7. Chapter One

Trevante

I always knew Karl was a sick and twisted son of a bitch but I didn't think he was this bad. To kidnap the twin sister of Knox Bronson is suicide as the Canadians have forged alliances with all the other families. They have been playing the long game while Karl has been blinded by rage because he was beaten by a boy half his age. Knox won eight years ago when he took out Giovani and Percy. Karl fled and hid in Ireland and hasn't left unless summoned to a meeting in Switzerland with the heads of the families.

Coming here tonight for the first time I never expected to see a young woman bent over a table with a line of disgusting fucks waiting for their turn to ram their cocks inside her. She looked frail and battered, her back littered with scars, years upon years' worth of scars! I stand here seething with my fists clenched at my sides as I watch two men drag that cunt's lifeless body out of here.

"I should kill you where you stand!" I lazily lull my head to the side to look at Karl, his features taut and I can see the tension rolling off him in waves. My grandfather hates him, he's never found his son deserving of the title Captain, in Ireland we don't have dons. Our underbosses are called Clan Chiefs. We also don't call our heads of enforcers captains, we call them Warlords. I am the Warlord to the The Solomon Organized Crime Group but we are just known as The Solomon. It's fucking pathetic and sounds stupid but Karl refused to name SOCG anything other than after himself.

"You should but you won't," I say in a bored tone. The fat bastard snarls as he stomps toward me, thinking he holds all the power but he has nothing. He is under the illusion that he is the one who holds all the cards because he sits at the head of the family, but that is all about to change. Karl stands before me with his fists clenched at his sides. I know it pisses him off that he has to look up in order to meet my gaze and I relish in that knowledge.

"You think because you came from my nut sack that I will be lenient with you?" Spittle flies from his mouth and lands on my jacket. I make a show of disgust before I swipe that shit away, loving how the podgy fucker vibrates in outrage.

"No. In fact I know you want nothing more than to see me fail, which is why you have kept me as the Warlord and not allowed me to move up in the ranks and I have never complained, not once." He opens his mouth to no doubt rebuke my claim so I push on. "You have fallen. You no longer control the lands you think you do. While you have been busy chasing after the Don of the Re Della Strada, men have been moving in and taking over your turf. Good luck explaining that to your father," I sneer as I shoulder past him. Much like his own father, I hate him. Karl is the definition of the word pig.

I walk aimlessly through the house and get an idea of the layout. As I pass through a darkened hallway I stumble and tense at the sound of metal skirting along the floor. Frowning I dart my gaze around until I spot an empty dog bowl.

Karl hates animals!

My attention is snagged when a door at the end of the hall opens and the woman from earlier stands in the doorway with her head down and hands collapsed in front of her naked body.

"You…" I breathe out. At the sound of my voice she snaps her head up and her eyes widen for a second before she drops her gaze and flops to the ground with the grace of a baby horse.

"Forgive me, I didn't mean to look upon your face." I jerk back in surprise.

"What?" I find myself asking as I creep closer to her, only to still a few feet away when I see how tense she grows the closer I get. I run my gaze over her and fight back the rage I feel at the sight of her on her knees and bowing her head like a dog. "Get up," I snap. She climbs to her feet without complaint and keeps her head down, refusing to meet my stare. "What's your name?"

"Doxy," she replies automatically.

"What's your real name?" I growl angrily, I know Karl already told me earlier but I need her to confirm it. If what he says is true, then this woman is the key to ending the impending war between the families and us.

"Doxy Da Luca," she answers without hesitation.

"I know who the last name Da Luca belongs to and I have a hunch that your father didn't give you his last name." Finally, she reacts in the form of exhaling loudly.

"Doxy Da Luca is my name. If you don't require my services then I must return to my room until supper." My brows raise as understanding dawns on me.

"You came out when you heard the sound of the dog bowl…" It's not a question, just an observation.

"Yes."

"Motherfuckers!" I snarl. She doesn't flinch at my angry tone. I want to say more but I can't because Karl's men are shouting that cars are arriving, so I rush forward and grip her shoulders. She doesn't flinch or fight like she has clearly been trained to do. "Listen to me, Waverly." She hisses at the sound of her real name. "Shit is gonna go down tonight and you need to be ready to leave when I come for you." She yanks free of my hold and finally meets my gaze with an angry glint in her eyes.

"I will never disobey the Master. I am not Waverly, my name is Doxy Da Luca." The venom in her tone tells me she isn't as lost as I originally thought.

