Heartless Mercy (The Sinful Alliance #1)

Blood//Water by grandson

“Maeve, tell October to reach out to Frank’s staff on behalf of his family informing he’s dead. Also, go ahead and put out a statement from the family saying he died peacefully in his family home. Then, get that footage deleted as soon as possible. I know no one can hack our system, but I’m not taking any chances,” I instruct Maeve as I catch sight of Frank squirming on our bunker’s operating table.

“Yes, I know, Dario. I’m not stupid. Did Sonny talk with his mother already?”

“Yeah, Catalina told me he called her on the way over and gave her a brief rundown of him cheating and that he died of a heart attack. She was on speaker and they heard the poor woman go through a roller coaster of emotions, but she ultimately felt relief. I’m pretty sure she suspected that he was cheating, just not with men. Sonny ended up telling her that he was going to take care of everything since he was the one who caught him.”

“Jesus, that’s a lot to take in. Are you sure it’s smart to let civilians in on our inner circle and reveal secrets? Especially the fucking District Attorney of El Paso County?” Maeve’s concern is evident through the phone.

“Trust me. Even if he would tell someone about our shady deals, he’d be the one going to jail for murder.”

“Wait, what ? He’s going to kill his father? Are you serious, Dario?”

“Calm down, reina . If he backs out, I’ll do it, but he seems determined to do it. We’re all going to be here and we know how to handle business.” Maeve groans, and I know it’s because she hates it when I call her by that nickname. But what can I say? Most days, she’s the one who rules this alliance.

Sonny and Catalina push the door and make their way through the bunker. Isabella and Willow are nowhere in sight.

“I still think it’s a bad idea, but I know you got it. I’ll let you go and tell October to get started. But call me when you’re done, because I need to talk to you and Niccolo about Andrei. He’s in some shite.”

“Fuck. Okay, I’ll call you in an hour,” I say, ending the call and placing my phone in my pocket.

Catalina and Sonny are making their way over to me when Alejandro stops Catalina. They whisper amongst themselves as Sonny continues his ascend towards me.

“Hey, where’s Isabella and Willow?”

“Oh, Willow fell in love with one of your horses and she had to see it up close. Isabella stopped to keep her company. You have a beautiful place here, Dario.”

“Thank you. How are you doing?” Sonny tilts his head to the side, contemplating what I’m talking about.

“What do you mean? ”

“Are you sure you want to kill your father? Even I couldn’t do that.”

“Well, I’m sure your father didn’t torment you for years about your sexuality and then, in turn, be a hypocrite about it.”

“Touché. You don’t have to do it, but I understand wanting to release the anger you have built up toward someone you love.”

I recognize the anger vibrating off of Sonny as he locks eyes with his piece of shit father. It’s one I felt when I killed a man I thought I loved. It turns out he betrayed me by disclosing one of the meeting places of the alliance’s monthly get-together to one of our rivals. My need for vengeance was at an all-time high, and when I dismembered the man I loved into unidentifiable pieces and scattered them among the border, the comedown was ten times worse than the betrayal. I see that same fire in Sonny’s dejected, blue eyes.

“This goes against everything I believe in and prosecute, but the anger I have inside outweighs my morals. I’m ready.”

Isabella and Willow enter the bunker space. Willow joins us, and Isabella remains attached to Catalina’s side. Sonny takes Willow’s hand and catches her eye. Their closeness is apparent in the way they seek comfort in one another.

He buries his head in the crock of her neck and I remove myself from their space to give them privacy. Niccolo spots me and meets me halfway. We stand near the black, leather couch and he grabs my hand.

“Do you think he’ll do it, baby?”

“Yeah, he’s super determined,” I disclose as his thumb rubs circles across my palm.

“But, like, how does he go from Mister Nice Guy prosecutor to stone-cold killer in a matter of a day? It just doesn’t seem likely.”

“I know, baby. Believe me, Maeve asked me the same thing, but I don’t know. I see the same killer I am when someone betrays me.” Niccolo nods, understanding who I’m referring to.

“I guess his anger took over, but that comedown is going to have him dealing with some major second-guessing, and I don’t know how that’s going to work out for us.”

“I have a feeling we’ll be there for him, amorcito .” I wink and he playfully slaps my hand.

“Okay, let’s get into position,” Niccolo adds as he joins the girls and Alejandro as they inspect Sonny’s position near his father.

I saunter towards Sonny’s place beside his father as he grabs the syringe filled with a lethal dose of Pancuronium. Due to Frank’s status as a governor, we had to settle for a lethal paralytic rather than getting creative with one of our newly shined toys of torture.

“You don’t have to do this, Sonny. I can do it for you,” I whisper. He catches my eye and shakes his head.

“I can do it. He deserves this, and I should be the last face he sees as I take his life.” Wow, he has balls. I’ll give him that.

