Page 49 of The Pretty Psycho

Vinicius, a man I definitely wouldn't want to meet in a dark alley, stepped forward, his bright blue eyes filled with questions I was hoping I could answer. He was in charge of North America, gathering talent from all over the country, and one of the first ones to join our cause.

When we created The Brotherhood we knew we wouldn't be able to be everywhere all at once, hence the generals. Vinicius was slightly older than us, in his early thirties, and we all understood that he had seen things a human being should never see. His entire family was slaughtered during the crossfire on their last holiday together, and for someone like him, a seasoned soldier who had already seen the horrors this world could produce, that was the last trigger that sent him over the edge.

He didn't stop until he took down every single member of that organization, and he promised himself and all those victims that he wouldn't stop with them.

"What's happening, Adrian?" he asked first, crossing his arms over his chest. "I understand that there's a shit show, but I want to know what level of a shit show we're talking about."

"Never one to mince your words, huh?" I chuckled, taking a step closer to him. I reached my hand out. As a sinister grinpassed over his face, he took a hold and shook it, before pulling me in for a hug.

"It's been a hot minute since I've seen your ugly face."

"Likewise, my friend," I laughed, patting him on the back. I took a step back, my eyes zeroing in on the scar going over his eye, cutting through his eyebrow and ending up in his hairline. He never spoke of what transpired that night when his entire family was massacred, but he wore the scars that spoke of the monstrosities, reminding us all that we weren't untouchable. "We have a massive problem, Vin," I said. "Well," I cleared my throat. "Calling it a problem would be the understatement of the year."

"Hmm," he hummed, his eyes focusing on the building behind me. "I thought you said May," he remarked, reminding me of the plan we had made not so long ago. "Had I known it would be happening now, I would've found more manpower."

"Truth be told, we thought it wouldn't happen before May." There was no need for me to explain what was happening. There were problems, and then there wereproblems. Vin knew what he was getting himself into when he started this gig with us. Heck, we all knew what we were getting ourselves into.

There were no guarantees for any of us, but at least we could say we had tried. We had no idea if we would be able to take down the current Elite sitting on their thrones and destroying not just us but the world around us, but we had to try. We had to fucking try for the generations that were about to come.

None of us were good men and women. Every single one of us had sins to atone for, and perhaps this was just that first step we needed to take in order to bring them down.

I wasn't lying to myself thinking that with us at the top the world would be a better place, but we could learn from the mistakes of our fathers and mothers. We could learn from those that came before us. A line had to be drawn somewhere, and ourparents didn't know how to draw it. They had no idea where to stop, because their greed was infinite. Completely out of control.

They didn't care who they had to destroy in order to get what they wanted. They didn't care about the world they were leaving behind, acting as if they could bring their riches into the next world.

There was honor once among our people. There were rules we followed back in the day, before the newer generations took over. Right now it was like a constant battlefield, this world of ours, and I was sick and tired of being someone's puppet when I didn't agree with what they've been doing.

Vega was proof of what they were doing to innocent children. The Schatten used to stand for something until Heinrich took over, and while I had no idea of his involvement with my father up until recently, I knew that Heinrich Sr. had handled things differently. Children only became part of The Schatten once Heinrich Jr. took over, using those innocent lives to further his agenda.

"Let's get inside," Dante said. "We have a lot to talk about and I am not too keen on freezing out here."

"Why?" A familiar dark-haired woman exited a car, making me curse inwardly. Gabriela Barone in the flesh. The last time I saw her she was trying to bite my head off because I knocked Vega out. A sharp intake of breath was all I heard from Dante as she proceeded closer to us, smiling wickedly at the poor man standing behind me. "Are your balls freezing, little Dante?"

Vin chuckled, my eyes rolled, and I just waited for the nuclear bomb in the form of one of my friends to explode. It was no secret that Gabriela and Dante pretty much hated each other, which never truly made sense to me considering that they practically grew up together. They were from different families, but from what I understood, their fathers were friends. There was no bad blood between them, but Dante rarely ever spokeabout the dark-haired beauty and the reasons behind their animosity toward each other.

"Gabriela," Dante bit out. I turned around to look at him and saw the barely contained rage swirling in his dark eyes. "I'm so glad you could make it."

"Well." She shrugged. "When the big boss calls, I answer." She looked at Jax, smiling, hiding her venomous nature behind it. "Hi, Jaxy."

"Gabs," Jax nodded, keeping his distance from her. As he should. God help the man who would one day end up trapped in her vicious little web.

Gabriela Barone was an expert in her field, but that expertise was exactly why I never would want to touch her, even with a ten-foot pole. As the only female capo right now, she held more power than one could ever imagine. That also meant that she had more enemies than she needed, which was exactly why she approached us about The Brotherhood the moment she heard about our endeavors.

Dante hated the idea of her joining.

Jax wasn't so sure.

Ethan didn't give a fuck who joined as long as he could do his thing.

Arseniy kept quiet, and me… Well, I understood what having someone like her could bring us.

"It's good to see you, Gabriela."

"I'd say the same, but I'd be lying, Adrian." She yawned, telling us without so many words how bored she was by this entire situation. "I was on a trip in Dubai, filling my shopping bags, when my phone rang and Jaxy here told me I had to come. So, here I am."

"Here you are." I chuckled, feeling the dark energy emanating from Dante. "Still, thank you for coming. I'm sure itwasn't an easy feat leaving Dubai, especially not during this time of the year. I hear the weather is absolutely amazing right now."

"Oh," she perked up, "it definitely is. Not too warm, not too cold, just perfect." She took a step toward me, grasping my elbow before she turned us around and started heading toward the main building. "But it gets boring, you know." She kept on going as we walked toward the main entrance, passing by Dante. If looks could kill, Gabriela would've been dead by now. "But tell me more about this little issue we have. What's happening?" she asked, completely ignoring the fact that I kept on chuckling the entire time.

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