The Syndicates: A Dark Mafia Romance Collection

by Raven Scott

  Trailing off, my eyes narrowed on her expression as a crease rumpled between her slender eyebrows, and May puffed out her lips slightly in thought. The waitress arrived beside us, giving her some time to think on it, but I had been here enough to know what I wanted. Scanning the menu, May eventually ordered the same thing, and the waitress bounced off with the promise to bring us our drinks curtly.

  “Okay, but what does that have to do with me? Whatever they do with the boats, it’s not my problem. I just design and build them. Anything they do after they leave the dry-dock is not my responsibility.” Nodding firmly, satisfied, I sat back to stare at May, and her face gradually tinted red, the same red as her hair. “What?”

  “I know things aren’t smooth right now, but I want you to know, May, I really enjoy my time with you.” She blushed ferociously, and I reached across the table to hold her hand, rubbing the top of her palm with my thumb. Averting her eyes, May tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear, and a smile crested my cheeks. “I’d like to take you out sometime, whenever you’re available.”

  “I’d like that, Oran.” My smile widened, and May turned her palm to tangle our fingers together sweetly. Her sparkling, green eyes met mine, and for just a second, everything else disappeared from my field of comprehension. “I’d like that a lot.”

  “Good.” I wanted to grab her face and kiss her. I wanted to take her to some expensive island resort and show her the time of her life. She smiled with a little giggle before I cleared my throat. “So, about—"

  “Oran!” Cutting me off, the feminine voice wasn’t May’s. I glanced up as she twisted. Natasha strode over to our table, all smiles, but kept a good few feet between us even as she wiggled her fingers in a wave. “Hi . . . hey. What’s up? I didn’t expect to see you here.”

  “Natasha, you look a lot better than the last time I saw you. How’s the meds?” She waved a ‘so-so’ gesture, and I pointed at May as a guy I didn’t recognize came up behind Natasha. “This is May. May, this is Natasha, my brother’s girlfriend’s sister.”

  “It’s nice to meet you.” May popped up from her seat, and anxiety gripped my insides until they sort of awkwardly hugged lightly. “I’ve heard a little about you.”

  “Well, Oran and I don’t really know each other at all, so I haven’t heard anything about you.” The caution of their first meeting tainted the air, and Natasha nodded almost to herself as May pulled an amused expression. “Do you mind if we sit with you? I read some great reviews online about this place. We’re slowly but surely making our way through every restaurant we can.”

  “Um, sure?” Looking to me, determination set May’s face as I tilted my head, and Natasha sat on the other side of her. Pushing myself out of my seat, I held out my hand for her husband, or who I assumed was her husband, because we hadn’t been introduced.

  “I’m Oran, Carlyle’s brother.”

  “Erik.” The guy was intimidating. Even just shaking his hand made me very aware never to get into a fight with him. I gestured to the seat next to me. The waitress came back around, two glasses in hand, but she didn’t miss a beat before taking more drink orders. “Did you order already?”

  “Yeah, the best thing on the menu is the Korean beef sticks. I’d suggest starting with that since it’s your first time here.” It was the strangest thing, knowing Natasha but not knowing her, and I turned to her as she shuffled her chair a little ways away from the table. Her elbow hung off the edge, and I bit back a grimace before opening my mouth. “So, I take it you’re doing a little better? It’s been a few weeks.”

  “Yeah. I mean, it’s been almost five months since my heart attack, and I haven’t had another one, so I take that as doing better.” She talked about it like it was no big deal, and May went a little wide-eyed as her gaze snapped to Natasha. “What about you? How have you been since New York?”

  “I’m finding my way. Congratulations on getting married, by the way. How was it?” Natasha shrugged half-heartedly, and Erik drew my attention when he chuckled fondly across from her.

  “It was a drive-thru place in Vegas. Faster service than McDonalds.” May sat quietly, looking as uncomfortable as I felt, and I nodded as Erik turned to me with narrowed eyes. “I’m glad you’re not an asshole like your brother.”

  The frostiness disappeared at that, and I couldn’t help but laugh as May giggled with a furious shake of her head. The atmosphere around our table became a little more relaxed, and I grabbed my lemon water without really replying.

