The King's Executioner | Mafia Dark Romance | Book 2

7. Turmoil, turmoil everywhere

Alejandro

The casino business was the face of most of our backdoor activities. As our father - Carlos - would say, it was the white to hide all the black. In the past, the clear and white business of ours fascinated me more. I wanted to be a part of the clean business and not kill and plunder like wild animals.

Since being roped in to be Antonio's second in command, the casino and all its fancy shenanigans were passed over to Agustin to command. The cute, carefree boy image of his kept our drug business under wraps and the law enforcement authorities happy.

Antonio was right - Agustin's charm would always help us in many ways while my anger would get those things resolved that peace couldn't.

With the last attack on our cartel by the rival Sinaloa members, we had made deals with the Russians. Our casino warehouses were leased by the Russians for their testing activities. Antonio was gambling our safety and the safety of our men by letting the Russians deal on our territory before moving their roots to the States.

Like a bloodhound, Antonio in his current shortsighted phase was motivated to destroy the Sinaloa cartel. He was fueled by the anger and hatred that all previous cartel heads had for one another.

"You don't agree with me?" Antonio asked, crashing my daydreaming. I had to act as if nothing about this family's truth was known to me. Nothing about their betrayal either.

"I don't," I shrugged my shoulders. "But that wouldn't stop you from doing it anyway, Anto."

Antonio signaled to the bartender - two with his finger - who turned to fetch the most expensive scotch that was used mostly during the celebration.

"What's the occasion?" I asked.

Antonio leaned back on the barstool. His eyes implored patience till the drinks were served. Upon the crystal ware slid towards us, I waited for Antonio to talk. He sipped his drink, swirling it in his mouth, all the while watching me shift in my seat uncomfortably.

"Agustin closed the deal with Santos Salazar," he sighed loudly, sipping another gulp. Agustin and Sofia were sent to handle a deal that was Valentina's, to begin with. The first time we went to meet Santos, things went sideways, leaving me a married man. "Agustin had help from Sof. They made the deal a success."

Before I could say further, Valentina and Gemma walked in. Val checked the drinks served to us, cringing her face. She took a seat beside Antonio, huffing.

"I thought you liked whiskey and scotch?" I said.

"I do," With lips curled down, she whined. "But I can't stand the smell in my current state," her hand gestured towards her belly. "Nor can I stand meat."

"So the baby is gonna be a non-alcoholic, vegan," I chuckled, sipping from my glass.

Antonio wasn't amused. With bridged eyebrows, he began. "The baby will be all things Val and me including drinks and meat." Valentina curled her hand over his, leaning in. Their affectionate state gave me a throat burn.

"You know, Anto, we cannot force the child into anything, right?" Valentina was looking for confirmation and Antonio's smiling nod confirmed his reply.

I moved away, unable to stomach the sugary love those two put on display. Gemma was checking the inventory. Silently, I began helping her with the checklist. After all, this checklist was the paper that ensured we didn't make any mistake in the resources the Russians needed to complete their end of the deal.