Cold Brew and Bullets (Part 1 of the Syndicate Series)

Chapter 23- The Meeting

Violet

I stared at it a moment longer, working through it all in my head. Leonardo took a step back and gave me a blank expression. "You're going to have to help me understand that, because I didn't get anything from it. Was it a good response, or bad?"

"It's great, if I got the message right," I mumbled as I read over it again, hurrying towards Alessio's office.

Leonardo trailed not far behind, a suddenly serious expression on his face. "I should warn you that there are currently a few other men here, they're in his office discussing whether or not Niklov has crossed the line enough to face retaliation."

"My vote is yes, he's crossed the line."

He gave me a rueful grin, "I agree, but they might not, and this would all be much easier if we had support."

"Should I be wary of them?"

"I would recommend some form of caution. You're not stupid enough to insult or upset them, but I should warn you, you might not like their answers."

"My concern isn't with what their responses will be, I'm talking about their personalities. How carefully do I need to tread?" I asked, refolding the letter.

"Elias is very reserved, but very strong headed, a bit like Alessio. Hopefully they're on the same page because he'd be a harder person to sway. Fynn said that he would be here a little bit later, but he's had some internal issues lately so it may be his father, Ansel. They're both moderators in their own way, they're level headed. Blaise is soft spoken, but I wouldn't mistake that for passivity, he only has the job because he helped overthrow the last French leader. To be fair, it needed to happen. Aldrich came this morning, he's running the British syndicate. Very nice, very relatable, very friendly. No matter what you do, do not cross him."

"May I ask why?"

"What do you know about Red Foxes?"

I froze in the middle of the hallway, giving him a look. "What?"

"They aren't as big as other predators, they're adaptable, everyone thinks they're cuddly, and they're unassuming. But the last thing you want to do is disturb a den, because they're incredibly protective. Especially the males. Aldrich is genuinely nice and fun to be around, but pushing him to a breaking point will probably get someone killed."

"Good to know," I mused as I began walking again. "That's a lot of new names to remember."

"I'll be in his office too, I'll try to help you out. Each one brought a couple of extra people and some enforcers, but we still outnumber them. There are more leaders scattered around the states, but some are too far away or dealing with other issues and won't be here. I'm sure that you'll meet them someday at one event or another. By the way, Allegra is coming too. Should be here any minute."

"That's great."

Leonardo seemed to catch some of the sarcasm in my words. "You didn't like her, I take it?"

"I like her alright, she seems confident and very smart. She just has an ability to read people that is a little uncanny. I might even say unsettling."

Leonardo didn't say anything, but he had to know that I was wary of someone who had been able to announce to a room that I was intimately familiar with death, confidently knowing something that I wasn't able to deny.

Leonardo knocked on the door next to Alessio's office, gesturing for me to follow. I realized that he must be in the conference room in order to fit everyone, and was suddenly grateful that my cuts and bruises had healed enough for me to wear jeans and a real shirt, instead of just leggings and one of Alessio's sweatshirts. Thinking that I wouldn't be seeing anyone but those in the Italian mafia that I wasn't already familiar with, I hadn't been putting on any makeup, leaving what was left of a black eye and some cuts still visible. These men were mafia dons, however, and I knew they weren't going to be the squeamish type.