Kaitlyn's phone vibrated on her lap. She glanced down at the message and groaned. Instead of replying she turned the phone over and ignored it. This was not the time for twenty questions from her grandfather. She'd already had one awkward conversation with him, and had no intention of repeating the experience.
What the hell was the matter with everybody anyway?
So, what if she and Murphy were in a relationship. People had been doing it from the dawn of time; it wasn't unusual or unique. To make matters worse, she'd repeated the mistake, and answered when Molly, Murphy's mother, called. For the first ten minutes, all Molly did was cry. At first, she thought something had happened to Liam, Murphy's father. Eventually, Molly managed to string a few words together to confirm Liam was fine. In the end, the only thing she could get out of her was, "We'd given up hope and thought he would die alone and angry at the world."
If that conversation wasn't strange enough, her grandfather was heading towards the twilight zone. If his last message was anything to go by, he would be in Nederland before they returned. Kaitlyn had come to the conclusion Immigrants were weird, to say the least, and that she would never understand them. She and Murphy had only just admitted their feeling for each other when he was attacked and left for dead by the Lycan. Beyond taking each day as it came, they had not discussed anything long term. Which wasn't surprising, considering they had finished up one disaster, only to fall straight into another.
Why their relationship was such an issue, was beyond her.
People fell in and out of love all the time. For all she knew, Murphy would get bored of her soon enough and move on. Granted, she'd never survive and would binge on chocolate ice cream, and bake up a storm. Kaitlyn frowned and tipped her head to one side. Perhaps she'd better order some more Tupperware?
When she was younger, she'd fancied herself in love. As she matured, she knew better. There was a big difference between lust and love. Kaitlyn couldn't imagine loving anyone after Murphy.
Two more messages arrived and broke her concentration.
Unable to help herself, she let out a loud exhale and stole a glance.
Before she could turn the phone around, Simon poked his head between the drivers and passengers seat. "Ignoring it won't make it go away." He paused and raised an eyebrow as he indicated towards Murphy in the driver's seat. "Or is it from someone you don't want us to know about."
Kaitlyn narrowed her eyes. "First of all, bean counter, it's none of your business."
She turned her phone over so Simon couldn't see the message. Granted, it also meant that she couldn't see who it was from or what it was about. Not willing to give in to her curiosity, she stared out the window as Murphy drove the rental through the main gates of the large mansion that was home to the New England mafia don, and the head of the east coast mafia cartel.
"What was the second?" asked Simon, "or do all you F.B.I. types not know how to count properly?"
"The second is that it's none of your business, and so is the third, any every other number after that."
Kaitlyn stiffened as they came to a halt near the main entrance. Ambrose Giordano wasn't a man she wanted to see again. He, along with his goons had taken her mother prisoner and allowed Elijah, a deranged psychopath Werewolf, to not only beat her, but use parts of her body as a cutting board.
Kaitlyn had already lost her father to Elijah, she didn't know what she would have done if she'd lost her mom as well. She glanced sideways at Murphy and wondered if he too was reliving the night they rid the world of June's killer.
Without waiting, Simon exited the car, and stared at the armed guards, dressed all in black, dotted around the front of the house.
"It's just like the movies." He scratched his chin and grinned. "Leave the gun, take the cannoli."
Kaitlyn rolled her eyes at Simon's lame excuse for a Godfather impersonation. "Except in the movies, the bad guy doesn't change shape, shed hair and have the ability to rip a man's throat out in less than a heartbeat."
"What can I say, we don't like violence. Tom, I'm a businessman. Blood is a big expense—Hey!" Simon called out as he raced to catch up with Kaitlyn and Murphy. "Where are you going? I've got plenty more lines like that."
"Not to see Vito Corleone, that's for sure," said Kaitlyn.
"Fine then, suck all the fun out of life." He let out a dramatic sigh. "Alright then, let's go make him and offer he can't refuse."
Not wanting to encourage the very deluded immigrant, Kaitlyn ignored him and headed up the stairs. As they approached the door, two of the guards blocked their path.
