Draco was born into theNinkyo Dantai, or more widely known as the Yakuza, the mafia that ruled the underworld of Japan. To this day, most of his extended family were still high-level members of one of the ruling clans in the organization.
“I hate to break it to you, but Draco has a soft spot for the Lykaioses.”
“The same is true for myself. If he wasn’t out of town this weekend, we’d be having dinner with him tonight.”
“He raised Hagen Lykaios like a son, and he watches out for all of them.”
“I know where Draco’s loyalties lie. The man all but stepped in to replace Pappous after the crash. Hell, Draco seemed more vested in my success than I was, at times.”
The one thing I could say about Draco was that he never, ever forgot his debts. Within hours of the confirmation of Pappous’s death, two of his sons and three of his grandsons had arrived in New York with their men to join with the Drakos soldiers to ensure I stayed alive.
I’d known, the moment the news of the helicopter going down reached my ears, that the likelihood of an engine malfunction was less than zero.
Anyone who believed otherwise was either in on the assassination or condoned it.
Having Draco’s backing essentially showed my uncle, his allies, and all of those who my grandfather had turned into rivals and enemies that even though I may have been only twenty-three when I’d taken over the family, I wasn’t weak by any means and had the support to hold the Drakos territory.
I’d asked Draco why he’d dropped so much to support me, and he’d told me in his deep, Japanese-accented voice, “One never forgets those who gave him water when he was thirsty. Christopher had mercy on an eighteen-year-old idiot and helped me find a place in the world. I decided aiding his equally ill-prepared great-grandson was the least I could do.”
I knew there was more to the story, but as with everything, Draco limited his explanations to basic truths and need-to-know information.
No matter what, I was eternally thankful to him.
Now I only hoped he or one of his many grandchildren had some information on the Ida’s resident mob princess.
“From the way you spaced out into whatever plot you are concocting, it doesn’t look as if anything I say is going to change your mind.” Kasen headed in the direction of the giant array of glass doors leading to the hotel exit. “Like always, I’ll be here to laugh my ass off and clean up your mess when the shit hits the fan.”
I grabbed the door as he pushed through it, and we headed toward my waiting Spyder. “Dickhead. If it wasn’t for me, you’d be an over-glorified errand boy.”
“Iaman over-glorified errand boy.” Kasen’s phone vibrated, and as he pulled it out of his pocket and read the display, the humor left his face and eyes.
“What’s the problem?”
“How locked in is the Cypress port?”
“Solid. The contracts are signed and in the safe. All we have to do is execute the day we divide the trust and end the engagement. Why?”
“Tyler Mykos sent word Uncle Dearest and his equally fuckhead son just put in an offer to purchase it with an additional counteroffer of marriage to your fiancée.”
A little afterone in the morning, I lounged in Ida’s Mesánychta Lounge, watching the hustle and bustle of Vegas nightlife mingle in and around the hotel. From my spot, I had a perfect vantage point of those entering and exiting the white marble hallways leading to the three high-end shows as well as the dark and dimly lit tunnel taking patrons into what was dubbed “The Underworld” leading to the five different nightclubs of the hotel.
One of them having the name Nyx, named after the goddess of night. I could only imagine what my beautiful fiery-tempered fiancée thought when she saw the sign of her namesake club for the first time. She more than likely rolled her eyes and walked right past it.
The Mykoses were turning out to be nothing as I expected. After the text from my temporary in-law, we set up a video conference where he relayed Albert and my cousin Hal’s offer to replace me in his daughter’s life as well as details on partnership with contacts in Central and South America.
Apparently, Phillip Mykos had taken Hal’s counter marriage proposal as a personal insult. Mykos believed his word was a matter of honor and integrity. Everyone in our world understood how their family operated.
Albert was turning out to be a bigger pain in the ass than I thought.
What the fuck was his end goal? Neither he nor Hal had the support or manpower to run the family. And destabilizing the organization would only harm him in the long run.
Right now, I had other things on my mind. Like the fact I had to figure out my perfect fiancée’s secrets. Kasen would do his research and get back to me.
Picking up my drink, I took a sip as a tall blonde walked past me and gave me a smile, but instead of keeping my focus on her, my attention shifted to a group coming from a private area of the hotel.
Was that who I thought it was?
No fucking way.