Mafioso

Chapter 1

Alistair/Ace

I buttoned up the sleeve of my shirt, trying to fix myself after interrogating another rival gang member. It ended with a bullet to his head when he refused to answer me. I knew it would be unlikely that he would spill the facts on who had killed eight of my men the week prior. My men already knew who it was. They had engraved it on the foreheads of my members, the symbol for the Ivory Serpent gang.

I grabbed his chin one last time. His beady eyes stared back at me, all life gone from them. Blood still poured from the hole in his head down to my fingers.

"Boss, we should probably get movin' soon. They'll come lookin' for 'im." My lackey, Lucca, a beta, said.

"They shoulda thought about killin' my men. Only idiots mark their kills." I huffed, letting go of the man's face, wiping my hand on his shirt to get the blood off. I tried to keep my pheromones from taking over and spilling into the musty warehouse.

"They sure are stupid, boss." He agreed.

"Make sure there is no trace of us left behind. Meet me at the office by noon." I reached into my pocket, pulling out a pack of smokes. I tapped the bottom twice before pulling out a cigarette placing it in my mouth. "Gotta light?" I asked.

"Sure, boss." Lucca pulled a lighter out of his jeans and handed it over to me. I put it up to the end of the cancer stick and flicked it a few times before the flame sparked, lighting the cigarette. Inhaling the first puff of nicotine, I closed my eyes in satisfaction. "I'll see you tomorrow, boss."

I hummed, handing him the small purple lighter. "Bring those proposals too." I nod, pulling the cigarette from my mouth. Bits of smoke escaped with every word I spoke.

I ran a real estate business, working closely with the city's officials to build new things, like libraries, museums, restaurants, right down to the new city hall that we were proposing tomorrow afternoon. It was a steady income for my crew, keeping food in their family's bellies and filling my pockets. I was easily one of the most desired Alpha's in upstate New York, and I only became more desirable day by day.

It was also a stupidly innovative business for my gang to be in; we were always a step ahead of the game. I knew detectives, knew of the cases they were working on, knew many things. So, I pulled all the right cards when my grandfather Don Salvatore gave me his position when he retired, and I took over the Red Dragons. I followed the saying 'keep your friends close, keep your enemies closer-' to a T.

I knew when to keep my boys in the shadows to avoid getting caught. Typically, we played nice. Other times, like today, we'd do what we needed to protect our own. Dabbling in the black market here and there, working with museums, we'd come across a few... valuables. We dealt in arms, but we never went into the crazy shit like other gangs out there. We didn't sell drugs like the rats on the streets they were; we didn't just go around killing people for fun. No-no. We did what we needed to survive. If that meant playing around, setting up traps for rats to get snared in, so be it.

The Ivory Serpent gang took the lives of 8 men whom I treasured. They were fathers, sons, husbands, and I was the one who had to go to their mamas, their babies, and their wives and tell them that some pieces of shit killed them because of an arms deal gone bad.

"Already ready to go, sir." The beta referred to the proposals.

"Good, good." I patted his shoulder. "Dunno what I'd do without you, bud."

"Thank you." He grinned. "Get some rest, boss. I'm sure tomorrow's gonna be hectic with that proposal."

"It will be. Try to be quick. Make sure no one follows you." I flicked my cigarette; the ashes fell to the ground.