by K. L. Ramsey
“I agree,” she said, sniffling. She sat up and wiped her eyes. “Finn is worth the fight. The question is, are we up to it?” His girl was usually so confident that seeing her question herself and even him, felt foreign.
He nodded, “I think that I am up for the challenge. Are you?” he asked.
“I am,” she agreed.
He sat back and pulled her onto his lap again. “Then, I say we meet Mr. Envy on his turf—you know, really throw him off of his game.” Some of his fondest memories were going up north to a little town and staying at his father’s lake house with the rest of the Syndicate members. Finn was always there with his family and seeing him made dealing with Rock for a week tolerable. It was where he and Finn first connected, where they first built their friendship. They were supposed to have a retreat next weekend with the rest of the families to discuss the merger between the Pride, Greed, Envy, and Lust families. The only way his father would agree to a meeting was on neutral ground. So, Rock had organized a retreat and rented the rest of the family's cabins around his. They’d be able to meet and discuss Syndicate matters and then retreat to their cabins. It would be the perfect setting for him and Ella to convince Finn to give them another chance.
“How will we do that?” Ella asked.
“The Syndicate retreat. Aren’t you in charge of booking everyone’s accommodations for my father?” he asked.
Ella’s face lit up and he knew she was on the same page as he was. “Yep,” she said. “And, I might just goof up and book a cabin for the three of us.” Ella’s giggle filled her apartment and he couldn’t help his smile.
“Exactly,” he agreed. “You and I will just leave poor Finn with no other options than to stay with us in our cabin,” he agreed. “Just make sure that ours is the furthers rental from my father’s place. The less he knows about the three of us, the better. Plus, I don’t feel that the Syndicate retreat is the best place for the two of us to out our relationship to him, do you?” he asked.
“Nope,” she agreed. “I’ll take care of all of the arrangements, don’t worry,” she promised. Jett wrapped his arms around her body and hugged her close.
“That’s my girl,” he praised.
Envy (Deadly Sins Syndicate Book 2) is coming in June 2021!
Universal purchase link->
https://books2read.com/u/b5vMkO
And, before you head off, here is an inside sneak peek at K.L. Ramsey’s second Tirana Brothers Syndicate book! Altin is coming in April 2021!
Altin
Altin Tirana walked into the deli on Broadway that he loved. Living in New York City was always a dream and the main reason why he had chosen to attend college just outside of the city. After he graduated from university, he convinced his father to let him stay in America and head up his businesses there. His father didn’t need much convincing since he needed someone he could trust and Altin was the most level-headed out of his sons. As the middle son of Alek Tirana, he could have sunk into the shadows and no one would have noticed, but he didn’t. Altin worked harder to be the best. He had to prove that he was smarter than his older brother, Llir, and funnier than his younger brother, Veton. It was a tall order to live up to the Tirana name, but he did.
He bailed his little brother out of jams when he came to America and got himself into trouble. He also helped his older brother, Llir out when he showed up in America with some woman who he bought at one of their father’s auctions, and some guy named Tarek. Sure, he was all set to turn his brother, his slut, and Tarek into their father, but then, he got to know Elira and that just didn’t feel right. Now, Elira was his sister-in-law and someone that he’d protect to his last breath. Finding out that Llir was also with Tarek threw him for a loop, but when Llir, Elira, and Tarek pledged themselves together in their commitment ceremony, he saw that his brother was truly happy for the first time in his life. Altin wondered if he’d ever find that kind of happiness for himself. When Llir came to him, begging for his help to find a way out of the syndicate, he came up with a solution—he’d step up and take his older brother’s place. It was a job that he never wanted but he’d do it all again if it meant keeping Llir and his family safe. Elira was pregnant and if his father knew about the baby, he would have never let Llir walk away from the family. He was essentially losing two Tirana’s and that would have been considered a betrayal to Alek Tirana. Sooner or later, his father was bound to find out what he did to betray him and his trust, but for now, he had no clue and Altin planned on keeping it that way.
Llir, Tarek, and Elira had settled in upstate New York and he made the trip up to see them every few weeks. He was going to be an uncle and that had him both excited and scared to death for his brother. If their father found out about the baby, he’d wouldn’t rest until he got his hands on him or her. His dad had a strange belief that every member of the Tirana family belonged to him, like an object he owned. Altin hated that and he knew first hand that his brother did too. It was why he left Albania. Llir wanted freedom for himself, Tarek, and Elira, and staying hidden away in upstate New York was the only way he’d be able to stay safe from their father’s ever-growing reach.
Besides picking up his to-go order of a pastrami on rye, Altin had set up a meeting with one of his father’s business associates, Jeffrey Milborne, at his favorite little deli. He was one of the Tirana Syndicate’s top buyers and he wanted to purchase a large number of arms, that Altin knew would serve him well in pleasing his father. That was his end game, really—making his father happy. That way, he’d be able to continue to slide under the radar and find his way to escape the clutches of his tyrannical family. He thought that might happen when his father took ill. He wasn’t expected to make a full recovery and even appointed Llir as acting head of the family. But once Llir stepped out of line, his father made a miraculous recovery and took back full control of the family. He always believed that his father had made up his whole illness and after his recovery, he believed it even more. His dad was always doing things like that as a way of testing his three sons. Llir failed his father’s test and had to flee Albania. He had to live in fear, constantly looking over his shoulder and Altin knew that same fate could belong to him if he so much as stepped a toe out of line, as the new heir apparent.
