Chapter Twenty-Nine
Tristan
I’m trying not to think about who could have seen us.
I’m trying to tell myself it might have been one of the guards but the tension I feel stirring inside me tells me otherwise. I have a bad feeling and usually when I have these bad feelings I tend to be right.
I push it out of my mind along with everything else when Dominic and I head out for the journey back to LA. It’s going to take us well a little over two hours by jet to get there.
Dominic has given me the silent treatment all morning and he’s avoided looking at me. He’s just been distant.
At least talking to him would help establish if it was he who saw me with Isabella.
When we get to L.A I do feel like home. there’s a comfort about being back that’s good for me. almost like a rejuvenation.
That was what the island should have felt like but I never really got to enjoy it as such.
We saw Massimo just before the meeting so we were able to talk prior to everyone arriving. It was good to talk amongst ourselves as brothers. And, if I’m honest just good to see him.
He wants us to keep an eye on the Mazzones.
The problem with not knowing who to trust is exactly that. It creates anxiety because you have no idea what to begin to look at to establish why you shouldn’t trust a person. It’s not like it will be as easy as looking to see if a person sweats too much or talks too fast, or even says shit that doesn’t make sense.
The men coming here today are going to be men who would have experience in the art of manipulation.
We gather in the meeting room first then our guests come in ten minutes later.
There’s Viktor and Aiden representing the Romanov family and Franco and Lucca representing the Mazzones.
As I see them I keep my eyes peeled on them. I’ve never met with these men before, but I’ve seen them at Syndicate functions. Back then they looked normal, standard, but then most traitors do. You can’t usually tell who the traitor is until he’s ready to show his face.
They are all we’re expecting so when they walk in and the door closes, Massimo rises to start the meeting.
“Thank you all for coming,” he states and looks at each of us.
We all nod to acknowledge the greeting.
“I’ve gathered you here today because you are all that remains of our fathers who formed the Brotherhood. As this is the first time some of us have gathered to sit down and discuss the next steps I take this time to express my condolences for our losses. It was a great loss and should never have happened.”
Viktor and Aiden are the only ones we’ve had dealings with since Massimo decided to reform the Syndicate. They were the first to contact and the first to suspect foul play.
“My thanks to you,” Franco says.
“The reason for our meeting today is twofold. The first is to establish my plans for the future and also to discuss certain things that need to be hashed out before that future takes place.”
Out the corner of my eye I can see Viktor giving Franco a hard stare. He suspects him. He thinks the other traitors are them. I’m not so sure now that I’ve seen them.
I’m not getting the vibe that they’re anything but grateful to be here.
I glance at Dominic who looks focused. He’s staring ahead at Massimo.
“I am reforming the Syndicate and I will keep most of the structure as it was because those practices were set in place for a reason. Even though or fathers are gone everything is still laid out as it was. Some practices are still in motion. Those have not fallen away. It’s just rebuilding who we are, who the Syndicate are and who will fall part of the Brotherhood.”
“When you say you intend to keep the structure as it was do you intend to have no leader?” Lucca asks. “The old ways did not include a leader.”
Massimo shakes his head. “That will be the first thing I change. I think that was one of the things that led to the downfall. I appreciate having equality, but this Syndicate will be formed of those I trust. It will operate on trust not equality because sometimes you can’t have that. It can’t exist in a group like the Syndicate because you need someone to take charge and enforce order where it needs to be enforced.” Massimo explains and I feel proud of him for doing so in such an eloquent way.
I always thought the same. I didn’t think a group of crime families who were all as cut throat as each other could live by principles of equality the way other groups might. We’re not wired that way and that’s why they had traitors amongst them. people who wanted power and to overthrow the system as it was.