The Syndicates: A Dark Mafia Romance Collection

by Raven Scott

  “I hope he grows from this, so it doesn’t infect his next relationship. Me, I’ve never had a girlfriend in the traditional sense. I mean, my dad is Forbes’ eighth richest person in the world. It makes dating difficult. I’ve done some stupidly reckless things as a result.” My heart ached for him, the disgusted lilt in his tone directed at himself, and Mateo rested his chin on my shoulder to wrap his arms around my mid-section. “Thank you for telling me these things, Lucy. It’s up to you if you want to continue being friends with him.”

  “Thank you for listening, Mateo.” The odyssey of my relationship with Seth had officially ended, and, this time, there was no way Meredith was going to start it up again. It was a shame that things had to come to this, but Seth and I had learned and were friends, and I wasn’t going to just let that go. “I want to do something nice for him. I was thinking, when we get back, maybe I’ll buy him a really nice camera.”

  “Speaking of going back, I’m going to book a flight when we go back upstairs. I think it’s about time I left paradise behind.” Smiling as he squeezed me to his chest, I caressed Mateo’s forearms and savored this moment. What would happen at home was something I’d just have to experience when we got there.

  20

  Lucy

  “Lucy-y-y!” Lifting my head to find Mikayla running along the beach, I sat up to take off my sunglasses, and she puffed slightly as she slowed to stop to drop under the huge umbrella. “So, I was wondering if you and Mateo wanted to come to lunch with me, Seth and his sisters, and Roger? We were thinking of going to this sushi place, and I’ve been sent to get your opinion.”

  “Oh, I can’t exactly ask him right now.” Turning to the ocean, I crossed my legs as I spied Mateo and Sriracha paddling to shore. “But I guess I can in a few minutes.”

  “Cool. We got time to gossip. So, apparently, Meredith has called everyone here and no one is willing to go get her. Seth said that he talked to the officers who arrested her when they bumped into each other earlier at a strip mall, and they’re holding her until her flight and escorting her onto the plane.” A harsh bark of laughter escaped me, dribbling in disdain, and my brows rose high at the lengths those officers went to. Mikayla practically beamed in devilish glee at these events, and I shook my head slightly as she leaned back on her arms under the shade. “We’re heading to the airport at nine, by the way. What’s Mateo gonna do?”

  “He’ll book a separate flight, he said. Where’s my mom? Have you seen her at all?” Mikayla shook her head, flipping back her curls, and I huffed slightly as irritation tightened my chest beneath my white bikini. “She can’t take responsibility for anything. This disaster is her fault just as much as mine or Meredith’s.”

  “I mean, at least she’s leaving you in peace right now. Who knows what’ll happen when we get home . . . ” Trailing off, my best friend straightened to pick at her flowy, light blue blouse out of the corner of my eye, but I only shrugged. “At least you can’t get guilt tripped into getting back together anymore since you’re with Mateo. No more ‘oh, well, Seth’s as good as you’re gonna get’ nonsense.”

  “The last thing she said to me before we went downstairs yesterday was that I’ll fall in love with Seth eventually. That I may be overwhelmed now, but it’ll get better. It was like she was acknowledging that this was a mistake and trying to pretend it wasn’t at the same time.” I inhaled deeply as Mateo reached shallow enough water to climb off his board, and he pushed Sriracha until the dog, too, hopped off into the ocean. “I told her that I hated her, that I was unhappy, that she wasn’t allowed in my life anymore. So, maybe she’s just sulking, waiting for this trip to be over so she can act like nothing’s wrong like usual. The only difference now is that I’m not breaking up with Seth to be single, and that can’t be used against me.”

  “For what it’s worth, even Jessie fell under Meredith’s heel, and she’s a controlling bitch at the best of times.” Only nodding at that, I stood up as Mateo clambered onto the sand and swept back his hair while Mikayla popped up. “Hey, I was wondering if you two want to come to lunch with all of us— Seth and his sisters and their husbands and like nine people in total. We were thinking sushi.”

  “Sure, if Lucy wants to. I have to get changed and stuff, first.” If he was nervous about meeting everyone, he didn’t show it, and I nodded when he cast me a questioning glance. “Cool. Do you want a ride back to the hotel, Mikayla?”

