Serving Mr. Serrano

Malice

I rarely called meetings.

I was content to let my lieutenants run their operations as they pleased, provided they obeyed The Code and stayed out of the news. I didn't mind an occasional murder here and there, so long as I knew about it and gave my permission well ahead of time. After all, I was still the boss. Their actions, good and bad, reflected back on the organisation, on me. I haven't had to discipline anyone in months, and whenever I had to, I did so in private. But for this specific situation, I had to break my own rules just a bit. I needed all of them present for this lesson.

What made this particular meeting all the stranger, is that none of them knew about it. I sent my drivers to my lieutenants' homes to pick them up without prior warning, and had them delivered to a block of warehouses in Nito, in the Lakon area. From there, they were taken to an elevator that led to an underground vault room.

Back in the day, my father used it to store money and drugs. But I'd since moved the stash elsewhere because of all the foot traffic in the area. I couldn't allow people to stumble upon it by chance. Today, it will serve as a conference room.

I was already seated when they began to arrive, taking my place at the head of a long, mahogany table on a plush, leather armchair. Percival was sitting to my right, Ben and James standing behind me, to my left and right, respectively. Tomas was also present tonight, taking his seat to my left, his expression carefully neutral.

I had one elbow on the table, my chin resting on the knuckles, watching each lieutenant walk in, their expressions varying from apprehension to relief. None of them sat. They stood behind their chosen chairs waiting for my permission.

Richard Amoruso, the longest-serving member of my team, stood beside Percival, and Malaika Sankara took the seat next to Tomas's. They had worked for my father and had been the first to throw their weight behind me when I took over. Of course, it didn't mean they weren't capable of betrayal. That was the thing with power; nobody could be trusted.

Once everyone had arrived, the guards took their places against the wall and the door to the vault was closed to give us privacy. Everyone turned to me, and I n once, granting permission for them to sit. I wait until there's absolute silence before speaking.

"Three days ago, someone stole from me."

Silence, as expected. Everyone who was anyone already knew about it. It wasn't exactly a secret at the moment.

"Five million worth of plush Omega-H2 was taken, as well as two million cromas in cash. The inventory staff were murdered, as were the drivers, the guards, and the accountants. Security footage was wiped clean off the server, and a few of our trucks were stolen as well."

Again, information they already knew.

"After I'd arrived at the scene, I received a phone call. Apparently, the ISA had obtained a warrant to search the premises after some… incriminating photographs had been taken of the stock. I assume this was done before the theft."

This was new information to those who weren't involved, of course, and a few glances were exchanged. Despite their impressive poker face, there were some nervous reactions from a few of them. I regarded each of them in turn, for just two seconds, enough to gauge their reactions. Then I turned all my attention to Malaika Sankara.

"We've been conducting an investigation over the past four days, and we've come to some upsetting, though not quite shocking, conclusions."

She doesn't flinch under my glare, and inwardly, I smile. My gaze shifted to Tatiana Silva, Giana Palucci, Hakim Etienam, Mandla Francis, and the other six lieutenants before landing on Amoruso.

"There are traitors among us," I told him.

The tension grew thicker, and there was a sudden restlessness in the air. I permitted the disturbance a second longer before I lift my chin from my knuckles and let out quiet breath. The room went quiet again, and I placed my hand flat on the wood.

"Palucci."

Giana immediately stiffened, but she looked at me anyway. I glared at her from across the room, reading her expression like an open book.

"Yes, Mr. Serrano?"

"Were you a part of this?"

She blinked once. "No."

"Why not?"

She blinked, startled. The others glance at me in surprise too, then back at her when she replied, "Because I don't want to betray you."

"Why not?"

"I took an oath to serve you. To be loyal to you. I wouldn't break my vow for anything. Especially when I would not live long enough to enjoy it."

I allowed my gaze to sweep over her a second before squaring my sights on Francis.

"What if you were threatened? What if you were coerced into helping my enemies?"

"Threatened how?" he asked, needing to understand.

"Perhaps they threatened your family. Your children, your wife, your mother. What would you do?"

Without hesitation, he replied, "Then I come to you."

"So why didn't you?" I asked, my gaze sweeping to the man between him and Palucci.

Etienam's eyes widened considerably, as if caught off guard by the question. His mouth opened and closed several times before he swallowed, then he hissed, "Are you accusing me of something, Mr. Serrano?"

"That would be a waste of my time, Hakim."

