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“Who?” Miles voiced.
“Reign Marchetti,” he confirmed with a grimace.
Mine matched.Shit. What was the West Coast mafia boss involving himself for? We were out of his immediate jurisdiction, not that it would matter to him, seeing as we near bordered on his territory.
You never wanted to be on his radar, and he’d just inserted himself onto ours with no fucks given. Not that we’d ever place ourselves on the wrong side of that guy. Last rumours that circled were that he’d murdered his own father in cold blood, crowning himself the new mafia king while his dad’s corpse still bled warmly under his feet. He was ruthless, making us look like cute fluffy puppies in comparison.
“Yeah,” Thomas observed. “That was my reaction too. Don’t worry, Dorian and Chris have sorted it out.” I hoped so.
Chapter39
Milla
For the last few days, I’d been staying in a guest bedroom at Texas’ parents’ house. I was recuperating and being kept safe while others were ensuring The Pavilion and its vile beings were shut down fully.I needed to find Kai.
Chris entered the room, sharing a glance with his wife, who insisted she’d stay. I was glad for it. Not that I feared Texas’ dad in the slightest, but having Valerie by my side would ease the blow to whatever he had to say. She’d helped me over the last few days and had been a blessing in disguise. She was truly how a mother should behave. This was her supporting me, just like she’d promised when I’d woken up from being drugged which I was angry about, but I understood.
“It’s time for a chat,” Chris stated, making himself comfortable in the armchair positioned in the room’s corner.
“Yes, I think so.” I gave him a guarded smile as I shuffled up the bed, leaning against the headboard.
He sighed like he had the world on his shoulders. “Firstly, you need to know about Dean.” My dad. I shook my head, not wanting to hear what he had to say. I already knew that he was involved in those business practices.
“I already know.” I gnawed my teeth on my lower lip. “He’s involved with The Pavilion too, I found out,” I admitted, looking back up at him, not realising I’d unconsciously lowered my gaze.
His brows furrowed, but his voice was firm. “No, Milla. He’s not and never was a part of it. He went undercover to try to weed out and expose them; a few of his associates did the same. Dean called me, as soon as he knew you were taken. He flipped out but provided me and the others with your location. That’s how we found you, because of him.”
I stared at him in disbelief. No wonder I’d found key information with his name in print, if he’d woven his way in. He’d officially be on the books. Why didn’t I question it?
“I believed it,” I admitted out loud, feeling like I’d betrayed my dad deeply. It cut me up inside. Valerie squeezed my hand in silent support.
“Trust me, he won’t blame you. I’m furious with him myself. He knew he could come to me, and I’d lend support. I’ve been looking into the same case he’d gotten involved in. He never needed to go in and place himself in the firing line.” He shook his head and winced, and I knew. Just knew that something else had happened.
“Say it,” I pleaded.
“He’s at the hospital.” I froze. “He’s pulled through surgery… after taking a few bullets. But he’ll be okay.”
I ran my hands over my face and realised they were wet. I’d turned into a crier. I hated it with a passion.
“I have to see him.”
“And we’ll take you.” Valerie squeezed my hand once more by my side. I gave her a grateful smile.
“There are some issues we need to air,” Chris added in a serious tone. “But what I tell you doesn’t get discussed outside of this room. Or if it does, with only the people in the know.”
“Okay.”
He leaned forward, elbows resting on his knees. “I’m one of the head elders in a society that’s been kept a well-known secret since it was founded by our ancestors a hundred years ago.” A smirk tipped his lips.
“We’re called the Owls.”The Owls. I’d never heard of them. Though if it was a secret, I wasn’t surprised.
“To cut a long story short, we commit bad deeds for good reasons, mostly. We’ve been investigating The Pavilion long since you moved back home. We’ve had no definitive answers but slowly knowledge and information filtered in so we could puzzle it out. We only found out they had pulled you into that nightmare just before we came to your aid. Now, realistically you wouldn’t be told any of this. However, you’ve got strong ties to my son—who if you didn’t guess—is part of the society. The same with Preston and Hollis. I’m sure you’ll meet the larger group at some point, but you’ll meet a handful shortly, the ones within the boys’ Beta team. They’ll be in the room while we deal with Adam. I’ve been told you want to sit in on it, but you need to know it’s going to be chaotic and bloody.”
“I need to be there. Respect that please,” I voiced.
I wasn’t going to point out that those strong ties with Preston, Hollis and Texas were frayed so thoroughly that I didn’t know if I even wanted to be tangled up with the three of them again. My head was a constant jumbled mess whenever it came to them.
“That bond you have with them and the fact that your dad is already aware of us and what we do gives me the peace of mind that you won’t be shouting from the rooftops about us.” I narrowed my gaze at him. Of course I wouldn’t.