  “Carlyle . . . Carlyle’s an acquired taste, for sure. May just met him for a minute and a half the other day, and he already owes her an apology.” The admission turned the attention on her, and May frowned even as her face scrunched in irritation. She launched right into reiteration, in painful detail, how Carlyle ‘almost kidnapped’ her, and I sat back to watch her talk animatedly.

  I’ll tell her another time. There’s no reason to ruin this.

  35

  May

  Stepping out of the bathroom, I glanced over at Sarah’s bed as she hunched over my laptop, completely absorbed in whatever she was looking at. Twisting my towel around my hair, I glanced around the double bed hotel room in distaste and sat on my own twin mattress.

  “What are you looking at?” Posing the question as she moused around the touch pad, I leaned over to glance at the screen. Apartment listings, some not even in Seattle, splayed on the display, and my sister turned the laptop to me as she clicked on one. “Why are you looking at this stuff? I thought you were job searching.”

  “You don’t really have time to search, so I decided to do it.” Blinking slowly, I only hummed in acknowledgment, but my heart squeezed with affection. Sarah grumbled, still shameful about what happened to the apartment, and I shuffled to sit on her bed next to her before she spoke up again. “Uh, so, I mean, I was going to talk to you about it when I narrowed it down. I figured you’d want to get an apartment rather than have a mortgage, so . . . ”

  “That’s really nice. You’re right— I really haven’t had time, and this hotel room is starting to lose its appeal. Did you see anything you like?” Shaking her head, my sister slumped back against the headboard to bluster a sigh, and I patted her knee reassuringly. “I know I said some things, Sarah, but I love you. I think you have such great potential. To be honest, I’m starting to think I’m not going to get sued up the butt considering I haven’t been served yet. I think the owner is just getting everything in order to sue me, but it hasn’t happened yet. I’ll take that.”

  “You know, no offense, but you’re really dense, May.” My brows rose, eyes widening in surprise as I frowned, and Sarah puffed a breath. “Isn’t it obvious that the reason you haven’t gotten served or whatever is because Oran paid everyone off? I mean, the dude’s obviously loaded, and it’s been weeks. The whole place has to get torn down, and you know someone has to pay for that.”

  I sucked in a sharp breath, my jaw unhinging slightly, and Sarah frowned deeper as she crossed her arms over her chest. My mind emptied from the unexpectedness of her observation, and I leaned back as my towel wrap tugged my hair.

  “He’s rich. He can probably throw money around and never run out. I bet rebuilding that place wouldn’t even require a second thought.” Sarah didn’t say it as a bad thing, but, obviously, it made her incredibly guilty, and I clicked my teeth together absently. Shuffling to lean back, shoulder to shoulder, I held her hand tightly, and she just huffed loudly.

  “Sarah, sometimes we need help. I didn’t know how to help you and look what happened. You were so bored, and I tried to do things my way and failed, so I didn’t try again. If you’re right, then throwing money around is just Oran’s way of helping. He’s got enough of the stuff, and you’re right— it’s not bad in itself, it just makes us feel like freeloaders. And even that isn’t bad. We’ll get back on our feet.”

  “I wish I never heard Dad complaining about Mom’s wild spending.” A grimace painted my face, but I knew there was
nothing I could say to Sarah to make her feel better. One conversation was apparently all it took for her life to turn upside down. No wonder she felt like it was her fault for hearing it. She could’ve walked away, but she didn’t. That was her rationale.

  But this mess wasn’t her fault, and I still hadn’t decided to rat my parents out or just leave it be. Chances were, they’d be found out at some point, anyway. Just how long would that take? And would Sarah be able to recover from the fact that our parents just pushed her out for no real reason? Money wasn’t a good enough incentive, and it was pretty clear they were using it as a scapegoat.

  Sarah struggled in school. There were lots of meetings and PTCs and tons of options, but regular school, she just couldn’t do it.

  “I don’t know what I can say to make it better, Sarah, but I’ll always be there for you, even when I’m pissed at you. It’s gonna take a lot of adjustment, but we can do it. I know we can.” Leaning on my shoulder, Sarah tightened her grip on my hand, and I rested my cheek on her crown as I wiggled and wormed my laptop onto my lap. “Let’s keep looking.”

