Reign (The Syndicate_ Crime and Passion Book 2)(42)

Vincent snorted. “No.”

I leveled a stare at Vincent. “Did you know he’s dealing?”

He thinned his lips, didn’t speak.

“I take that as a yes.”

“I’m not a snitch,” Vincent said.

“You’re not telling me anything I don’t know.”

He sat back in his chair, studying me, thinking.

“If he’s been dealing or doing anything else for that matter, it wasn’t his idea,” Vincent said.

“Maybe not, but he knows just like everyone else, what’s acceptable and what isn’t. He’s doing it anyway. There’ll be consequences for that,” I said.

“Consequences. And let me guess, you want me to deliver these consequences,” he said.

I nodded, smiled though there was no humor in it. “Yes.”

He gave a grim smile of his own. “You looked surprised I caught on. I’m not as dumb as I look,” he said.

“So?” I asked.

“So, I’m sorry to disappoint new management, especially on a first assignment, but I can’t help you with this issue,” he said.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean I’m not gonna take care of Davey.”

“You’re feeling moral all of a sudden?”

“No, but holding Davey responsible for what Santo does doesn’t sit right. I’m going to have to decline,” he said.

“Santo accepted that? Gave you a chance to politely decline?” I asked incredulously, unable to believe the idea even as I voiced the question.

“Fortunately I was never in that position,” he said.

“And what if I told you that the Syndicate wasn’t a place where you could just politely decline?” I said.

“Then I’d thank you for the opportunity, and be on my way. Or at least hope I would,” he said.

“Good thing it hasn’t come to that,” I said, more convinced now that Vincent could be a useful asset.

He frowned. “So you don’t want Davey handled?”

“No,” I said.

His eyes flashed, but he quickly recovered. “I didn’t realize I was being tested.”

“You handled it well despite that last reaction,” I said.

“So does this mean I don’t have to sit around and rot anymore?” he asked.

“Yes,” I said.

“What?” he said. There was a gleam in his eye now, one that I recognized, because I had looked the same way when Maxim had finally given me a real chance.

“Davey’s dead,” I said.

He didn’t look surprised. “He short somebody?”

“Don’t know yet, but I’ll find out,” I said.

“You need me to clean him up?” he said, standing, his entire demeanor different, focused.

“Yes. Go with Adrian.”

Vincent was gone in the next instant, but I stayed in the office I hated so much.

Santo had crossed a line, and even in the best of times, Maxim wouldn’t stand for it. With Santo, there was no room for error. I felt the same, but I was also torn, pulled by a reality I hadn’t considered.

Because I loved Daniela.

And now I might be forced to kill her father.



* * *



Daniela

A few days later, I went back to my house to gather even more of my belongings.

I’d considered the idea of taking everything from the house, but decided to wait. Things were going good between me and Sergei, better than good, but I was still cautious. I didn’t want to upset the applecart, because so far, things were perfect, and even though I was where I wanted to be, I was a little superstitious and didn’t want to do anything drastic.

I felt things for Sergei I had never felt for anyone else, and it wasn’t simply a matter of sex. Which wasn’t to say the sex wasn’t wonderful. It was. Beyond wonderful. But who he was as a person was the thing to behold.

How funny he was, how kind, but also strong, was a revelation to me. I said often that I had never met anyone like him, and every day he proved that, showed me little parts of himself that surprised me. How he and Senna were friends, how much he cared for Luka but still managed to be strong, something I admired.

Some part of me thought that maybe I had been lucky for a second time in life. Nora had found me, and now Sergei.

So I would just go with it, let things play out however they would, and hope that they stayed as good as they had been so far. I quickly gathered the items I wanted to take back to the house, then walked toward the door, stopped short when I saw Michael standing in my living room.

“Michael?” I said, frowning at him.

“You forgot to lock the door, Daniela,” he said, coming to stand in front of me.

I didn’t point out the fact that he had entered without an invitation, but I was irritated nonetheless.