He looked around the almost empty diner for his contact and didn’t see the guy that he usually met. Jeffery Milborne was an older, overweight man who was pretty hard to miss. Altin checked his watch, wondering if he was early for their meeting only to find that he was ten minutes late. Maybe the old guy got sick of waiting around for him to show, but he had a very busy morning and had to take the two sexy blonds, he had in his bed, home before he ran across town to make this meeting.
“Altin Tirana,” a woman with long dark hair sat in a corner booth, calling him, waving him over. He crossed the diner and stood at the corner booth, looking her over. Her brown eyes danced with amusement and he nodded. “I’m Blake Reid, Mr. Milborne’s business associate. He sends his regrets, but he’s sent me to meet with you to make the deal.”
“Pleasure,” Altin said, holding out his hand to her. She took his hand and smiled up at him.
“You’re not exactly as I expected,” Ms. Reid admitted.
“Oh,” Altin breathed. “And what exactly were you expecting?” he asked.
“I’m not sure exactly,” she said. “You are younger than I thought you would be.”
“Yeah, well, I can’t do anything about my age,” he said. “But if it helps, I’m twenty-six and very well versed in my family’s business. How can I help you Ms. Reid?” he asked.
“Mr. Milborne is looking for a shipment in the next few weeks. Is that a possibility?” she asked. Altin thought it was pretty damn cute the way she whispered the word, “Shipment”.
“I think that is something I can take care of for Mr. Milborne. He’s one of our top clients and I always try to accommodate his timelines. How about you send me over exactly what you’re looking for, via secured email and I will see w
hat I can do.”
She nodded, smiling up at him again. She seemed to know how to work her sexy smile and good looks. Altin didn’t miss the fact that he was attracted to her. It had been a long time since he had been interested in any woman, but Ms. Reid seemed to do it for him. Usually, he picked up women to take them back to his place for a quick fuck. That was all he wanted from them and that seemed to work for the women he met. But Ms. Reid didn’t seem like the kind of woman he could pick up over coffee and ask her back to his place. She was his client’s associate and that made her off-limits. The problem was, Altin didn’t do well with limits. Hell—he had no limits at all.
Ms. Reid turned to leave the diner. “Better yet,” he shouted after her. “How about you meet me for dinner tonight?” She placed her hand on the door and stalled, looking back over her shoulder at him.
“Dinner tonight?” she questioned.
Altin shrugged, “Sure,” he said. “You do eat dinner, right? I mean, I have been in America for a while now, but I’d never want to assume that American women eat dinner.” Her sexy smirk let him know that she liked his teasing—thank God because he had nothing else. If she turned him down, he’d be dining alone again.
“You are correct, Mr. Tirana. American women do eat dinner—well, most of us. I’d love to have dinner with you tonight,” Ms. Reid admitted.
“Great,” Altin said, trying for casual but feeling anything but. “I’ll have my assistant call you with the details. I’ll also send my car to collect you, if that is all right with you, Ms. Reid.” He left out the part where he’d be in the car too, giving them both more time to get to know each other better. Altin could tell that she wanted to balk at the idea of him picking her up. She looked like a smart woman and she was right to mistrust him—most smart women did. Most smart women didn’t even give him a second look after they found out who he was and what his family did. But that was back in Albania and here, in America, women seemed to like the air of danger that seemed to hang around him.
“Fine,” she agreed, surprising him. “Have your driver pick me up at seven. I have meetings for the rest of the afternoon.”
“Will do,” he agreed. “I’m looking forward to our date, Ms. Reid.”
“Dinner meeting, Mr. Tirana,” she corrected. “I will see you later.” She turned and left the diner, not bothering to give him a second look back.
“Count on it,” he whispered to himself. “Count on it.”
Blake
Blake wasn’t sure if she’d be able to keep up this rouse for much longer. Her assignment was to bring down a major American arms dealer and her supposed boss, Jeffery Milborne. She had started “working” for him about a year ago. He was her assignment and her target. Every time she got close to being able to take him out, something else came up—or in this case, someone. Altin Tirana was a handsome distraction, but a distraction, nonetheless. She shouldn’t be going out to dinner with him, but what choice did she have? Her boss was listening to the whole damn conversation over her wire, and he was thrilled at the possibility of finally putting the Tirana Syndicate on his trophy wall. Wasn’t that what she joined the CIA for? The intrigue was thrilling but bringing down the bad guys was her major reason for joining the government agency and not branching out and going rogue, as her father had.
She was just nine years old when she found out what her father did. He was specially trained by the US Army only to throw his life and career away when a top American mafia family made him an offer he couldn’t refuse. The Milborne family enticed her father into their syndicate and by the time he realized the danger he put his family in, it was too late.
