by Stone, M. T.
“And when is this going to happen?” The expression on his face turns deadly serious.
“I don’t know that. All I know is that Eduardo spilled the beans to the girl last night, so it’s just a matter of time before there is retaliation,” I explain, wanting to get ahead of it.
“All right, I have to let the boys know,” he says, clicking to the contacts on his phone. “I’m going to tell the Sandman to reach out to all the gang leaders too. They can keep tabs on everything going down on the street.”
“That’s all you can do for now,” I assure him. “Then we’re going to go celebrate my victory by having a good dinner followed by a private flight to Devon City.” I like to stroke his ego by always referring to it by that name. I lean into him and give him a long, hot kiss as we pull up in front of the steakhouse. “In addition to the unwelcome news, I have some really good news for you too. But I’m saving that for later.”
Devon
I appreciate the fact that Victoria warned me about the potential for conflict with the Irish, but I wish she would’ve waited until after dinner. This seafood platter is amazing, but I find myself completely distracted by the thought of taking on a force of that magnitude. Hopefully, Tiny and Felix have some luck drawing in extra support.
“Enjoy your dinner,” Victoria says with a smile. “We have a long future ahead of us and we’ll be able to handle whatever comes our way.”
“Do you have access to resources down there?” I ask, wanting some clarity.
“I have access to resources everywhere, honey,” she says, popping a piece of lobster into her mouth and smiling broadly while chewing it. “I was going to wait until later to share this with you, but I might as well tell you now.”
“Tell me what?” I’m hoping it will be something that puts my mind at ease.
“Dad thinks that what he’s done is temporary, but he has apparently forgotten just how bulletproof he made the Syndicate Doctrine,” she whispers across the table, looking around to ensure that no one can hear. “He was always scared that someone would try to overthrow him, so he made it virtually impossible.”
“So now that you’re in that position . . .” I pause, knowing exactly where this is going.
“Since the doctrine was signed and my position announced at the annual conference as well as ratified by the full council, I now have the same standing as he had,” she continues with a sparkle in her eyes. “The only one who can remove me . . . is me.”
“What about his partner? That Carlos guy?” I ask, thinking that it was strange that no one has mentioned any change in his status.
“Dad always said that Carlos Martinez was the co-founder, but he always ran the food service business and has no official position within The Syndicate power structure.”
“Wow, so you are really the new Capo dei Capi,” I reply in astonishment.
“He obviously doesn’t realize it, but I’ve read over that doctrine several times and I was always amazed that the other members agreed to it.” She shakes her head with a look of astonishment. “I was holding my breath all weekend, thinking that at least one council member would bring it up at some point. It’s like none of them have actually read the thing.”
“Well, they’re all guys. We have a tendency not to read the fine print,” I tell her, knowing my own lack of interest in long, detailed documents.
“That’s crazy.” She beams. “I fucking own these guys, and there isn’t a damn thing they can do about it. So don’t fuss about a little skirmish with the Irish. Let’s get you a nice, big steak and a bottle of Cabernet. We’ll worry about the rest of it tomorrow.”
Between the seafood, wine, and steak, this is easily one of the best meals I’ve ever eaten. Everything melts in your mouth, and Louis Martini is an excellent way to cleanse the palate between bites. It suddenly hits me that this woman has truly taken over for her father, making her the undisputed leader of the underworld. A few weeks ago, when I thought about The Syndicate, I thought about a group of powerful men whom no one ever heard about, but who ran the world in silence. Now, I’m sitting here having dinner with their newly appointed leader, Victoria Riccolo. I unconsciously shake my head at the thought.
“Is something still bothering you?” she asks curiously, setting her fork down next to her plate and wiping her mouth with her napkin. “Is there something on my face?”
“No, there’s nothing on your face. I just can’t believe that you did it.” I continue to shake my head, thinking back to how everything fell into place so quickly. “You made it look easy.”
