Page 33 of Empire of Carnage
Santos scoffed out a laugh.
“No. Los Muertos was a mutual problem. I’m not in any position to ask anything of any Diablo. They didn’t fight that battle for us, they fought it for Celia.”
Most of them still didn’t know the full weight of the truth. They’d heard bits and pieces about how Celia wasn’t just some random bitch in the trials, how we’d had history. They deserved the full weight of the truth, but they needed to prove they could be trusted. I could count the men in this room that deserved my unrequited loyalty with less than four fingers.
“Didn’t we bleed enough for her?” It was Hughes who spoke next.
His face had the kind of coldness I hadn’t seen from him in a long time. It made me realize I hadn’t thought to ask what everyone had lost that day yet.
“It can’t be now,” I told them again. “Sokolov will have to wait. Until Celia has the full force of her army behind her, until she’s the only person alive who can challenge the cártel throne, I can’t—”
“I think you’re too cunt-struck to see clearly Zerkos. Ever since you brought that bitch into our lives, it’s been nothing but bloodshed. Either you do right by your people and use her to eliminate our target, or you lose the right to call yourself our leader.” He stood up, nostrils flaring, and fists clenched tight.
Yeah.
There was a good chance he was working with Dezmond Rat Junior.
Fletcher stood, chest to chest against Hughes like he would have jumped to defend my honor. I didn’t need that from him.
“Sit down Fletch.” I stood myself. “He’s not wrong.”
Some voices gasped, the ones who had already been privy to the history between me and my girl. The ones who had overheard too much about just how deep the root of our problems stretched out.
“Ican’tbe your leader anymore. The more I think about it, the more I realize it isn’t right. How am I supposed to lead you when I’m following her?”
“You are?” Ethan asked.
“I am,” I said without blinking. “She knows the game better than any of us, and I’d give my life for hers a million times over. I won’t rush a revenge that I know she’s calculating.” I hardened my eyes at Hughes, knowing the fucker was going to take that juicy tidbit of information back to Dezmond.
Voices rang out over each other once again in confusion as my men tried to make sense of the news I’d just dumped on them.
“What does that mean for us? What about you?” Fletcher asked Santos.
“I go where she goes,” he said, his eyes barely shifting to me. “Wherever he fucking goes too.”
“Fuck,” Ethan barked, taking in the seriousness of the situation.
The room dropped into complete silence.
“Me too.” Fletcher looked up, brushing his red hair out of his face.
A few voices rang out with confusion, and he waved them off.
“I owe her my life, and if she’s someone you consider following then I don’t see why I can’t do the same.” He seemed so sure of himself.
“You don’t even fucking speak spanish,” Hughes shouted but Fletcher just shrugged.
“I’ll learn. It’s better than sticking around a lost cause with a rat for a boss.” He was insinuating that if I wasn't the leader, Dezmond would certainly reap the opportunity.
He would, and he’d lead them all down a dangerous path, aligning them with our enemies who were really just waiting for the right opportunity to knock us down, wipe us all from the map. The idiots didn’t see that. The Black Crows had taken money, power and opportunities from every major syndicate in Cove City. The thought that they’d align themselves back with us now that we were broken instead of using it as an opportunity to kill us off for good was laughable.
Then all hell broke loose, and the room suddenly became divided. They were choosing sides. Something I’d never asked them to do. Hughes stepped up to me, his chest pressed to mine and his nostrils flaring wildly. He was pissed, and I’d been so far up in my own bullshit I couldn’t even figure out what it was that I’d done to piss him off.
It was a good thing I was stepping down.
Maybe Iwasn’tcut out for this shit.
Life was simpler when I was the one taking orders.
