The Syndicates: A Dark Mafia Romance Collection

by Raven Scott

  The perks of working so close to home.

  “I’m sorry for disappearing on you, Marshal.” If I can just get home, I can sleep this pain away. My dog calmed at the sad, slow lilt in my tone, and I shuffled along the sidewalk as he headbutted my crotch. The only thing keeping me standing, now that I was here, was Marshal, and dread gripped me at the knowledge that things were about to get really complicated. I had to call Mikayla first before anyone, and then I had to call Seth.

  Glancing down at the ugly, block-shaped ring on my finger, I grimaced darkly, and Seth’s face popped up behind my lids when I blinked. He was handsome, sure, but he was also a bit of a jerk, and his dimples and cleft chin didn’t make up for that. Seth tolerated my dog, and I reached to pet Marshal as I let my mind wander to my declaration to break up with him.

  Truth be told, I’d thought about it a few times before, but I never worked up the nerve to dump Seth. My friends and family loved him- his family loved me- we got on well if his penny-pinching ways and general disdain for my garden wasn’t in the equation. I just lost that spark about seven months in when Seth made me pay him back for something I didn’t even buy.

  It was a blanket, a throw blanket that he left at my house and had never taken back.

  I turned a corner and my house came into view, the small, two-bedroom, single floor house that my granddad bought for his only grandchild. The pale siding was painfully familiar, and I could already see weeds growing in the front garden. My fingers itched to rip everything out and start over again, but it was a little late for that.

  I’m gonna have to pick some stuff, though. Being gone a week was a long time to go without harvesting, and I frowned as I came up on my house just one lot from the corner. The walkway was covered in dirt because I hadn’t been around to sweep it, and it was plainly obvious that no one else was going to take the time.

  My heart squeezed, and I opened the screen door only to find the front door locked. Sniffling harshly, I shuffled down the path skirting the house toward the back, and I pulled my hair back to tie it around itself. The breeze cooled the sweat coating my neck, and I sniffled harshly as a dense lump formed in my throat.

  Marshal slithered out from between my legs, and I paused to watch him run through my garden. A surprise squeak echoed through the air, and Mikayla jumped up with clumps of weeds in her hands. Her bouncy, blonde curls held back in a tight bun under a wide-brimmed sun hat, and she whipped around to squawk at the sight of me. Everything happened in slow motion as she dropped her handfuls, and I crossed my arms over myself as my best friend rushed through my garden, most of which was weeded.

  “You weeded my garden.” Mikayla threw herself at me, rocking and squeezing and crying loudly, and I tensed as she knocked the air from my lungs. The smell of her was so good, and I wrapped my arms around her waist to hold her as her heart rampaged against my chest. “Sorry for worrying you.”

  “Lucy, oh, man, I missed you. I was so-o worried. I thought you got kidnapped or something!” Scrunching up my face at that, my body wound tighter when she suddenly snapped back, grabbing my face in both her dirt-caked hands to glare at me. “Your mom said you went to a casino and blew ten thousand dollars! What the hell! You couldn’t invite me!”

  “What? No. I won ten thousand dollars. I . . . ” We’d been friends since kindergarten, and Mikayla’s eyes narrowed on me before I could even start reciting my lies. “I . . . I’m not allowed to talk about it, Mikayla. Seriously, it’s better to just not ask. I just need you to- to back me up. Right?”

  “Um, okay. Why can’t you talk about it? You can tell me that, at least, right?” Gnawing on my bottom lip diligently, I inhaled deeply, and Mikayla’s light gray eyes scanned me from top to bottom. “Why are you wearing scrubs?”

  “Uh, I got thrown up on and had no change of clothes?” She arched a well-groomed brow, and I winced at my own, unsteady voice. “Mikayla, I can’t talk about it. Basically, everything that happened the past week, I got paid a lot of money to pretend it never happened. Let’s go inside.”

  “Oh-h-h . . . like, ten thousand dollars a lot, or . . . whatever happened, I don’t care. I’m glad you’re back, Lucy. Your mom said you were going to be back around noon. You’re early. This was supposed to be a surprise, damnit.” Swatting my arm, Mikayla glared at me, her thin cheeks turning pink under her hat, and I nodded tiredly as I shuffled onto the patio. My back-sliding door was open, but the screen was shut, and I walked into my house for the first time in over a week.

