Page 20 of Fixate
I wondered if there’d come a point where I didn’t worry about him. Hopefully so. Whatever these misplaced feelings were, they had to get gone. I had to focus on my new role in the organization. Nothing else mattered.
CHAPTER 8
Pharrell
Returningto Vegas without my wife should have bothered me more than it did. I recognized the anger that still simmered beneath the surface. It was dangerous to go straight back to work after the ordeal I just went through.
There was no other option, unfortunately.
I had rats to weed out. And the longer I waited, the worse it would be.
On top of those issues, I had to focus on how I’d go about telling Stasia’s family about the depths of her betrayal. I fully expected blowback from them. They have never been my biggest fans. Probably because they understood our marriage was in name only.
Or maybe it was because they knew I was gay.
I suspected it was my sexuality that had their feathers ruffled the most. It was an insult to them for me to not procreate with Stasia. They wanted genuine heirs to take over the family business.
Even if I were able to create a child with her by natural means, I wouldn’t want to bring them into this life. I’d seen fartoo much happen when children existed in our environment. They became pawns, items to move around the chess board until ultimate power was achieved.
Dante was a prime example. Granted, his father was a psychotic monster with a god complex, which made their dynamic much worse. It still never sat well with me to have to defend my desire to not have children, my sexuality aside.
“Boss,” the men stuttered out when I strode into the warehouse. They were all gathered there after having received a notice through Stasia’s email to be here. The ones who had been with us at the compound knew something had happened to her, though they didn’t know the extent.
Today, they’d find out.
“Weapons on the tables,” I said as I pointed to the long metal tables running down the side of the room. “We have something to go over. I need you unarmed.”
Two of my most trusted men, Henri and Jean, stood by the table. They searched each man before dropping their own weapons on the table. They moved to stand beside me. I’d warned them both that violence would erupt at the meeting, yet I still told them they had to drop their weapons.
While I did trust them, I didn’t need another person to betray me until I was a hundred percent certain I had all the rats taken out.
“As most of you know, Stasia and I left to go assist Dante Romano with a problem. We were successful in our venture. Dante is now head of the Romano family. He will be our point of contact moving forward. Him and his husband Preacher.”
I caught a few sneers at the words. Those men went down on my list, though I didn’t count them as traitors right away. Not everyone was comfortable with same-sex relationships. I wouldn’t force my beliefs on them; however, I also wasn’t goingto hide who I was for their sake. They could be reassigned if they didn’t want to get an up close view of my life.
That reassignment often meant less of a cut in the profits and doing the tasks others hated. Most of my men knew this, which is why they got over my sexuality pretty damn quickly.
“During our talk with the former late Romano, Stasia revealed something that led to…” I paused, gathering my thoughts. “Stasia is dead. She was having an affair with Romano. She’d led me there to die in order to take over the organization. Dante’s husband shot her when things became hostile. Romano died shortly after at the hands of the Yakuza.”
I hear a few curses and see more than one shocked expression. It’s the looks of anger and resentment that give me pause. They are also why I had them remove their weapons. No reason for them to attack me in their misguided fear and frustration.
“Since I know my late wife wasn’t working alone, I’m going to ask her men to step forward. If you volunteer yourself, the punishment for your betrayal will not be as intense as if I have to continue searching for answers. And trust me, I shall find them all. Nothing gets past me.”
A dark chuckle rose above the soft murmurs of the men. When the figure stepped through, I wasn’t all that shocked to see Tommaso. He’d always been a bigger fan of Stas than me.
“You want us to believe you’ll figure everything out when you didn’t even know your wife was against you. That’s a fucking joke — ”
He’s cut off when a bullet lands dead center of his forehead. His body dropped instantly; the life gone from his eyes in an instant.
“Anyone else want to shit talk the boss today?” Jean asked.
There were a few head shakes. It didn’t ease my concern at all since I knew there were others. So be it.
“Bring the first three to the training room.” Henri nodded at my words then whistled to get the group’s attention.
I felt safe enough to turn my back. Glancing up, I saw my sniper friend, Pip, in the rafters. He was a crazy as fuck contract I’d hired a few times in the past. When I told him the situation I was in, he eagerly agreed to come play ‘whack a mafia man’ as he called it.
The training area wasn’t actually a space meant to do such. It was more like an interrogation space where we could torture people in the privacy of a small space. Stas preferred the big displays of power. I knew a more subtle approach could be just as effective.
