The Agreement (Darkest Lies Trilogy Book 1) by Bethany-Kris (motivational books for men .TXT) 📕

There were too many chunks of silence between them, and Roman was too stuck inside his head to keep up with his false pretenses.

“On some real shit?” Roman said to his friend.

That made Marky sit up straighter. “What about it?”

He considered what he wanted to say, and how to say it. Never was there a time in his life that Roman felt a need to be careful about the words he chose. It was a dangerous thing to be poking into the business of bratva men.

And still, there was something shady going on in the Yazov mansion. It was a good thing that the assholes had made a point of watching him and offering little to no trust, because he didn’t trust them, either.

Chicago was a mess.

The men were all snakes.

From plots on the boss, to a daughter he kept out of sight only long enough to be brought out in the open and paraded like a prize on the night of her engagement. And that was before he touched the topic of drugs—why was her slave feeding her pills?

“I need information on something related to the Yazovs,” Roman finally settled on saying.

Marky instantly tilted his head to the side like a puppy might for a rolling ball in his owner’s hand. “Like the men, or like a Yazov, because—”

“Marky.”

Roman’s sharp warning wasn’t enough.

“You don’t mean, Dima, right? That fuck is worthless, Roman. Don’t get into another pissing contest with him—you’ll still win it, but you already know you won’t like the prize.”

Goddammit.

He was seriously started to regret his previous take on having Marky in Chicago.

Roman scowled, saying, “I was actually talking about Karine Yazov. Maxim’s daughter.”

“He has a daughter?”

He almost laughed.

Except it wasn’t funny.

Roman just nodded instead, not wanting to make Marky’s shock into a big deal. He’d already figured out not a lot people knew about Karine. But why? That was the real question. There was no real reason to hide a beautiful woman who was clearly of age away from the rest of the world. Even the most controlled mafia daughters had lives outside of the confines of their father’s homes.

But for Karine, it almost seemed like outside the circle of her father’s closest people, no one knew she even existed.

And that didn’t sit right with him.

Why?

Why do that?

“Yeah,” Roman said, smirking his friend’s way. “That’s exactly the point. Nobody seems to know she’s there. Even when she’s standing in the damn room.”

Marky squinted his eyes, considering the information. “If they are trying to hide her away, it’s not going to be easy information to dig out.”

“Which is why I can’t do it myself—too many eyes on me currently.”

Marky sucked in a deep breath, disapproval drawing his lips together in a grim line. He didn’t need the man to say what was clear—Roman should stay out of trouble and not go digging around in a pile of shit. If only things were that easy.

At the same time, he knew better than to tell Roman anything—but especially what to do or not do. Roman wished he could explain everything to Marky, it would make a lot more sense. However, he had to watch what he said and what Marky might tell other people, too.

“There’s a lot to unpack here,” Marky said, twirling a finger in front of himself as if to magically conjure up a picture of Roman’s mess. His friend wasn’t dumb; he could put things together without actually asking. Like the fact he was asking about a boss’s daughter. Something no man had any business doing. “And I’m thinking it’s better if I don’t ask, right?”

Yeah.

Definitely not stupid.

It was probably for the best if Marky knew as little as possible. Until Roman had all the facts, anyway. Whatever they were.

“Why did you bring up Dima?” he asked his friend. “Why did you think I would be interested in him?”

Marky gave him a look—an unspoken wasn’t it obvious? Then, he laughed under his breath and said, “Honest to God, the fucker messed with you. He is the reason you got locked up—he fucking set you up. You’re telling me you’re not going to—at some point—make him answer for that? You, Roman. Little Odessa’s Devil, never leaves a slight unanswered. Not going to happen. Besides, I didn’t get a good vibe from him. It wasn’t just the fact that he wanted to fuck around with your position and freedom, either. Some people just don't vibe right.”

Roman’s brow dipped. “Did you look into him?”

Marky lifted his shoulders quickly. “A little. Spoke to a few guys who’ve worked with the Yazovs here previously.”

Roman damn near held his breath.

“Let’s just say the motherfucker is bad news,” Marky added after a second.

And there went Roman’s good mood.

Bad news meant nothing.

The truth of the matter was they were all bad news. Marky, Roman, the Yazovs, and even his own family. The whole fucking bunch of them—it depended on which side of the fence you were on. They were branded as criminals by the majority of society. And yet, they were still family, friends, husbands, lovers, fathers, sons, and more to the people who lived their life with them.

Monsters?

They’re not so scary when you love one.

Marky could see Roman’s lack of interest clearly, because he was fast to say, “Well, you know he has a major role to play in the Yazov’s trafficking operations.”

“Yeah, that’s common knowledge.”

“But apparently it goes deeper than that. It’s not just grown women he deals with. He has connections with groups that deal with a younger demographic. Real young. Pre-pubescent.”

And then there was the scum of them all, he thought. The lowest of the low that would do the worst of the worst for greed and power. Dirty money couldn’t get dirty enough. He understood he didn’t have a lot of room to speak—being crime was crime, and sin was sin—but he didn’t mess with that kind of shit.

In any way.

Fuck.

Child trafficking was something that could make the tiny hairs rise on the