Chapter 21

Marco My hand remains a temporary fixture to the open door of the warehouse. I listen attentively as I've done these last 10 minutes to the lot of them let Deno in on the little scene Leonardo witnessed a year ago. Alec's death comes after. Only one thing here, which I find fascinating, is Alice's insinuations about Elisa. Alice Moretti is a fucking bitch, a cold-hearted one at that, but she isn't stupid, and killing Ren would be a dumb move. Xander Moretti works for me, and he is loyal to a fault. His relationship with Alec took a considerable turn after he found out about his cousin's likings to young girls. Deno has had every opportunity to inform the group in the room of these facts, but he simply listens. And as much as I want to end their story and my torture of having to listen to them, I don't. 'I say we kill Alice and get this fucking shit over with," Michel says for the fifth time. The boy is out for blood, which could be a problem. We don't need the youngsters acting out of anger. After the Cartel's shipment landed on the news just days before, we were under scrutiny. The cops believed our smaller Capo's were the big guns. It kept 'the businessmen' safe but hot smoke was hot smoke, and I didn't want my city filled with red-tape, it was terrible for business. 'No. We can't just kill her without knowing for sure. She's my sister." Yes, now this is something to smile about. I had my suspicions for a while now, but I never knew for sure. Elisa, well, that's a different story. I know things about her that not many do. And those things I'm counting on were going to cause a ripple in the already suffocating air. 'You can't expect us to do nothing. Dammit Liya," Mero is the one screaming this time. The boys were a hot breed of testosterone. How Aliyana, the small ample chested girl handled four of them, were a mystery unto itself. But she did. It always held me curious and now is no different. Gabriel has not said a word since they arrived. Interesting, but not surprising. His father is known for his silence. "Exactly. Everyone will be watching us, waiting for us to do something. Our people will expect it, you're telling me that Alice wouldn't? What if she is carrying out the Russo's orders? Or, as Gabriel pointed out earlier, she is looking for vengeance. We can't just be brain-less, we need to be smart." My phone rings, and I slip it out of my jacket pocket. 'What do you have?" I ask the man on the other side. 'Your hacker is right. I'm in Kanla, doing shit for the club. Rib is on his way to you with the stuff you wanted." 'And the Shadows? Will they stand with me?" 'If the threat extends to her, then yes. The Shadows protect their interests. I suggest you make sure it doesn't come to that, or it will get ugly fast." The ghost ends the call, and I let out a sigh before pushing open the door. 'Waiting is our only option," Aliyana voices out again, with a lot more anger than she had in her voice a minute ago. "Aliyana is right." She frowns as I step into the warehouse. Her shocked expression showing when she lays those sad emerald eyes on me. Keeping my gaze on her, I don't miss the current in the room changing at my arrival. I am used to it. The young men stand a bit taller as the quiet tall girl in the corner gives me a salute in greeting. It's been a while since I've seen the girl, she is taller than I remember. When I called her, I was surprised she agreed to meet. The Ghost would not be happy with her so close to his sister. 'Why do you look so surprised? He's my brother." I am not sure why the need to explain my presence is such an intense emotion, yet it is. 'Who invited you?" Aliyana asks as her denim leg changes from the crossed leg pose to a more put together one. I suppress the urge to smile at how she guards herself with her body, yet gives so much away by her words. "I did," Deno interjects, "Marco will have the last say before any of you make a move. This is a lot bigger than you think." Deno pulls his sleeves up, as I inhale the cement scented air that is mixed with hints of smoke. Aliyana drops her gaze as I openly stare at her breast, confined in a small blue and white vest. Sartini knows how to breed. All his daughters were beautiful, with a unique quality that would make a king notice them from a crowd of millions. But, Aliyana and Alice were rare, they both possess more evil than good. "It's simple, The Russo..." Mero says "Are innocent of this crime. I thought it was them too until the Bratva showed up asking for Diamond. After some digging, it made more sense that we were looking in all the wrong places. And Stagio was very generous with his offer to help avenge Ren's death." I stop his words with my own. My eyes remain fixated on Aliyana, standing in the center of the warehouse surrounded by four guys and a girl. I walk toward her, stopping only when we are barely three feet apart. She reminds me of a small lioness I once saw in Africa when I was touring. So little, but filled with so much potential. Her very being is designed to kill. The world she lives in is akin to a jungle, where only the most brutal of villains make it just a day longer. Everybody for themselves. Yet, looking at her now with all these people around us, I can see her need to just