The Syndicates: A Dark Mafia Romance Collection

by Raven Scott

  There were several locks on the doors, but I was the only one who could use the key card reader, and my hands shook as I swiped my master card. The conversation with my father hit me all at once, and I breathed hot, heavy pants as a huge grin threatened to burst my cheeks. Whipping around, I grabbed her to twirl around, and an almost joyous laugh escaped past the dense lump in my throat.

  “Yes! Fuck! Yes!” Clenching and releasing my fists, I shivered with the urge to hug Illya, and she smiled a little before holding her arms open.

  “What the Hell?” I had to do something, and I palmed her head against my chest as it heaved with exhilaration. My restraint even surprised me, and I cupped her cheeks to press my dry, quivering lips to her forehead. Pressing my cheek against her crown, I closed my eyes to watch the fireworks of my excitement, and she sort of just stayed still. It was all I could do not to squeeze her, and that edgy apprehension tinged the outskirts of my mind as I struggled to contain myself.

  “I’m really happy for you, Carlyle . . . but . . . you’re gonna squeeze my brain out of my ears.” Sucking in a sharp breath, I leaned back at Illya’s murmur, and she gripped my wrists tightly even as her eyes shimmered with happy tears. “Congratulations.”

  “I’m really . . . I-I’m . . . ” A laugh drowned out my attempt at words, and I couldn’t stop smiling even when I licked my lips heavily. “I’m so glad I got to share this with you. At least you understand the importance—”

  “I feel really fucking left out here, Carlyle.” For the first time, maybe ever, I looked over, and Theo was smiling— no matter how malicious it might’ve looked— and I sniffed hard. Nodding firmly, I stepped away from Illya, and we shook hands before he clapped me on the back. “Let’s go out for dinner to celebrate.”

  “Yeah. I need a minute, though. I’ll be outside in about half an hour.” Rolling my neck and shoulders hard, I headed out of the apartment on stiff legs, and I squeezed my eyes shut to take a shuddering, stabilizing breath. I’d been born for this job— my dad never missed an opportunity to tell me that my life was made out before I even came squealing into the world. He had his fatherly moments, of course, but he always kept a glass wall between us. That was never the secret.

  The secret was that he was proud of me, and childish happiness bubbled up to clog my throat. My father was such a good actor who sometimes, I thought, the whole sociopath bullshit was just that . . . bullshit.

  I cared about my achievements being acknowledged, and this . . . this was the ultimate ‘good job.’ Jesus Christ. I’m thirty-one years old. I guess it never really mattered how old I was. A father’s praise is still a father’s praise.

  9

  Valerie

  The wonderful scent of charcoal filled my nostrils even as I leaned back on my stool, and I wiped under my eye to squint. Tomorrow, it would be September first, and a Thursday, which was poetic because September sucked and so did Thursdays. Weakly, the sun filtered down to warm my crown, and I cocked my head as I gazed at the drawing of what originally had been a swing set.

  ‘Originally had been’ because it ended up being . . . something else.

  “Mm . . . ” Humming softly, I nodded happily at my own work. Rarely did the things I intended to draw end up that way, so I tried not to get hung up on it. The sun had been replaced by the moon, the swing set replaced with a hanging porch swing of some sort. Honestly, I liked this one better than what was in front of me, and I reached down with my free hand to grab my water bottle. Pushing the page of my easel, I took a huge swig from my bottle and glanced around the park through narrowed eyes.

  My phone chimed, giving me a welcome distraction to the mundane scenes around me, and I picked it up off my bag. Carlyle and I had been texting back and forth about stupid stuff, flirting heavily, but he’d gone dark last night.

  Carlyle: sorry about not reply. I got a promotion yesterday, so I got drunk.

  The simple text brought a smile to my lips, and my thumbs hovered over the touch screen for a quick second.

  Valerie: congrats! How can you be promoted if you’re the boss?

  He started typing back immediately, the little bubble flipping at the corner of the screen, and I rolled my lips between my teeth in expectation.

  Carlyle: I was just handling the stuff in the states, but I got promoted to global. We do a lot of security contracts, building renovations, shipping. A lot of government stuff that I’m not allowed to talk about.

  “Ah.”

  Valerie: I guess there won’t be much pillow talk, huh.

