Semua Bab The Price Of Us: Bab 1 - Bab 10

ELIAS “Sir, you have to understand, the stocks are plummeting. If we don’t take this route,” he said pointing to the charts displayed on the projector screen. “We’ll be facing serious issues. We need to do something about it, and fast.” I tuned out the voice of the financial manager. I didn’t even want him in this board meeting, but somehow the rat managed to weasel his way in. I wasn’t in the mood for any of this. In reality, all of this—the real estate holdings, the casinos—was just a façade. A convenient mask for my true kingdom. The mafia empire my family had built over the last sixty years. “Nothing will be plummeting while we’re here,” my second-in-command, Cathan spoke on my behalf. “Everything is under review and feedback would be given soonest.” I appreciated his efforts, but there were more pressing matters to attend to my mafia kingdom. And though this company was the perfect front for our darker dealings, I was growing increasingly sick of pretending to care about its

ELIAS My twin sister, Elaine, was as annoying as ever during my short visit to her place. She never missed a chance to needle me about “settling down,” even while I bounced her youngest on my knee and pretended not to hear. The woman had a mouth like a whip and the subtlety of a jackhammer. Annoying. Her children were equally chaotic. I left with more hair pulled from my head than I cared to count. They’re the only ones who could bring me to my knees—literally and figuratively speaking. I loved them, of course, but my tolerance had its limits. So, I left earlier than usual. I had work to do anyway—my bimonthly check-in at Allure, one of my more legitimate fronts, though anyone in Chicago with half a brain knew better than to think that was all it was. “Where are we headed to?” Cathan asked as I entered the vehicle. “Allure,” I replied. “It’s time for our bimonthly checks already,” he said, glancing at his watch. “Well shit, I didn’t notice.” I ignored him and shut the door beh

ELIAS Two days had passed, and yet, I couldn’t get the boy out of my head. “You’ve been restless lately,” Cathan said from his seat in my office. “Anything you’d like to tell me?” “Nothing to concern yourself about,” I replied. “Just the unfortunate incident that led me to this.” I pointed at my wound to emphasize my point. “Don,” Cathan said with a raised brow, a question in his eyes. I released a heavy sigh. “It’s probably the aftershocks of the injury,” I said. I turned away, and faced the sprawling skyline of the city from the floor to ceiling windows, a cigar in my mouth. Cathan got up and snipped the end with the cigar cutter. “I heard from a little bird that there was a boy,” he said, as he lit the end of the cigar. I froze. “Yes,” I said slowly. “There was a boy. And what does that have to do with anything?” “Nothing,” he said, backing up and holding his palm out. “Was just asking.” I looked at him for a moment and then just shook my head, not in the mood for his bul

ELIAS Aaron was becoming a thorn planted too deeply in my side. His men were gouging into my businesses, milking profits, and trying to buy out my suppliers. His actions weren’t really significant. They were petty things that weren’t meant to put a dent in my business. But even a small infection can rot if you don't cut it out before it's too late. And he was a boil that was beginning to fester. I leaned back in the leather seat of my blacked-out SUV, my fingers drumming an uneven rhythm on my thigh. Next to me, Cathan sat with hard, assessing eyes. “You're distracted,” he said, turning his face to mine. I looked out through the car window at the smudged city as we sped towards the casino, my mind racing. "No more than usual," I said. I didn’t want to talk, but Cathan obviously didn’t get the memo cause he kept speaking. "You're brooding over the boy again." It was not a question; it was a statement. "Drop it, Cathan," I growled, feeling the new itch I’d recently begun to feel

ELIAS I should’ve known better. The moment I stepped into the hospital parking lot—alone, clad only in jeans, a hoodie, and a tattered leather jacket—I felt it. That shiver at the back of my neck. That metallic, biting tang of danger. “You look like you slept in a goddamn warzone,” Rufus, one of my lower rank soldiers, muttered as he fell into step beside me. I’m really regretting bringing him along but I didn’t want to be stupid enough to go alone or to bring one of my higher soldiers with me. I didn’t answer him and kept moving. He didn’t stop talking. “I mean, Christ boss,” he continued, eyeing me sidelong. “I don’t think you should be here again, no matter the reason. Also, I thought you said the boy was—what’d you call him? A distraction.” He snapped his fingers like he’d just come to a great conclusion. I paused. “Are you following me now?” “No,” Rufus said quickly. “I just figured you’d need eyes and thought I’d be smart.” “You thought wrong,” I muttered, brushing past h