"What the fuck do you mean by you didn't kill my father?" Aslan asked, his voice a growl.
Kade Lennox wasn't what Aslan had been expecting. He had imagined a larger-than-life figure, a monster in human skin. And while Lennox was tall—taller than Aslan, even—he wasn't imposing in the way Aslan had anticipated.
He was leanly built, all sharp angles and easy, calm grace, his black hair falling messily over a pair of bright, unreadable eyes.
The legendary Kade Lennox didn't seem so legendary. Aslan was disappointed, to say the least.
He didn't look like a ghost, like the kind of man who slipped through death's fingers again and again. He looked like the type of person that enjoys toying with people.
And the worst part? The part that really pissed Aslan off? He was smiling—like he didn't have a gun pointed in between his eyes.
"It means what it means, pretty boy," Lennox answered casually, seeming unbothered by the gun pointed at his face.
"Stop fucking calling me that!" Aslan shouted, his temper flaring, his finger flexing on the trigger. He couldn't kill him just yet. He had questions that needed answers and he planned to kill him in front of his men.
"Why?" Lennox asked, tilting his head, his smile widening. "You're pretty."
Aslan was beginning to see red. A muscle in his jaw ticks, his entire body taut with anger, the cold rage inside him barely contained. He wanted to pull the trigger just to wipe that fucking smug grin off Lennox's face. But he couldn't—not yet.
Instead, he took a slow, deliberate step forward, his gun never wavering. His voice was lowered this time, controlled, but no less lethal.
"You think this is funny?"
Lennox lifted his shoulders in a half-shrug, his hands still in his pockets like this was just a mild inconvenience. "A little."
Aslan grimaced. "I should put a fucking bullet into your brain right now."
Lennox's expression turned unreadable. "But you wouldn't. Because you need answers. And I hold them right here on my wonderful lips.
"Then better start talking."
Lennox shook his head, finally removing his hands from his pockets and crossing his arms. "That's not how this is going to work, Russo. This is going to be tit for tat."
"Why the fuck would I negotiate with you? You don't have that ground right here, Lennox."
The corner of Lennox's lips lifted. "Oh, but I do." His smile dropped and his expression turned deadly serious, his eyes so cold, they could freeze hell over.
Aslan went still.
He was finally meeting Kade Lennox. This was the legendary assisan. The ghost.
"You want your father's killer, don't you? You want to earn your cartel's respect. I'm here to help you because I'm also looking for the same man."
Aslan barely kept the disbelief from his face. Was Aslan hearing correctly? Lonnex wasn't his father's killer; he wanted to help him.
He lowered his gun slowly, his eyes looking skeptical. "You expect me to believe that? That you want to help me?"
Lonnex worked his jaw, his eyes flashing dangerously. "Believe whatever the fuck you want." The amusement was gone now. And in its place was irritation and something like desperation. "I'm not helping you from the goodness of my heart. I'm helping because I want the same man." His voice dropped lower, colder. "And believe me, Russo, it fucking pains me to say this, but I can't catch him alone."
Silence stretches between them. Heavy. The rain was picking up, and it hit the roof so hard, that a few cracks were heard.
"Who is he?" Aslan asked finally.
"Seth Vaughn," Lennox asked, his voice hard. "My mentor."
One of Aslan's eyebrows raised up. "Why are you after your mentor?"
Lennox looked like he wanted to shoot Aslan. Now Aslan was the one enjoying his aggravation.
"Look here, pretty boy," Lennox gritted through clenched teeth. "This will be the last time I'll answer a personal question." He inhaled. "Seth kidnapped my sister. He's trying to use her as leverage against me in this war. I can't play–"
"Wait, wait," Aslan cut him off, his eyes slightly wide. "What war?"
Lennox stared at Aslan as if he was stupid, his lips parted. A muscle ticked under his eyes, and he cursed, turning around and running his hand through his hair, cursing again.
Kade regretted coming to see Russo. Because really? What the fuck? Disappointed didn't touch the iceberg of what he was feeling. He was disenchanted beyond relief.
He could already see Russo's death. He could already see how unfit he was to rule The Black Veil. Kade gives him a month, tops, before he is dead. Either killed by his men or an assassin.
He was clueless. Utterly clueless.
Kade would like to turn around right this moment and drive back to where he came from, but he needed this clueless Istanbul prince of the underworld.
Seth had fucked with him and kidnapped his sister. Gloria was all Kade had. She was the heat to his fire, the anchor to his ship. He was nothing without her. Seth knew this and that was why he took her. He knew what he was asking from Kade was too much and he knew he wouldn't do it, so he took Gloria to dangle her just out of his reach.
But Kade still wouldn't do what he was asking for him because it was a death sentence. People might call him the ghost, the invisible, but he wasn't unkillable. He died just like every other person dies.
So he needed to get his sister another way. He knew Seth wouldn't kill her just yet.
"Did your father tell you nothing?" Kade turned, disgusted. "Did he teach you nothing?"
Russo's jaw was clenched tight, looking at Kade with hate in his eyes. "Don't bullshit me about what my father taught me or not. Tell me what fucking war you're talking about."
He had steel and balls. Maybe he'll survive two months.
"Should I make you beg for it?" Kade taunted, just because he could. He took a step forward and Russo took one back, raising his gun, but the hand trembled. "What I am about to tell you is priceless, pretty boy. Your life depends on it."
With every word he spoke, he kept advancing towards Russo while he kept taking a step back until his back hit the wall and there was nowhere to run to.
"You either tell me or you fucking don't," he growled, his chest heaving heavily.
It took nothing to rile him up. Just a tiny push of his button and he was all fire and fury. Kade could have a little fun while he was at it.
"But I do want to tell you," he said, lowering his voice until it sounded like a purr. "I just want to know what you'll give me in return." He leaned in, his voice dropping. "Will you kneel and part your beautiful lips for me?" He smirked. "Will you take me down your throat?" Kade took no small delight in the horror in Russo's face. "Or will you bend over and take it up the ass?"
Russo swings his hand back and headbutts Kade in the head with his gun without warning.