“It may have looked easy because I spent nearly fourteen years preparing for it,” she replies with a distant look in her eyes. “Over the years, I’ve spent enough time with both Grandpa and Dad to get to know each of their strengths and weaknesses. Believe it or not, they both have very distinct weaknesses. I simply helped bring them to the surface in both men.”
“So this was your plan all along?” I ask, a little astonished by her admission. “I thought you said you needed me to help win your dad over.”
“I needed you by my side to convince my father that I was capable of having a relationship with a strong man,” she says in a very matter-of-fact way. “Don’t get me wrong. I do want you around. I think you’re an amazing guy,” she adds with the warmth of Cruella de Vil.
“I see. Well, I have to tell you that you are the first woman I’ve met who is dysfunctional enough to really understand me.” I reach across the table and take her by the hand. “After seeing the dynamics that you grew up with, I’m quite sure I’ve found my soulmate.”
“I knew it the moment I saw your picture and read through your file,” she says, still not sounding the slightest bit romantic. “That’s why I showed up in Devon City to begin with. I had a feeling that you were the man for me.”
“Well, then it’s settled.” I chuckle and take another gulp of wine. “Together, we’ll rule the world.” I look over at her, still having difficulty comprehending the power that she has at her disposal.
“That was also part of my plan. You know that.” She picks up her wine glass and proposes a toast. “To being unstoppable,” she says, clinking her glass against mine.
“We are unstoppable,” I agree, taking another sip. “So, why did you bring me to this place?”
“Because I thought you would like it,” she says, setting her glass down. But I can tell by the reminiscent look on her face that there’s more to the story. “The last time I had dinner with both Mom and Dad was right here.” Her lips begin to quiver. “So, I thought it would be the right place to celebrate our victory.”
“It’s perfect.” I get out of my chair and lean over to give her a hug. “Congratulations on becoming the most powerful woman in the history of the underworld,” I add, knowing that will cheer her up.
“Next, I’m shooting for the most powerful woman in the world,” she replies, wiping tears from her eyes. “But I’m going to have to get this crying thing under control. It’s so weak.”
“I think this whole thing has been a cathartic experience for you. Fourteen years of frustration and anger, all coming to a head.” I slide my chair right next to hers and sit back down. “I’ve never met a stronger woman than you, regardless of a few tears.”
“You always know how to make me hot,” she says, looking down and running her fingertips along the inside of my thigh. “Are you up for a private flight?”
“I am, but unfortunately, it’s only fifty minutes instead of the eight-hour cargo flight we had last weekend,” I tease, thinking about how sore we both were the next day. “Now that’s a flight I’ll never forget.”
“Me too, but I think next time, we’ll be much more comfortable in the private jet.” She takes her last bite of steak and smiles, her cheeks flushing just a bit.
“Your cheeks are telling me that you would do it again.” I wiggle my eyebrows and grin, finishing the last of my wine.
“Oh, we’ll be doing it again. Just not in the back
of a cargo plane, that’s all I’m saying,” she clarifies, laying down her napkin and pushing back from the table. “Are you ready to go for level-two status in the mile-high club?”
“Just let me know the requirements and I’ll shoot for level two,” I reply with a wink. My hand slides along the curve of her back as we make our way to the door, and it reminds me of the tiger that lies in wait. How could a guy like me get so damn lucky? Not only did I land one of the hottest women I’ve ever seen, but then she almost simultaneously becomes the head of The Syndicate. Once I catch my stride, no one will stand a chance against us. I look up as we exit the restaurant. Papa Joe has to be my guardian angel. There is no other explanation for how well things are playing out. Thanks man!
Chapter 22
Victoria
The numerous perks of being in charge of The Syndicate begin to sink in as we board the new Gulfstream jet that is now at my disposal whenever I get the urge to go somewhere. The security tech that I hired to do a sweep of the plane is just finishing up as we arrive. “Well, what did you find?” I ask, knowing there were several advanced surveillance features.