Murphy flashed his F.B.I credentials. "I'm assuming you have a license for those?" he asked, indicating the Heckler & Koch submachine guns.
As much as she didn't want to admit it, Simon was right. They were poster children for the stereotype mob henchmen.
Murphy made a move to get past them, and they again blocked his path. The only warning they got, was a low growl before the first guard was tossed down the stairs like a sack of potatoes, and the second, was thrown over the nearby railing. Once he was done, Murphy stepped up to the door and pressed the doorbell.
Kaitlyn glance up at the security camera. "I don't know why we just don't go in. It's not as though he doesn't know we're here."
"I'm giving him a chance to put things away."
Kaitlyn peered through the thick glass panes that flanked the double doors. "I can't see anything, what things?"
"He's got cocaine out—a lot of it. If you see it, you won't be able to help yourself. You'll arrest him, and that's just going to make my job more difficult."
Kaitlyn suppressed a groan. This was going to be harder than expected. "Point taken." She fell silent and chewed on her bottom lip. "Just how much drugs do you think he's got in there?"
Murphy flashed her a warning look, and Kaitlyn knew better to push the point. While it was easy for Murphy to overlook the illegal nature of the Giordano crime family, it was a struggle for her. She had devoted her life to upload the law. Within a matter of a few weeks, she had turned a blind eye to kidnapping, murder, drug dealing, and extortion.
And now, here she was about to be involved in illegal arms dealing, a crime that carried a minimum fifteen-year sentence. Kaitlyn closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
At exactly what point did my life get so complicated?
They didn't need to wait long before Ambrose flung the door open with a sour expression as he glared at Murphy. "I hope you have a warrant."
Murphy pushed through past him. "We're not here on F.B.I business, and even if we were, there's enough probable cause to not require one."
"Well hello to you too." Ambrose turned back towards Kaitlyn and Simon. He moved to one side to allow them through. "How's your mother?"
Kaitlyn stiffened and followed Murphy, not able to look at the mafia don, in case she tasered him. "Fine, no thanks to you."
"How does he know your mother?" Simon asked in a whisper as he caught up to her.
"I don't want to talk about it."
A few moments later they were behind closed, mahogany paneled sliding doors in Ambrose's office. Kaitlyn grimaced as she took in the remainder of the room, which was just as brown and ostentatious as the paneled doors suggested. Overstuffed leather couches bookended a large antique desk that Ambrose had taken a seat behind.
"If you're here to make sure we are keeping to the rules, you've wasted a trip. That asshole that insists I call him alpha fucking Rossi has parked two of his lackeys on my property as informants. I can't believe the shit that he complains about. If he had it his way, we'd be trapped in this house 24x7. We didn't ask to be turned into a mythical creature and have to spend half our time roaming in animal form."
"We're not here about that," said Murphy, cutting Ambrose off before he could continue his tirade.
"You're not?" Ambrose sat forward. "Then what the hell are you here for?"
Murphy pulled a slip of paper from his pocket and slid it across the desk. After staring at it suspiciously for a few seconds, Ambrose reached for the note. As he scanned its contents, his brows rose high on his forehead. Had he not had a bald head, Kaitlyn was sure it would have fused with his hairline. He looked up at Murphy, darted his eyes towards Kaitlyn, then slammed them back down to the note.
"This is a joke. Right?"
Simon let out a half-snort half-laugh. He leaned towards Kaitlyn and asked in a low voice. "Does Murphy even know how to?"
Ambrose rubbed his jaw and relooked at the list. "What are you going to do with that much arms and ammo? Start a war?"
"No. Stop one," said Murphy.
"How do I know this isn't an F.B.I trick? I'm an honest businessman, and I'm pretty sure my lawyer will argue entrapment."
