Page 45 of Lord of Ruin
“You do like to get to the point. Plus, you have a way of knowing when something is off, just like you did with Jenna. It’s a gift that I wished Nico and I shared.”
“True. But I usually call it a curse. What is wrong?”
“Nothing is wrong. I wanted you to attend the meeting with me because the Brotherhood is going to continue expanding in membership. With the onslaught of new technology and the shadow of the Death Squad as well as all the other new, more dangerous syndicates and cartels popping up, we feel it’s prudent to continue our expansion efforts.”
I thought about what he was saying. “Let me guess. The entire Brotherhood has determined that going completely legit isn’t prudent during a time when dirty games are being played. Therefore, you want to develop a shadow operation, a group of your own assassins to handle the bloodier sides of our sordid industry while maintaining an entirely legitimate front.”
He grinned, the tension leaving him. “As I said, it’s a gift, not a curse.”
“So why are you telling me?”
“Because, brother of mine, I’ve made the suggestion that you lead that particular task force.”
“Why?”
“Because you’re a skilled marksman. Because you have the patience of a saint. Because at the end of the day, you’re a damn good hacker yourself. And because you have excellent people skills and have made certain associates into trusted allies. In short, you’re dangerous because you don’t seem dangerous.”
“I’m not certain I take that as a compliment or not. I’m also not certain that’s something I want to do.”
“Lead an organization that you create from the ground up? That you determine the rules and how you’re going to get business done? You don’t need to participate in the actions required, Stavros. You just need to control the testosterone in the room.”
“You make that sound easy. What does the Brotherhood say?”
“Well, as with all things of this nature, they want to see how you perform on the international scene.”
“Which you all think is where this is going.” I shoved my hands into my pockets.
“Yes, unfortunately we do.”
I took a deep breath, thinking about the woman who’d entered my life. It was funny to be thinking more about a beautiful woman who’d captured my desire, awakening my dead soul instead of the opportunity that had been presented to me on a silver platter. “As you might imagine, I’ll also need to think about it.”
“Absolutely. We should get going to the meeting.” He started to head for the door then stopped. “And so you know. You can absolutely start a family if you decide to take this position. If that’s what you want.”
“Why is everyone in the family so certain I’ve found the right one?”
“Because a spark has returned to your eyes.”
Fuck me. Maybe he was right. That made the entire situation that much more dangerous.
Not for me.
For my enchanted one.
CHAPTER 14
Jenna
Acurfew.
Okay, so I couldn’t remain a fool. The Russian, whoever he was, hadn’t selected me at random. I’d been his intended victim.
All because I’d walked out of my place of business at the wrong time.
That felt like a lifetime ago since I’d been locked in my room for days. Maybe I deserved it for attempting to escape but it certainly didn’t make me think kindly of Stavros, even if he had saved my life. Why was I continuing to remind myself of that? Was it really going to matter? Whatever the outcome, there wouldn’t be a glorious ending.
No, there’d be a bloody one.
Maybe Stavros’ words had sunk in finally but that didn’t mean I was just going to give in that easily. My papa hadn’t raised me that way.