AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Realistically, I should be locked up for life, but the evidence only showed me hitting the guy, not shooting him in the head. As the court didn’t have enough evidence to call it murder, I went down for manslaughter. My connections to the Bratva heavily reduced the sentence to a year. As in, my father and Igor had to pull some strings.
When I first got home, I was ready to start afresh and be a better man in the Brotherhood, until Virgo brought this new information about Jason to light.
Virgo only happened to stumble over the incriminating pictures of me in an encrypted email on Jason’s computer. The email came from the unknown person Jason hired to follow me that night. It was sent to him hours after I finished the job. The body of the email contained a simple message letting Jason know he’d done his job. Virgo was unable to track down the sender because they hid themselves well.
“Sometimes recklessness is a tool men like us rely on.” Virgo’s voice breaks into my thoughts.
“I know, but at other times it’s our biggest downfall,” I answer with reflection. “I think it would be wise to find out why he did it. He would have needed a reason. If I end him now, we may never know. If he’sworking for someone outside the Creed, we need to know about it. That could be a potential threat to us all.”
“Then I think you’re right. At the moment the best thing we can do is keep investigating until we find another lead to work with. I’m sure we’ll find something more in his emails or personal files.”
I nod my agreement. “Are you able to get me access?”
“Absolutely, that’s child’s play.” A ruthless smile fills his face.
“Great. I’ll get onto it the moment I get access. I hope we’ll find something.”
“Don’t worry. This type of shit always leaves a trace. There’s nothing hidden too deep that I can’t find.”
I hope so for my sake. I would never be able to let this go. “I never doubt you, old friend. As soon as we find something solid, that asshole is dead.”
“I’m in for that too. Looks like we have a plan.”
“We do.”
His smile widens then falters before caution enters his eyes. “By the way, one of the bouncers gave me a message for you.”
I incline my head. “What’s that?”
“Serenity says thanks. Serenity Bell came by earlier because she wanted to see you again.”
I press down hard on my back teeth to keep my fascination from showing too much and my fucking cock from hardening all over again.
“Did she now?”
“Dante…” His voice trails off in a warning tone. “Please, for the love of God, don’t fucking get pussywhipped by the pretty face of your enemy’s daughter. I’m sure I don’t have to tell you it would be the worse idea ever to get involved with her.”
“I won’t.”
No, I won’t, but that doesn’t mean I can’t satisfy my curiosity with Jason’s little princess.
She came to see me. I’d say it’s her who’s whipped.
ChapterSeven
Serenity
Jean-Rene looks over my painting, scrutinizing what I've done so far with the keen eye of a brain surgeon.
It's difficult to tell what he's thinking as he inspects every brush stroke. He wears the same blank expression for everything. The same way he’s always been dressed in a full well-tailored black suit, which is, of course, from France, where he's from. It makes his tall, thin frame look like a character from a 1920’s sketch.
As all hand-holding is officially over, Jean-Rene has thrown us into work and is holding us to the same guidelines of quality as his full-time staff.
Our team has been allocated the room called The Garden, which holds the same gothic, Tim Burtonesque vibe that has always inspired my work.
My first task today was to paint the trees drawn on the wall and the intertwining ivy vines crawling along their branches. I’m supposed to make them look alive.
The green colors I mixed together to do so reminded me of the lush trees in the forest near the house I lived in as a child. It has that light-meets-dark effect like the rest of the set.