  Gnawing on my bottom lip, I locked my phone when Carlyle didn’t start replying instantly again, and I flopped my head back to blow out a breath.

  “Val! I got you the chicken tacos.” Glancing up, I smiled gratefully as my sister sauntered over with two cardboard boats of three tacos each. She handed me mine, sitting down smoothly on the grass, and I slid off my chair to cross my legs next to her. “I’m glad we took this day off. I really need it after that shit that went on yesterday.”

  “Paul’s just an ass. Don’t get your panties in a bunch, Natasha.” Picking up my hard-shell taco, I scooped up lettuce threatening to fall out, and the smell of hot sauce curled my nose hairs. “It’s not a big deal.”

  “It’s a huge deal! That pig tried to mansplain how to build a shelf at me.” The delectable crunch of my taco drowned out my sister’s complaining, and I nodded around my mouthful. Of course, I was right there when this happened. Natasha was complaining then, too. The shelves she bought for the living room weren’t as easily assembled as was to be believed, and she huffed as she pulled her hair into a tight bun. “I’m not an idiot— I know how to connect A to B and twist a screwdriver.”

  “I know.” Tomato and marinated chicken danced together on my tongue, and I hummed happily at the party in my mouth. “At least he doesn’t tell you how to do your job. Just drop it.”

  “If it gets worse, I’m packing my ass up and getting a job somewhere else. This city’s big enough, so it’ll be easy.” Rolling my eyes, I swallowed my bite knowing damn well Natasha won’t quit just because Paul’s a bit chauvinistic. “But, for real, I’m glad we took this day off. It gives me time to interrogate you about this guy, Carlyle. Is that really his name?”

  “Of course it is, idiot.” Flames licked up my neck, and Natasha hummed before taking a big bite of her own steak taco. “I like his name. At least it’s not Brad or Carl or Paul or something.”

  “Damned right. It’s an old-fashioned name. Imagine moaning Carlyle during sex.” Frowning when she shivered in abhorrence, I reached to pluck a strip of steak off her taco, and she scowled at me. “Hey! I’m just sayin’, it’s not a name you hear every day.”

  “It’s a good thing I don’t care if you like his name or not. Anyway, that’s not the point. He’s really hot, okay— that’s the point.” I couldn’t overestimate how delicious Carlyle was, and I took another bite of my taco as my sister leaned over the paper boat on her legs. For a moment, we were quiet, and I relished it as I let my mind wander.

  Truthfully, I only knew enough about him to think he was interesting— enticing might be a better word for it, though. Every time I saw him or received a text, an excitement gripped me in a vice, and I couldn’t explain why.

  “At least he’s more exciting than Trevor.” Bringing up my last boyfriend soured my tongue, and I set down my taco to rock back on my arms. Staring up at the blue, cloudless sky, I blustered a raspberry of a sigh through my lips before parting them. “Who’ da thunk it, a quiet, safe guy like him cheating? I always thought he was the kind of guy to ghost me rather than cheat.”

  “Trevor was a little bitch, and you’re better off without him, Valerie.” Glancing over at my twin as she frowned around her mouthful, I couldn’t help but smile at how hard she chewed. “Only cowards cheat. Plus, he was a loser. Loser plus coward equals . . . los-oward.”

  Huffing a faint laugh at that, I sat up to take up my half-eaten taco, and I scooped the contents that’d fa
llen out of the shell absently.

  “It makes me think. You know, we talked about moving here for a long time, but breaking up with Trevor was what made me make the decision. Why did you agree, Natasha?” My sister shot me a wild look, her taco half stuffed into her mouth, and I took a bite as a contemplative silence stretched between us. I moved here because Trevor cheating on me messed me up, but she didn’t have that excuse. I moved here to get away and focus on my art, but Natasha didn’t have the ability to draw stick figures right.

  “I moved here to get away from Mom, honestly. She was always hitting me up for money— more than I ever admitted to you, Valerie. I couldn’t take it anymore. That was why I suggested moving in the first place three years ago. She’d just gotten out of jail, and I wasn’t going to fall into that trap again.” My heart ached for her, and Natasha inhaled deeply through flared nostrils as she met my gaze. “The more I said ‘no,’ the worse it got. Then, right before Trevor cheated on you, she came into money. I don’t know how, and I don’t wanna know how. I just know I had to get the Hell out of there. Just because I’m six minutes older doesn’t mean I’m six minutes more mature or anything.”