  “Aren’t you going out with Oran?” Waving off her concern, I reached to grab my phone and swipe the screen open.

  “It’s optional. This is important. I mean, we kinda need a place to live. I can always go out with him another time.” Shooting Oran a text as I spoke, I set my phone down again to unfurl our fingers, and I moseyed the mouse around the screen absently. “So, you haven’t seen anything you like?”

  “I don’t know. I liked our old apartment, the layout of it. I thought it was important to stay downtown, too.” Smiling lightly, I scrolled down the listings as Sarah spoke, and she pointed at one on the screen before continuing. “This one says it’s right on the water. That’s cool.”

  We browsed the listings, nothing too serious but taking notes of what we liked and disliked, for almost half an hour before my phone rang. Without looking at the caller I.D., I answered the call and held my phone to my ear, and Sarah took over the mouse pad.

  “Hey, Oran. What’s up?” But the voice on the other line wasn’t Oran, and the hairs on the back of my neck bristled as my mom huffed loudly in my ear. “Mom, what the hell do you want? I told you not to call me anymore.”

  “Yeah, I know, but how are we supposed to smooth things over if you won’t be reasonable, May?” I started to get up to go to the bathroom, but Sarah grabbed my arm, and I frowned when she shook her head. Irritation swelled in my chest, and I scoffed lightly as I put the call on speaker and held it to my chin.

  “Okay, explain how I’m being unreasonable for being mad at you for laundering and embezzling and kicking Sarah out even though she wasn’t going to snitch, Mom.” No matter what way I tried to spin it in my head, there was absolutely no way I was overreacting. My mom sighed heavily, and my eyelid twitched as the sound gyrated against my brain.

  “May, we sent her to Seattle with you for the opportunities it gave her. I’ve already explained that. Several times. No one is doing anything illegal, and we wouldn’t kick her out even if we were. I thought it would help Sarah, and you two always had a great relationship.” Mom really believes what she’s saying. Honestly, I was speechless— there was no arguing with her at this point. My mom so firmly believed her lies, had told them to herself so many times, that there was nothing to argue, anymore. “But, anyway, I wanted to talk to you about that man you brought by the house.”

  “Oh, Jesus Christ, are you gonna tell me to break up with him because he has tattoos?” Sarah let me go and I climbed off the bed to turn off the speaker and hold it to my ear. “Mom, I’m not going to break up with him over the tattoos. I actually like them, you know.”

  Shutting myself in the bathroom, I sat heavily on the toilet and clenched my free hand hard to stop myself from scratching the itch engulfing my thighs and butt in fire.

  “It’s not just about the tattoos, May. That guy is trouble. It’s written all over him. I bet he doesn’t even need those glasses. You can’t trust a guy who lies about little things like that.” Holding my forehead in my palm, I groaned loudly, but my mom only sucked her teeth at me. “I’m telling you, May, he’s no good. Whatever he’s up to is bad, and you shouldn’t get dragged into it.”

  “What’s his name?” I had just said Oran’s name not forty-five seconds ago, and my mom hesitated at my question. “Mom, what’s his name, huh?”

  “What does that have to do with anything? I know a bad apple when I see it.” Closing my eyes as I sighed in frustration, I couldn’t help but wonder why my mom thought this was appropriate. For that matter, why the fuck did she think I’d consider her opinion? Oran and I were dating, and nowhere in there did my mom have any right to butt in.

  Besides, I’d dated guys with tattoos before, and she never had a problem with any of them.

  “Mom, I’m not breaking up with him, and you’re not going to change my mind just because your fucked-up sense of intuition sputtered to life. What the Hell did you think was going to happen when you started this conversation? That I’d just fall over myself to do what you say? No, you have no say on my life. You have less of a say on my life than you do on Sarah’s, okay. I’m hanging up. If you call me again, I’ll go to the FBI and report you for what you’re doing.”

  Did the FBI even handle this kind of shit? I didn’t know, but when I hung up, I hoped my mom took my threat seriously enough not to chance it. It’d also confirm that my mom knew what was going on was illegal, and she lied about that shit, too.

