Page 88 of Beautiful Chaos

Khane

Adeep, irritating sigh left Arjen, his strained gaze pinned on Angel. Raymond Evans had pitted us against each other, placing his own daughter in the middle of what could have been a long bloody war if Angel hadn’t disclosed why he had taken Desiree.

“What do you propose we do to solve this issue? We’re here, and we’ve killed at least ten of your men, so it’s obvious we want the woman back.”

What he hadn’t admitted was that we had come willing to kill everyone on his compound to get Desiree back. I knew that Arjen had initiated this mission more for me than for Desiree, or even the ten-million-dollar investment he kept using as an excuse for his actions.

He knew that I would have come for her with or without him. As well, we had to consider that the syndicate had voted on the Vallin-Evans alliance, and going against them would be the next best thing to committing suicide. Therefore, we had to leave with Desiree, even if it meant a war with the FA over her. There were so many merging angles to this situation, that my mind had to build a decision tree to figure out the best route to take.

I wasn’t even sure if we were going to disclose to the syndicate what Raymond had done as they would investigate and find out we had crossed territorial lines and killed at least ten members of a cartel secretly linked to us. It was a hot fucking mess.

There was also the option that I would have never considered. The one that would keep the syndicate quiet and prevent a war with the FA, and that would be to kill Desiree.

“I sacrificed good men to lure you into a trap. I want the woman,” Angel finally replied. “She must be worth it,” he said, glaring at Desiree and winking at me.

We were at a stalemate. Neither Arjen, nor Angel were going to submit. Was I going to have to be the voice of reason? Me. I was usually the one who would have tried to kill Angel and every last one of his men. However, the woman sitting next to me had the ability to quiet my beast like nothing else ever could.

“Can we not forget that we are talking about a person who’s sitting right here. She didn’t ask for any of this, and only agreed to it to help her father.” I put cold eyes on my brother before I glanced at Angel. Desiree sat hunched over Angel’s table, not looking at any of us.

“Raymond’s plan could have been for us to take each other out so he could go and make a deal with another unsuspecting crime family. He has placed his niece in charge. It’s supposed to be temporary, but I believe Raymond is laying low to see how this all turns out.” My statement caused all eyes in the room to travel in my direction.

Angel pointed at Desiree. “Call your backstabbing father. And remember, little Dove, he played you too. Set you in the middle of a war.” He’d addressed Desiree with a term of endearment like he hadn’t just been choking the life out of her.

“Then the gambling prick, walked into one of my state-side casinos some weeks ago and tried to leave owing a half-million,” Angel added.

His admission had just solve the riddle of the two men from the BMW that was looking for the Bookkeeper. I handed Desiree my burner phone. She shook her head, unwilling to double-cross her father who had not only sold her into this mess, but left her dangling like a carrot between two of the most dangerous organizations in the world.

She should have been more upset than we were, but I suppose some bonds were difficult to break. She had after all been able to stomach my truths, and I believe it was the same reason she could stand up for her father despite the life-threatening danger he’d placed her in.

I leaned in so that my lips were right at her ear. “We have to straighten out this mess before more people die, including us. We could all die if the syndicate finds out we have interacted with the FA in any way except what has been agreed on, which is why Angel sent his men in to take you in the first place. He wasn’t going to get you any other way, but to steal you.” I tapped my ear. “My men just informed that Angel’s back up has arrived.”

The last part about Angel’s back up was a lie. The extra back-up was more men that Arjen and I had set up. Desiree took the phone, dialed her father’s number, and waited.

“Put it on speaker,” Angel barked.

The loud tone of the phone ringing floated around the room like a swarming hive of killer bees. At the fifth ring, I had given up hope that he would answer.

“Hello?” he answered, his greeting a question. Everyone in the room appeared to be holding their breath.

“Dad, it’s me,” Desiree said off a choked cry.

“Are you okay, baby?” he asked, sounding sincere.

“No, I’m not okay. You auctioned me off to the Vallins and the FA, knowing you were double-crossing both. You need to fix this or they are going to kill me.” Her voice cracked as a tear slid down her cheek. I believe she was fighting to shoulder the hurt of her father’s betrayal. Her head was bowed towards the phone sitting in front of her on the table, as if praying to it.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t auction you off. I made the deal with the FA and got into a little trouble with the money he wired me. I saw no other way but to make a deal with an equally as deadly group, one that I knew would protect you.”

Was this how he was justifying his actions? There wasn’t a hint of remorse or sorrow in his tone as he lied through his teeth. Desiree may have been his blood, but he had used her, and I was starting to believe he didn’t care about what happened to her.

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” she yelled, her emotions taking over as she was starting to realize her father had used her worse than any stranger off the streets.

“I’m sorry, baby. I know you’re there with them. Men!” he called out in a loud voice. “I’m indisposed indefinitely. Retired from the business. But I’ve left the operation in the hands of the two most capable Evans. My niece, Mecca has taken over with my blessing. Marrying my niece, who is the new head of the Black Saints, is just as sweet a deal as I had originally proposed. Might I suggest, one group marry Mecca, and the other can marry my sweet daughter, and you can become one big untouchable force?”

Arjen, Angel, and I stared at each other, unmoved by Raymond’s proposal. Even if we agreed to it, it wouldn’t work because the FA weren’t members of our syndicate. Desiree’s voice ended our stare-off.

“I’ll never forgive you for what you’ve done to me and Mecca. You are leaving her in an impossible situation cleaning up your mess. I pray you have enough sense to stay hidden because you’ve just signed your own death certificate.”

Her voiced shook with emotion as she continued to hover over the phone. “You need to do the honorable thing and at least try to straighten this mess out. You have cheated them out of their money and negotiated a fake deal. It leaves a nasty stain on the Black Saints.”

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