“There were two hidden security cameras in the cabin,” he says, pointing to the seat where they are now sitting disabled. “Also, state of the art directional microphones had been installed in the headrest of each seat.”
“And you’re sure you found everything?” I ask, not wanting any surprises down the road.
“This baby is clean as a whistle. This scanner is the same one we use whenever the NSA wants us to perform an off-site sweep for them.” He holds it up, beaming with pride. “I guarantee my work.”
“Okay, I’ll have to take your word for it. Just send the invoice at this address.” I hand the kid my Melinda Severson business card. “We should be ready to go,” I announce, turning my attention to Devon.
“Why would your dad put surveillance equipment in his own plane?” he asks, looking at all the electronics that have been pulled.
“He was obviously planning on monitoring Eduardo’s every move.” I pull a bottle of Remy Martin XO from my bag. “I hope this is okay. The plane hasn’t been stocked yet.”
“A man could do a lot worse than expensive Cognac,” he replies, taking the bag from me. “I’ll put all the bags in the overhead, then we can get settled in. Isn’t Victor going to be pissed when he finds out that you’ve had all of that stuff ripped out?” He gives me a serious look, as if my father’s opinion matters at this point.
“Who’s in charge of The Syndicate?” I narrow my eyes, accentuating my point.
“You are my dear.” He returns an evil grin. “It’s going to take me a bit to adjust to your absolute power. Please forgive me.” He moves behind me and slips his arms around my waist. I can feel his bulge between my ass cheeks as he cups my breasts in his palms and gives them a tender squeeze.
“You’re forgiven… obviously,” I murmur, wishing the plane was already airborne.
As if on cue, my phone begins to ring from inside my purse. I bend down to retrieve it and see that it’s my father calling. “You miss me already?” I ask, feeling a bit more playful than usual.
“Actually, I wanted to share the preliminary toxicology report on those vials that Antonio gave you,” he replies, in his usual business tone. “And I always miss you, dear,” he adds a bit of affection as an afterthought.
“Well, I can almost guess the results, since it couldn’t wait until tomorrow,” I reply, knowing that he would only call me Sunday evening with bad news.
“Well, the white powder is actually a very innovative vasoconstrictor, combined with a fairly aggressive anesthetic which when combined could simulate TTX poisoning,” he explains, leading to a dramatic pause.
“But…” I reply, knowing that there has to be bad news waiting in the wings.
“The pink vial is more interesting and contains an even more cleverly designed substance. According to agent Scalia, the crime lab had to call in a specialist to decode it.” He pauses once again, so now I’m certain that he’s about to drop a bombshell.
“I’m already assuming the worst,” I let him know. “So just get on with it.”
“Well, on the surface it seemed to be a simple niacin and arginine-based vasodilator, which would indeed counteract the effects of the first substance,” he informs me, finally leading to the bad news. “But, there was something else that showed up in the scan and this is what took them so long to analyze. There were radioactive particles, larger than isotopes but smaller than seeds mixed in with the powder. Scalia assumed the intent was that once they entered my blood stream, they would be filtered out by liver.”
“Which sounds like a bad thing,” I speculate, instantly wondering if Grandpa intended to do more than influence the negotiations.
“A year or so down the road, I would’ve been diagnosed with a highly aggressive and basically untreatable form of liver cancer,” he adds dryly. “A perfectly disguised execution.”
“My god, I’m glad I followed my gut and didn’t use it,” I blurt out, wanting him to know that I hadn’t seriously considered using it on him. “After hearing what happened to his business partner years ago, I wasn’t overly comfortable with it.”
“I think you also knew that it would be impossible to poison me without endangering yourself in the process,” he counters, implying that I wouldn’t have used it out of fear.
“I’m sorry, but I would never intentionally poison you,” I reiterate, feeling a weird twisting sensation inside as I once again tell him what I believe will maintain his trust. “I would’ve felt horrible if I found out later that I had caused you to get cancer or something terrible like that.”
