Page 1 of Orion Ruined

CHAPTER 1

ORION

There is a charged silence in my house as we stare down the wife of Milan the Dog.

This meeting was to be held in the utmost secrecy. The four families controlling New York are finally sitting down to discuss money, murder, and business.

Of course, Milan knew nothing of it because he would instantly reject the invite out of fear that we’d set him up; hence, we needed him to think he’d be meeting me alone. Had he come, the three of us would have proposed life-transforming changes to the syndicate.

But the fucker sends his wife Camila instead. And to do what? Fuck? Gossip?

She even has the audacity to come with a bodyguard. Standing in front of us, ten feet from danger, she’s waiting on an invitation to sit but I’m dead fucking silent. And irritated beyond belief. I should kill her right on the spot.

I look over to the other side of the room and the two most dangerous men I know, Kai Delgado and Logan Vitali, their eyes burning with the same crazed look. Kai’s hands are already closed into fists. He may lose it. He should lose it. It’s within his right. And Logan–I’ve seen him kill a man in one move with his blade. It was one of my men. So as much as I fear them, I respect them too.

“What are you doing here? Where’s Milan?” I growl.

“Milan had more important things to tend to. He sent me.” Camila nods at Kai and Logan. “What are they doing here?”

“It’s none of your goddamn business!”

“To think that I had to leave the party at LaToya’s for this buzzkill,” she says nonchalantly, but her eyes betray a special hatred for us, most likely thanks to Milan. “And now when I tell him about you ganging up on him”–she points to my guests–“there’ll be hell to pay.”

I look at Kai, then Logan. We’re in a tight spot, and will seriously have to consider the consequences. She’s right, there will be hell to pay. And if this gets out, Milan will gain the most. Not one person alive has seen the three of us together, apart from my sister. How on earth, and more importantly why, did the heads of the most feared mafia families, Delgado, Vitali, and Carte, get together to talk without blowing each other’s brains out? To the world, we are bloodthirsty enemies who despise each other, but between us, we have an airtight connection that nobody knows about, or can break. But if anyone in our families hears of it, they’ll get stupid ideas in their little heads.

It’s now a standoff. We stare at each other in silence. It seems the voices in Kai and Logan’s heads are getting the better of them, as they are in mine. Each of us considering different scenarios to figure out what would be best for our families. To stay alive. To remain kings on the streets of New York.

All of a sudden, a loud noise disturbs the silence. We are jolted by the bell ringing furiously, someone yelling and banging on the door, and that’s it.

Kai, Logan, and I scramble for our guns and empty silent rounds on both Camila and her bodyguard. The bodyguard manages to open fire too; one bullet flies right past my face, to no avail. They drop to the floor like flies. There isn’t even blood seeping from the wounds yet, it happened so quick; they didn’t stand a chance. I instinctively point my gun at the others and they mirror me. After a brief hesitation, we aim them at the door where the banging continues.

“I thought you said we wouldn’t be disturbed. Who the fuck’s there, Orion?” Kai hisses.

“How the fuck should I know?” I snarl back. “Someone must’ve sneaked in past my camera sensors.”

Logan dives for cover. “Get ready for the door to be blown.”

We follow his lead and wait, but nothing happens. Just the yelling becoming subdued, and the pounding slowing down.

Irked by whoever dared approach my house, let alone bang on my door, I decide they don’t get any more time. I stand up and motion to Kai and Logan that I’ll unlock the door to see who’s out there. They nod, get closer, ready to kill whoever shows up. But I know we all have the same suspicion. It must be Milan the Dog. And if that’s the case, Camila lying in a puddle of blood just a few feet away would be one of the reasons we have to kill him.

I open the door, ready to rain hell threefold on whoever’s there, and find myself blindly pointing my gun at a girl in torn clothes with blood dripping from her. In stunned silence, I glance at Kai, then Logan.

She doesn’t say anything. Just stares at me with wide, dark eyes, her chest heaving, like a petrified deer on the road waiting for a car to run it over, until her eyes roll back in her head and she faints, falling at my feet.

I crouch to check her pulse. “Fuck!” This is the last thing I need today.

Kai and Logan stride past me and check the driveway. Only Camila’s car can be seen from where I’m standing.

“Clear!” Logan yells.

“Clear,” I hear Kai confirm as I lift the girl into my arms and take her inside. I’m not happy about this situation but I have to get her off my porch.

They close the door and join me as I carry her to the living room and lay her down on the sofa.

For a few moments, the three of us stand over her in silence. I’m pumped, ready to kill the next person in line, but looking at her all covered with blood, she’s the last person I want to hurt.

“Who the fuck is this?” Kai eventually snaps.

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