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“More than crafty, boy,” he chuckled, oblivious to my internal condemnation. “Survival.”
I nodded. “Seems like you’ve carved out a hell of a niche for yourself,” I said.
I lingered, fingers tracing the cipher of deceit. Tracing the invisible trails of money laundering and ghost transactions was like tracking a viper through the brush—nearly impossible.
“Sometimes, you need to grease palms in high places,” Eduardo called over his shoulder, pulling out a map from under a pile of papers strewn across the room.
“Show me,” I urged, hoping to untangle more of the web.
“Here.” He stabbed a finger down onto Eastern Europe. “Our friends in Belarus. Good folk, they don’t ask much. Money transfers through three, four shell companies. Easy.”
“Easy if you know what you’re doing,” I muttered, absorbing the global sprawl of his enterprise—tentacles reaching into every dark corner of the world.
“Exactly. And you will, Sammy, you will.” His eyes held a glint that suggested pride or maybe just the reflection of a man too far gone.
“Can I ask you something?”
“Of course,” he said.
“You were interested in killing me,” I said. “Now you want me to take over?”
“I just thought I couldn’t talk you into this,” he said. “You were an obstacle before. Now you’re a vehicle. You’re my only son. You get it.”
I nodded. I absolutely didn’t get it, but I was happy he seemed to believe I did.
“Anyway, let’s keep talking business. Then there’s the negotiations. Those are important,” he continued. “Always give ’em a taste, then make ’em sweat for the meal. They’ll come crawling back, wallets open.”
“High stakes poker,” I said.
“Life and death, son. Our product doesn’t play games.” He patted his chest where a gun no doubt lay concealed beneath his shirt.
“Our product? Like…people?”
“And guns,” he said. “Whatever sells.”
“Got it,” I replied, although the only thing I truly grasped was the necessity of dismantling this network, strand by venomous strand.
“Good,” he nodded, satisfied with my apparent understanding. “I have another meeting. Keep studying. It’s your turn soon.”
“Looking forward to it,” I lied, watching him exit the room. Alone again, the gravity of the situation settled upon me.
The room was quiet, but I could feel my heartbeat behind my ears.
Fuck this.
I needed to kill him, and I had never killed anyone before.
Not like this. Not without it being self-defense.
But first, I needed to take him down.
And it didn’t matter what it cost me.
I had to do it, no matter what.
Chapter Nineteen: Sofia
The hum of the engine mixed with the steady throb of music still lingering in the air as we huddled around the polished mahogany table, a stark contrast to the chaos that was about to unfold. Teo’s party boat, with its gleaming surfaces and air of hedonistic luxury, was now the unlikely war room for our ragtag crew.
