Chapter Forty-Four

Zach

The minute Mercer walked out, a sigh of relief went through Christian’s office.

“If you hadn’t said something, I would have finished the man then and there,” Adrian admitted, rubbing his temples with his fingers.

“Are you alright?” Ethan looked concerned.

Adrian nodded. “Yeah, just mad at the guy. Too bad we still need him. Otherwise, I would love to torture him.”

“Let’s hope Jackson and his men will be able to successfully follow the guy so he brings us to our father,” Zach said with a sigh.

Christian’s eyes widened. “Was what he said true?”

“Yes and no. The part where we thought our father died but found out he’s still alive is true. But the part where he didn’t want to know us anymore is not. Mercer has him locked up somewhere.

“So now we are trying to find out where he is hidden,” Zach explained, walking over to the sofa and letting himself fall onto it.

“And the part where you have captured his son and daughter-in-law?” Christian looked around to see the reaction of the men in the room.

“That is also true.” Ethan looked at Christian.

“You’re no better than him, then. And killing them will only make it worse. You should’ve gone to the police the minute he threatened you,” Christian said gruffly.

Zach got back up and walked over to Christian. He put a hand on his shoulder and looked at him. “Christian, there’s a lot that you don’t know about us. Going to the police isn’t really an option.

“I won’t kill them, don’t worry. We’re mafia. We live in families, and we have our own laws. When someone violates our laws, we capture them, question them, and then hand them over to the government to be prosecuted.

“We can’t just do whatever we like, but we can capture the people that don’t live by either our or the government’s laws. And there’s a lot of laws that are just the same.”

Christian stepped away from Zach, frowned and thought for a moment. “So, he has some leverage on you then. He knows you won’t kill them. But I think he would kill your father. He doesn’t care about laws, I don’t think.”

Ethan stood up and pointed at Christian. “Exactly. We have guys following him. Hopefully, he will take them to where he has hidden the former boss.”

“The former boss? What is that?” Christian looked around questioningly.

“The highest rank there is in a family. The leader. A former boss is a boss that has resigned.” Zach patiently explained everything to Christian.

“And who is the boss now?”

“I am. A rank is inherited by the firstborn, just like kings and queens pass on their title to their firstborn.”

“Wow, I never knew.” Christian plopped down on his chair and rubbed his forehead. It was a lot to process for him.

“We don’t actually live out in the open. Only a few people know we exist. And we intend on keeping it that way. We don’t want our way of life to end.” Adrian smiled.

“When this is all over and everything has calmed down, you are more than welcome to visit us sometime. Then you can learn more about us.” Zach smiled at Christian.

“Isn’t that a problem? Me being a part of the regular world and all?”

“No, it’s not. There are some people from the general public among us, actually.”

“Really?”

“My girlfriend is an outsider, well, was an outsider,” Ethan said. “And Irene is with our family as we speak.”

“Okay, well, I’d love to come.” Christian smiled, and relief showed in his eyes.

“Were you scared of us?” Adrian asked him, trying to hide a mischievous smile.

“Honestly?” Christian smiled a little. “A little bit, yes. You guys seem very intimidating. There’s an aura around you that makes people twitchy, I guess.”

“You don’t have to fear us. If you leave us in peace, we will do the same.”

They were quiet for a minute, then Christian started to talk again. “Is there anything I can do to help?”

“Not right now, no. But when Irene comes back, you have to promise me to keep an eye on her. She’s very dear to me.” Zach looked serious now. He needed her to be safe.

“Does Irene’s sudden departure to your family have something to do with this whole situation? You said she was attacked or something?”

Zach nodded. “Yes. She was attacked by Angelo. We arrived at her apartment just in time to prevent things from getting out of hand.”

That night, Jackson walked into Zach’s office. It was past working hours, and only Zach and his men were left behind.

“Zachary.” Jackson smiled. “I have good news.”

All the men in the room looked up.

“Either Mercer is stupid, he’s getting sloppy, or he has something planned. We have found out where Father is being held.” Jackson’s smile widened.

“You’re kidding.” Adrian looked at him with wide eyes. “I expected we would have had to wait until after the weekend.”

“No, I’m serious. Mercer owns a little house in one of the poorer residential areas on the edge of the city. We haven’t seen Father yet, but there’s always a lot of guards present, and the windows are kept shut.”

“Hmm…” Zach rubbed the stubble on his chin with his hand. “Either Father is there, or he is not, and it is a way to distract us. We have to be careful.

“If Father is there, Mercer could panic and either shoot Father or move him somewhere else.” He looked Jackson in the eye. “Do you still have someone following Mercer?”

“I do, and I have a couple of men at the house,” Jackson said, nodding.

“Well done.” Zach gave him a pat on the back. “We have to keep an eye on Mercer, to see how he responds when we raid his little house.

“I truly hope that your father is in that house,” Ethan said, turning to look at Jackson. “Are the guards armed?”

“They’re not keeping their weapons in sight,” Jackson said. “They could be hiding guns or knives under their clothing, though. We have to keep that in mind and be careful.

“Also, because we’re in a residential neighborhood, we can’t reveal we’re in the mafia. We have to look normal.”

Zach nodded in agreement. “Jackson, because you’ve already been there, I suggest you take the lead. You tell us what to do.”

“Alright then, you guys ready?” Jackson looked around at his brothers and his friend.