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He licks his lip nervously and whispers, “The um, organization. It exists on favors to mutually benefit the members.”
“My grandfather’s organization.” I say in a hard voice.
“Is that what you are talking about?”
He seems taken aback a little and nods, his eyes flicking around the restaurant nervously, reminding me why I will never trust any of my business with him.
I stare at him with a hard expression and say in a harsh whisper, “I have discovered your involvement with Mario Bachini didn’t end well. I heard that he acted against the code of conduct we expect our members to adhere to and you assisted him in that. I also heard that you have used our fine organization for personal gain and bent the rules so far out of shape it brought unwelcome attention to our club, so why would I want to do business with a man like that?”
“It was Mario, acting on behalf of his father.” He says quickly, shifting nervously in his seat.
“Ah, yes. Carlos Matasso. My uncle, if you like. That fool who believed he was bigger than the entire organization. He used it and abused his position and made my aunt’s life a misery, and he was executed by an assassin for his sins.”
I stare at him with obvious disgust. “My job, Mr. Stevenson, is to clean up the dirty trail your dealings have caused. We are not about underhanded arrangements and murdering innocent people for a sadistic kick. We are honorable and exist to do good, not evil, and your membership is seriously pending right now until you can prove you are worthy of your name on the members list.”
“What do I have to do?” He is visibly shaking, and I say with steel in my voice. “You prove your allegiance. To me.”
“You?”
I nod. “My grandfather is passing the job title to me and as his successor as the Supreme Dark Lord, it is my intention to clean up the member list. We are a charity, Jefferson. Do you know what that means?”
He looks uncomfortable.
“We give rather than take. We make good what others have made bad and we act for good rather than evil. If anybody threatens that, they suffer the consequences, which I don’t need to spell out for you. There will be no allegiances and no favors granted until you prove to me that you are worthy of the title of a Dark Lord.”
Jefferson appears so weak as he sits before me, cowering under the threat of losing his easy life and his future. Without the backing of The Dark Lords, he won’t go far, and he needs us way more than we need him. However, I am aware The Dark Lords are striving for everything I said and the Vieris are the cancer that threatens their existence. That is why we will fight them back with their own weapon. Innocence. We will become the whitest light in their organization, beyond reproach, and turn their own guns against them.
Good is no match for evil and if I must cloak our retribution in charity, I will. With Purity by my side, we are about to become the power couple of the fucking country, and nobody will dare speak out against me. Then, when I have full control of our family’s organization, I will systematically destroy every person in it who tried to take it from us. Beginning with Jefferson’s father, Judge Stevenson.
I lean back and say as an aside. “Your father.”
He appears worried. “What about him?”
“I understand he is acquiring money for favors. Turning a blind eye to criminal activity and handing out get out of jail free cards.”
Jefferson pales as I lean in and whisper, “You can get me the information I need. If you compile the evidence, I will reconsider your membership. You will prove your allegiance to the cause and demonstrate you will help clean it up.”
“But he’s my father.” Jefferson stutters in disbelief.
I shrug. “A title, nothing more. It’s up to you. Assure your own future at the expense of his or watch everything he has worked so hard to build crash and burn. Encourage him to retire rather than face the rest of his days in prison. You take over his empire and your futures are guaranteed. He lives a comfortable retirement and you become everything you wanted to be. I don’t see what the problem is.”
Jefferson’s hand shakes as he grasps his drink, and I watch the light in his eyes dim to darkness. Yes, Jefferson Stevenson is weak and was always going to do exactly as I wanted him to. Then again. They always do.
CHAPTER21
PURITY
Gina walks beside me to the restroom, and I try so hard to walk as normally as possible. She is poised, elegant and everything I want to be and the last thing I want is her thinking I’m not. I owe it to Killian because this is what he wants. It’s written in the contract—our marriage contract and I will not let him down.
As soon as we reach the sanctuary of the ladies’ restroom, I excuse myself and head to a cubicle, hoping I don’t embarrass myself.
Once the door locks, I turn and vomit into the bowl, thankful I made it in time.
“Are you ok in there?”
Gina’s concerned voice tells me I’m not being discreet, and I say with a strangled gasp, “I’ll be ok. I don’t …”
I can’t finish my sentence because a fresh wave of nausea hits me and most of what I ate joins the rest as I violently reject the rich food.