  “That’d be great, thanks.” Gathering up my bag, I shook out my beach towel to fold it up under my arm, and that warm, mosey feeling invaded my head. “I got a question . . . when we get back, am I gonna be homeless?”

  “What? Why would you be homeless? I’m not gonna just kick you out on your butt, Mickey.” Mikayla shrugged at my question, and I held my bag and towel to my chest as Marshal rubbed up against my legs. Nothing else was said as we headed up the bank to the parking lot, and I gnawed on my lower lip diligently. I wasn’t going to be that friend that disappeared when I got into a relationship— a real one. Knowing Mikayla, she probably thinks we’ll have loud, obnoxious sex all the time.

  I could guarantee that’s what she thought.

  My best friend climbed into the back with all the dogs, and the drive to the hotel was shorter than the reverse. Piling out of the Jeep, I paused to dig into my beach bag for my phone; things had been so crazy that I put every single ringer on mute. Frowning as I scanned the eleven missed texts and twenty-plus missed calls, I rounded the back of the vehicle with my head buried in my screen.

  ‘Lucy, it’s your mom. Call me when you get this. We need to talk.’ My brows rose at the huge blocks of texts that followed, but mostly why did my mom verify it was her? Rolling my eyes, I stepped up on the curb to sit on a small bench, and Mikayla sat next to me to look over my shoulder at my phone.

  “I’ll be right down. You need a shirt or something?” Clenching my jaw as I scanned the texts that got angrier and more belligerent, I tore my eyes away from the screen at Mateo’s question. His cheek twitched, the only indication that he was annoyed, before leaving all the dogs with me with a stern command and heading inside. Guilt twanged in my chest, but it seemed like there were finally hairline fractures in our picture-perfect last twenty-four hours.

  “You should just block her and delete the conversation. God only knows how her attempt to fix things always ends.” I slumped heavily against the bench, flopped my head back, and groaned a tortured sound of affirmation. “She’s not allowed in your life anymore, remember?”

  “Yeah. Yeah, you’re right. Screw it.” My thumbs trembled as I pressed the three dots on top of the conversation, and I hesitated for a moment before tapping the screen. The option to block my mom was right there, so easily accessed, and I pursed my lips thinly. Tapping the option, I inhaled deeply in a futile attempt to calm my rapid heartbeat, and I tapped the verification button.

  Exhaling a shaky breath, I ducked my head and propped my elbows on my knees to hold my forehead in my hand. That was harder than I expected, but it also felt much, much more relieving than I thought it would. I straightened to suck in a big breath, and Mikayla rubbed my back before I dropped my phone in my bag to pull out a tank top and a pair of shorts.

  “I’m good. Where’s Seth and everyone?” Mickey waved her phone tellingly, and I nodded as I swiped back my hair and fixed my shoulders back. “Let’s get some sushi, for sure. Text them.”

  “Alrighty.” Standing up to pull on my clothes over my bathing suit, I fastened the button and zipper, and Mikayla stretched her legs out with a groan. “I’ll start looking for a place when we get back. You’re not gonna kick me out on my ass, but I’m not a fan of being a third wheel.”

  “Yeah, I know. I’m not gonna rush you- you’ll rush yourself.” She stuck out her tongue at me as I pulled my shirt down, and the sliding, glass doors to the hotel slid open. Ketchup stood up, his tail stump waggling excitedly, and I twisted as Seth, his sisters, and Roger came sauntering out of the hotel. I thought it would be awkwa
rd, but my eyes met his and there was . . . nothing. There was no discomfort, no fear or shame, and Seth smiled as he gave me a half-hug.

  “I’m sorry about all this, Lucy.” Seth spoke like he’d accidentally bought me an aisle seat, not a window seat; there wasn’t any strong, underlying guilt, and I didn’t feel any undue shame bubble up to clog my throat. I ran my hand through my hair, and he rocked back on his heels to stuff his hands in his cargo short pockets. “I was considering taking a different flight out, so I didn’t have to hear my mom on the plane, but I have headphones for a reason, I guess.”

