“What do you mean?” I doubted Ryuji had ever been subtle in his entire life.
“Strike boldly, while the loyalty of two of the Five Families is in flux,” he said with a shrug. “Claim ownership. Say the Vero Family is yours by right, and you’re taking it back and restructuring its leadership. Offer safety and a pay increase to any soldiers willing to join us.”
I pursed my lips. “How?”
“I can put a message out on the dark web,” Ciel offered. “We can all feed it through our street contacts as well. Within twenty-four hours, all of New York can know that you’re looking for men and you’re challenging Max’s leadership.”
Maybe Ryuji was right. Maybe coming right out and claiming it would be better. A queen would be loud and unafraid. I grinned. “Let’s do it.”
“Speaking of gaining more men…” Ryuji started as he flipped his phone in his lap. That was his anxious habit.
“What?” I asked. Obi sighed. “What are you not telling me?”
After exchanging a glance, Obi spoke. “Ryuji and I formed an alliance with the Russians.”
I frowned. “When?”
“A few hours ago,” he said. “While you were…asleep.”
I blushed.Asleep. While I was fucking the guys, Obi was making decisions for our future.
I bristled. “This wasn’t something we should have discussed?”
“Time was of the essence.” Obi’s voice brokered no disagreement, and I grew even more defensive. Why wouldn’t he tell me about this?
I looked between them. “What happened?”
Ryuji sighed.“I left to go check on the clubs when I learned there were more tainted drugs being circulated. At the same time, Kostya informed me his warehouse had just been hit, but he caught a South American. We tortured the man and learned that Volpe formed an alliance with the South Americans, particularly the Alacrán Cartel, early this morning. He’s got his sights on eliminating the Russians to clear a path for them to take over the drug trade in New York.”
Ciel stiffened, hand pausing its normal drumming on his leg. “The Alacrán Cartel?”
Ryuji stretched his arm out behind him. “Yeah. So Kostya needed help, and so did we. An alliance was the right call, at least for now.”
I stared at Obi, trying to understand what was going on inside his head. Wedidneed allies. We’d already agreed to that. Konstantin and the Bratva had already shown us support at the nightclub. Logically, it all made sense, and I understood why they did it.
So why did I feel so annoyed that neither of them asked me?
“We have another enemy to consider,” I said carefully, crossing my arms over my chest. South Americans. Shit. Max was still going after allies, and we needed to have more on our side, too. “Konstantin agreed? What are the terms?”
Ryuji nodded, back to flipping his phone in his lap. “We didn’t talk specifics, but I imagine he’ll want to expand his drugbusiness when we win. We can make the Russians our only suppliers and give him full access to the city if this war plays out in our favor.”
The New York drug trade was huge, from dealers across all organizations. But if we could control the drug trade alongside the Russians, we both stood to make a significant amount of money.
Max knew he needed more help. He couldn’t have gone to the Russians after insulting Konstantin, or after what my father had done, and he knew their biggest competitor was the South Americans. It made sense why he’d turn to them.
Butfuck. We did not need another target on our backs.
We needed this alliance.
“Ciel, can you get us information on the Alacrán Cartel?” Obi asked. The two of them exchanged a look. Ciel’s mouth thinned, and Obi’s eyes softened. What did the two of them know? “Updated leadership structure. Supply and revenue estimates. We need to know what they are transporting, where, and how we can fight against them.”
My hacker nodded, but there was still something wrong with his movements. His throat bobbed like he wanted to say something but couldn’t.
“Ciel?” I asked.
His ice-blue eyes slid to mine.
“Is everything okay?”
