Page 56 of Tarnished Reign

I don't let the anger show on my face. Always keep your cards close to your chest. I learned that as a young man. In fact, I learned that as a child, when I had to keep things from my ex-stepfather in Italy.

“I'm not sure that would still be wise,” Jacob says. “I get wanting to flush these people out of the woodwork, but it’s risky when we don't know who this man is. Do we want to give him a heads-up that she's with us?”

“You were the one who told me to take the yacht and to be photographed with some of the women.” I'm losing my patience now.

“You still got the boat, and everybody knows that.” Jacob shrugs. “Keep the girl if it matters to you so much. We will let them know that you have the boat, and you and her come back here after the party and just lay low until we figure out who this guy is.”

“I still want to try this,” I say. “I don't want to stay on the boat beyond the next couple of nights. The plan I've put in place with Alexis and Yuri is that we hold the party as initially discussed, and we invite everyone from our group and beyond. We borrow a few girls from Virgil’s clubs and pretend that they were Dorian’s women. I have Adriana on my arm for the night. We let it get back to the streets. Two things happen. The people out there know we will take everything they have if they screw with us. Scorched earth, remember.”

Jacob nods.

“It also might mean we can find out where some of Dorian’s remaining men are hiding. There will be a lot of people with their ears to the ground at that party. I’ll provide the drink and coke, Virgil the girls, and then we let them talk.”

Jacob nods. “It won’t do any harm.”

“Immediately after, I want to move back here. After which, I'm going to make the bigger entrance with Adriana on the social scene. I'll take her to one of my clubs, walk right in the front door. I’ll phone round some of the Bay areas newspapers to give them a heads-up. That way we will be in the gossip pages the next day.”

I sip my drink and enjoy the burn.

“I think Ari will make a break for it,” I say. “He’s going to know he’s in deep shit if he can’t deliver that girl to those men. He’ll try to run, or he might even try to talk to us, to make a deal.”

“It makes sense,” Jacob says.

“What about the mystery man?” Virgil leans forward and scratches at the tip of his nose. “Dangling this woman that he wants in front of him in the pages of newspapers could mean he steps out of the woodwork before we know who he is and before we know what kind of backing he has. Seems like a hasty move to me.”

“That's why I want to stay here,” I say. “He's not going to attack here, is he? Fifteen guards, guard dogs, drones. Security cameras. This place is a fortress. If I’m seen with her and then go to ground here, we're untouchable.”

“I suppose it depends just how powerful this man is,” Virgil says.

“Do you know the best thing about our living situation?” Jacob asks.

I'm not sure if he's asking me or Virgil. I shake my head.

“It isn’t the fact that we live on a compound; it’s that we live on a compound that's very visible. We're in the middle of a city. Three blocks away from here is one of the largest police stations in the state. A lot of the police in that police station are our friends.”

I smile slowly. I’ve never thought of it this way before.

“In fact, many of them are on the payroll. We aren’t Pablo Escobar hiding away in a compound in the jungle. Nobody can come and raid us here easily. The cops would be here in minutes, and the cops would be on our side. We’re hiding in plain sight, you might say. That means that my son’s plan is valid.” Jacob looks at Virgil calmly and holds his gaze. “I don't think this person who is after the woman is going to raid our compound. Not when he could have a posse of San Francisco PD breathing down his neck within minutes.”

“It still means that the minute you leave the security of this compound you're a target,” Virgil says. “And so is she.”

“I know, but at least this way I'm going to get him to act. I doubt he's going to come here, but he might start making inquiries. He might start asking about who I am. That’s the kind of chatter that our friends in Greece could pick up. At the moment we have no idea who he is, and we have no trail to follow, but if there's talk on the dark web, talk about me, and talk about Adriana, that gives Damen something to watch out for. I want this guy to start asking questions. I want him to start making waves. That's the only way we're going to figure out who he is.”

I sip my drink and stand. “Can I leave Adriana with you for a while?”

My stepfather smiles. “Of course. Where are you going?”

“I'm going to pay Dorian a visit.” I turn to Virgil and give him a sadistic smile. “Seeing as you're keen for me to get to work on the guy, why don't you come?”

Virgil shifts in his seat, but there's a vicious gleam in his dark eyes. “I’ve already given him a good hiding, but you know what, I really would quite like to pay him a visit again and see the master at work.”

“I bet you would,” I say.

After all, Dorian is the piece of crap who took Virgil’s daughter. I'm not offering this from the goodness of my heart; I'm offering it because I want Virgil on my side. If I give him this and let him have the satisfaction of seeing Dorian broken, begging for mercy, and screaming for help, then I hope he’s going to be less of a pain in my ass.

“Your sister and mother are baking,” Jacob says. “I was planning to throw some meat on the grill. Why doesn't she stay with us for a meal, while you two head out to the cabin?”

“It sounds like a perfect plan,” I say.

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