Chapter 224: The Serpent & The Devil [2]

I swirled the drink in my grip, the ice cubes clinking softly against the glass. I kept my gaze trained on Anastasia, motionless on the bed with only her chest rising and falling, reminding me that she was still breathing.

This was the darkest hell I’ve ever been in. I don’t deal with pain, because I had officially signed it off in my life.

In my world, pain was my lifestyle, and I’ve learned to live with it.

It was either losing shipments, watching a deal go to hell, motherfuckers stealing from you, dealing with disloyal men, or raising teenage brothers who had apparently decided they were at the peak of their lives and knew everything.

But this... this hellish pain twisting the fucking organ in my chest was slowly suffocating me and stealing my ability to keep living.

And here I was making fun of Ares King when I was really the robot here. If this is what it was without her—this bland, repetitive world of blood, money, and drugs then I don’t want it.

The last two years I spent without her were bearable; I watched her live her life, watched her grow in her career, and caught a glimpse of that smile. But it was nothing compared to seeing my baby girl stuck in a bed, with fucking machines keeping her alive.

"She may never wake up."

The doctor’s words swirled in at the back of my skull, and I tipped my head backward, finishing the whiskey. I reached for the decanter and poured more before pushing to my feet and wobbling toward the bed.

But just like the dozens of times that I have been here, I don’t make it to her bedside. It was so fucking hard. I can’t even touch her. I haven’t touched her since I carried her bloody body through these doors and yelled for the doctor.

I used the back of my hand to wipe my nose when I heard my phone. I cursed under my breath, pulling out the cell from my suit pocket, and met with an unknown number.

Who the fuck is this?

I picked up, and Ares King’s emotionless voice came through.

"Meet me at the location I just sent to your phone."

The bastard ended the call before I even had the chance to speak. I glared at my phone, then considered. I thought he had already left for Midnight.

I checked the text of the location and scoffed. You gotta be fucking kidding me. I almost, almost tossed my fucking glass somewhere, but I was reminded where I was.

Fuck.

I rubbed my temples before finishing the last of the whiskey.

~☆~

I’d violated more than one traffic rule, but it was a good thing I had a high alcohol tolerance. I could narrow this down to my usual reckless driving.

With one hand on the wheel, I checked my phone briefly before making a sharp U-turn, the tires screeching against the asphalt, and the car came to an abrupt halt.

I gripped the wheel, eyeing Ares leaning against a black Lamborghini, an unlit cigar between his lips.

The muscles in my jaw clenched as I stepped out of the vehicle, buried my hands in my pockets, and strode to him.

"Need a hand with that?" I nudged my head to the cigar.

"No."

I snorted. "I didn’t think you were a chewing-the-cigar type kinda guy, or is age catching up to you faster?"

That ghostly smile touched his lips. "I should say the same for you. You reek of alcohol."

He took off the cigar and tossed it aside.

"Seriously though, why?"

"I have a daughter. I don’t want to come back home to her reeking of cigars."

"Who knew you were such a family man?" I quipped. "Though I must say you don’t come close to me when smoking. So I think you’re good for one shot."

He didn’t say a word as he dipped his hand in his pocket and pulled out black leather gloves.

"Wanna tell me why you call me out here, or the more pressing curiosity of mine. What the fuck are you still doing in my city?"

He took his sweet time to fit his hands into the gloves.

"Julius King..." he stated simply.

I raised an eyebrow. "Is he worth your time now?"

"I did some digging, and it appears what was assumed was true."

"And what’s that?"

"Contrary to the ex-group, the Syndicate, Julius has been using the King’s name to get some operations done. In other words, he has been impersonating me to get his little business through."

Ouch.

I swept my eyes around the place. "This docks belongs to the Morri, aka my wife. You think I wouldn’t know there were operations made here without my knowledge?"

"How could you? It wasn’t entirely your wife’s until her father’s death. I did some digging on Roman too."

Is there nothing he hadn’t done his digging on? I may be a tad bit tipsy, but it seemed to me like he took this trip to a whole different level. I smell an ulterior motive here.

"Roman Morri, despite being a Don, became lazy after his family merged with yours through marriage. His grip on his port wasn’t like it used to be. That’s where Julius comes in."

"The least likely place anyone would expect Julius to make his operations," I said.

"Precisely."

I scoffed, completely turned over by this as I eyed the building. "I’m guessing that in there... are the sons of bitches who handle the operations, and in other words..."

"May have something on your archenemy, the Benefactor."

"Ares fucking King," my words were short of praise. "And what do you get out of this?"

"Rid what is left of Julius’s men and keep the King’s name clean of his disease."

I had a feeling there was more to that. But for now...

"Then let’s do some cleansing. You got some sage on you?"

Ares pulled out a gun and calmly twisted the suppressor onto the muzzle.