"So what are you saying then?" he snapped, his voice rising.

"I'm asking why you didn't come to me when your husband was kidnapped on my birthday. That's when they did it, right? When they knew you'd be at the manor?"

For a brief second, his eyes flashed with trepidation, then he schooled his features quickly, carefully. He lifts his chin, feigning an air of calm.

"My husband is in Amelo visiting his parents–"

"I would be very careful about lying to my brother right now, Mr. Etienam. He doesn't respond well to dishonesty."

He would never intervene otherwise, but Tomas could feel my anger bubbling. He knew my tells, knew I was very close to losing my temper. Cutting in the way he did granted me a few seconds to regain control of myself.

Etienam looked slightly taken aback by Tomas's interruption, the threatening edge in it. He lowered his gaze to where my hands were resting on the table, then looked at me head-on.

"Yes. That's when they took him. I didn't realise it until I got home later that night. There were signs of a struggle, blood splatter, destroyed furniture. And there was a phone on the table, which rang as soon as I got home. They told me they would call with instructions, that they would kill Ethan if I… told you."

"From what you know of me, Hakim, would I have allowed that to happen?"

"No, but I was scared. They cut… cut off my husband's hand and sent it to me in the f*****g mail," he cried, his voice cracking with emotion.

"And have they returned him, since your betrayal?"

He shook his head, and lowered his gaze. But not before I saw the shame, the guilt. That made me angrier. I was almost tempted to let him die without telling him the truth. Alas, there was a point to be made, so I said, "Benjamin, would you be so kind as to share the good news with Hakim?"

Ben moved quietly from behind me, pulled his phone from his pocket and dialled a number. It rang once before it's answered and he handed the device over to Hakim.

"Hello?"

His eyes squeezed shut with relief when he heard his husband's voice. He covered his mouth with his hand and silently sobbed into the phone while the other man spoke. It was quite endearing, heart-warming really, to listen to the exchange between the two. I allowed it for a few more minutes before I gestured that he wrap it up. He hung up after an 'I love you', and peered at me, eyes wide and brimming with tears.

"But how did you–"

"That doesn't matter now, does it?"

His face fell, the relief fading an instant later. He shook his head, the grief evident in his eyes.

"No, I suppose not."

I spared one last look at him before I nodded to Ben, who removed his gun from its holster shot Etienam twice in the back of the head. Giana Palucci flinched at the blood and brains that splatter all over her pristine white suit, but does nothing else. Hakim's head - what's left of it - slammed into the table with a loud, wet thud. Then his face slid all the way to the edge of the table before he crumpled to the floor. Ben lowered his gun, then returned to his position behind me.

"Tatiana, is there something you'd like to share?" I asked, looking at her.

"Not that I know," she replies, drumming her long, red nails on the wood.

"So you're not the one who hired those mercenaries and used the access codes you got from Hakim to steal my stock and money?"

She scoffed, glancing fearfully at the blood staining the table. "Of course not. I'm not an i***t. I know what you're capable of."

You'd think, but she clearly needed a reminder. I gave the guard behind her a subtle nod and he moved a second later, grabbing the back of her head and slamming her face into the table. There was the sound of bone breaking just before he clicked off the safety and placed the Smith & Wesson against her temple.

"Do you remember what I told you when you were promoted, Tatiana? About your ambition?"

She tried to get up, but the hand around her neck tightened and the muzzle was pushed harder into her skin. With a grunt, she stopped struggling and glared at me, growling, "That my ambition would be my downfall."

"Was I wrong?"

She didn't answer.

"The trucks that were stolen were abandoned in random locations all over the city. There was an accident on Second Street the night of the theft, so one of the mercs had to improvise. The corner where he left the truck has cameras, so we were able to run his face through our software. After that, it wasn't difficult to find out who he was, where he lived. After a bit of… interrogation, he was more than happy to give us your name. He still had the cash you gave him."

"That means nothing. He could be lying."

"Ah, but he wasn't. He told us where the two of you met, and when. We have your little meeting on tape, including the exchange of money."

She scowled, her anger and indignation evident in her dark brown eyes. I imagined another pair just like them, and blinked, taken aback that I would be thinking of Eden at a time like this.

"…going down. You and your f*****g family. You have done nothing but-"

"That is enough. You may let her up."

