CAELLUM’S POV
“Alpha, the men detected a signal from Luka’s end,” Matteo said as soon as he walked into the office. “You need to hear this.”
I didn’t need to be told twice, I got on my feet and followed him to the second floor. As soon as I walked in, the men stood up from their computers, paying their respects.
With a nod, I acknowledged them and walked into the hinder parts of the room, where I was to listen to an ongoing conversation from Luka’s bugged office.
“I don’t like the idea of showing her the cave.” A voice said, seeming upset. “She is a loose end. You should have stuck to the plan.”
“I know what I am doing, Roman. Amara Cordel is but a means to an end. Believe it or not, she’s more than a pretty face. Do I trust her? No. But I do need the money at her disposal.”
“Are you sure it’s the money you are after or do you want in on her pants? I heard about the masquerade ball.” The voice seethed.
“News travels fast. To cover the tracks I thought it was better I had them think I was after getting in a relationship with her other than I might have bigger plans for her.”
I knew that voice. It was Luka’s. My blood boiled as I listened to his words.
“You should know by now that I never leave a loose end. Even Nicolai was tied up.” I heard the smug in his tone, “His news should be hitting the underworld in a few hours.”
“You killed him?”
“I made sure he was not a loose end.” A bottle popped, “Drink with me?”
“No, thank you.”
“Don’t be a bore. We should celebrate. The Yakuza crew has received the second batch of girls. As we speak, they are on Japanese seas, soon enough, the money will be hitting our hands. And with Nicolai gone, there’s more to share.”
“There’s nothing to celebrate. I need the next batch of girls ready before the week runs out, and this time, they want them fresh and young. You should work on that while I work on getting more clients, capiche?”
“Roger that. I have my men working on it.” A ding sound. “There you go, we just got paid.” He said with an excited tone, “Love doing business with the Yakuza pack. Say my thanks to them.”
“I’ll expect my cut before nightfall, Luka. Don’t think of trying anything silly. You’d regret it.” His words were full of threat but Luka brushed it off.
“We are partners. You should at least trust me by now.”
“You mean the way you trust Amara Cordel? Or the way Nicolai trusted you? Don’t push your luck, send me my money and we’ll have no problem. I have eyes and ears around.”
“Loosen up. We are on our way to becoming trillionaires.” Luka joked. “Nico had it coming. I’ve put up with him and that 40 percent of his. He needed to be disposed of.”
“I don’t care. Just make sure my cut is paid before nightfall or I’ll take my business elsewhere.” Roman said, making his way out. “You should also beware of the Cosa Nostra pack. News has it that Caellum Morello doesn’t take a liming to your business in this city. Be sure to watch your back. I’d hate for you to get on his bad side.”
“Oh forget it. I know how to handle the wolf. Give him his due and he’s blind as a bat.” My teeth clenched at his tone. “I have it all covered.”
“Then I guess we are done here. Stay in touch.”
A door closes and that marked the end of the conversation.
“Find out where they dropped off the said girls. Pay whoever you need to pay and get access to the information. I need to know everything about this deal with the Yakuza. We must be ready before next week.” I fired off orders to Matteo who stood by my side. “I want that bastard caught in the act. Do you understand?”
“Yes, Alpha.”
“Tip-off our men at the police end. I want every border closed in the next 72 hours. Do whatever it takes to ensure that nothing leaves this country. In the mean time, get the men to check every parcel, shipment or whatever the hell that left the shores of Italy in the last 24 hours. As well as what was inside. Report any strange occurrences, I want everything on lock until this shit is settled.”
“Yes, Alpha.”
“Prepare the car, and send word to Marcus. I’ll be joining them much earlier than expected.” I walked out of the place with a fire in my heart. Someone was going to pay.
Soon enough, I was on my way to Naledi. I knew I was risking exposing her character but I couldn’t shake off the feeling of needing to see her. After seeing and feeling her break down from the horrors she saw at the hands of Luka, I was unable to sleep.
I’d spent the entire night, watching her sleep and working out a way to get access to Luka’s prisoners without alerting and confronting him headlong. Safe to say there’s been little to no progress on that but with the recent developments, I figured it’d be more easier to have him cornered and caught red-handed.
I arrived at the house, and the scent of my mate did little to calm the storm in my heart. I needed to see her, and I did just that.
“Welcome, Alpha,” Marcus said, opening the door.
“Where is she?” I asked without sparing him a look.
“In the sitting room.”
I needn’t answer him. I walked straight into the sitting room and caught sight of her, sitting calmly in her night robe with a serious look on her face. It took a moment before I realised they were listening to the conversation from before.
Explains her growing irritation.
“Beta Matteo sent us the recording this morning, we were still on it before you came in.” Marcus said.
The ladies were submerged in the recording, so much so that they acknowledged my presence only after the record was over.
“That sicko. Did you know he sent out some girls?” Korah asked before she caught sight of me. “Alpha!”
She got on her feet, while I waited for Naledi to meet my eyes. She eventually did, getting on her feet too.
“Caellum.” She said,
Hearing her call me by the name brought a feeling of fondness in my heart. I gave her a nod. Then asked the question I’ve been meaning to ask for the past 15 hours.
“How are you doing, my lady?”