  “I haven’t talked to her since we moved here.” Truth be told, I hadn’t even thought about my mom since moving here. My last conversation with her was right after I found out that Trevor had cheated on me. She called, asking for money, and I told her to fuck off and hung up.

  I wasn’t sure which was worse— knowing she didn’t call to talk to me about anything substantial, or being relieved she hasn’t tried again.

  Before the conversation could get darker, my phone chimed insistently, and I set down my taco to pick it up.

  Carlyle: I doubt it. You said you worked with computers. Do you know any coding?

  My brows rose in surprise, and I pursed my lips thinly.

  Valerie: not really . . . but my sister does. Why?

  He started replying instantly, and I nudged Natasha with my elbow to draw a grunt from her. Leaning over my shoulder, she swallowed her bite, and I held my breath in expectation.

  Carlyle: I need someone to write a program for me. For a good price.

  “Wouldn’t that be awesome if he hired me? Say ‘yeah.’ I’ll do it.”

  “You don’t even know what it is, Natasha.” Even as I protested, I shot the text she wanted, and Natasha rested her chin on my shoulder. “Plus, why would he ask you if he’s in a global company? Don’t they have people for things like that?”

  “Maybe he wants to impress you. Doesn’t take much.” Scrunching up my nose at that, I shirked her off, and Natasha laughed as Carlyle’s next text came in. “Oh, he wants to meet up tonight. Look up the restaurant.”

  10

  Carlyle

  Standing on the sidewalk, I flicked my cigarette into the gutter as strange anxiety burrowed deep in my gut. Jerry’s replacement couldn’t figure out whose voice was on that threatening video but suggested adding a tracker to the email to at least figure out where in the world it came from.

  The only issue was that all code had personal quirks, and I needed to have someone write that wasn’t associated with me.

  “You nervous about your date?” Glancing over at Theo, I only shook my head, but that’s probably exactly what I was feeling. I hadn’t been on a date since high school, and that was just social awkwardness— and the potential to have sex, of course. Since then, it’d just been the occasional hookup until I realized I could just buy one off Wren.

  Until Wren so foolishly got played by that desert snake.

  “Have you taken Illya on a date yet?” Theo took his turn to shake his head, and I arched a brow quizzically. “Why not?”

  “Why would I bring her to a place like this when I can order in and fuck her?” Rolling my jaw, I bopped my head in acceptance of that logic, and Theo leaned on the wall with a grunt. “I’ll take her somewhere when I tell her to marry me. Until then, it doesn’t really matter.”

  “When you tell her?” A laugh escaped me, but Theo’s glare was very serious, and I coughed to cover it up and stuffed my hands in my pockets. “Fine . . . fine. I get not giving her the opportunity to turn you down because she won’t, regardless.”

  “Like fuck she would. I’ll kill her before I let her walk away from me.” There wasn’t anything I could say to that, and Theo clenched his hand into a tight fist as his right arm bulged slightly from the tension in him. “She doesn’t get a choice.”

  “It’s a good thing she loves you, then, isn’t it?”

  “I wouldn’t go that far.” Yet. I could hear the hope in his voice. Theo was helplessly in love with that little firecracker, and he wanted her love in return. Clearing his throat roughly, he smoothed down the dress jacket he borrowed from me and straightened his shoulders. “Anyway, I hope she’s not late. You only rented the place out for three hours.”

  “Now, who’s the nervous one?” Smirking at the nasty glare he sent me, I chuckled lightly, and it almost felt like we were . . . pals. Rocking back on my heels to sigh, I let the silence stretch, and Theo didn’t try to revive the conversation. My mind roamed to why I’d arranged this in the first place and the why underneath that reason.

  Things like this took time, I knew. Chances were, I’d be sitting around with my thumb in my ass for a month. If I got lucky, Valerie’s sister would put a rush on it, but I didn’t want to wave money in her face and demand.

  Just as the thought entered my mind, a car drove up to the curb, and I stepped forward to pop open the back door. The woman who’d stopped me on the road last week stepped out first, and I held my hand out for her as a sleek, black heel touched the pavement. They had to be close in age, they looked so much alike, and I smiled politely even as the knots in my abdomen tightened.