  “It’s okay. Where’s your brothers-in-law?” My gaze slipped over heads, and Seth scratched his goatee as he shrugged carelessly. “Oh, I also wanted to ask you, has my mom tried to talk to you at all?”

  “Yeah, I just saw her in the hallway. She apologized and stuff for yesterday, which . . . I don’t even remember anything from yesterday.” Smiling at the sheepish confession, I huffed a laugh as humor wound around my ribs, and Seth had the audacity to blush. “Anyway, she told me she’d try to convince you to still go through with it if I was willing to take you back. I don’t know. I just walked away while she was talking. I appreciate the apology, but . . . ”

  “If you want to block her, you can. I did.” Anger quickly replaced the pleasantness in my veins, but I pushed it down as he nodded. “So, if your mom tries to sue me, will you be my lawyer?”

  “No.” Seth’s face blanked out, and my eyes widened as his narrowed into tight points. “You were right, Lucy— my mom controls a lot of what I do. I intentionally flunked the Bar, but I lied and said I’d passed to keep her quiet. Look at where that got me . . . us. I’m sure you’ll find a great lawyer who wants an easy case, though.”

  “O-oh. What are you gonna do, then?” He only shrugged again, and my heart ached for him as I reached to touch his arm in comfort. Ever since we got together, Seth’s mom bullied him into a lot of decisions he didn’t want to make, and it was so hard to break that. “You’ll figure it out, Seth. You’re more than capable.”

  In that moment, Mateo came jogging out of the lobby in shorts and a faded graphic t-shirt, and my brows rose at the two service jackets hanging over his arm. The conversation between my would-be sisters-in-law stumbled to a halt, and he swiped his hand through his lush, styled hair before I suddenly remembered how to work my mouth.

  21

  Mateo

  “At least you upgraded, Lucy.” I almost choked when Jessie chirped her opinion, and her brother shot her a glare as the other girls burst out laughing. The sushi place was surprisingly empty for the lunch rush, and I sat back as this woman scanned me from across the table. “I’m allowed to say that because Seth’s my little brother. It’s no wonder he’s a bit of a mommy’s boy, but hopefully that’ll end now. Everyone’s got a breaking point.”

  “Ah, thanks? Honestly, I don’t really have an opinion on that. My mother died when I was a toddler, and my father never remarried or anything.” He’s a cranky, old bastard.” That got some stifled laughter, and I picked up a piece of sushi off my plate with my chopsticks to wave it dismissively. “I also have two older brothers, so I can only imagine how much worse it is to have two older sisters.”

  “Oh-h-h!“ Jessie tinged pink, and I smirked a little as the atmosphere leveled out above my head. Her husband wrapped his arm around her chair, and Seth tossed me a thankful look from the other side of the huge amount of food we’d ordered. “You opened yourself up for that one, Jessie. Anyway, I was talking to Auntie Marissa this morning and she said that Mom said that she’s going to try to get everyone to pay her back for this trip because the wedding didn’t happen. Normally, that’d kinda be a somewhat okay thing to do, but, I mean, we’re in Hawaii, damnit. This is a three-day vacation that some of our relatives never could do on their own for whatever reason. It’s not like we had to go back early or something.”

  Seth’s oldest sister’s declaration earned disdainful hums from around the large, circular table, and I propped my elbow on the top to hold my cheek on my fist. I couldn’t help but wonder how these girls turned out so great when their mother was so crazy, and I glanced over at Lucy sitting next to me chewing a tuna roll and staring into space. Both my dogs were under the table, happy to receive any scraps that people deliberately gave them, but Marshal didn’t have the luxury of having access to restaurants.

  “You know, I just realized that none of my family, but my mom is here.” Speaking up quietly, Lucy scrunched up her nose as she swallowed roughly, and I frowned under furrowed brows. “Mikayla had to buy her own ticket, didn’t you?”

  “Yeah.” Her best friend sat on her other side, and Lucy grabbed her drink to sip as Mikayla flipped her hair bad-bitch-style. “Whatever. I had enough money to do it, so it didn’t matter. I wasn’t gonna let either of you be the maid of honor, no offense.”

