Page 108 of Mafie Kings

I shake my head, getting frustrated. “We just want you safe…” I try to explain.

“And I told you, Damien, I feel safe with YOU!”

I’m stunned for a moment. She told me she trusted my monster to protect her, but I never realized I truly made her feel safe. I’m not trying to take that away from her, I just don’t want her getting hurt because I didn’t see something coming.

Before I can get any words out, she’s marching out of her room. She slams the suite door on her way out, and I’ve never been so confused by her frustration. She has to see our point, knowing she would be safer if she were in her old room. We weren’t kicking her out of our lives, just trying to come up with a plan.

“She seems like a morning person,” Alexi mumbles.

“Watch it,” Lev warns.

These men need to find a better way to handle their shit. I’m not dealing with this when we run things.

If we even make it that long.

I shove that thought aside, grabbing a notebook from my room and returning to sit with them. We have to write down what we know so we can come up with a plan. It’s time to send some Shades back into hiding.

Chapter 46

Laney is in the shower, and I’m tucked into my closet. My encrypted phone is set up and calling my uncle.

“Hey, Little Warrior!” My uncle greets me with a huge grin on his face, his excitement palpable through the screen. “We did it.”

I’m pissed though. “Why are they all dead, again?” I ask, not interested in playing games.

His brows pinch together and he jerks back as if in shock. “Who’s dead?” he asks, as if he didn’t just kill eight more people in his plot for revenge.

“I’m not up for playing games. Who the fuck killed all of those men?” I ask, my determination unwavering.

“I swear we left them alive, just like last time. We never killed any of those men.” I search his face for the lie. Something feels off about this whole situation.

“Were you there? Who was the last to leave them?”

“I was.” He leans back in his chair, his face still a perfect make up of a man confused. I allow myself to believe him. He really has no reason to lie to me, anyways.

“Who called Damien?” I ask.

“Havoc, why?”

I don’t know why Havoc decided to reveal that The Shades were on the island, but I believe he had a reason, and I plan to ask him about it later. “No reason, the voice sounded weird is all,” I lie to him, a little too easily.

“Listen, we got word that a certain group of oligarchs are aligning themselves with the Bratva. This would put them in a position of even more power. I need you to hack into their system and plant a virus so we can intercept their meetings until we can cause some tension that will deter them from aligning.”

My gut twists. I don’t want to keep using the guys. “Who do you think killed their men?” I don’t acknowledge the task he gave me.

“Probably one of their own. Possibly even their leader.”

“I doubt he shows up to clean up messes like that,” I say flippantly.

“What's going on?” His tone changes to one of genuine concern. I sigh heavily.

“I want to tell Lev and Damien the truth,” I say.

“What truth?”

“I want to tell them why I’m here and who I’m trying to get close to. I think I could convince them to help me. There’s more to their stories than those files, so I think they would be willing to help.” I let out a long breath.

My anxiety over bringing all of this idea up to him is almost overwhelming now that it’s in the open. He stares at the screen with a blank expression. I’m about to wave a hand at the screen to see if our connection froze when he finally speaks.

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