“You two and your cloak and dagger shit,” Aleksei grumbles, fishes out his phone, and madly types on it.
Probably engineering some virus for his bosses in the Bratva.
“The Carusos will be there this year,” Sofia adds. “They never attend.”
Something big is happening. The Carusos, while holding the controlling power of The Six, are famous for hiding in the shadows. If they are making a public appearance, we need to be there. I might find more info about the kill ledger, or anything I can use to root out the killer.
“We need to get you in,” Sebastian says, obviously thinking the same thing.
Rafe stares at the crucifix on the wall. “If you make a move now, they’ll be suspicious.”
“Don’t worry,” Aleksei chirps. “We aren’t suggesting murder…yet.”
Rafe pinches his nose and sighs. “I swear—”
“Why are you here, Rafe? A holy man with the most unholy people,” Sebastian asks, a sudden interest in his gaze. Nothing like a conundrum to perk the unfeeling bastard up. “There has to be a reason.”
“Even the damned need to see the light.” Rafe plays with the cross around his neck.
“I think it’s too late for us.”Ren points to the ceiling.“We’ve reserved seats in hell.”
“Finally, common sense,” Sebastian comments.
Ren bolts up and arches a brow, a sly smile curving his lips.
The mob lawyer blinks and clears his throat. “Don’t get your panties in a twist, Ren. I was making an educated guess, not like I know sign language.”
“I never agree with Ren, but I agree with him this time,” Aleksei comments, his attention still on his phone. “I reserve one of the first five circles of hell.”
“Uniting us sinners already, maybe there is a God,” Sofia drawls.
“No one is beyond saving.” Rafe smiles sadly.
He means it.
In an ironic twist, it was Rafe who formed The Antihero Syndicate. Not officially, but each of us stumbled into his path for various reasons. He found me delirious with fever after I escaped my family’s massacre. I brought Aleksei in years later. He offered Sofia sanctuary at the church after I rescued her from her handler.
He was the first person she’d talked to, even though he refused to tell me what she told him. While he hasn’t taken his final vows to become an ordained priest yet—he’s technically a transitional deacon—he follows the confessional rules, and in this case, the private “counsel” since he’s not allowed to take confessions.
A technicality no one here or in this community cares about. There’s a priest shortage in the church, and the parishioners are more than happy to call him Father Rafe.
“Boom!” Aleksei announces, a wild grin on his face. He slams his phone onto the table. “A present to solve your problems.”
My phone buzzes.
Edon
Call me. All our shipments got frozen. Unacceptable.
Aleksei plops his feet on the table, earning him a glare from Sebastian. “Genius. I’m a genius. Why doesn’t anyone know that?”
“What did you do?”Ren jabs him with the barrel of his gun.
“Might have caused a war between our country and five others in Eastern Europe,” Aleksei says. “They really should fortify their firewalls. It wasn’t hard feeding them info about imminent assassinations.”
Sebastian glances up from his phone and offers a chilling smile. “A day of miracles.”
The other phones start pinging as the rest of us stare at our screens.
