Page 57 of Gilded Princess

I close my laptop with a click, and the silence of my office bears down on me. I sent my few employees home hours ago, the hazy dusk of the setting sun illuminating the spacious office. I’ve been spending too many hours here lately.

It’s one of the few places I know doesn’t have any little rats running around. And since my apartment is now housing a red-haired temptress, my office is the next best place.

I stare at the diagram in front of me. It’s basic enough, but the visual reminder of what happened and list of possible culprits helps me focus.

All I know is that there have been several targets, and no one’s claimed it yet.

If it were the local street gangs, not only would they be bragging about it to everyone with ears, but they know they’d be signing their deaths. The only reason they’re even around is because the five families allow it.

We’re on good terms with the Irish and the local MCs, no thanks to our boss. The cartel doesn’t usually fuck with us this far north, but it’s possible a new faction is trying to make a name for themselves.

There are a few different families it could be—Russian comes to mind.

And the other possibility is that it’s one of the five families. Or an outlier.

Families have been trying to infiltrate the five for generations. It’s not that simple. There’s a reason these five families are the ones—the top of the food chain.

Order is paramount, and as much as I dislike certain structures from the five families, without them, we’d devolve into chaos.

My phone vibrates on my desk, pulling me from my swirling thoughts. Dante’s name flashes across the screen, and a moment of fear licks down my spine.

I press accept and the words fly out of my mouth before the phone is even to my ear. “Is Madison okay?”

“She’s fine.”

I blow out a breath, the relief hitting me harder than I anticipated. “Okay. What do you need?” I spin around in my chair and look at the city lights twinkling below me. It’s like I’m in the clouds this far above the city.

“Marco called. One of his soldiers went missing the day before yesterday. His body was delivered to Marco’s front lawn twenty minutes ago.”

“Motherfucker.” I pinch the bridge of my nose and wrack my brain for any correlation. “First the robberies, then the arson, then more robberies, and now outright murder. And dumped on our capo’s lawn, no less. The escalation doesn’t follow a typical pattern. Could it be a coincidence?”

“It’s possible. Someone dumped him in the one blind spot in Marco’s yard, so his cameras didn’t pick up anything. It seems personal though. This kid had two to the chest, and his eyes were gone.”

“Gone?”

“Plucked from the sockets.”

“Jesus Christ,” I say through gritted teeth. “It’s a goddamn message.”

“That’s my guess, too. Marco’s ready to go on a rampage, and only calmed down once I promised him retribution.” Dante sighs, the sound loud in my ear.

“Did he say anything to suggest it was personal to him or the kid?”

“Nah, said the kid was well-liked. Young and smart, would’ve been a good earner.” He pauses, the silence heavy and oppressive. “What do you want me to do, boss?”

“Fuck.” The curse leaves my mouth on a hiss. “Whoever is behind this isn’t fucking around. He’ll want to retaliate.”

My dad didn’t keep his title as boss of the five families because he sat idly on the sidelines. Nah, he’s much more the shoot everyone and ask questions never type of leader. It’s useful in some situations, but I fear that without an inkling of who’s responsible, the streets are going to run red with the blood of the innocent long before any of this ends.

“Against who though?”

“He’ll no doubt start with whoever pissed him off last. No one is safe from his manic rage.”

“I’ll call it in, but be prepared for anything. We don’t know how much information our enemies have.”

“Understood.”

“Oh, and Dante? It’s time our roommate came home.”

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