The guard did as ordered, and stepped back to stand against the wall. I rose from my chair, pulled the SIG Sauer from its holster in my belt. I c****d the gun, released the safety and walked over to where Tatiana was sitting, visibly seething. But then she inhaled deeply through her mouth, and tried to bargain, just like I knew she would.

"But I have information. I can get you the names of the people who threatened me. Their operations, their base. I can–"

"You wouldn't be referring to the base in Tau, would you? The one across the river in the thick of the woods?"

"And–"

"Their human trafficking operation? The one they're funding with my money? My drugs? After killing my people? I already know all of that, Tatiana," I confirned, aiming the gun at her head.

The gunshot echoed in the room. It's loud enough to make my ears ring, but it dies down after a while, leaving nothing but silence. I put my pistol away, then resumed my seat and gazed around the room.

"Now that we've dealt with all that unpleasantness, I thought it best to share my findings with you."

Of course, those aren't the only moles in my organisation. I knew there were others here that were no longer loyal to me, bribed away from my circle with the promise of power and money. But I had limited information, and I needed them to lead me to the people who were pulling the strings. Hakim and Tatiana were lower-level players, just pawns in the game.

"There is a new trafficking ring in Britu. They've taken it upon themselves to form a base of operations here, in my city. They've been pulling the same kind of stunts with the drugs and cash in other territories, but we know for sure that their HQ is here."

"Where exactly?" Giana questioned, removing some brain tissue from her sleeve.

"They move around every few weeks. We were able to find them just before they packed up," Percival replied. "There were only three men present, which leads us to believe that the rest were out working. Stealing girls, planning heists, searching for a new base…"

Amoruso leaned forward, avoiding the pool of blood that had been spreading from Tatiana's head. "Do we know who's running this?"

"We know the man in charge is called Malice. New on the scene with too much cash to blow. None of them have seen what he looks like, but they've heard the name a couple of times. Apparently he's been around about six months, slowly building his operation from the shadows," Tomas explained.

McNamara frowned, and asked, "How big is this exactly?"

"It's attracting the attention of the ISA, the media, The Seven. A few of them are aware of the existence of a new ring, they just don't know who it is yet. I want you all to keep your ears to the ground, use your resources to find out what you can. Unlike all the other cunts that have come and gone before him, Malice isn't taking credit for his crimes. He's shifting it to make it look like The Seven is involved. Poisoning our lieutenants, threatening them. So I urge you to be careful."

They all nodded at my words, the tension in the room lifting significantly afterwards. There was some unease still, but that may be due to the dead bodies in the room more than anything else .

"Good. If something like this happens again," I said, pointing to Silva and Etienam, "I shan't be as merciful as I was today."

"This was mercy?"

"Of course it was, Malaika. There are far worse things than death."

I caught the infinitesimal pinching of her lips.

"Thank you all for coming. You may leave now."

***

I sat back in my chair with a soft sigh, a glass of bourbon in one hand and the other draped on the armrest. Ice clinks in Tomas's glass when he raised it to his lips, and then again when he lowered it. Percival groaned when he finally folded himself into the chair next to mine, and he reached over to pour himself half a glass of bourbon. He gulped it all down, then slammed the glass on the table. I allowed my eyes to close briefly, envisioning a full night's sleep after the nightmare that had been my week.

"I still think you should've killed all of them."

"Doing that would've destroyed our leads. We know the others have more power than Silva and Etienam. To them, that should come with a lot more discretion and protection, an illusion I am more than happy to allow them to believe for the time being."

Tomas shrugged, too exhausted to argue.

None of us had really slept since the night this began. I managed a few minutes every night before I snapped awake. Sometimes I'd be in my office, going over a couple of notes about the investigation. Or in my car, at which point Ben would drive around for a bit until I sat up.

I was exhausted, honestly.

But I was also restless. My heart was pounding with some kind of adrenal rush I couldn't understand, that I didn't want.

It was bloodthirst, probably. The sadist in me, hungry for pain. My demons calling for bloodshed and death.

I thought it would go away after I pulled a trigger, but it only got worse. Even now, it was fuelling off my rage and threatening to find this Malice person and kill them in an excruciatingly painful way. I would see their faces and hear their screams for days after, but it would ease the rage, calm the demons.

"You should both get some rest. We know this isn't some brief stint like the others. This could get really ugly," I said, opening my eyes to look at Tomas and Percival.

The older man blinked awake suddenly, and sighed softly before he stood. He scratched at his beard and glanced at both of us with heavy-lidded eyes.