"You are not the first Doxy, my mother was." Her brows raise and her jaw unhinges at my words but I don't have time to pacify her, I have a part to play tonight and I won't allow a woman to side track me. "I won't let you suffer the same fate my mother did. Be ready when I come for you." I leave her standing there as I rush back to the main area to wait for my grandfather and the others. I lied to Karl, it isn't just his father and the Clan Chiefs coming, Ian and Andreas are accompanying them to discuss Karl's surrender. I stay back in the shadows of the large dining room, knowing this is where Karl will host them because it's the largest space and it oozes riches, even though the fucker is nearly broke. He has spent millions on trying to buy off the right people to side with him and restart an app Percy Deveraux made to sell women but the moment Knox or the Americans catch wind of it they take them out, costing Karl more money than he fucking has. Our family is suffering because of his greed and from what we can gather, the men Karl has here with him are the only ones being paid, unlike the others.

I remain where I am as they all begin to trickle in. I roll my eyes at the sight of Karl perched in his chair at the head of the table, acting like he isn't bothered by the sight of all these heavy hitters stalking into his luxurious house. It pleases the fuck out of me when Grandpa walks in and Karl stiffens at the sight of him.

"Still a pompous fucking prick I see." Reid Solomon is a fucking force. Grandpa may be old but he's still in shape for his age and exudes power. His gray hair is styled and his green eyes hold nothing but malice as he stares his son down. Karl shifts under the pressure of his gaze, his own green eyes narrow as Grandpa opts to sit at the other end of the table, claiming the chair there. I smirk. This is fucking beautiful to see Karl losing power and control over the room as his own Clan Chiefs as well as Andreas and Ian sit down at his father's end of the table. The mocking chuckle that escapes sets Karl off. He leans forward and pounds his fist on the table, ready to tear into his father no doubt but the words die on his tongue as the last man enters the room.

"You seem surprised to see me." This guy reeks of arrogance, his black hair a rugged mess atop his head and brown eyes darken the longer he stares at Karl.

"Oh, where are my manners?" Grandpa says with a sarcastic tone. "I apologize son, I forgot to mention I was bringing a friend with me." I dart my gaze between the black haired guy and Grandpa as he comes to a stop behind him and rests his hand on the back of his chair like he and my grandfather are old friends.

"I bet your Don would love to know that you aren't dead like he hoped." The guy just shrugs but I can see his presence isn't welcome by the way Karl is scowling at him. His men have all gone on high alert since he entered the room. Who the fuck is this guy?

"Knox knows where I am. I may be banished from returning home but I have a plan and I believe serving him your head will earn me his forgiveness." Karl's nostrils flare in outrage as he shoves his chair back and pushes to his feet.

"You will fucking die tonight, you little cunt!" he roars.

"Sit the fuck down now, you insulant little prick, before I make you!" Grandpa's voice booms out around the room. Karl glares at him but keeps his mouth closed. "You're lucky I haven't brought the council with me," he warns.

"The council can't do shit," Karl huffs out as he drops into his seat, crossing his arms over his chest. Just the way he sits there with an air of superiority surrounding him makes me ashamed that I share DNA with him.

"They can and they are. We want reports of the past ninety days of royalties and after you deliver that you will also provide us with a breakdown of profits for the businesses." Karl bristles at his father's request and looks uncomfortable but he remains silent. "Alexander will remain here with Trevante and keep an eye on things for me." That has Karl out of his seat and shouting again and before long Andreas and Ian as well as their men are joining in on the argument. When I spy Karl's second Nolan pull his gun and aim it at my grandfather, I rush into the fray.

"Get down!" I roar as I tackle my grandfather and Alexander to the floor as the first shot rings out. Shit goes from controlled chaos to fucking out of hand in a split second. Alexander and I shove Grandpa out the door and use our bodies as shields as we draw our own guns. "Get my grandfather out of here, now!" I roar as I fire off a few shots at Karl's men as they try to rush him out of the other side of the room. Andreas and Ian rush past us, dashing to their cars.

"No, come with us." I shake my head at him.

"Take my grandfather, Alexander?—"

"Call me Xander."

"Fine, take him and I'll meet up with you both later. I can't leave yet." He searches my gaze for a second before he begrudgingly nods and ushers my grandpa out of the house as I race toward the other end of the building dodging gunfire.

I'm not leaving without that fucking girl!