Page 98 of Lord of Ruin
“Agreed,” Sabatino added.
“If we do this, we go in full force,” Gabriel said. “There is no doubt he is behind the attacks and the situation in New York.”
“How can you be so certain?” I asked.
Gabriel grinned. “Correspondence secured by my hackers, conversations and threats Madden issued. And pictures of Sean and Madden seen together in a restaurant in New Jersey less than two months ago.”
“They were planning the operation,” Phoenix hissed.
“I checked with the people I know in Alaska,” Diego added. “Madden made two recent purchases of oil rigs, both strong-armed deals.”
“What about the Death Squad? How do they come into play?” I glanced from the men on the Zoom call back to Constantine.
Dante smiled, leaning forward into the camera. “While there is no direct connection at this point, there was a significant deposit made to a newly established offshore account secured by Madden’s corporation coming from an unknown source.”
“How much are we talking about?” my uncle asked.
“Ten million dollars,” Dante answered. “And Madden’s father, brother, and sister-in-law were killed in a similar manner as that of Viktor and his family. However, that could have occurred months ago.”
“Madden sacrificed his entire family because of a promise made and greed.” I was musing more than anything, still amazed at the lengths people would go to in order to gain power and wealth.
“Yes,” Daniel piped in.
“So you know, Stavros. There is no evidence that Jenna Kilborne’s mother or father made contact with Madden. However, it does appear Madden kept track of them over the years, including the whereabouts of their daughter. And he was the one who bought off Rocky, encouraging him to lease a portion of the building to Jenna. It’s interesting because what it took to coerce Rocky was paying off a significant medical bill for his daughter who has leukemia.”
I shook my head after hearing the news. “Good to know.”
Constantine allowed the information to be digested. “Thank you, Dimitrios, for providing intel of your own. It’s time we go hunting, gentlemen. The sooner the better.”
“We leave in the morning,” Phoenix offered.
The last thing I wanted was to leave the country, but Jenna wouldn’t be safe until this was over. “Fine, but I have some things to take care of before I leave.”
“Understood.” It was as if Constantine was acknowledging me as a recent addition to the Brotherhood. Not that I cared at this point.
I’d put business in front of my life for far too long. It was time to reverse course. And I needed to tell Jenna exactly how I felt. I wasn’t the kind of man who knew how to grovel, but I was ready to learn. I couldn’t lose her.
No, I refused to lose her.
I didn’t wait to hear anything else, retreating from the room, more than eager to return to the woman I loved.
As I hopped into the car, I thought about stopping to purchase flowers, but I had a feeling nothing would soothe the raging beast within her. Other than my heartfelt admittance I was wrong.
I was already halfway back to my father’s house when the phone rang. Christos. When I answered, I could instantly tell something was wrong. “What is it?”
“She’s gone,” he said, his voice exasperated. “There’s been a struggle.”
Thirty minutes before
Jenna
Iloathed heartache, the sick feeling pooling in your stomach when you’d cried so many tears your entire body ached. I’d slept little, longing to unlock the door and curl into Stavros’ arms. Of course that didn’t make any sense for about a dozen reasons, but here I was yearning for him to hold me. It was crazy to try to put him in another light or to act as if what we shared would change him in any way. It also wasn’t fair for me to try.
Yet I remained aching all over. I’d finally crawled out of bed when I’d heard voices, noticing Stavros had left for a meeting. I’d taken a shower and while putting on a fresh set of clothes, I’d grabbed my bracelet. I was fingering the charms on the dazzling sterling silver piece as I continued to think about all that Stavros and I had shared.
Dislike.
Uncertainty.