  “Hey, Sarah.” Popping my head out of the bathroom, I forced a smile when Sarah raised her upset eyes to me. “Let’s go shopping.”

  36

  May

  Swiveling in my chair, I gazed at the pink slip on my desk declaring loud and proud that I’d been fired. I’d expected it after my blowing up on Jackie, laughing in Mark’s face, and generally being a bitch the past week. Hell, I’d even come in an hour late with no call today because it was Monday, and I had spent all weekend making sure Sarah had an alright birthday.

  She was upset we couldn’t go to South Carolina, but there were plenty of cool stuff here in Seattle. Oran had even gotten her a gift, which had been sweet of him since they didn’t really know each other. Honestly, it was all a blur because I’d been tipsy the whole time, knowing what was in store for me today.

  Everyone in the office knew before I even walked off the elevator that I was being terminated, but the snide comments I expected to receive were quiet. The atmosphere was somber, and I picked up the thin paper slip to read the reasoning for my firing.

  There were several, but ‘creates a hostile work environment’ was the first one.

  “Of course.” Wagging the slip, I rolled my bottom lip between my teeth to nibble absently. Why was I still sitting here, staring at this stupid, pink paper, when I could be heading back to the hotel to celebrate? I had a replacement job, I had every single cent that I’d gotten from David’s fake bonus, and I was leaving a shitty company for something so much better.

  Pushing myself out of my chair, I shouldered my purse and checked inside to make sure I had everything. I didn’t want to come back here, and I checked every drawer. Digging my phone out of my purse on the way through the aisle to the edge of the cube farm, I navigated my way to Oran’s contact to press the little, green phone icon.

  “Ah, so it happened, huh?” His smirk shone in his tone, and I hugged the wall as someone breezed past me, not even bothering to look down on me.

  “Yeah. I don’t know what happened. Suddenly, it’s like I’m not even worth disdain. It’s kind of insulting, honestly. They put all this effort in there.” I spoke loudly, earning me some fierce glares as I walked toward the elevator, but I only glared back. “Must suck that all anyone can do here is hate on other people.”

  “Or, there could be another explanation. That contract your subsidiary won pulled out.” I paused mid-step and Oran chuckled with malicious glee as my brows nearly flew right off my forehead and into
space. “They wanted you to head it, and since you won’t, they pulled out. I found out Friday, but I didn’t want to ruin your sister’s birthday and steal her attention.”

  “Oh, shit, no way.” That’s why everyone was so gloomy— they were going to be out of a job. A huge, shit-eating grin stretched across my face, and I added a pep to my step when I started walking toward the elevator again. “Wow. That’s awesome. I guess I’m better than I thought!”

  “Calm down, there, Kanye.” Giggling at that, I punched the button on the elevator and rocked back on my heels, a huge relief lifting the weights on my shoulders. Or maybe it’s not relief but gratification. Fuck this place. “Technically speaking, you’re still unemployed at the moment. I have all the paperwork ready, you just need to come in and sign it. Then, you have to find employees, and I doubt you’d want to poach anyone.”

  “Hell no, it’s okay. I’m going to contact some of my friends from college. I had a roommate that was a financing major, and I made friends in my classes. Honestly, I haven’t had a lot of time since graduating to hang out. I hope they don’t take it personal.” Stepping onto the elevator when the doors slid quietly open, I thumbed the ground floor button with a slight huff. College seemed like it happened so much longer than a year ago. “Especially after all the crap with Sarah, I stopped partying and stuff and never had any time.”

  “I have faith that things are looking up for you, May.” Leaning on the wall, I smiled at the fondness in his tone, as if he really believed that. “Are you going to head back to the hotel room and search for apartments with Sarah?”

  “Ah, not yet. I have some errands to run, so I’ll be milling around downtown. I also have a list of places that aren’t too out of my way, so I thought I’d go be nosy and look in windows and creep and stuff.” The elevator jostled to a stop, and I glanced up only to freeze like a deer in the headlights when Jackie stepped into the metal box. “Uh, I gotta go.”