Chapter 51: HISTORY OF DANTE VOSS

MIA

The safe house smelled old and stuffy but other than that, it was okay.

I took a look around and there were no personal items like photos on the wall, statement furniture or anything that meant this wasn't temporary. Lin found a kettle, opened a cabinet that had tea then made some.

We stayed silent as she did that then walked to me and placed it down in front of me.

"I know this is a lot to unpack," she said. "But there is more."

I wrapped my hands around the mug. "Tell me."

She looked at me for a moment like she was deciding where to start and then decided to start from the beginning.

"The Voss family has been operating in this city for forty years," she said. "My family has been here almost as long. We've had arrangements, disputes and periods of… temporary peace." She paused. "The Voss operation is not like other operations, that's important to understand. My family is not made of saints. Ren is not a good person and I'm not going to sit here and tell you otherwise because neither am I. But there is a difference between what my family does and what the Voss family does, and that difference is the reason my brother is in the ground."

"What's the difference?"

"Discipline," she said. "And limits. Most organizations that operate the way ours do have them, whether they're moral or just practical. You don't touch civilians, you don't make things disappear when there are better solutions and you don't consolidate power by making people afraid of what happens if they refuse you, because eventually enough people refuse you at once and it collapses." She turned her mug slowly. "Voss has no limits, never did, and Dante learned from the best."

"How did he end up with them?"

"His father was killed when he was sixteen. You know that part. What you don't know is that his father was killed on Don Voss's order because he'd been skimming from an operation he ran for them." She met my eyes. "Dante knew and he went to Voss directly, not to avenge his father but to offer himself as a replacement. He said he was smarter, more loyal and ruthless. One would find it funny that a sixteen year old kid would walk into the den of the most powerful man in the city and strike a deal."

Cold ran down my spine. "He is a psychopath and always has been."

"Voss accepted his proposal," she continued. "And he was right to, because Dante delivered everything he promised. He moved up faster than anyone in the organization's history. By twenty he was running operations. By twenty-five Voss had formally adopted him as his son, successor and second in command." She paused. "He is not a Voss by blood but a self-made one and that makes him more dangerous."

"The things he's done," I said. "My whole time with him he was—"

"Still doing them. Yes." She didn't soften it. "The investment consulting is a legitimate front for laundering. The meetings in Italian, the ones you weren't allowed to be part of, those were operational. He handled territory disputes, the supply chain and debt collection that left a trail of blood… or bodies."

I swallowed, she looked me in the eyes. "The number of people who have died because of decisions Dante has made is not a number anyone has been able to verify completely. But almost a hundred has been confirmed and I know there are more, my brother included."

"What did your brother do?"

"He found out something he wasn't supposed to know about how Dante's operation intersected with ours. He came to me first and we tried to handle it quietly." Her jaw tightened. "Dante found out he knew before we could make a move. Three weeks later my brother was gone." A pause. "Dante sent flowers to my family, attended the memorial, smiled and gave his condolences while we watched in pain because he is untouchable. That's the kind of person you were living with."

I took a shaky breath. It was so quiet that my thoughts screamed in my head. It was hard to believe that the man who made me smile so much, brought me flowers, cooked and did all the right things, killed people and mocked their family afterwards.

"He's going to come for me," I said.

"Yes. Which is why you need to understand what you're dealing with. This isn't a possessive boyfriend who went too far. This is someone who has never encountered a situation he couldn't control and who has had resources for eliminating problems for his entire adult life." She leaned forward slightly. "And you are the single thing in his life that he has not been careful about. That makes you more important to him and more dangerous to be around at the same time."

"Why not just use me without explaining any of this?"

"Because unlike him, I need your willing cooperation." She held my gaze without flinching. "And because in three hours, Dante is going to find this place. We need to be ready when he does."