Page 71 of Chaos
I highly doubt that he is in Fallingbrook, but Richmond would be a city that he would crave to conquer. With Dante as the leader of the Italian mafia in the city, I can see the appeal for Dimitri. He has always hated the Italians with a fierceness. No one knows why, but the stories of him going after any notable Italian family are legendary. He doesn’t care if you are a part of the mafia or not. As long as you are Italian, you are a dead man in his eyes.
If this is the same Dimitri that our dads were talking about, they have associated us with something that could end up getting us all killed.
I looked down at my phone for what felt like the millionth time in the last few days. I have wanted to call Dante. To ask him. To warn him. But something has always stopped me.
I wouldn’t consider us friends anymore, but he and I have had a mutually beneficial relationship over the last couple of years. We have silently been working together to try and get my dad and the others thrown in jail. Nothing has come from it yet, but we have stopped more than a few shady things from happening.
But keeping this a secret from Midas and Odin has been a challenge for me. I might have been able to convince Odin that this was a good thing, but I know Midas would have looked at this as the ultimate betrayal to him. The hatred between Midas and Dante goes down to the core of the two of them, and neither is willing to put their egos aside to end the feud.
I have tried to talk to Dante about what happened. Asked him why the sudden hatred towards us, but he always shoots me down and refuses to tell me anything. His only words are “Your fathers will pay for what they did to me, even if that means I need to get to them through you”.
Asking my dad what happened would end up with a bullet between my eyes, so there is no point going down that path.
Fuck it.I hit dial on Dante’s name and waited for his answer. Each ring sent panic through my body for no logical reason. I have spoken to Dante many times over the years, but this time I am afraid to learn what he knows.
“Zeus.” His cool, indifferent tone came through the line.
“I might have some information for you.” I can practically hear the smile forming on his lips at that sentence. “But I need some in return.”
Dante lets out a sigh of disappointment but ultimately agrees.
“Midas overheard something, and I need to know what it means. Our fathers are in contact with a man named Dimitri. Do you know who that might be?”
Dante pulls the phone away from his face before letting out a scream and cursing in Italian. I can hear other voices speaking to him in the background, all in Italian, but I don’t recognize any of them.
“You need to get on that bike of yours and get your ass over here now.” Before I can respond, Dante hangs up the phone.
Great, now I need to ride out to Richmond without being spotted by the guys. I have no clue where they are right now, but getting out of town unseen is almost next to impossible.
One of the new things that Zane had implemented at the last meeting was that club members are now doing patrols around the town. Zane wants to know every time someone comes in or out of town. He claims it is to keep us safe, but we all know he just wants complete control. He likes to think that he really is a king and that we are all his subjects. If you ask me, the man is drunk on power, and someone needs to dethrone him as soon as possible.
Everyone has a specific time and day that they are expected to be out. If you don’t comply, the penalty is death. No one was willing to go against him, fearing for their lives, and quickly agreed. Including the three of us. As much as we would like to think our dads wouldn’t kill us, I know they would. My dad has held me at gunpoint more than once when he didn’t like what I had to say. I wouldn’t put it past them to kill me.
Trying to remember who is out of patrol today is proving trickier than I thought. When I can’t remember who it is, I give up and decide to wing it.
I roll out of bed and throw on a pair of jeans, a blue T-shirt, and my leather jacket. I look at my cut that is hanging in my closet and just want to rip it out and burn it. I always thought joining the club was what I wanted. It was the ultimate goal in my life. Like all the pain I went through was for something.
Now, it is hollow. The pain meant nothing. The club is a lie.
On my way out the door, I grab an old baseball cap and sunglasses. I don’t bother with the bike. Everyone knows what it looks like. Instead, taking the car there is a less likely chance of someone spotting me in it. I place the baseball cap and sunglasses on and hop in. Here’s praying I am not spotted.
I made it out of town unseen, and it took no time to get to Dante’s home. Driving through Richmond isn’t something I am used to. I used to know these streets like the back of my hand, but now they were all so unfamiliar.
I may or may not have gotten lost more than once on my way to Dante’s place, but I eventually found it. The rich fucker lived on the outskirts of town on a massive property that you wouldn’t know was there unless you were told. The road to his home was shaded by thick trees on both sides until you reached the howling wolf gates.
I look out the window at a touchpad. Not knowing what the code is to get in, I start to take out my phone to text Dante when the gates start to swing open for me. I toss my phone back down on the seat next to me and pull up the rest of the mile-long driveway.
The trees thinned out until there was nothing but open land around on both sides. I pull up to the wolf water fountain and park on the side of it. The massive U-shaped mansion still looks the same as it did when I was a kid. A castle built in the middle of the California forest.
I climb out of the car and start up the steps to his front door. I knock once before the door opens wide. One of the men who came with Dante the night Serena was chased through the woods stands in front of me with his arms crossed over his broad chest. His muscles are flexing, trying to make the already large dude look larger.
We both stare at each other down, not even blinking until he lifts the corner of his mouth. He turns and starts walking through the vast hallways. I quickly catch up to him as he leads us into what I can only assume is Dante’s office.
Dante is perched behind a massive desk with two men standing at his sides. No one says anything as Muscle Head escorts me over to a chair in front of Dante’s large desk. Once I am seated, he walks around and joins the other two goons behind Dante.
The one in the middle looks slightly familiar. I had seen him around here when we were kids.His dark brown hair is swept back, perfectly styled to look effortless. His forest green eyes are focused on me, assessing me. Clearly not impressed with what he sees. I think I’ll call him Bastard.
Muscle Head, as he shall now be known, stands on the right of the first guy. And Beach Bum, the third dude, stands to his right.
