Page 23 of Where the Wicked Reign

“Yes.” Fortunately, Cassio was on my side when it came to this. Unlike Gio, who was basically up the Underboss’s ass and shared his reckless and shortsighted view on where we needed to take the Marchetti Syndicate. A view that said Underboss—my uncle, Leo—had infected my father with.

“There are too many missing variables for me to work my tech skills to solve this. I mean, I can decrypt some of this shit, but it won’t do much without being able to piece together the bigger picture.” He eyed me worriedly. “Not to mention, if you get involved directly beyond this, you’ll expose yourself. Marco will know it’s you trying to derail this major deal of his.”

“Through this investigation, I was able to discover that we’re not the only ones concerned about Lynch’s activities. We’re not the only ones who know he’s still alive and trying to make one hell of a comeback.”

“Roman Knight?”

I shook my head. “His son, Levi.”

“Levi? You’re serious? That wildcard? He’s a college kid.”

“He’s a lot more than that. In fact, he wants Lynch in the ground. Desperately. We can use that.”

He nodded along. “Have him do the dirty work so we’re not exposed in this.”

“Precisely. While I’d much rather do it myself, it’s not possible with the current climate or the restrictions we find ourselves bound by.”

“It’s still a risk, Nico.”

“It’s a much greater risk if this partnership between Lynch and my father is solidified.”

“Fuck,” he groused. “It’s a good thing Julian’s sorted the Reincourt Construction deal, because if this goes south, we might be needing it much sooner than we even figured. I mean, even if we manage to wipe Lynch off the board and ruin this deal, he’s not the only one Marco could partner with. This, the directive, and the general way Marco’s been since your mom died, is unsustainable. It’s only a matter of time before shit hits the fan in a way it hasn’t since that nightmare five years ago when the three families went to war. We might not be able to save things here. Marco could actually turn on you.”

“You mean more than he already has by making my reckless uncle Underboss?”

“Yeah, Leo’s still dreaming of the days of street battles and war, believing the Marchetti Syndicate can reign supreme over the other families.”

“The only way that could happen would be to decimate them and wipe them from the board entirely. The casualties and the collateral damage would be unfathomable.”

“Not to mention, those of us who survived a bloody war like that would end up in fucking jail.”

It had been bad enough what had been lost the last time around. It had been personal for Milo especially, because both his parents had been caught in the crossfire and lost their lives. His father had actually been Underboss at the time too, so Milo’s dislike for his father’s replacement in Leo was even more justified.

“Well, at least Leo is currently leashed.”

“How long that remains the case is the concern, though.”

“I don’t disagree. But right now, we focus on this immediate issue. Then we deal with the rest.”

Before we could get further into it, my phone buzzed on the desktop, cutting into our conversation.

I snatched it up and took in the flashing red alert filling my screen.

It was one of many that I’d had Milo, with his tech savvy, set up to flag any movement near Marchetti Holdings warehouses on my territory.

I opened up the alert and analyzed all the data available, the fact that activity had been flagged at Warehouse MH14, one of our coke storage facilities. The timing was more than a little suspicious also given that a shipment was scheduled to leave there tonight en route to one of our major buyers.

As I reviewed the surveillance footage, I took in a sea of crimson hoodies, a dozen of them. Those telltale black snakes were embroidered on the front and back of each one, stupidly giving away their identities.

“The Red Vipers,” I ground out. A stupid name for an equally stupid gang that thought they had the meat to become up-and-comers in the criminal underworld. They were mere fools. They’d already crossed the Benzinos through their incompetence and lack of understanding of our world. They’d attempted to extort several businesses under Benzino protection, which had resulted in them being brutalized and given one hell of a warning. They had been fortunate that Carlo Benzino had been in a benevolent mood at the time and allowed them that mistake.

Yet, now here they were onmyterritory.

We were beyond warnings now.

“Looks like they’re having trouble figuring out the best way to break in,” Milo said, and I looked across the desk to see him with his phone now out too, tapping into the alert. “That’s fucking weak.” He shook his head to himself, pitying them. “Still a threat, though. You want me to hit up Rocco to handle it?”

I pocketed my phone and rose to my feet. “No. I’ll take it.”

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