Page 87 of Ruthless Vengeance
Together, the two brothers are a lethal mix. One brains and the other brawn.
It’s clear they’re loyal to no one but each other, which makes them even more dangerous.
Now that their father is gone, they have little left to lose.
Carlos’s fingers tap out a steady rhythm against the metal tabletop, as if he’s counting down the seconds until he decides he’s done playing nice. After all, they want us dead and for good reason.
I put a bullet in their father’s chest, and I’d do it again if I had to. Even if we end up joining forces to take down Cillian, that kind of betrayal doesn’t get forgotten.
It was a risky move on my part to ask Bruno and Carlos to meet today, and we still have a long way to go.
They may have agreed to hear me out, but that doesn’t mean they’ll be willing to look past what I did to their father in favor of taking down Cillian.
Bruno is the first to speak, his voice cold and emotionless.
“Let’s get one thing straight.” He looks at Andre and then at me. “This isn’t a truce.”
Andre mirrors his cool and relaxed demeanor. “No. It isn’t.”
Carlos huffs a laugh. “You’ve got some fucking nerve, the pair of you.”
I lean forward, bracing my forearms on the edge of the table. “Let’s just call this what it is. A necessary alliance.”
Bruno cocks an eyebrow. “You really think Cillian’s a bigger problem than us?”
Andre leans in, his voice calm, though there’s no denying the warning beneath it.
“Yes, because Cillian plays dirty. He doesn’t stop until he owns everything in sight.”
Carlos regards Andre. “And you don’t?”
I meet his eyes without flinching. “I protect what’s mine, but I don’t take what doesn’t belong to me.”
Carlos scoffs. “No, you just kill them instead.”
Bruno holds up a hand, his gold signet ring glinting under the light overhead. He narrows his eyes as he watches me.
“If you’re not here just to warn us about Cillian, what do you want?”
“We want your help taking him down. In exchange, we’ll give you more territory, more power.”
Andre nods. “We’ll pull our guys from the east side. That’ll be yours, no questions asked.”
Carlos lets out a low whistle. “That’s a big offer.”
“It’s a big risk. But we’ve seen what Cillian is building. He’s trafficking humans, specifically young underaged girls, and auctioning them off to the men that run this fucking city.”
Bruno sits straighter. “Christ.”
My eyes go from one Costa brother to the other. “Which means, he has leverage over them. His connections reach further than any of us anticipated.”
Carlos narrows his eyes at us. “We thought you were working with him?”
“I struck a deal.” I glance sidelong at Andre. “But I want out.”
Andre shakes his head. “Cillian isn’t looking to share power. He’s looking to either own us or destroy us. And that meansallof us.”
The room goes still as Andre’s words hang in the air between us. Even Carlos stops drumming his fingers against the table.
