Page 96 of The Devil's Saint

“I don’t even know what to say,” Chain says solemnly.

“Who did it?” Owl demands, his voice full of anger.

Caleb and I maintain our poker faces, revealing nothing. “We don’t know yet,” Caleb responds on my behalf. “A guard said he witnessed Eric in a scuffle with a gang member earlier that day. The guard was forced to intervene. He broke it up and thought it was dealt with. Whatever it was about clearly wasn’t over. They think it might be related, but it’s impossible to tell without surveillance.”

“It’s a prison. How the fuck wasn’t there any surveillance?” Chains asks.

“Apparently, the system was undergoing maintenance for a short period of time.”

“Yeah, that was conveniently around the time your dad was murdered,” Chains says, knowing there’s more to this than what meets the eye.

“You think Maloti had a hand in this?” Owl quizzes.

My head shakes in disagreement.

“No. Marcus was housed in a different area of the prison. No one except the guards and his lawyer went in to see him. Besides, Marcus wouldn’t have had a reason. He doesn’t know it was Eric who set him up.” Caleb continued.

“And Ian’s well aware that if any harm was to come my family from his hand, it would not only break the alliance but start a war I wouldn’t lose. He has too much at stake,” I reminded him.

“What do we do now?” Chains asks.

Caleb and I stand united, ready to do what we had always planned together.

“Now you serve your new boss.” Caleb gestures towards me.

“Bosses,” I remind him. “Caleb and I will be equal in all things. Together, we will run the Garo empire, just as my father would have wanted.”

“Anything you need, boss,” Chains says before clearing his throat and adjusting his stance with respectful acknowledgment. “Bosses.”

“Caleb and I will oversee the businesses. Colton will be our underboss with you two as the enforcers.” My gaze shifts purposefully between the trio.

“What do you mean Colton’s underboss?” Owl stands, his eyes flashing with anger. “Colton is not in charge of us.”

“Go fuck yourself,” Colton fires back defiantly, crossing his arms.

Rising from the chair, my fists slam into the table. “Caleb and I are in charge now! We choose our crew, and in what fucking order, not you. And I’m not my father. Speak to me like that again, and it will be your last fucking time. You got that?” I roar at Owl, whose eyes betray a hint of fear.

The room falls silent, the air pregnant with the unspoken weight of our authority as Owl thinks his options over briefly before nodding twice and sitting his ass back down. He knows I wouldn’t hesitate to put a bullet in the back of his skull if he uttered one more goddamn word. I don’t give two shits if his brother and nephew are there. If there’s no respect, there is no loyalty.

“Glad we got that settled. Now, where are we with the new recruits?” I direct the question to Chains, who sits upright, adjusting the collar of his shirt before answering.

“Thirty so far, more on the way,” Chains replies, tapping his fingers rhythmically on the side of the chair.

“Good,” Caleb says, standing. “I want them down here and sworn in as soon as possible. Things are going to run differently from here on out.”

“Different, how?” Owl asks, intrigued.

“We’re going to build an army and empire so big we’re untouchable to anyone. We no longer hide away in this town, crumbling under fear from outside rivals. They say power and influence thrive in the city. And that’s exactly where we’ll go.” Chain’s eyes light up at the prospect. This is is shit he lives for. “We’re rebuilding from the ground up. We’ll establish new betting shops strategically placed to launder our incoming drug money. Our men will manage these fronts. We won’t rule through fear alone; we’ll be generous with our rewards. Treat our men like kings, decked out in thousand-dollar suits. Let them enjoy the benefits that rival loyalty. By the end of next year, I want new nightclubs and a casino operating under our name. Everything we do will appear legitimate to the government, thanks to Ian’s control over construction companies and connections with higher-up council officials. We’ll manufacture our products through our own family-run businesses, ensuring a smooth and undetected operation.”

Owl, ever vigilant, questions, “And Ian? Is he aware of your plan?”

“Ian understands the game we play. He controls most of the construction companies with most government officials in his pocket, which is why we kept failing to obtain planning approval and couldn’t expand our businesses. That’s all about to change now that I’m marrying his granddaughter,” I lie. “I’m going to propose he takes over the cities in the North and West. While we run the South and the East. That means the cities that were under the control of the Rossi, Greco, Collazo, and Murphy families are split equally among us. The alliance with the Maloti family was formed for this very reason. So that’s what Caleb and I intend to do.” I pause before continuing. “Any questions before we leave?”

“Where are you two going?” Colton asks, watching me stand.

I give him a sly smile. “We’re off to see the in-laws.”

Chapter Forty-One

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