  Everything was where I’d left it, and a strange emotion flooded my chest, like this place was dark and dank and I didn’t want to be here alone.

  “Will you stay with me for a few weeks, Mikayla?” The question slipped out of my mouth before I could stop it, and I twisted to watch her nod without hesitation. Warmth suffused my chest, and I pulled open the refrigerator to grab the full pitcher of lemon iced tea that had been empty when I left for work that fateful morning. “To be honest, it’s a lot. Like, okay, don’t tell my mom, but it’s ten thousand dollars times, like, five thousand. I couldn’t just tell my mom that, though, because you know how she gets. And you can’t tell anyone, either, Micky.”

  “Okay, as long as you never deny me a loan.” A huff escaped me as she smirked cheekily, and I nodded as I set the heavy pitcher down and grabbed two large glasses. “No, seriously, Lucy. I’m just glad you’re back. I felt like I was the only one seriously worried about you. You know, Seth didn’t even want to go to the police to report you missing? He said you probably went for a hike or something, but you always bring Marshal.”

  “I just told you I have fifty million dollars and you don’t even care.” The constant ache in my eyes spread to my whole face, and I gulped down the dense lump in my throat as Mikayla sucked her teeth sadly. “You’re a gr-great friend . . . ”

  “Oh, Lucy.” The crack of my voice struck the kitchen like lightning, and Mikayla wrapped her arms around me to stroke my hair comfortingly. “You’re my best friend. I love you.”

  10

  Lucy

  Panting furiously, Mateo held himself up with powerful arms braced against the concrete, and my heart threatened to explode. He tensed, his eyes narrowing on mine before his entire body jolted from the impact, and the sharp whistle and snap of metal breaking skin echoed in my ears over the blood drumming. He only grunted, his teeth clenched so hard his gums were white, and he ducked his head to blow out a fiery, heavy breath through his nose.

  “Fuck. Shit.” Mateo took a few breaths while I couldn’t see his face, and that maniacal, gloating laughter bounced off the concrete to rattle my brain. The man with the whip pulled back his arm again, but a shout from outside the room stopped him from delivering another blow. The frigid sweat creating icicles on my skin started up again, and I reached trembling, cold fingers to cup his face.

  He was so pale, and his eyes were unhealthily bright, and even as darkness closed in around us, Mateo’s silhouette shimmered from sweat and blood. The smell of him was almost nausea-inducing, but I didn’t recoil when he collapsed against my chest. All I had to do was hold my breath, but there was no point in that because I couldn’t escape the smell. I just had to get used to it.

  “Mateo!” Jerking up as the croak echoed in the silence, I panted as furious shivers strafed my spine, and I blinked blearily while my brain struggled to recognize my own bedroom. Tensing as Marshal crawled into my lap to lick my chin and neck, I sniffled hard and closed my eyes to throw myself back onto my pillow. My dog sprawled atop me, and I rubbed his short fur as he slathered saliva all over me.

  “What!” Bursting into my room, Mikayla frowned as I lifted my head, and I covered my face with my arm. Marshal licked my sternum with long, slow strokes of his tongue, and a huge breath squeezed past the tightness restricting my throat as I groaned.

  “Ugh-h-h! I just want to sleep. Oh, my God!” How was I supposed to get used to this again when I couldn’t close my eyes without picturing Mateo? I couldn’t stop thi
nking about him even when I focused on something else. He was an ever-present image in my head that I couldn’t shake.

  “It’s almost one p.m. Do you want to eat something?” Gingerly pushing Marshal off me, I sat up again to rub my face roughly, and Mikayla eyed me cautiously. “Are you okay?”

  “Yeah, I think so.” But even I wasn’t convinced by my tone, and I threw my legs over the side of my bed to heave a massive sigh. “What time is it?”

  “It’s almost one p.m.” Repeating herself, slower this time, my best friend watched me like a hawk, and goosebumps pocked my skin as I stood up. My pajama shorts and shirt clung to me from the sweat seeping from my pores, and I swept back my hair as I arched my back sharply. “Who’s Mateo?”

