“Sicily,” Giorgia says, which explains the accent.
“I’m from Chicago,” Camilla replies. “You’re from Boston, right?”
I nod in response. “Yeah.” I glance at Adrianna. “How about you?”
Her brow furrows a little, as if she expected me to know, but I’ve always been shit at keeping up with who is from what family and where. “I live over the border in Mexico.”
“Wow, that’s a long journey. Do you miss your home?”
Adrianna shrugs. “Not really. My family rarely had any time for me. They’re too wrapped up in whatever shit they’re running down there. The Vasquez Cartel is one of the biggest mafia organizations in Mexico. I’m happy to be away from it.”
Vasquez Cartel.
I’ve heard of them. They’re in direct opposition to the cartel that supplies my brother with drugs, the Estrada Cartel.
I nod and tuck into my food, despite not feeling hungry after the ordeal with Elias. “I wonder what that boy’s problem is.”
“Elias?” Adrianna asks.
I nod in reply.
“God knows,” Camilla says, shaking her head. “He keeps looking over at you with a horrible look in his eyes.”
I glance over to find Camilla is right. He’s glaring at me even though he successfully got me kicked off my usual table. In fact, I sense I’ve been kicked out of my friend group entirely, and I don’t even feel sad about it.
Adrianna sighs. “He’s part of the Estrada Cartel, although his second name is Morales because his mother married.”
My brow furrows as his ice-blue eyes narrow and he makes a signal with his thumb, slicing it across his throat. I swallow hard, pain clutching at my chest as I wonder what the hell I’ve done to inspire such hatred. He’s a member of the cartel that supplies the Gurin Bratva, so it doesn’t explain why he hates me so much. Our families are basically allies.
A tightness squeezes at my chest as I tear my eyes away from his, like a warning tightening around my heart. He may have been the single most beautiful boy I’ve ever seen, but he’s also clearly unhinged.
“He may be hot, but the kid gives me the creeps,” Camilla says, shaking her head.
Giorgia nods. “Yeah, best to stay away from him.”
“He’s not a guy you want to cross,” Adrianna says, shaking her head. “They’re family is as crazy as mine.”
I raise a brow. “Does that mean I need to be careful around you, too?”
Adrianna laughs. “Perhaps.” Her expression turns serious. “No, I hate all that mafia shit. I try to stay out of it as much as I can.”
Camilla nods. “Me too.”
Giorgia shrugs. “I’m lucky, I guess. My family is pretty awesome, but Sicily differs from America.”
I swallow hard, as I’m rather involved in it all at home. Mikhail says I’m going to lead the bratva one day, which many think is ridiculous. A woman leading the brotherhood. It just isn’t heard of. Instead of saying anything, I just nod.
A comfortable silence falls over the table, and I wonder whether I’ve been a fool for the four years I’ve been here. Friends with the wrong girls. Camilla, Giorgia, and Adrianna all seem much more genuine.
I hate that the image of Elias Morales gesturing at his throat replays constantly in my mind. I fear that in the blink of an eye, my life at The Syndicate Academy is about to take a very dark turn if that boy won’t leave me alone.
2
NATALYA
PRESENT DAY
Istare up at the ominous building, hating the way my palms sweat at the sight of a school I’ve attended since I was eight years old. You’d think after almost ten years the first day jitters would have gone, but I know the reason I get so nervous.