  “None taken. You’re the best friend— we’re just obligated being Seth’s sisters. To be fair, though, it was probably the easiest maid of honor duties ever. I managed to keep a handle on my wedding, barely, simply because when I rage, I’m respectful about it, and employees don’t like being spit at. Mom tried to change the flavors of the cake by going there before they opened and banging on the door. I got the call and told them to not care and the call the cops any time she steps on the premises. I got a free mini cake for being polite.” Jessie’s little story came to an end, and she cast me the most interested glance possible; the hairs on the back of my neck stood up, and I wondered if she knew how intense she was. “How’d you two meet?”

  “I took a beating for Lucy.” My confession got everyone’s attention instantly, and Lucy grabbed my hand under the table to squeeze tightly. Jessie’s lips parted in shock while I silently debated exactly how much to say without opening up for questions. “We were double booked at the hotel, so she got her room for free. That’s technically how we met. When she won the jackpot on the five-dollar machine, some dude ran up and said she stole his machine, he wanted the jackpot, whatever. He got kicked out and waited for her to leave, and I happened to be in the lobby at the time.”

  That was close enough to her story, I thought. It wasn’t like Lucy told these people anything substantial, anyway. She went soul-searching and won some money, the end. Case closed. I could see that Marissa knew I was lying, but she didn’t point it out in front of everyone.

  “Why didn’t you ever take a beating for me, huh, Jack?” Marissa, Seth’s oldest sister, turned to her husband with a mock glare, but he was totally unphased, the chilliest guy I’d ever seen.

  “I take beatings from you, Mar. That’s got to be good enough.” He took a swig of his beer with a slight, teasing smirk on his face, and she huffed loudly. “I remember the day we met. I was the sous chef, and your mom took you to my place for your eighteenth birthday. She demanded to talk to me personally about her food, and you were so embarrassed.”

  Ah, that explained it. Every single person that had ever witnessed one of Meredith’s tantrums had probably been so obviously disgusted that the kids realized it wasn’t how they wanted to be.

  “Really? What’d she say? More importantly, what’d you say?” Mikayla spoke up, taking the attention off Lucy, and I tangled our fingers under the table comfortingly. She picked out a piece of tuna from her roll to feed it to Ketchup, and Sriracha headbutted my leg jealously.

  “Ah, Meredith had eaten about three-quarters of her food before complaining about it. It’s a standard practice to try to get discounts or comps while still enjoying the food. The waitress was in tears, so hysterical that she eventually threw up in the bathroom over it. We sent her home, and some rich asshole with a spider tattoo crawling up his neck gave every single member of the staff a four-grand tip.” My breath hitched and I tensed, briefly before remembering none of these people knew who I was. Jack continued on as if that wasn’t more than an interesting side bit to his story, and Lucy smoothed the bristling hairs on the top of my palm with her thumb. “My then-boss let
s the waitresses deal with their own customers because he’s not the kind of guy who’ll take the customer’s side anyway. So, I’m standing there listening to Meredith, and Mar is just melting deeper and deeper into the booth as Meredith gets louder and more aggressive. At one point, she even stands up, but I’m six-foot-six, so it’s whatever.”

  “Oh, my God, stop.” Covering her face in embarrassment, Marissa sunk into her chair, but her husband ignored her as he took a drink of his beer. The tension in me slowly dissipated, and I took a huge, stabilizing breath before reaching for my own beer to wash down the sourness on my tongue.

  “It gets worse, as you can imagine. I’m pretty chill, so after she exhausted herself, Meredith’s panting and spitting a little and her lipstick is sticking to her teeth, and she yelled for the manager. Keep in mind, this is a two Michelin Star place with wait staff practically in tuxes, and even us cooks have a uniform. It’s not some hokey diner, and the food is far from cheap. At the time, our cheapest steak was like fifty bucks. Skipping out on a meal ends up being two hundred dollars, easy, especially because she was letting you drink the thirty-dollar margaritas.” Jack cracked a smirk when Marissa groaned in foreboding, and the entire table hung on his words even though they all probably knew the story. “I didn’t want to embarrass Marissa because I wanted to get in her pants, so I just told Meredith that she could pay for her meal and leave or I’d call the police, she can pay, and get dragged out. I found out Meredith likes to call bluffs that day.”