Page 15 of Deception & Desire

I always knew this marital arrangement would be a strain at best, but it was foolish of me to think it could be anything more. Getting my hopes up was nothing short of embarrassing.

As I step across the familiar entranceway, I let the embarrassment fall at my feet, cloaking myself in the things that truly matter. The most important of which is survival for the sake of my sister.

By the time I made it to the meeting room, the morning's interaction with my unwilling wife was tightly locked away at the very back of my mind.

“Natali,” Dante greets me with an easy smirk, though I note he looks particularly gleeful today.

He’s one of the first to arrive, as has become his habit since the Guild saw fit to send one of their own men to help negotiate an alliance. Teo’s second was, admittedly, a point of tension to begin with.

But over the last few months, I’ve found that he’s grown on me some. Dante’s easy-going nature and extensiveunderstanding of trade routes with our counterparts across the globe have been invaluable.

“Is it your birthday or something?” I give him a once-over—yes, his knee is bouncing beneath the table.

Dante taps the folder before him. “An early birthday present, perhaps.”

I quirk an eyebrow at him. If what he’s implying is true…damn it, the Guild works fast.

I take a seat at the end of the table and wait for the rest of the men to filter in. Most greet me with a tight nod as they enter.

Many of my men are from the old guard, left over from when my father and mother were running the Prince’s Hand, too set in their ways now to break away from me despite the looming alliance with a rival mafioso.

Most have now, thankfully, conceded on the merits of said alliance, but it’s still a relief when Maximilian shows up. The younger man throws me a half-hearted salute as he sits at the other end of the table.

He’s fresh blood courtesy of my relationship with the Californians. Max has added a sense of…relevance to the upper rankings of the Prince’s Hand that has been sorely missing. His competency has been an added bonus these last few months.

Once everyone finally settles in, Dante is practically bouncing in his seat.

I sigh and hold him off with a gesture of my hand. “Before we begin, I want a report on the Cartel bombings.”

It’s been a growing concern these last few weeks. Small bombs had been placed near the homes of various known lieutenants, and from Teo’s reports, they were targeting the Guild, too.

That threat is one of the other reasons I’d decided to relocate.

Max clears his throat to address the room. “Lab results are back. It was hydrogen, as we expected. But whoever is makingthem for the Cartel is barely giving them enough kick to take down a car, let alone a building.”

“Would it be possible if they planted multiple of the deVitales?”

“Possibly, but it would be incredibly inefficient. Why place ten small bombs when you could plant one big one? But nothing about the pattern of attacks suggests they’re even entertaining the idea of anything bigger.”

Dante considers this a moment. “So this is a scare tactic.”

“Or they have a limited supply of materials,” Max offers. “We know the Cartel doesn’t have the same relationship with local authorities that we do. Trying to secure destructive materials could prove more difficult for them without raising legal suspicion.”

Something about the way Max phrased that made my mind jump five theories ahead. “Unless they’re trying to provoke us to retaliate in kind. I imagine it’s easier to steal materials that have already been stolen from someone else.”

Max immediately nods in understanding. He was good like that.

“Sorry, what?” Dante looks at me in confusion.

Max does the courtesy of explaining. “It would be far easier for us to create explosives without the authorities getting involved. They may well be waiting for us to do so. That way, they can just target our labs to supply themselves without the hassle.”

“Keep monitoring the bombs, Max. Dante, report our suspicions to Teo. I want to know if he has a secure facility we could repurpose as a lab.”

Dante smirks. “You seem very sure he’ll be receptive to your demands.”

The entire table looks at him curiously.

I roll my eyes and gesture for him to take the floor. “All right, tell us the news.”

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