  Pausing to glance over at her, I pursed my lips thinly as I debated what to say. No one ever told me I’d have nightmares, although, I suppose it was expected. My mouth dried as the blood drumming in my ears faded, and my heart stabilized against my ribs as sadness gripped it in a vise.

  “He’s a better man than Seth, for sure.” Seth wanted equality in everything, from everyone, and I scrunched up my nose as what could’ve been flowed through my mind’s eye. “I’m gonna break up with him.”

  “Okay. Why is this time any different than the last time you said that?” She didn’t pose it as an accusation, or even particularly sassy, and I shuffled out of my room as my dog slid off my bed to follow us. “Is it because of this Mateo guy? Did you find someone better?”

  I almost snorted at that on the way through the living room, and we entered the kitchen at the back of my house. The tiled floor was cold against my feet, a stark contract to the carpet elsewhere, and I popped open the refrigerator to peer inside. Nothing immediately jumped out at me, but I had to throw away a bunch of stuff, anyway.

  “Yeah, I did. I don’t know how to explain it.” The truth was that I did, I just couldn’t, and Mikayla hummed softly as she leaned against the counter by the sink. Pulling open the cheese drawer, I gathered all the contents and dumped it in the trash with a more force than necessary. “I get it, okay. I get why it had to end, but . . . I wish it didn’t.”

  “Well, whatever happened, if you’re gonna break up with Seth, you should do it and not put it off. Otherwise, it’ll just be the same.” No, I wasn’t the same anymore. Shaking my head as I grabbed more stuff— wilted vegetables, the half-gallon of milk, and a small package of ground beef— I didn’t even bother looking at the expiration date. “Your phone is done charging, too. Your moms called a few times. She left a really nasty voicemail about Marshal peeing all over the entryway rug, I guess. I deleted it.”

  “Thanks. I really don’t need it right now. She’ll come over and pretend she didn’t ream me out on the phone and get mysteriously quiet when I told her I’m ten thousand dollars richer.” Speaking of which, I should call the bank. Supposedly, the money would be there today, but I wasn’t sure if keeping that much in one place was a great idea. Emptying my fridge, I frowned at the sheer enormity of it. How could someone just give me fifty million dollars. Wasn’t that a lot for any corporation?

  Then again, considering what those guys were involved in, maybe it wasn’t a lot.

  “You know, I think it’s a good thing you lied to your mom. That’s a lot, and it seems bottomless when it’s not. It’s easy to spend someone else’s money, too, and it’s worse when it’s your mom. She can shame you like crazy. Are you gonna pay your student debt off?” I shot her a dumb look, and Mikayla blushed at how stupid her question was as I dumped my armful into the now overflowing trash can. “I guess that’s a given. Sorry.”

  “It’s okay. I’m gonna call in a bit, and then I need to go to the grocery store. I’m gonna make bacon burgers.” I closed the refrigerator and opened the freezer, but everything in there was, well, frozen. “Maybe, I’ll get Marshal some meat.”

  “He’ll like that.” Licking my lips heavily, I nodded to myself. I gave my dog raw lamb on a semi-regular basis, about once every two months. He loved it, and I liked how it made his fur soft and shiny. Glancing over as Marshal watched me, sitting by the trash can, I reached to pet his head, and he grumbled happily. “How about I make dinner, and you can take him to the dog park? He’s probably been cooped up at your mom’s house.”

  “Yeah, okay. Thanks, Mikayla.” Anxiety pooled in my gut at the idea of leaving my house. No one knew I was back yet, and I inhaled deeply as I rocked on my heels. “I should go to the police station, too, and let them know I’m not missing.”

  “You’re welcome.” This was such a hassle; I had to put on clothes and wipe my face, but worse than that, I had to pretend I wasn’t a mess. In front of people! Ugh! “Do you want me to run home and grab my car?”

  “No. I want to walk.” Mikayla was such a good friend, and I nodded to myself again before shuffling out of the kitchen. Marshal clung close to my heels, and my toes dug into the carpet as I made my way to my bedroom. “You know what, Marshal, I’m gonna quit my job. I’m gonna get another dog, and I’m gonna break up with Seth.”

  He gave a little woof as if he understood, and I smiled small as determination seared through my chest.

