Page 40 of Crimson Fate
Nico nods. “Yes, sir.”
“Good night.” I turn back toward the stairs, anticipation filling my body as I ascend the staircase, the memory of Gia’s forwardness fueling my every stride.
A door stands closed at the end of the hallway, guarding desires yet to be explored. Behind it, Gia prepares for an encounter that could redefine everything we know of each other.
Eva—her name is like a splinter in my mind. Once, it was a source of comfort. But now, she is a distraction from the path I must pursue. I shake my head slightly, trying to dispel the image of Eva’s eyes. It’s Gia who’s waiting for me now, with her brazen desires and refusal to conform to expectations.
But as much as I try to focus on the anticipation of her touch and the warmth of her skin, I can’t fully quiet the thought of Eva. It nags at me, a persistent echo that refuses to fade into the background, and I don’t understand why.
“Dammit,” I mutter under my breath. The tension builds, a tightness coiling in my chest. “Focus,” I command myself, the word a silent growl in my throat.
My phone buzzes just as I reach for the doorknob, and I look down to see it’s Marco.
Stepping into a nearby open bedroom for privacy, I pick up the call.
“Vincent.” Marco’s terse voice is laced with an urgency that sends a ripple of unease through me. “We have a problem.”
“Details,” I demand, the heated anticipation replaced by a warrior’s focus.
“I got a call from Smitty that one of his shipments got hit.” Smitty had been an immensely loyal guy to my father. He was considered for captain several times, but ultimately, my father always seemed to have one reason or another why that couldn’t be the case.
My free hand clenches into a fist, knuckles whitening. “Any casualties?” The words are cold, detached, every inch the don I was raised to be.
“Two of ours were hit, but they were nonfatal,” Marco replies, and I hear the tightness in his throat.
“Do we know who’s behind it?” I ask.
“Not yet, but we’re working on it,” he assures me.
“Figure it out,” I order. “And call me as soon as you know more.”
“Understood,” he replies. “But there’s something else.”
“What is it?” I demand, wanting to get back into Gia’s waiting arms.
There is a lengthy pause on the other end of the line before Marco finally answers me. “You know Christopher and the route you gave him at the shops?” I do, in fact, know exactly who Marco is talking about. Christopher was one of Anthony’s soldiers, and recently, he was given a route of convenience stores, and his job was to pick up payments from the owners for our protection services.
“What about it?”
“I heard from one of the shop owners that Christopher is making him load a few extra boxes onto his trucks that are coming from his supplier in New Jersey.” When Marco shares the news with me, my entire body tightens.
“Do we know what’s in the boxes?” I ask even though I’m fairly certain I already know the answer.
“The guy said Christopher told him if he opened them, he would have hell to pay,” Marco explains. “What do you want me to do?”
Normally, since Christopher is under Anthony, I would reach out to him to take care of this matter. Considering I’ve already warned Anthony I wouldn’t tolerate anyone stepping out of line under me, something more feels warranted. I said no drugs in our organization. If Christopher is moving them through a business we are being paid to protect, an example needs to be made. “I need you to make sure what we think is in those boxes is actually what’s in them.”
“And if it is?”
“If it is, I need you to make sure Christopher isn’t a problem anymore,” I answer.
“Anthony won’t like that,” Marco warns me.
“Yeah, well, I don’t really give a fuck what Anthony thinks. He better hope that I don’t find out he knew what Christopher was doing,” I growl.
“I’ll take care of it, boss,” Marco replies.
“Hey.” I start, knowing how quickly things like this can spiral out of control. “Be one hundred percent certain what is in those boxes first. Got it?”