Eros
Three men kneel before me.
All of them have their hand bound behind their backs. Each is bleeding from multiple wounds. Broken noses, cracked skulls. Lycus has a gun pressed to the first man’s head, a tall Greek gentleman in his late fifties, getting heavy with age and wrinkled from a hard life.
“You all know why you are here.” I pace in front of them, watching their reactions. Above us, the recording studio is quiet. Nobody would dare work while beneath them, men died.
“Yes, Eros. I know why we are here.” Zale speaks for the others. The old captain dares raise his chin to look me in the eye.
Lycus brings his gun down hard, smacking him in the skull. Zale grunts and hunches forward, groaning.
I watch the pathetic display and feel nothing but pity.
“Why did you do it?” I ask him.
He’s quiet for a moment. The old Greek man is in considerable pain, and he knows he’s about to die, but there’s still a dignity to him. I respect that-better to die like a man than to face the end like a child, like that blubbering, pathetic Hector.
“I did it for the family,” Zale says after a long pause. “I respect the Khazan family too much to sit idly by and watch a common usurper-”
“I am the rightful lord of this family,” I snarl at him. “I took that right by conquest. What better reason could there be?”
Zale shakes his head slowly. “The day we accept blood as payment for power is the day we descend into anarchy.”
“Strength is all that matters.” I loom over the dying old man like a thundercloud. “Tell me why you betrayed your lord.”
“You’re marrying an Italian girl. The ex-wife of our enemy. I wanted to stop you before you made the biggest mistake of your life, Eros. But I can see that it’s too late.” He sighs, shaking his head. “If it helps at all, I never meant to hurt her. I only ordered Hector to hand her back to the Italians, so she can return to where she belongs.”
“That was not your choice to make.” I stare at the man for a long moment.
How many more think like he does? How many more captains are willing to throw away their lives in some meaningless quest to keep me from marrying an Italian? But it’s too late now-the paperwork is signed, and as far as everyone knows, it’s official.
Cara is my wife. She is mine, and I will not be questioned by my inferiors.
“I only hope that you put the family first,” Zale says with real emotion in his voice. “Always put it first, Eros, no matter what.”
“Last words,” I say and hold my hand out. Lycus passes me the gun. I will do this myself.
“I loved my family. I loved my lord. I did what I did for Khazan strength, and I will go to my death knowing I never betrayed you.”
I pull the trigger. Zale’s head cracks apart, and the old man slumps to the floor, his blood running toward the drain.
The other two men stare at their captain’s corpse. His second-in-command, Giovanni, and his best soldier, Alonzo. They’re beaten within an inch of their lives, and a sad resignation falls over the pair.
They know why they’re here.
“Giovanni,” I say. “Final words.”
“Khazan family forever, even in death.”
I nod at the worthy idea and blow his skull to bits.
Leaving Alonzo alone. He’s young, early twenties, with a shock of thick, dark hair, and a skinny face. I crouch down and tilt his chin up with the warm gun barrel, splattered with the blood of his comrades. “What about you then, huh? Did you know about your captain’s plan?”
“No, Lord,” he whispers. “I didn’t. My life for the Khazan.”
I nod slowly. “Gather the remainder of your crew. You will lead them to my house, and the lot of you will swear new oaths to me. Any who refuse, you will kill them yourself. Do you understand?”
New hope blossoms in his eyes. New hope and new loyalty. “Yes, Lord. I understand.”
“Good.” I stand and turn my back on him. “Stay here and think about what happened to your captain and his second. Think hard on what it means to be Khazan.”