Page 67 of SINS & Riley
A shrine to excess, every gilded corner bleeds his corruption like pus from an open wound.
The grounds sprawl for hundreds of acres.
Miles of winding trails, each one laid over the bones of men who crossed him.
The first time I found one, I thought it was driftwood.
Turns out, femurs bleach fast under the sun.
Back when my father and uncle still played nice, my brothers and I tripped over enough bones to piece together half a skeleton.
“Mr. D’Angelo is expecting you, sir,” the butler says, opening my door.
I catch the Glock under his jacket.
Me and my men are welcomed right into the mouth of hell.
Andre D’Angelo has spent decades perfecting the art of proximity. He keeps close to anyone with real power, but only when he’s sure he can leash it.
He doesn’t deal in equals. Only pets.
Him rolling out the red carpet doesn’t surprise me.
Not because I’m his nephew—the one he paid to erase.
But because now, I’m Zver.
The Russian wildcard who kills whoever the fuck he wants. Even a D’Angelo.
When my uncle dangled a king’s fortune for Dante D’Angelo’s head, who better for the job?
I’ll admit, it’s almost touching he wanted me gone so badly he was willing to pay for it.
But not exactly a shock.
He thinks if he takes one of us down, the rest will topple like dominoes.
Cute theory. Because sanity’s never really been his thing.
He already failed with Enzo.
And thanks to Smoke’s wife, he’s wrapped in so much Bratva bubble wrap he’s untouchable.
Obviously, I was next on his hit list.
So, here I am, at his door, finally collecting payment for services rendered. Uncle Andre is a notorious late payer who uses any excuse to drag his feet.
But the longer I let it go, the more suspicious it looks.
Besides, I’ll put the cash to good use. Little does he know all that blood money has basically made him a one-man charity.
And this slice will build my next rescue operation in Palermo.
We make our way in, and every well-trained nerve in my body screams it’s a trap, it’s a trap.
I duct tape their mouths shut and keep going.
They take us through a back hall, out of the way, avoiding the main living area altogether. Which tells me everything.