"Eight tomorrow, right?"

"Seven. We need to meet with the board before we make it to Van Kirk."

He nodded, turning to leave. He raised two fingers in a mock-salute at us before walking out of the penthouse.

"Knowing you, you're either going to work out your frustration on your gym equipment or a woman," Tomas muttered. He placed his glass down, and rose with some effort. "If I'm being honest, though, dear brother, I don't think there's a woman alive who could handle all that rage."

I didn't bother responding, and he chuckled softly before grabbing the decanter of bourbon and leaving the penthouse. I waited a few minutes to make sure neither of them were coming back before I pulled my phone out of my pocket.

I had saved the number two days ago, when I'd been perusing the file Percy gave me. I don't even remember what I'd been doing before I found the folder in my drawer, but I'd dialled her number with the intention of inviting her back. I had resisted the urge at the time, however, saving it for another day.

Tonight, though, I was strung up too tight not to give in. I wouldn't be getting much sleep anyway.

Despite the late hour, she answered on the second ring.

"Yes?"

I grinned at her greeting. "That's how you answer your phone?"

The silence that followed was lengthy, and I imagined she was just sitting up in bed at the sound of my voice.

"Only when unknown persons call me this late. Which begs the question…"

"There's a car on its way to your apartment. It should be there in twenty minutes, which gives you time to shower and get ready."

"Ready…?"

"To serve me, Eden. Wasn't that the agreement?"

She scoffed. "Five nights ago, sure."

"The contract didn't specify a date."

Another pause, followed by a soft sigh. "Fair enough. But I don't have access to wardrobe and makeup, so–"

"I don't really care about that. You could be wearing a sack and I'd still want to f**k you until you beg me to stop."

She laughed, a genuine, warm, sexy sound that had my erection straining to be freed from its prison.

"Now that I know what I'll be wearing…"

"I want you here within the hour. James will let you in," I told her, my tone leaving no room for argument.

"How can I refuse when you've asked so nicely?"

She hung up then.

I called Ben, and asked him to fetch Eden on his way back from disposing of the bodies and informed him that I was not to be disturbed for the next six hours.

"What if there's another emergency?"

"But there won't be any emergencies this time, will there, Benjamin?"

"No, Dominic. There won't be any emergencies this time."

I switched my phone off after I hung up and left it in my office. I locked the door and made my way to the master suite, where I spent the next fifteen minutes in the shower.

It took five whole minutes to open all the new toys I bought last week, and another fifteen to test them out. I throw what I wouldn't need back in the box, and placed everything else on the table I'd dragged from the sitting room in my suite.

By the time I heard the click of her heels against the marble floor, I was eagerly, impatiently waiting for her. All the whips, canes, floggers, paddles, riding crops and clamps were laid out according to the level of pain they inflicted. My belt was folded double in my hand, the buckle digging into my palm hard enough to hurt.

She walked in a second later, frowning adorably, her mouth open to deliver a clever line. But when her gaze swept to the table and locked on the variety of impact toys I'd bought, her eyes widened in shock. I waited, worried I might have scared her off with all of it, but her eyes light up with genuine excitement and a devious, lustful smile spreads across her face.

"If I'd known you had all of this waiting for me, I would've flown here on my broomstick. Saved us both some time."

My hunger intensified at her reaction, and I tightened my grasp on the belt to keep myself in check long enough to know if she was really on board with this.

"Come here, pet."

She dropped her purse on the floor and floated eagerly towards me, kneeling before me submissively in her short, gold dress. Her eyes were huge in her face, trusting, needy. My thumb teased her red-coated lips, parting them gently before cupping her chin in my hand.

"Are you ready? You know I'm not going to be gentle with you," I warned.

"I know. I wouldn't be here if I wasn't ready to give you what you needed."

Satisfied with her response, I let go of her face, just long enough to tug the towel free from my waist. It dropped to the floor, pooling around my feet. Eden's gaze lowered to my c**k, jutting out proudly, begging for her touch. But she didn't move.

Not yet.

Her tongue did dart out to lick at her lips, though, as if she couldn't wait to taste the thick length throbbing before her.

"Impressed?"

When her eyes swept up to meet mine, I saw my own hunger, my own need reflected back at me. Her small, soft hand wrapped around my length and a wicked grin spread across her face.

Her voice husky and sweet, she replied, "Tremendously."