Bloodbound: The Alliance
Chapter 64 - 68

Chapter 64: Chapter 68

Akio POV

The Giannis will sulk and lick their wounds, but Botan’s recklessness can’t continue. He can’t even see the tactical mishap and the contagion effect that these consequences will incur. These isolated incidents alone can do not much harm, but put them together they compound and his choices will come back to haunt us all—all for a girl that can never be his. Forget that she is a devoted public servant, daughter of the soon-to-be Governor. And he is the most fearsome hellhound of the underworld. They belong to worlds that can never merge, his sheer existence is a threat to her and she has convinced herself that she can overlook his transgressions. But she won’t, every thing he does and is will corrode that self-righteous morality. That willingness to wear away at her own mortal fortitude will ferment resentment. But that isn’t the worst part... if Avara discovers what Botan did, she will loathe him and I don’t know if that despise will free him or it will make him descend into further madness.

It’s the only reason why I haven’t told the girl myself—other than the fact Botan would slit my throat. No exaggeration. Look what he did to Alessio because he reminded him of the man or men Avara is bound to. Imagine what he would do to the one who would poison her against him?

"You can’t even see it," I mutter aloud.

I turn away, making my way out.

"And where are you going?"

"Cleaning after you, it seems I’ve been having to do that alot lately."

***

I go alone to grovel. Botan’s cunning comes from his foresight, others plan several moves ahead but Botan coordinates the entire game, rigged to provide an outcome he foresees and fashions. Now that vision is blotted out by his obsession. His eye is the spyglass of the future that now points to one thing alone. Yes, there won’t be immediate implications but the aftermath will be an avalanche in a distant by-and-by.

I’ve come to Alessio’s father, the fangs of the snake, to lay the ground for peace. Fear can coerce him to build upon it or pride will scorch every last residue.

One of his guards stands like a monolith outside the private office. Dressed in sharp, dark attire that blends seamlessly with the shadows of the hallway.

"Your boss is expecting me."

He remains posted in front of the double doors.

"Unless you want to join your fellow brothers in arms—you will move."

Grudgingly, he hauls his massive weight to the side, not sparing me a glance. I open the door myself making it a point to slam it behind me.

Inside, the office is a shrine of power and precision, its dark wood paneling suffocates all the light in the room. Behind the imposing desk sits an older man with silver-threaded hair, his suit immaculate with an air of expectancy.

"Hai voglia di implorare come un buon animaletto," he says with a smug tilt in his tone that tells me whatever he said inspires an insult.

"There are either two outcomes," I state to skip the idle talk that would circle cheap threats. "An agreement, if not peace. That or war. I vote for the option that makes me the most money."

His amusement straggles between accord and animosity. "I want to know the final moments of my son," he says to commandeer the reins of our interaction. "I want to know what reason gave your boss the motive to take out his eyes. Lie to me and I’ll take out your tongue, it seems only fair."

"Botan as you know is a ruthless man but not an unjust man," I say, a faith I once held now that belief wavers. "I arrived after the ordeal and it was simple. Your son behaved regrettably, Botan warned him enough to watch his talk. Your son didn’t listen. Obviously, his security detail intervened so Botan killed them all in self-defense."

He shakes his head with a small but sadistic smile like he caught a discrepancy. "If that were true, Botan would beat him, not execute my son. No, this method of taking out his eyes speaks of something personal. Botan and my son have barely been acquainted for long so I know revenge it’s even worth considering. I know that Botan is a ruthless man but a level-headed man, he is not easily provoked. Why would he be when your rivals are reluctant to go against Haru—when death bears Botan’s face?"

I clasped my hands in front of me with an unbothered expression. "I told you the truth. Even if it was a lie, would it matter? Alessio is still dead."

I thought my bluntness would wake his anger, but it doesn’t. I detect no grief or resentment, maybe something resembling regret. A vacant look enters his eyes as he stares off into the distance aimlessly like he’s facing a fact that reality denied him until his son’s day of death. Pain flickers across his features, raw and rapid as a bitter smile tugs at his lips.

"My son’s arrogance would’ve spelt his demise eventually," he says not without heart but out of an objective observation. "I did all I could but the boy refused to grow up." He sobers up as his eyes slice back to me with clear-cut comprehension. "Regardless, that boy is my son and that owes him the full weight of my vengeance."

"You are blood-bound to retaliate," I say in agreement, nodding understandably. "But we can withstand any scope of retaliation because our men and resources dwarf your own a hundred times over."

"You do. If we were alone. Fotuntelly for us, Yad Zmei are our closest allies with capabilities to match your own. They don’t have a dog in this fight, in this blood feud. But they hate Haru and would jump at any opportunity to kill him and his hound."

The tension that runs thick feels like my blood has solidified. Yad Zmei. Like us, we have an expansive network that allows us to dominate markets such as drug trafficking, arms smuggling and money laundering. They have formed alliances with other organized crime groups globally, including the Italian mafia like Gianni, ensuring influence and resources across continents.

Yad Zmei have even surpassed and dethroned Bratva Serebryanoy Krov’ who were the most powerful Russian mafia organization. They are considered to be near untouchable because of their infiltration of legal and law-enforcing institutions to protect them from within.

We also have our own contingencies, internationally even, but even with our strength. Yad Zmei would be an enemy that could actually stand a chance at doing some real damage.