Total pages in book: 82
Estimated words: 76222 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 381(@200wpm)___ 305(@250wpm)___ 254(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 76222 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 381(@200wpm)___ 305(@250wpm)___ 254(@300wpm)
“They call themselves The Stygian Syndicate.” His tone was dark and menacing.
I frowned, leaning forward slightly. “What do you know?”
“We’ve learned of a new rogue group that is trying to infiltrate and rise in power. They’re clearly working with another group, one that has insider knowledge in order for them to know the shit they know,” Nikolai said, his voice growing deeper from his anger.
The tension was edging back in, and mine grew the more I thought about what Nikolai stated—“...has insider knowledge…”
Again, Carmine was the forefront of my mind, and the more I thought about it, the more I needed to broach this with the Petrovs.
“They’re staying underground, and it’s been a bitch finding any useful information about them.” Nikolai slowly grinned. “But it’s been fun as fuck experimenting with how far motherfuckers can be pushed to get what I want.”
I knew the sick Russian fucker was talking about torturing people to get information. Hell, I knew he did heinous shit to his enemies. There was even talk that Nikolai had torn the finger and toenails off a man for just cutting him off in traffic. That was always the rumor that popped into my head whenever I thought about just how crazy my brother-in-law was.
“Had to get creative just to get the minuscule shit we got.”
Dmitry snorted and shook his head after his psycho sibling spoke. “They’re organized and know their shit, given they’ve been able to do what they’ve done on our territory so far.” He cracked his knuckles. “They’re obviously powerful in their own right, and it’s clear they’re slowly making moves against not only us, but you and yours, too.”
“Maksim was just one piece in their plans,” I murmured to myself.
I thought about what they said, let that shit sink in, and knew I had to bring up my suspicions with them about Carmine. It was dangerous, though. We might’ve been allies because of family bonds, but we were still two very different sides of the same coin.
My thoughts kept circling back to the Head of Italy. After hearing about this new syndicate and all the moves that had taken place up until this point, I had no doubt Carmine was involved. It was just too convenient, all the things falling into place about him being a major player.
Was he the leader of this new threat? Was he working with them in hopes he could gain more power? If I revealed all this shit to the Russians and I was wrong, this could blow up in the worst possible way.
But if I was right….
“We have a lot of shit between us, Gio,” Dmitry said. “You didn’t come to us after helping Tatiana, and you killed one of ours on our territory.”
I knew that wasn’t something they could just let go. It would eventually come back full circle. But it was clear that right now, we had bigger issues and threats.
I ran my hand over my jaw, and the sound of my palm moving over my scruff seemed overly loud.
Why had Carmine really ordered Maksim’s death? Why did he want specifically me to do the kill?
“I think the Head of Italy is trying to drive a wedge between me and you two.” I looked between the brothers. “I think he’s trying to implode both of our bases, so he can make a move with this new syndicate.”
Shit, I thought, as it really sank in and started making even more sense. Fuck. I grabbed my drink and tossed it back, the burn down my throat welcomed.
Nikolai and Dmitry studied me for a long moment, their expressions unreadable as they no doubt let what I said brew among the three of us. The tension surrounding us was still there, but everything had shifted to this new threat instead of each other.
I couldn’t shake the feeling that Carmine was behind everything—The Stygian Syndicate, me being the one to carry out Maksim’s death, and probably a whole host of other shitty betrayals.
It was all too connected to be a coincidence.
And the more I thought about it, how Carmine had to be in the thick of it, the more I realized he was probably involved in Tatiana’s attack.
My blood boiled, and I curled my hands into tight fists until my nails tore into my palms and broke the skin.
I looked up at the men and said, "Tatiana's assault.” It was the only thing I could speak aloud rationally and coherently. And judging by the tightness in their eyes and on their faces, they knew exactly what I meant by those two words.
“We need concrete proof that Carmine’s involved with The Stygian Syndicate. If he planned all this shit or is behind any piece of this bullshit, we need to know,” I told them when I could finally rein in my fury enough to get it out.