Less Than Perfect

{22} Blood Moon Boys

"If I join," I started slowly. This was a deal with the devil, but he was hitting too close to home for my liking. "If I join your team, will I gain the respect and power I need to survive?"

"As long as you follow my orders, then yes. I'll give you what you need."

My gaze hardened. "Deal."

* * * *

The boss was never after Amira. He only used her to keep me in line, but I could never forgive myself if anything happened to my little sister. I lost one sister to cancer, and I wasn't going to lose another when I could stop it.

"It's been a long ass time since I've seen you around," said a voice behind me, cocky and full of himself as always.

I turned on my feet, hands in my pockets. "Daisuke."

The troublesome consigliere of the mafia smiled coyly at me, a wolfish grin on his snowy visage. There was a coldness to his dark eyes, an emptiness like a void of sin. Daisuke was the boss's favorite companion, a man with the tech genius skills required to find out anyone's deepest, darkest secrets. He was a fairly tall man with a medium build and jet black hair that fell over his eyes.

His parents were Japanese-Americans, affluent in their wealth and graduates of MIT, one of the best universities in America. Their son was no doubt as gifted as his parents, but somehow he got entangled with the mafia, using his intelligence in the underground world as his weapon. He was usually quiet in his personal life, not speaking unless spoken to, and a man of high demand for IT companies all around.

I learned my hacking and computer skills from Daisuke during our time together when I was in high school. He was a college student then, but he took me under his wing, taught me the tricks of computers and the hacking needed to breach any top security agency.

Daisuke cocked his head to the side. "I know you didn't call me here for a walk down memory lane," he said, crossing his arms. "Last time we met, you swore you'd never come back."

"I was telling the truth," I replied. "We all have to let the past go sometime."

He scoffed. "After that stunt you pulled, I'm surprised the boss didn't kill you."

A ghost of a smile appeared on my lips. "Alexander knows my real intentions. He understood."

"Like the fucking prick he is," he muttered under his breath. Daisuke stretched his arms over his head, yawning in boredom. "What the hell do you want? I'm busy, and I don't appreciate my time being wasted. You're lucky I'm still fond of you."

"I need you to dig up some dirt on a man named Dayyan Masharawi."

His dark eyes narrowed at me, a deep frown on his lips. "You have unfinished business with him?"

"Should I?"

"I've heard his name before, but I never thought much of it. The mafia had him under surveillance for a few months."

This perked my interest. Our mafia was no ordinary group of ruffians. It was highly sophisticated, prowling the night streets with the ferocity and terror of a lion pack. No one dared to cross us, no one wanted to meet us. We were the mysterious legends that parents told their children when they wanted them to behave.

If Dayyan was under surveillance, then Alexander must have suspected something. Our boss was no fool. He played the devil's hand with ease.

"What put him on surveillance?"

Daisuke met my gaze, dark eyes swirling with a foreboding cloud, thunder crackling in his eyes. "He was stalking a girl."

My blood ran cold. Claws of discomfort stabbed at my abdomen as a sudden jolt of terror pierced my chest. I knew he was dangerous, yet knowing such a man had been alone with my wife brought old feelings of resentment back to the surface, anger brewing into a larger, more destructive flame.