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“Pops is friends with Powers Thorn, the patriarch and former Don of the Kansas City mafia. His son, Constantine, runs the empire now and was the brainchild of the Brotherhood.” That was about all I knew and more than I gave a shit about. I finished off my drink, allowing the smooth whiskey to remain in my throat for a few seconds longer than normal. “We might have a brutal fight on our hands. We need to tighten every aspect of security.”
Miguel nodded. “I’ll have my soldiers do a sweep while I check all aspects of business activities.”
“Good.” My brother was considered my Capo, second to the throne if anything should happen to me. My father was stuck in the old ways practiced by my grandfather as learned from his father while in Spain, which meant we followed ancient customs as a nod of respect. It was one of those fights that wasn’t worth it. “I have a bad feeling this is going to get bloody.”
Miguel glanced at Andres. They knew when I made statements of this nature, it usually came to pass.
God help the people involved if it did.
CHAPTER 4
“In death as in life, we stand together, always a family, always a team. The brotherhood never dies.”—Marcus Luttrell
Sabatino
As I walked into the atrium of one of the finest restaurants on the water in the Baltimore Harbor, the quote came to my mind. I’d heard my father say it once and for some reason it had stuck. At eight years old, I’d thought he was talking about Miguel, although given the kid was barely four years old, I hadn’t understood but now the meaning was entirely different. Other than my family and a couple of trusted men, I’d gone through most of my life without friends. Maybe it was my family’s reputation that had kept them at bay or the fact they could get killed by spending too much time around me.
Either way, it had shaped me into relying on my own state of mind, making my own decisions and following them through with little if any assistance. That’s one reason the thought of entering into an alliance of the Brotherhood irritated the fuck out of me. Still, I was highly intelligent, and no one considered me a fool, which meant I had to take the threat issued by Garcia seriously.
I moved into the open space, scanning the deck outside, only somewhat surprised the seven men had the large area all to themselves. Their meetings were private, membership secretive. While Pops had given me an overview of their respective identities prior to leaving, he knew better than to announce the names to anyone. Anonymity meant protection.
After taking a deep breath, I moved outside, studying the group. I knew some of them by reputation, certain members spending more than their share of time in the press. What I did find interesting was that they’d adopted a similar way of life I had, including keeping their noses clean, most even donating to various charities. Some had won awards, considered philanthropists, not monsters. For that, I’d give them credit. As far as respect, that would be earned.
Constantine Thorn noticed my arrival, immediately motioning for the waiter standing in the wings. After he gave orders to the young man, the kid left without saying a word. I sauntered closer, locking eyes with every man as I walked to within a couple of feet of where they stood near the railing overlooking the Atlantic.
There was no doubt they were all scrutinizing me from my demeanor to my clothing, sizing me up like chump change. I resisted bristling, giving them all a stern expression in return.
Constantine walked closer seconds later, finally holding out his hand as a greeting and perhaps an olive branch. We shook and it couldn’t have been thirty seconds later the same waiter had returned, offering me whatever amber-colored beverage was in his hand. When I stared at it, Constantine laughed.
“Relax, Sabatino. I took the liberty of ordering Kentucky whiskey. While not your brand of choice, I’m certain you will enjoy the varietal.”
I swirled the alcohol, taking a deep whiff. “Allow me to venture a guess. From your private stock.”
“Very good. You’ve been checking up on me.”
I took a full swig, savoring the rich flavor before swallowing. “Not just on you, Constantine, but on all of you.”
I could tell the Russian of the group was less than impressed, his clenched jaw matching the cold stare of his eyes.
“Please, do go on,” my host suggested as he leaned against the railing.
“Constantine Thorn from Kansas City, creator of this alliance, bringing together men to be treated like kings.” I gave him a nod and he lifted his glass in return before I shifted to the right. “Gabriel Giordano of New York. You’re considered a brutal yet reasonable Don of the Cosa Nostra. Dante and Diego Santos, both movie moguls and entertainment attorneys from the glitzy city of Los Angeles. Although I would guess you prefer going by your mother’s maiden name of Fernandez even if the two of you are twins.”
“Touché,” Dante told me. Their story was unique in that neither had any real childhood memories of the other, given their father had forced their mother to choose one twin to take with her back to Colombia or both would be killed because their father believed she’d committed infidelity. They’d come together only a few years before, becoming a respected and powerful force, keeping a lockdown on LA. I wondered how much information they could provide regarding Garcia’s advancement.
“Let’s see,” I continued, shifting my attention to the Irishman in the room. “Brogan Callahan from Chicago. Chi-town. A favorite city of mine to visit. From what I hear, your brother would be proud of how you’ve handled the ascension to the throne.” Sadly, his brother had been close to beating cancer when murdered in cold blood by one of their enemies. I remembered reading about the tragedy years before.
“Nicely done and much appreciated,” he stated with amusement in his voice.
He was the most jovial of the group, his lovely wife and children more important than anything to him.
“And here we have Phoenix Diamondis from right up the street in Philly,” I told him, grinning when I did. We’d come close to stepping on each other’s territory more than once.
“How is the lovely town of Baltimore these days?” Phoenix asked.
“Vibrant. I’ll extend an invitation to be my guest anytime.”
“I might take you up on that. I’ve been meaning to bring my daughter to the aquarium.”
