erhan asks, glancing from me to Ezra. “What’s the fine print?”

“You swear your allegiance to both our families, and the drug trade through Falcon’s Keep dies with me. I’ll run your trade through Falcon’s Keep until I take my last breath, but nothing of this world falls onto anyone else. I’ll bear it all as long as we have your financial aid as well as your allegiance.”

“Interesting.” He hums, leisurely grazing the cigarette side to side between his lips.

“I can triple your yield with the years I have left. By the end, it’ll be worth more than that pathetic diamond in your pocket.”

“You drive an interesting bargain, Rafael, but there is one thing I can’t seem to move past.” He stands, the ash on his cigarette lighting up as he takes in a drag. “With Frances gone, the empire in the States remains open. Their allies in France will retaliate, so how do you plan to fight your way through that?”

“We don’t.”

His brows knit, obviously wondering what my angle is.

Why do people retaliate? Why do people get mad? Why does anyone do any of the horrible things we’ve done?

Because they’ve been wronged.

They’ve been crossed.

“We make sure their ties to France are severed before the news even hits them about Frances.” I give him a moment to think about it.

Ezra chuckles. “Might be time to brush up on your history, Erhan.”

“What is more effective than an external war that’s brought to their door?”

Erhan’s smile is slow as the plan finally starts making sense to him.

“A civil war.”