"Let's give him a break, Dad. I mean, us being mixed up with Rico's people might be a good thing. You heard him; he called us family," Ace said.
Dasan snorted. "You don't think that man can't put a bullet in the head of a family member, one blood-related to him?"
"Oh, I know he will. But we won't give him a reason to fuck us over. From what I've seen of him, he wants to work with us, and he knows our alliance only strengthens his outfit. Making enemies of us isn't a wise business decision," Ace said.
Dasan sighed, then nodded. "I'll never let my guard down around that man, but I hope you're right."
"My suggestion will be to make sure Richie's recipe for his drug stays with us. They can help us produce it, but to make sure they can never cut us out completely, we need that advantage," Ace said.
"Wise move, son," Dasan agreed.
"Let's just take this shit one day at a time. Right now, Enzo and Li Mujin are about to get married. The war is over, and we've gotfucking billions to make. Every Lord is about to come up in the world. Hell, we're going to have to spread out wider, open a lot of chapters, and be more strict about our recruiting," Ace said.
"That's a smart move. The bigger we are, the more leverage we'll have. But this isn't anything we can rush," Dasan agreed.
"One day at a time, like Ace said." Maverick smiled at his brother.
"For now, we visit with old friends, then head home," Dasan said.
Maverick smiled. Finally... the light at the end of the tunnel.
Chapter twenty-eight
Dragon
"ThefuckIwill!"
Dragon cocked both eyebrows at Enzo's outburst. He'd been watching the man talk to his mother on the phone, and apparently, something was said that he didn't like. He took another swig of his orange juice while he enjoyed his breakfast.
"How in the fuck did I get dragged into your deal? How the fuck did Cenzo!?" Enzo asked his mom. There was some silence, then he went on. "I'd sooner kill that son of a bitch than marry him. Did we forget how much we suffered because of them?"
When Dragon heard Vincenzo's name, he turned to the man to see that he was also on his cell phone, and he didn't look at all happy about what he was hearing as he paced back and forth. A deep frown creasing Cenzo's brow made Dragon curious aboutwhat was going on, but Cenzo seemed to have better composure than Enzo when being informed of the results of the sit-down.
Dragon gathered that they want Enzo to marry someone from the Triad and apparently Cenzo too. Quickly, he pulled out his cell and called his dad. He left the area so that he could speak in private. When his dad answered, he asked about the meeting.
"It was interesting," Dasan said. "Rico is a real motherfucker for you."
"What happened?" Dragon asked.
"First, Rico played hardball to prove that he was willing to make sacrifices if Li and Xiù's unfortunate outcome would deal a devastating blow to Da Han. Then that asshole countered by being equally as cold, claiming he had other kids and brothers who can see his triad rise."
"Damn, that's harsh," Dragon said.
"These mobsters dance on a different ballroom than we do. Naturally, I let them tango until they came to an understanding. That's when Da Han suggested a Blood Marriage, and that's when the firstborns of the bosses get married. Apparently, the same thing happened when his triad was at war with the Saotome Yakuza back in the day. To end that war, he married his current wife, and lucky for him, it turned out to be a blessing," Dasan said.
"So, does that mean Enzo has to marry Li?"
"Yep."
"What about Cenzo?" Dragon asked because he wanted all of the details.
"Alessia made the point that her son was gay and wouldn't want Xiù, and in order for their families to fully become one, a child needed to be born of both bloodlines. That's when she suggested that Vincenzo marry Xiù and everyone agreed. And apparently, Nico wants his son to take his last name, so he'susing this as leverage, but none of that shit has anything to do with us. Stay out of that," Dasan said.
Dragon burst into laughter at the thought because Enzo had been antagonizing the hell out of Li the whole time. The two obviously hated each other. "I don't see that working out, at least not between Li and Enzo. Cenzo and Xiù may be able to work it out."
"Stay out of it," Dasan reminded him.
"Oh, don't worry, I will. I just would love to be a fly on the wall to see if they can get along," Dragon said, still chuckling.
