Luca looked around the room. “It’s time we brought the men of Xyst into the fold.”
The guys looked at one another.
Tension spiked.
“I’ll expect all of you for dinner at my place out on Long Island when Nikolai gets back from Boston tomorrow night,” he said smoothly.
It wasn’t a request.
Luca then looked at me. “Take care of your business. When you get back, we settle what’s on the table.”
With that, he turned and walked out, Vinny trailing behind him like a shadow.
The door shut.
The silence he left behind was deafening.
I pulled a chair from the conference room table and sat down, facing the guys.
Julian looked at me. “Well,” he said. “That escalated quickly.”
Lucian let out a long breath and muttered, “At least Luca’s pit bull didn’t rearrange my nose this time.”
Gabriel turned to me, a deep furrow carving between his eyes. “What the hell is all this about? None of us signed up for this mafia bullshit.”
I leaned forward, elbows on my knees, hands clasped between them. “You did, the second you started running illegal gambling under a liquor license and selling privacy to politicians with kinks and blood money.”
Gabriel opened his mouth to argue, then shut it.
“You think the darkness has boundaries?” I continued harshly. “Once you cross into it, there’s no climbing back into the light.”
Lachlan scratched his jaw. “So, dinner…” he said slowly. “What exactly are we walking into tomorrow night? I mean, are we eating steak—or getting our asses busted?”
A dark smile tugged at my lips. “Depends on what you bring to the table.”
Lucian swore under his breath. “So that’s what this is,” he said to the others. “Indoctrination into the brotherhood.” He regarded me with disgust. “We never had a choice, did we?”
“No,” I said. “You didn’t.”
He let out a bitter laugh and dragged a hand through his hair. “Welcome to the dark side, boys.”
I stood, straightening my coat. “I’ll see you tomorrow night.”
They didn’t argue.
Because they knew I wasn’t asking.
I stepped out into the cool air, making my way to the curb where my SUV idled.
When I tugged the door open, Rory gave me a once-over. “Meeting must’ve gone well,” he said. “You look like you’re about to murder someone again.”
I slid into the seat. “I’ve got a lot on my mind.”
“You want to head straight to Teterboro?”
“Yes,” I said. “Let’s get to Boston and back fast. The Delgado situation’s heating up.”
“Figured,” he muttered. “The air’s been changing.” He glanced at me. “And the Xyst boys?”
