Page 46 of KAI Tortured

Logan was about to lose it. “I say we kill him, he already knows too much. He knew you were a Slav all this time. That in itself warrants a kill. He betrayed you. In our world, if you really were a mafia head, you’d kill him now. And really, you are.”

“Whoa. Easy, Logan,” Maisy smirked. “We won’t kill him just yet. We’ll stick to the plan and see if it works.” She looked to Orion for support, but the way his nostrils flared as he inhaled was a dead giveaway. She shrugged. “Yes, the fact that he knew I was a Slav really threw me off, he could have told me all those years ago. Why do you think he didn’t?”

“It’s his damn job. He probably knows us too.” I retort with anger.

She nodded, but did not waver. “We stick to the plan. Orion?”

Orion nodded, although begrudgingly. “Maisy’s right. Let’s see if this will work out.”

At that moment, the cell we got for Maisy, which realistically was for us because she didn’t really want it, pinged with a message. Orion read the message out loud.

“Dearest Maisy, it was great seeing you after all these years. I note that you’ve grown into a beautiful woman. It was a pleasure talking to you. As a follow-up, I wanted to say that I fully support you in dismantling the Slavs. I called my boss immediately and after confirming with him, I’m happy to help you. Let me know the details.”

“Perfect.” Orion’s eyes moved to us, then back to Maisy. “We’re starting tonight.”

That very night, while I was having the most amazing, jealousy-fueled sex, our men were sent to find one Slav and offer him a relocation.

Of course, once they found him, we were told afterward, he wouldn’t hear of it, and as per our plan, he was killed and thrown on the lawn outside the Slavs’ house with a message on his chest: Leave, or die.

A few days later, when our men got the next Slav, it was the same story, and he too ended up dead on the Slavs’ lawn.

It was after ten days that we made the first breakthrough. The Slav our men got wanted to relocate, to start a new life, and he was happy to bring his family. Orion texted Christopher from Maisy’s cell and it was that very evening that he got picked up.

Orion’s plan was crazy, but it worked. It’s been four weeks now, and each week we relocate someone. A few Slavs have come forward, talked to Christopher themselves. It’s funny how nobody wants to be part of the mafia if there’s a way out. I wonder if this would have been the case with the Delgados. Would they want to be relocated if they were given the chance? Thinking like that gets me paranoid.

So many Slavs we sent away, and all this time, Christopher thinks he’s communicating with Maisy on her cell.

The plan’s shaping up pretty good; we haven’t lost any of our men, though we’re still staying in Logan’s penthouse, having made Logan’s Uncle Jon move into one of the apartments below. We’ve taken over the whole floor. Maisy’s been given a room, too. And she loves it. Orion had Maisy’s bed brought from his house to her room in the penthouse. We love it. The four of us sleep in her bed every night.

The way it’s heading, there won’t be any more Slavs to kill if we were to start a war now. Orion’s plan is really working.

And now, with the weather getting hotter, and Maisy’s clothing getting skimpier by the day, we’re all spending our free time on the roof deck when we can. Work is taking over; there isn’t only one plan in action.

Each of us is working with our families on the idea of joining forces. We want to have the majority on board before we give them the news – that we are family already.

And this takes us away from here, from Maisy. Which she hates.

I look up and see her sunbathing in the late sun; the gold bikini she wears is a winner. She chose it herself from a catalog. She knows it accentuates the best parts of her body. Orion, Logan, and I are under shadow on the roof deck, on our laptops, sending emails, working, and making sure every branch within our family is checked, counted, and double counted. We will not leave one stone unturned this time. Orion’s single-mindedness has reached unprecedented levels.

The sound of a message pings, and I reach for my cell to check if it’s mine. Once I realize it’s not, I look up to see Orion and Logan staring at Maisy’s cell. This is the cell that Orion looks after, the one we use to communicate with Christopher. It’s lying on the table. The ping of the message sounds again.

“What does he want?” I ask.

Orion picks it up and reads the message aloud. “Maisy, I’ll probably get promoted next month, and it would be my honor if you’d allow me to take you to dinner.”

“Aw, that’s sweet,” Maisy says, not moving a muscle from where she’s lying in the sun.

“No,” Logan says bluntly, and continues working on his laptop.

“Abso-fucking-lutely no way,” I say and look at Orion, waiting on his opinion, which I know will concur with ours.

Maisy raises her head and looks our way with her hand over her eyes.

“I agree,” Orion says. “Christopher wants to fuck you. It’s obvious.”

Maisy sits up and puts her shades on to get a better look at us. “Christopher is a middle-aged man! He does not want to fuck me, thank you very much! He’s just grateful.”

“Maisy.” Orion gives her a reprimanding look.

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