Resuming my position, Frank opens his mouth to give his two cents. But just before the words come, Sonny slaps him hard across his right cheek. I’m taken aback; who knew he had it in him to be kind of violent?

“You don’t get to speak. Your time for ridiculing me is over. Listen closely, Dad,” Sonny spits out as he grasps Frank’s face with one hand and squeezes tightly.

“My face will be the last one you see. But let me leave you with this. After today, you’ll be a distant memory and I will not give you the satisfaction of taking over my life anymore. I will be the man you didn’t want to be. You are a lying piece of fucking shit, and my mother and I deserve better. And we will get it even if it’s the last thing I do. Goodbye, Father. You deserve this,” Sonny growls, inserting the needle into Frank’s arm.

He pushes the medication through the syringe, and in a span of moments, Frank’s body instantly relaxes. Sonny removes the needle and his other hand from Frank’s face.

“Fuck you, asshole. Go to fucking hell.” Sonny’s beautiful, blue eyes fill with tears and I quickly move by his side, grabbing him as his knees buckle and almost hit the ground.

I soothe him by smoothing the hair on the back of his head as I bring his body closer to mine. Willow immediately reaches our side and nods to me before taking Sonny in her arms.

They cry together; her sweet words of comfort are enough to calm his tears. I nod towards Alejandro, and he immediately starts to unstrap Frank’s body and carries him out of the bunker.

I join Catalina, Isabella, and Niccolo as we watch the two beautiful people in the middle of the room, seeking each other’s comfort.

“They should stay here. There’s no way he can take this home with him,” Isabella instructs.

Grabbing her hand, I kiss it and say, “They will, baby, they will. And before we continue our night of fun, how about y’all meet me in my office? Maeve has some things for us to discuss. Go ahead. I’ll wait for them and tell them they’ll be staying in one of the guest rooms.”

Letting go of her hand and giving Niccolo a peck on the lips, they collectively exit the bunker. Willow and Sonny remove themselves from each other and see me standing there, waiting for them.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to take up all of your time, I know you’re a busy man. We’ll leave you alone. We just need a car to take back to the club so I can retrieve mine,” Sonny apologizes.

“Don’t worry about that. We brought your car here, but you two will be staying in one of the guest rooms. I assume you don’t want to be alone, and you shouldn’t, but unless you want separate rooms, I have two rooms with a connecting door,” I state.

“Oh, no. We couldn’t put you out like that. We’ll go home,” Sonny comments.

“Nonsense. You’ll both stay. Follow me,” I declare, leaving no room for discussion.

I walk into my office after escorting Willow and Sonny to their guest room across the hall.

As I suspected, they decided to share a room. I left them with extra pillows, clothes, hot tea, and tissues. I also explained where my bedroom was in case they needed to reach me. It was more than enough to get them through the night.

“So, how did it go? Are they okay?” Catalina inquires. I take my seat behind my mahogany, executive desk on my customized, ergonomic cushioned chair.

“Yeah, they’ll be fine. I gave them everything they needed. Sonny collected himself, but I think it’ll hit him more later. It’s a good thing he has Willow with him. But let’s move on to business.”

“What did Maeve say?” Niccolo starts as he sits to the left of my desk on the jade, leather Chesterfield-style couch along with Isabella. Catalina leans against the wall near the door, always ready to take off if needed.

“She said to call her once we were all here. Something about Andrei being in some shit.”

“Fuck, I knew that asshole was into something shady. The transporter we killed earlier told us that someone in our alliance was selling tainted drugs. They fucking laced our product, D,” Catalina exclaims, raging with anger that will soon pop off if she doesn’t calm down. And an unhinged Catalina is someone who can never be stopped.

“Alright, let’s hear from Maeve first before making conclusions.” The look she’s giving me seems to only exacerbate her anger, and honestly, it’s stupid to think it would make her calm.

Pulling out my phone from my pocket, I redial Maeve’s phone and we wait impatiently for her to answer. Catalina starts pacing, Isabella shakes her leg up and down, and Niccolo won’t stop clenching and unclenching his jaw.

“Hey, D. I assume everyone’s on?” Maeve answers.

“Yeah, you’ve got Niccolo, Catalina, Isabella, and I. So what did October find out about Andrei?”

“It’s what we suspected for the past few months, D. Fucking piece of shite needs to pay.” Catalina’s eyebrows shoot up in acknowledgment, waiting for Maeve to explain further.

“Break it down, Maeve,” Niccolo states.

“He’s not only the one lacing the drugs we supply, but October picked up a transcribed phone call he had with the Albanians in Chicago. He’s going out of the fucking alliance to include the fucking skin trade. She also overheard that his sons, Ilya, Vadim, and Akim, were encouraging him to take us out and take over our territories.”

The look on all our faces morphs from shock, to anger, to downright ready for revenge. Andrei and his sons will have their day of reckoning, and it will happen soon.