Another loud cheer from the crowd for the Asian fighter left Ghost almost writhing in his seat. The fight was growing more intense and impossible to watch. The Asian guy had just run through his sixth victim, leaving the man with a broken rib. He was carried off the ring by a stretcher. And now, the Asian fighter was being flaunted as the winner. That wouldn't be the case though if someone else challenged him.Gritting his teeth, Ghost prayed that someone else stepped into the ring. He wasn't close to being a religious man or a firm believer in the power of the cosmos. But right now, he needed a supernatural intervention, 'cause it was humanly impossible to intervene. He was in a tight spot. He could never whisk her away from these many eyes as easily as he did before. It would only get things messy."I guess we have a winner…" Don Carianno was wheezing from the outcome of the fight. He signaled with his fingers and the men around Ciara untied her.Ghost had his unwavering gaze pinne
Don Carianno swiped a cloth around the sharp edge of his dagger, admiring the finely sculptured metal. The blood on it was an evident indication of what he just did. Slitting a throat. A measly life that shouldn't have stayed breathing as long as it did. The geezer owed him a fortune, he'd been lenient enough. Not anymore.The door opened and Sergio walked in, agitated and furious. He had a gun in his hand and his eyes were hooded with the crazy urge to kill. "Speak." Don Carianno said, returning the dagger to its small sheath. He was disturbed but had a knack for concealing his emotions, no matter how raging they were.The Asian fighter had died in their ring, brewing a pending feud between them and the Asian Mafia. And if badly handled, the triads would come for them. It would bring a devastating catastrophe. He was sickly worried, no matter how coordinated he seemed."Scar gave the order." Sergio sputtered out. "He bloody asked one of our men to spike the Asian guy's water with th
The distant blaring of the sirens haunted Ghost's ears, forcing him to glance at the Cartier wristwatch, firmly wrapped around his left wrist.It was a very distant sound, incapable of being heard by normal hearing ability. But his acute hearing brought the sounds to his ears, making him grow impatient.He hated being teamed up with amateurs who didn't know how to carry out swift missions. Coming out here had been a chivalrous act on his part, since he wasn't busy. Also, it was an important mission and he had to secure the files.A couple of the Rino cartel bosses were hosting a night party in the gigantic nightclub building across the street, from where his car was packed. The Rino family was one of their rivals here in Sicily. Not much of rivals, 'cause the Carianno dominated more than half of the city. Still, they were a bit of a threat.Just recently, they had erected the biggest casino, a tad bigger than theirs. Don Carianno had felt insulted and wanted ownership of the casino. O
Staring at the splitting lookalike of Jason, Ciara was terrified. The man was nothing but Jason's doppelganger, a cold-blooded doppelganger. Recalling that day in his apartment, and how vicious he'd been to her, she had every reason to be terrified by his presence. Nah, scratch that. She had every reason to be terrified by everyone here. She's been through hell and never had she imagined humans could be so vicious. Growing up, she was taught that only rogues had this great level of viciousness. But these monsters just showed her how wrong she'd been taught. They were literal beasts. And she was fucking lucky to still be breathing. "What are you doing here?" Deep and hoarse came the voice, startling her again. His bluish-grey eyes were in a dark squint."I'm working." Ciara cleared her throat, regaining her senses. She took the bottle of brandy from his hand and filled the two glasses."Here?" Ghost blurted out again. It made no fucking sense that she was behind that counter. Who the
Torn between rashly taking off his hand from Ciara and gently letting her go, Ghost was static for the next few seconds. The slow, definite steps of Don Carianno behind him heightened his sense of defense and his grip on her wrist tightened, against his will."Son." Don Carianno's voice echoed next to him, gripping his shoulder and forcing him to turn around. There was no lying and denying more. He had to face his complicated truth.The brief distraction made Ciara able to wring her wrist away from his hold. She bent again for the shards of glass and this time, Ghost couldn't stop her. He forced himself to watch her in silence. Everyone did. She barely made it up when Rasta bounced forward and smacked her face."Crazy bitch! How dare you create such a sick mess??!" He grabbed a handful of her hair, and her cries echoed. He dragged her back behind the counter, ignoring how deep the glasses pierced into her skin.Ghost winced slightly. His body stung like he'd been the one who got hit
The starry night sky echoed Ryder's sullen mood as he stared up at the stars, deep in thought. Distant wailing of kids and lowkey chattering were the background sounds. Somehow, they synched with his misery, creating a sore in his heart.A half-filled glass of whiskey was loosely gripped by one hand, and the other hand was wrapped firmly around the rails. His shoulders were sagged, indicating just how troubled he was.Tomorrow, he would be visiting different Packs in hopes that they would ally with him in his fight against the Mafia. It was a drastic step, one that wasn't insured. If they do agree and ally with him and the war ends badly, he will suffer an incurable loss. Every damn thing he had would be gone.The Mafia would sweep them out of existence, and the other Packs would suffer losses that they knew nothing about. If that happens, he'll spend the rest of his life feeling guilty.But if things work out right, then Jason would be back home, where he belongs. Surely, it would be
26Ghost had his legs placed on the table as he listened half-assedly to the men who seemed engrossed in their conversation.It was supposed to be a four-man meeting. But he hasn't said as much as a word since he arrived here — It was one of Don Carianno's condos — he couldn't proudly say he was listening either. Not until someone swatted his feet with a folded paper."Take them down, Ghost. This table cost me a fortune." Don Carianno said with a bit of irritation. "And would you please, show a bit of interest here?"Ghost took down his feet with a sigh. "I can't. I just can't seem to develop any shitty interest in this conversation. I'm flatly sitting it out,""Why not?" Don Carianno puckered his brow. A ring of smoke covered his face from the cigarette between his fingers."Because it's fucking stupid and pissing me off. So what if the Chinese Mafia lost a man in the underground fights? So what if the Triads are mad and reeling with anger? We didn't kill him. It was just a fucking a
27"I don't bloody care," Camilla seethed, tugging her arm off his hold. "Ghost wouldn't tell me his address, so I can't visit him at home. And he's been avoiding my calls. So I'm sorry, but this meeting is over. I need to talk to him."Don Carianno stood and went to her. Calmly, he said. "Camilla, have some bloody manners, please. This is a meeting. Now, you're welcome to wait for him in any of the rooms in the building but not in here,""You caused all these, Don Carianno. Why the hell did you give that bitch to him?" Camilla retorted. Bratty, as always."It's just for two weeks. What's the big deal?" Don Carianno tried reasoning with her. Camilla wasn't just any Mafioso's daughter. Her father, Riccardo Dante was a big shot caller in the Mafia world. It gave her more rights to throw silly tantrums than any daughters of the Mafiosos. If only Ghost wasn't always trying to upset her. If only he'd learn how to treat her right."Ghost hasn't touched me after the day he returned. It's bee