Kaitlyn, unable to stay quiet any longer shot up from her chair and brought her fist down on the desk. "Believe me, if I had my way, you'd be behind bars where you belong. There's more than enough evidence that even your money won't buy your way out. This is not an F.B.I sting. I only wish it was. We are here on behalf of a very different organization. One that is turning a blind eye to your illegal and immoral behavior. If I were you, I'd be grateful that we aren't hauling your ass into custody."
Ambrose raised his hands in mock surrender. "Fine then. But as you say, I'm a businessman; I do not operate a charity. It won't be easy to get hold of an order this size, and it's going to cost you."
Simon leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees. "Exactly how much and by when?"
"It's not as though I have that sort of shit stuffed under my pillow, just in case someone wants to start world war three. It'll take a few days, maybe a week." Ambrose steepled his fingers. "As for price, until I speak to my supplier I really can't give a definite figure, but we are talking around ten mill. I'll need half up front and half on delivery. Cash is preferable, but I am open to gold bullion or uncut diamonds."
"What about Bitcoins?"
"That won't be a problem."
Simon stared at the floor for a few moments before he sat back up and squared his shoulders. "Drop your price by fifteen percent, make sure they are genuine Heckler & Koch G36C's, throw in a Silverado 2500HD, and we have ourselves a deal."
Ambrose let out a hearty laugh. "I hardly think you're in a position to negotiate. You came to me. Remember?"
Simon rose and wandered towards the large bookshelf. He pulled out a thick volume and said, "Actually, you are a preferred supplier; that doesn't mean we won't approach Nowakowski to broker a deal with the Russians for us."
Kaitlyn, shocked at how Simon knew the Russian Mafia's middle man, turned to Murphy who was watching the negotiation with interest. How did an immigrant bean counter, know the value of something they have never had use of before, and how did he have access to that much money without blinking an eyelid?
Ambrose drummed his fingers on the desk, and his eyes narrowed to crinkled slits. He turned back to Murphy as if determining just how serious the threat was. True to form, Murphy's expression hadn't wavered the entire exchange. After an eternity, he let out a deep exhale and stood. He held out his hand towards Murphy and said, "Fine, it's a deal; anything to get the three of you out of my life."
"That might not be as simple as you think," said Murphy, "How much did Elijah tell you about his alpha, Elise?"
"Enough for me to know he was pissed at her. Why?"
Murphy pointed to Ambrose's chair. "You'd better sit back down."
Over the next half hour, Kaitlyn wasn't sure who was more surprised; her or Ambrose. While she had a vague idea of how dangerous Elise was, she had clearly missed the full memo on just how deranged she was. She already hated the woman for being behind the attack on Murphy and nearly taking his life. But the genocidal maniac was intent on killing anything in her path, it no longer appeared she cared who was trampled as she marched towards the abyss.
Ambrose was deathly white by the time Murphy finished. He rubbed his head and cursed. "I think maybe, I need to reinforce my own stock. I am running a bit low on rocket launchers."
"There's another reason we're here," said Murphy.
Kaitlyn tensed. This was where things were going to get interesting.
"Most of the packs have no experience with guns. There has never been any call for it. Even if we had them right now, most of them wouldn't know how to fire it, let alone find the safety. At this moment in time, you are the only pack with the experience of using sub-machine guns."
Ambrose froze. "I'm not sure I like where this is going."
Murphy slid another slip of paper across the desk. "I didn't expect you would. The packs will be sending two or three of their members for training. They will, in turn, return to their packs and train them. That is a list of your students."
"You have got to be fucking kidding me." Ambrose looked at the note as though it was cursed.
Murphy rose. "I think we've already established that I don't have a sense of humor."
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📎A/N. Well it looks like Simon has been watching too many movies.
And I don't believe Ambrose is too keen on having the extra guests... what do you think?
I wonder what the conversation between Kaitlyn and her grandfather was to have her avoiding his calls... however, we won't need to wait long to find out... it looks like he's on his way to Nederland.
It's about to get quite crowded there I think ;-)
I hope you enjoyed the chapter, if you did, don't forget to vote. Next chapter will be posted next Sunday PST.
Till then, take care,
❤ ℳ