“Well, you probably never would’ve known it,” he reasons. “That’s why I have to give him credit for a brilliant plan. After blowing up that plane, I’m sure he thought you would be freaked out enough to follow through with it. It would practically be considered self-defense.”
“Blowing up all those innocent people, just to make sure I followed through?” I repeat out loud wanting to gauge his reaction again. “That’s not something Grandpa would do.”
He chuckles in a most sinister way. “It’s obvious that the old man has become increasingly desperate, which is why I refuse to go anywhere near him. That’s also why I quickly realized that my only choice was to give you control for now. I honestly believe he would rather destroy everything than have Eduardo take over my end of the deal. It’s actually a little sad,” he adds with a hint of genuine human emotion.
“Well, I think things worked out about as good as they could have,” I suggest, expecting some type of rebuttal from him. “I really am glad that I didn’t accidentally hurt you.”
“Even if I thought you had poisoned me, I never would’ve taken an antidote that had come from him,” he replies cynically. “I would’ve called for an ambulance and taken my chances.”
“Yeah, you guys have a long history,” I reply, as the jet engines rev and the plane begins to move. “We’re about to take off, so I should probably let you go.”
“Okay, keep me posted on the Irish mess,” he adds, still seeming intrigued by that situation. “By the way, did you already disable the onboard security cameras?”
“Onboard security cameras? That’s a good name for them,” I reply with a laugh. “Believe me, I feel much more secure now that they’ve been neutralized.”
“Neutralized,” he groans, with his condescending smirk coming right through the phone. “You have a productive day tomorrow and let me know if you need anything.”
“Will do, thanks.” I click to hang up the phone and slip it back into my purse before taking the seat next to Devon.
“That sounded more civilized than I would’ve expected,” he says, shifting to get comfortable in his seat.
“Yeah, Dad’s calm demeanor is actually a little eerie,” I reply, settling into my seat. “He says that Grandpa tried to poison him, but I honestly don’t believe it. I know he had nothin
g to do with that airline explosion either. He might have been ruthless in his younger days, but not anymore.”
“So you think your dad is just trying to turn you against him?” he speculates with a confused look on his face. “What does he gain from that?”
“With him, it’s always control of some sort. I known dad well enough to know that this is all just a calm before the storm,” I reply giving him a pat on his muscular thigh. “Even though he’s no longer in charge, it doesn’t mean he’ll retire quietly.”
“You’re going to have to wire your dad’s condo so you can keep tabs on him,” he suggests, looking over at pile of dead electronics.
“Way ahead of you.” I give him a wink. “I had it wired while we were at the conference this weekend. For someone who obsesses over security, he has allowed the maid service to use the same key code for the past three years. What a foolish oversight.”
A hesitant look settles on Devon’s face. “You know, I always thought that my family was a little crazy, but shit.” He laughs and shakes his head, probably wondering what he’s gotten himself into.
“Just don’t cross me and you’ll be fine,” I tease, running my nails along his inner thigh. “And if you feel the need for a little extra insurance, I suggest the liberal use of your talented tongue.”
“Yeah, I have several talents that wouldn’t be easy to replace,” he replies with a cocky grin. “I can’t imagine a scenario where you and I would want to throw away what took us years to find.” He takes my hand in his. “As soon as the plane levels off, my tongue is at your command.”
“I’m pretty sure you know what to do.” I recline the seat, sliding forward just slightly so that my dress rises to mid-thigh. He gives me a sexy smile and his cool, blue eyes shimmer like those of a young boy who is waiting to open his birthday presents. I love the incredibly raw sexual chemistry between us and how we can’t wait to rip each other’s clothes off. Just imagining new ways to drive him to even greater heights of pleasure is enough to leave me hot and bothered. It will be interesting to see if we can leave each other alone long enough to get some work done this week.