  This was what Mateo wanted, me to get back to my life, and I had to do it. I had to go the direction I wanted, and screw everyone else! I was going to be as happy as I could be, and if I ever saw Mateo again . . .

  I wasn’t going to let him drive me away.

  I shoved my butt into a pair of comfortable jeans and pulled on a plain, bleach-stained tank top, silently repeating those three things I was going to do. Of course, I wouldn’t do it today. Today, I had to go food shopping, I was going to the dog park with Marshal, and I needed to go to the police station. That was three things that had to be done right now.

  And tomorrow, I’d do three more things.

  The next day, I’d do three more things.

  And maybe I won’t feel so sad and alone.

  11

  Mateo

  Nevada was disgustingly hot and arid, and I pulled up in front of a nondescript house among a bunch of other nondescript houses to park and turn off my rental car. Staring at the wheel dazedly, I flexed my palms against my thighs as anxiety threaded my veins, but I was here. I couldn’t just not go in. Oran had told this guy to hold the dogs an extra few days specifically for me.

  Unbuckling myself, I got out of the dark blue hatchback before I could think on it too much more, and I inhaled a huge breath and held it. Walking up the driveway, my heart pounded harder and harder, and I knocked gently before exhaling slowly in an effort to calm myself. The furious barking of a dozen dogs blared through the barrier, and my chest tightened as I raked my hand through my hair.

  The door swung open, and I tensed as the hair on my face and the back of my neck stood up.

  “Uh, Carson, right? I’m—”

  “I know who you are.” He’s worse than Theo. Jesus Christ. If these two had a scowling competition, Theo would fucking lose, and I entered the house with discomfort stiffening my knees. “You want two of them, right? They’re in the kitchen.”

  “Yeah. This is your last litter, right?”

  “The dogs are almost nine years old.” As if that was supposed to make sense, Carson glanced back at me through narrowed eyes. “You’re shorter than your brothers.”

  “At least I’m not a psychopath.” Carson paused at the entrance to the kitchen where all the puppies were clawing at a tall gate, and I climbed over it while he just stared at me. They were all gray and black, but one had a sandy patch on top of his head right between his ears. I knelt down to get bombarded with claws and licks. “They’re big for only eight weeks.”

  “Their parents are big.” These dogs weren’t monstrous, twice the size or something of what they should’ve been, but it was obvious they got the big-and-tall genes in spades. Picking one up, it had to be about fifteen pounds, and he wiggled and craned his massive head to try to lick my face.

  And he wasn’t even the biggest one trying to cli
mb up my legs.

  There were two that didn’t try to climb up on me, a solid all-black puppy and a gray and black patched one, and they seemed content just to sniff and wiggle and investigate. I held out my hand to the black one, and he sniffed my fingers before nibbling them with a little growl. The gray one was almost a dappled color when he rolled onto his belly, and I couldn’t help but smile as he wiggled against my leg.

  “Do they have names?”

  “No.” So personable. “I’ll go get their papers.” The gray dog squirmed into my lap, and the others just sort of wandered off into the backyard when they realized I wouldn’t pet them. I was going to get these pits trained, of course, but according to my online searches, it wasn’t that difficult. Pit bulls were a very trainable breed, and I hoisted them both up, one in each arm.

  “What should I call you, huh?” They were both boys, but the gray pit seemed cuddlier as he tried to claw over my shoulder. He didn’t try to gnaw my fingers away, at least, and I sighed when he licked my face. “How about Ketchup and Sriracha? Because I lack creativity and can’t think of anything else.”

  A silly kind of humor infected my tone, and I nodded absently to myself before Carson ambled into my line of sight. He handed me two plain letter envelops, one marked ‘Dog 4’ and the other ‘Dog 6’, and I took them before he jerked his chin to the door.

  “Thanks. I appreciate it.” I clamored over the gate again, but Carson ignored me to show me out. The door slammed shut behind me, leaving me in the sweltering heat with these two puppies in my arms, and I shook my head viciously. “Whatever.”

  Were these dogs’ yard trained? What did they eat? I didn’t have a chance to ask the most basic questions, but I guess I’d figure it out on the way to wherever I was going. I wanted to leave Nevada behind and never go back, and I set both dogs in the back seat before climbing into the front.