  Valerie’s smooth heel was enveloped in dark red leather, and she emerged from the back of the car to show off long, beautiful legs. She and her sister were the same height, but Valerie’s legs looked so much better. When I blinked, I could picture them wrapped around my waist. The sleek, black dress hugging her thick curves and clinging to one shoulder was dressed in sequins that shimmered under the yellow lights illuminating the entrance to the restaurant.

  Luscious, mahogany waves tumbled down her back, and I squeezed her fingers as she straightened. Bright brown eyes twinkled with flustered merriment, and Valerie’s cheeks tinged pink as I scanned her from top to bottom. Everything in me screamed to push her back into her Lyft and fuck her like she so obviously wanted, and my palm tingled against hers.

  “Thank you for agreeing to meet with me.” Licking my teeth hungrily, I held my smirk at bay when Valerie giggled breathlessly, and I held out my elbow for her to take. Her sister took my other side, and I cleared my throat roughly as I struggled to keep my head on straight. “I appreciate you going out on a limb for me.”

  I couldn’t even look at the sister as I addressed her, and I gazed at Valerie out of the corner of my eye on the way inside. The hostess was ready to seat us. Shit, everything should be perfect considering how much money I was dropping to rent this place. Tension ate up the oxygen, but the heat sizzling against my right side kept me going on the way to the booth. Around us, the restaurant was eerily quiet, and anyone not working had been packed away in the kitchen or something, completely out of sight.

  “You must be a very prominent member of the community for everyone to bend over backward for you the way they do, Carlyle.” Sliding into the booth, Valerie’s sister smiled with excitement brimming in her eyes, and I simply shrugged carelessly. Holding Valerie’s hand as she slipped into her seat, I couldn’t resist watching her tits jiggle before seating myself next to her. Menus were placed down, but I didn’t have a chance to pick one up before the woman across from me spoke up. “I don’t think we’ve introduced ourselves. I’m Natasha, Valerie’s twin.”

  “It’s lovely to meet you, Natasha.” She reached for a shake, her perfectly manicured, dark blue fingernails scraping against the back of my palm, and I no
dded firmly. “Again, I appreciate you agreeing to meet with me. I know it must seem a little unorthodox considering I already have a department dedicated to this kind of thing.”

  “I was wondering about that, yeah. Is there any reason you couldn’t use one of them?” I knew I had to be as truthful as possible without revealing exactly why I needed this program written, and Natasha’s eyes narrowed on me shrewdly. “Some backwater website designer writing a program that’ll strip voice modulations. It’s a strange request.”

  “I understand. However, it’s more of a personal endeavor, and I don’t want to burden my tech team more than they already are. You mentioned that you graduated from Georgia Tech?” She arched a thin eyebrow, and I propped my elbows on the table to hold my chin on my clasped fists. “All I need is a program that’ll allow me to figure out the original voice, or close enough to it to be viable.”

  “I mean, I can definitely write it. It’ll probably take a while, though. At least three weeks. It’ll have to be paired with other audio software, too, probably, if you want it fast versus comprehensive.” Nodding firmly, I wasn’t surprised by that, and Natasha picked up her menu to glance at the wine selection plastered on the front. “I’ll only be able to work on it while I’m not at my actual job, unless you have a contingency plan for that, too?”

  “Natasha.” Holding up my hand at Valerie’s aghast attempt at a scold, I leaned back against the booth to stare levelly at her sister.

  “What do you have in mind?” I’d spend any amount of money to get this shit over with, and Natasha’s dark eyes flashed in surprise at my question. “As much as I hate saying this, money isn’t an obstacle. You work for a small website company. Did you want to come work for me instead?”

  Relief wasn’t a good word to describe the rush that shot through me when Natasha shook her head. I didn’t want them working for me. That created snarls, and I was on the cusp of something really big and really bad. For a moment, she was quiet, and I glanced over at Valerie as irritation tightened her features. My palm moved on its own, wrapping around her inner thigh under the hem of her short dress, and those big, brown eyes flew to mine. Silently, I shook my head just a little, and she seemed to get the message before her sister spoke up again.