Page 34 of My Merciless Don

“Come on, let’s go home,” Marco said.

I opened my eyes and forced a smile. “Yeah… home. Let’s go.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

MARCO

After dropping Audry back home, I needed some time to myself. That trip to the cemetery was unexpectedly affecting me. So many memories rearing their ugly heads, plaguing me with just how much I’d lost. So, I drove to my apartment in Hollywood because I did not want anybody to see me breakdown. I retrieved the good Scotch from my bar, didn't bother with a glass. I simply sat in my living room, in front of my giant 50-inch TV, put on some cop procedural and proceeded to get drunk.

Soon I was shouting at the TV, telling them all the things they were getting wrong about how criminals operate and crying my eyes out. It was Amy who got me into procedural cop shows. She put on Criminal Minds one day and asked me to watch with her and tell her all the things they were getting wrong.

It had been a fun pastime for us. I wasn't above exaggerating to make us seem a little more exciting. But the truth was there was very little difference between organized crime and any Wall Street firm. It's all keeping an eye on the money and relying on Joe from accounting to keep track of the figures. Wall Street might be a little more cutthroat than we are, it's all a matter of reputation.

I don't know when I passed out, with the TV on and Hollywood traffic providing a background Symphony to the loud silence that was my apartment these days. I startled awake at 4:00am when my phone went off. I squinted painfully in the dim lighting, as the first throbbing of a hangover took hold of me.

“You should get back here,” Valerio said to me in lieu of hello.

“What's happened?” I asked suddenly more awake than I had been two seconds ago.

“The triad. Hurry.” Valerio said and then hung up on me.

I huffed with annoyance before getting in the shower, turning it all the way cold. I chewed two aspirin as I waited for the cold water to shock me out of the fugue that too much alcohol had put me in. Then, dressing as fast as possible, I got in the Charger and headed back to Pasadena, grateful that at five am, traffic was minimal.

I arrived in time for breakfast and found Valerio waiting for me as I stepped into the dining hall. He handed me a slip of paper. “Patrol found it at the gate. I called you right away.”

“What is it?” I asked.

He shrugged. “Can’t read it.”

My brow furrowed as I unfolded the note and stared down at it. I could see why Valerio couldn’t read the note.

“Why the fuck would they send us a note written in Mandarin?” I asked.

My brother shrugged again. He looked remarkably calm all things considered. “Maybe because they assume we have a translator? You did tell them the girl knew Chinese.”

“Fuck, yes I did.”

We exchanged loaded glances.

“Do you want to ask her to read it?”

Valerio quirked an eyebrow. “Can we trust her to tell us the truth?”

Slowly I shook my head. “No. We need to find someone who can tell us the guaranteed truth. Meanwhile tell me everything. Where’d you find the note?”

“It was apparently left atop the camera on the gate. We went for the footage of course but it’s been erased. Should we assume that the Triad are on to us?”

“Of course we should. Caution first. Double the patrol, arm everyone, get ready for lockdown protocols. All non-essential personnel should leave. The family should head for the bunker.”

“And you?”

I sat down at the head of the table, pulling the coffee kettle closer to me. “I’m staying here until we know what’s what.”

Valerio nodded. “I’ll get to work on getting us a translator.”

I nodded in dismissal and he took off. I stared down at my coffee, lost in memories of the last time my family was threatened. I wouldn’t let the Triad hurt us. I didn’t care what I had to do or whether the council approved. I was the capo of my clan. That meant it was my job to keep my people safe.

I finished my coffee, hardly tasting it, but grateful for the extra layer of alertness it gave me. Then I stood up and went in search of George. I needed to know how it was possible for our cameras to be erased by outsiders and what the activity was like with the virus Audry had fashioned for us. If the Triad had found and blocked it, at least we’d have confirmation that the note was hostile. In the meantime, I decided to use back channels to get in touch with Mr. Zhang to see if I could find out more about what this was about.

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