White Night

Chapter 12

"Shit." Nikolai swore quietly as Grensky pulled the car to the curb in the bright morning sun. His father's watch read 7:43 a.m., but it was usually at least fifteen minutes off. Either way, not even 8:00 a.m. and Celso Romano and two other capos were laughing and walking down the street, his street, in his territory.

"They said they'd let you handle it." Grensky turned to him.

Having other capos in your territory was dangerous to your health, unless you'd requested their help, and he sure as hell hadn't.

He opened the door and walked toward Don Romano's oldest son. "Good morning, Celso."

"Nikolai!" Celso smiled and opened his arms wide for an embrace.

He humored the Romano heir, leaning his head away from the pile of grease that Celso called hair.

Celso pulled him close and rubbed his head into him, warm oil soaking into Nikolai's skin. The slimy asshole...

"So good to see you. How's Galina and the kid?"

"Fine, fine. Thanks, Celso, and your family?" he replied, wanting to head-butt him, then stamp on his face until his sharp cheekbones snapped and he choked on his silver tongue.

"Alessandro will be six this year. You believe it? Him and Katya gonna be a nice couple when they're older. He still likes her, you know." He laughed.

His fist tightened as Celso smirked, bright white teeth shining from his olive skin. Celso knew Nikolai adored his daughter. Alessandro was a good boy, but his father was a psychotic asshole he'd once seen peel a strip of skin off a man's arm and wave it at him, laughing. "Just taking a little off the top, like you were, man!"

Celso took pleasure in reminding him that if his son wanted his daughter when she was older, then she would be his. Over Celso's dead body.

"What can I do for you, Celso?" he asked, looking at Grensky, who had his hands in his pocket—never a good sign. A gun, a knife, and a heavy lock on a chain were in those pockets. Nikolai shook his head softly at his friend.

"It's what we can do for you, Nikki." Celso slapped him in the chest and smiled widely.

It's Nikolai, asshole.

"Uncle Mauro thought you might need some help taking out the meth lab."

"Sure, always happy to have you around, Celso," Nikolai lied through his gritted teeth.

He'd rather hear the sound of the thief's skin tearing off his arm again, but as refusing wasn't an option, he might as well make the asshole welcome.

"Great! I have your money here." Celso started patting his thick overcoat. "Now, where did I put it?"

Every time, such a production. Celso searched dramatically in a coat with only three pockets while Nikolai waited for his money like a housewife. What Celso didn't know was that he didn't need it anymore. The ransomware business he'd set up earned him fifty times what the Romanos gave him.

Anonymous software took control of a person's computer and they paid to get control back—and over fifty percent of them did pay the money, almost five million dollars of it. Money that now sat in offshore accounts waiting for him...

"Ah, here it is." Celso retrieved the small envelope from the first pocket he'd searched and handed it to him. "So this meth lab?"

"My sources tell me it's not the usual Latin gangs. It's new guys, but we've also been checking out the Kings or Tris coming up outta Sunset Park."

"Nah, the Hispanics run coke and smack, not meth. Your source is bullshitting you." Celso smirked.

He was never right in this family. Celso always knew everything, but ultimately nothing.

"These guys are new, Colombians. They're creating a market. Cheap meth, get the users hooked, then jack the price," he said, hiking his thumb in front of Celso's face, almost jamming it up the slick bastard's nose.

Celso frowned. It was the same plan he'd suggested to his father, the Don. It was the reason for the big shipment, but the plan relied on quick distribution. You didn't store drugs for long. Dealers stole from each other, feds got tip offs, it had to arrive and disappear fast.

This new development was screwing Celso's plan, and Nikolai could barely suppress his smile at the thought of the golden boy standing in front of Mauro and the family, explaining the loss of millions.

Celso was no businessman. Nikolai would've taken the family into the next decade with wealth they could only dream of, but he wasn't even a capo, they didn't listen to him. The Don had chosen his birth son over his adopted son and it would cost him everything, including his own blood.

"So where do we find it?" Celso asked, his voice cracking as he looked around at the other capos.

Afraid, Celso?

The failure of Celso's plan would weaken the Don's position within his own family and end the golden boy's chances at taking over from his father, but Celso wouldn't go down without a fight. The Don's son would twist every arm and break every leg to get the crank sold to anyone, user or not.

"I got two possible locations from my source," Nikolai said calmly.

"Okay, you and I go to one. Grensky and you two to the other." Celso nodded at the other capos.

Grensky gave Celso a hard stare before looking at Nikolai. He nodded slightly as his friend's face filled with concern. Celso was separating them deliberately. Nikolai's stomach twisted as a chill swept across his skin.

Avision of Katya going to school this morning after giving Papa big hugs andbutterfly kisses flashed through his mind. He couldn't be taken from her, not withthree days left.