New Eden: Live to Play, Play to Live

Chapter 915  Beating Around The Bush

Alex looked at her, his face steady, but his mind wavering.

"How does one misconstrue any words into, 'Murder this family for me.' Do you have any idea how ridiculous your claim sounds?" he asked her.

But Amara looked at him with a stoic face.

"And yet, that is what happened. My exact words to him were, 'Bring me Randall West, and make him understand we are his only good option.' Why he thought that meant, 'Murder his entire family,' well, you tell me. I'm just as lost as you.

"But I wouldn't have ordered the death of the family of someone I was trying to recruit. That would be stupid. You may think I am not smart enough to predict your moves and minds, but I am smart enough to know how people think.

"I built this family from nothing, after all. Did you think I inherited the Rossi family?" she asked, looking at Kary intently.

But Kary kept quiet.

"Too small," Alex commented.

Amara wasn't sure whether to laugh or cry at his comment, but she couldn't do either. If she showed disrespect, she had a feeling one of her sinister visions would come true.

She was already walking on eggshells because of Maria's actions. It wasn't the time to add fuel to the barely extinguished fire.

"In any case, I didn't ask him to kill anyone. But the kid has been trying to upstage Maria for a while, now. I have no idea why, or why he thought killing more people than her made him look better.

"But what I do know, is that I still can't allow him to die. He's too useful to me now, and to us in the future, for me to let him die. So. How about we start the conversation on how you intend to return my man to me?"

Alex smirked.

"I'm sorry. That just isn't going to happen. He tried killing innocents and then tried killing me. Do you think I'll just turn a blind eye to that fact?" Alex asked, his face slightly mocking.

"But no one died, no? Why can't you just turn a blind eye to his failed attempts and call it a kid's mistake? I'm sure you did plenty of those yourself as a young man. Can't you extend the same mercy you were shown to him?" she asked him again.

"I never tried murdering people, Ms. Rossi. There is a difference between trying to steal something and attempted murder. There is only so much mercy inside me, and it has already been running short lately.

"The world is already going to shit, and you would expect me to turn a blind eye to someone trying to make it worse? You can't be that naïve, to think I would let this slide."

"Just let the stupid kid die, Amara. He's been nothing but trouble for us. I'd call this karma for all his dumb decisions," Maria said, looking at her boss with a bit of disdain flashing in her eyes as she mentioned the young man.

Amara looked at her, her face softening a bit.

"You know I can't do that, Maria. It would make me just as bad as the things we are trying to keep from killing us all. I refuse to lower my standards for this. Killing an evil person and letting a misguided one die are two different things."

Maria smiled softly at her, before looking back forward at their guests, her face ice cold once more.

"Is there nothing we can do to convince you to return him to us?" Amara asked, her tone pleading.

But Alex remained stern on the matter.

"Unfortunately for you, I can't take your word for his good side. I'll let the people I have him with judge if he's redeemable. In the meantime, he stays locked up. But you can rest easy knowing he won't die in the foreseeable future," he promised her.

Amara could barely consider this a compromise, but she took what she could get.

"Thank you for your leniency. Then, let's move on to the next matter. What did you hope to accomplish by coming here? I know it can't be just about meeting us and deciding if we are worth keeping alive. What's your plan?"

Alex looked at her with a smirk.

"And what tells you I'm not just here to get rid of a rival who's been trying to steal awakened players from under my nose? Do your visions portray me like enough of a pushover that I would let you take all the awakened from under our control and say nothing?"

Amara grinned.

"Of course not, Mr. Leduc. But that wasn't the sole reason we came to Montreal. The awakened here are stronger than most, because of a certain necromancer tugging at the strings of fate, yes.

"But our reason for coming wasn't to build our roster. We could have done that in Italy, where no one is amassing them yet. No. I came here for you. I came here, hoping you would join under me," she declared.

"Then you wasted your time," Kary scoffed at her.

Maria growled at Kary's continued rudeness.

Even Kary didn't know why she was feeling so hostile. Ever since she laid eyes on the three women, she had been feeling like they were the enemy.

And she knew better than not to trust her gut feeling.

"Your attitude toward the boss of the Rossi family would get you killed in Italy. If you don't want to find out how that feels, change your tone, woman," Maria growled.

Kary locked eyes with her, flames flickering in her eyes. She was about to retort a snarky comment, but Alex put his hand on her thigh.

"Ms. Lombardi, have you ever felt the stare of an apex predator? The stare of a creature so powerful that you know you will die under its jaws? Because I have. I even slew two of them, right in this world—enemies that would have taken any of you and charred them to coals. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

"Do you care to find out how that feels? Being charred to coals? Because Kary can teach you that. With her eyes closed, her hands behind her back, and a smile on her face. Is that what you want?" Alex asked, his face icy, but his tone bleeding with enmity.

Maria felt a shiver run down her spine, something that hadn't happened in a while.

'What is with this man… Every time he speaks, it's like he's compelling my mind to listen to his words…' she thought, glaring at him.

Amara cleared her throat.

"Ahem. I thought we had gone past the stage of threatening each other. Mr. Leduc. Can we get past this hostility and really talk? Or is this pissing contest going to continue wasting my time?"

"You're right," Alex said, sighing.

"I thought you'd unde—" Amara started saying before she felt a surge of mana and fear grip her.

Hovering over her and her two lieutenants' heads was now a wolf's head with a lightning bolt on its forehead. And it was growling.

Kary had to contain the laughter rising within her, as she saw the face of all three women change from confidence to terror almost instantly.

"Meet White Death, one of my many soul companions. And one who doesn't have much patience. He's a bit like me, but worse. Now, things will go like this. I'll talk. You will answer when asked a question and keep your mouth shut if not spoken to.

"Any break of this rule will result in White biting down on the offender. If you keep your waggy tongue to yourself, this will go well. If you yammer about, or act the least threatening, then you can kiss your shoulders goodbye, as they disappear in the darkness of his stomach.

"Deal?" Alex asked, his face clearly annoyed.

Amara raised her head, staring into the wolf's eyes above her.

"Well, I must say. I hadn't seen this outcome…"

White growled at her, his maw slowly opening.

"That is not the answer that should be coming out of your mouth at this moment. You were saying?" Alex asked, as White's head slowly lowered above Amara's, his jaws open.

Maria wanted to jump in and save her lover, but she could tell she wouldn't be fast enough, let alone strong enough, to take down this monster before Amara lost her head.

She glared at Alexander, nodding her head twice.

"Fine," she growled.

Amara sighed, seeing as her lieutenant had already given up.

'So much for her offering to fight Astaroth earlier,' she thought.

"Very well. We can do this your way. But you must know this will not put us on good terms, right?" Amara asked.

Alex scoffed.

"Woman, I don't give a shit about being on good terms with you, and I'm tired of pretending I do. Even if you brought to bear the entirety of your country's forces upon me, I'm pretty sure I could wipe them out. Why should I care about being on good terms with a gangster?"

Amara's traits stretched thin, as she realized he'd been pushed too far. Maria's constant threats had pissed him off, and now he would never accept working with her, let alone for her.

'This is why I hate her hard-headedness. She was bound to strike that head of hers on someone who was just as bad eventually…'