Her dad turned on the Milborne family and promised to testify against them. In return for turning state’s evidence, he was assured that he and his family would be safe, but that turned out to be a complete lie. Milborne had friends in high places and he ordered her father and her family’s murder. They had no idea that Milborne’s men would be able to get to them in the safe house the government put them up in. Her father promised her and her mother that they were all safe but that turned out to be just another one of his lies. Two guards were watching them and one of them was on Milborne’s payroll. He was supposed to kill all of them, including his partner, and make it look like his partner had turned on them, taking out her family and he stopped him. But the guy must have had a change of heart because he insisted that his partner take Blake and leave. He told his partner that they had intel that Milborne found the safe house, and that they needed to divide the family up to keep everyone safe. Fortunately for her, the guard agreed and got her out of there just in time. Milborne’s guys showed up and blew up the safe house. She was presumed dead and that was that. No one came after her and when she found out that she was being assigned to the Milborne case, she kept her mouth shut about her connection to the mafia leader. She wanted to bring him down and if that meant keeping silent and maintaining her secret, she would.
The guard who got her out never told anyone what he had done. He drove her up to Connecticut and convinced his childless sister, Angelina, to take her in. Angelina gave her a good home Blake came to think of her as her mother—she still did. They never really spoke about what had happened, although she knew that both of her parents were dead. The story was all over the news. Her picture was shown with her parents as one of the victims and it was labeled as a gas leak—their death’s listed as an accident.
Angelina decided to change her birth name, Rachel Tillman, to Blake Reid, and every aspect of that little girl, whose picture appeared on the television as a victim, disappeared completely. She learned to keep her head down and her mouth shut and that served her well. Blake joined the police academy and graduated at the top of her class. She rose quickly in the ranks, wanting to be the youngest woman detective in the state’s history. Every goal she set for herself, she reached. When the CIA came calling, she quickly took their offer, moved to New York City, and never looked back. The only time she returned to the small town where she was raised, was to visit Angelina.
She parked her car in the back of the lot and walked into the abandoned warehouse where she was supposed to meet her boss. He liked her to stay off-grid when it came to her reporting in, and that was just fine with her. If she was followed by one of Milborne’s men, they would see the shady warehouse and assume she had scheduled a meeting with one of their buyers. Milborne delt in weapons of all types but mostly military-grade, top-of-the-line weapons and she was currently one of his top sellers. It was why he had sent her in to meet Tirana and why he trusted her, for the most part. She wasn’t a fool. Blake knew that Milborne had her followed periodically. He was a shrewd boss who never left his back unprotected. He had men and women, for that matter, who’d die for him, no questions asked. They were loyal, some out of love for the Milborne family and some out of fear of what Milborne would do to them and their loved ones if they crossed him.
Blake walked down the dark alley and into the back of the warehouse. “Reid,” her boss breathed. “How did your meet-up go with Tirana?”
“Went well,” she said. “I’m sure you’re thrilled with the fact that he’s asked me to dinner.”
“I won’t lie, Blake, I’m not upset about it. I’d love to bring down the Tirana’s holdings in the US while we’re tearing apart the Milborne Family.” David Guest wasn’t someone to go up against, even if she did believe that her boss was biting off more than he could chew. “Of course, we won’t be able to bring down the whole Tirana Syndicate since they are based in Albania and out of my jurisdiction. But Altin Tirana is a start.”
“You sure you’re not getting in over your head, Sir? I mean, if you piss off the Tirana’s by taking out Altin, don’t you think they’ll retaliate?” she asked.
He shrugged as if it wasn’t a big deal. “Don’t know and right now, I don’t care. I want you to get close to Altin Tirana,” he ordered.
“You can’t be serious,” she breathed. “Are you honestly ordering me to sleep with him?”
David chuckled and shook his head, “I’m telling you to do whatever it takes to get under Altin Tirana’s skin,” he said. “I want this. I want Milborne and Tirana and I have a feeling that you’re just the woman who can make that happen for me, Blake. You in or out?” She wanted to bring down Milborne more than she wanted her next breath. Her boss didn’t know it, but she had dreamed of doing just that since she was just a little girl. Revenge for her parent’s death was her driving force for so long, she didn’t know any other existence. Altin Tirana would be a bonus for her boss, but she had no stake in bringing him down. If she was lucky enough to bring them both down, she wouldn’t mind it, but Milborne was her top priority.
“I’m in” she agreed. She turned to leave the warehouse through the hidden back door.
“I take it we’re done here,” her boss called after her.
“Yep,” she shouted back over her shoulder. “I’ve got a date to get ready for and I’m going to need to stop and pick up a new dress on my way home. I’m betting Altin Tirana likes his women wearing close to nothing and lets just say my wardrobe lends more to the conservative side.”
“I’m assuming you’ll be charging this new dress to your company card,” David asked.
“You know it,” she said, waving back over her shoulder. “Talk soon.”
“Don’t fuck this up, Blake,” her boss growled. She didn’t plan on it. Blake wanted this whole mess over as soon as humanly possible and if that meant sleeping with the enemy, then so be it.
Altin: The Tirana Brothers (The Social Rejects Syndicate Book 2)—coming April 2021!
Universal Link->
https://books2read.com/u/4EPwQz