belong. Sad girl. "So what? Now you blaming my mother's people?" Aliyana fires back. So much spirit. "He isn't blaming anyone Aliyana. Give him a chance." Deno reasons, but I know it isn't really a question. "Your mother's people didn't kill Ren either. So sheath those claws. What they did do was open our eyes to a much larger picture. My brother was loyal to everyone, but he was never openly honest with anyone. Not fully anyway. There are a few things you all need to know, which is why Deno decided on this meeting. If you decide to avenge his death, you should know who you are up against." "As much as I love this little conversation, I want to know how we are going to get justice. The who, is the least of my worries, I got shit to do," Sienna points out, glancing at her nails, but those keen blue eyes of hers see way more than she'll confess. "We will get to that. This is more complicated than you guys think," Deno says. "Fine, who is it?" Sienna asks with a groan. "We think it's a little closer to home, but not too close that we need to clip your wings and tell you to stand the fuck down," I answer. "What my brother is saying, we need to be sure. Which means we are going to get substantial proof before we act. We want you all to get close to someone." "Who?" Aliyana asks this time. And I would never confess this, but looking at all these youngsters, I can honestly say that I am rethinking my decision to tell them. "His name is Dylan Creston. His father is a scientist, works for the Government testing high-end drugs on soldiers. He recently bought himself a restaurant uptown. I'm sure you all have heard of it, Cristen." "Yeah, GABRIEL, and I frequent the place. Why would they want to kill Ren?" Michel questions. "That you can ask your pretty friend here," Deno points to Sienna. She looks at all of us, and a small smile dances on her lips. The girl is a lot like her mother. Pity, she'll never know the woman who gave birth to her. "I was wondering how long I had before you figured it out." "Was it up to your speed?" Deno smirks. "Maybe, although, I do prefer it slow. Keeps the mystery alive," She winks at him. "I'll let Mason know," He winks back. "Can we get on with this? I don't want to watch you two eye-fucking," Gabriel says, which is the first thing I think I have heard him say all night. "As you all know, Lorenzo was dating Dakota. He loved her a lot. Six months back, Dakota's father made headlines for some serious arm deals gone bad. Ren obviously didn't take the shit very well and contacted my uncle, who told him Dakota was under his care until she turned 18. Ren wanted Dakota to live with him, he was afraid that her father's enemies would come after her. But it wasn't her father's enemies my uncle was worried about. Dakota is special, with a rare gift when it comes to warfare and human DNA." "What kind of warfare?" Gabriel inquires, turning to face Sienna, who moves slowly toward Aliyana. "The kind, corrupt people will sell their souls to have. Now, before I say more, do we have a deal, Marco?" She waits, staring at me. Decisions, decisions. I give her a crisp nod. We have a deal. "Dakota is the genius, the Government and other significant groups keep hidden. Her mind is beautiful yet, dark and cruel. She is destructive to anyone around her. Except for Kylie, no one is safe." Sienna lifts up her top, revealing a scar on the side of her stomach, her eyes downcast, saying a million things she'll never allow herself to admit. The exiled daughter. "Her mind is a complex place, it creates stuff that is godlike in nature, but like nature's way, always has a dual purpose, and in the wrong hands can destroy countries. When she was younger, the things she made were small. Mostly pranks, but as she got older, she started making ammo for her dad and them to sell. She wanted to help him raise enough money to expand his shop, as you can imagine, daddio didn't see anything wrong with that. But Diamond got it into her head that a walking man-machine was better for her dad's market. She didn't consider what implications that would entail or the fact that daddio would get caught for selling high-end guns. But Ren did. Ren stole the drug back from the only client who got his hands on it, but the man already started testing it." "Mr. Creston?" Mero queries. "Yes." "So you telling us he killed Ren?" "She's telling you that the Government could have killed Ren. Mr. Creston works in the military, for the special ops. If Ren found out about the drugs and stole it, then it means they saw him as a means to an end and also a threat to what they really want," I tell them, which is true, but there was one more thing missing in this puzzle, and that is why Ren believed the Russo's were following him. Everything that my hacker has found leads to the Government . What am I missing? "They'll want us to blame the Irish, or Bratva or better yet, the Cartel since they already on our fucking wish list," Gabriel growls. "Or the Russos," I finish. A phone rings. Sienna pulls it out from between her breast, "As much as I would love to stay, I need to get my ass back to Liston. My Uncle is gonna have a few things to say when I get on home, might as well get it out and over." Sienna leaves us in the room as she answers her phone.