“You’re not dealing with human beings. This is the Diamond Syndicate—monsters with money.”
The guards’ car got behind me and flashed their lights.
“Okay. I’ll talk to you later, Johnathan.”
“You will. I owe you another welcome-to-my-city dinner.”
“I would love that. Except this one should not include a dead body.”
“It’s Paradise. There are no guarantees.” He chuckled. “And you must try the caviar limes.”
“Yes. Yes. I’ve been made aware of that. I actually have a sandwich with some on it. I haven’t gotten to it yet.”
“Well, you will for our date. Don’t forget.”
I grinned. “I remember.”
“Good night, Rose.”
“Night.” I hung up and drove away.
While I could have turned on the heat in my car. I found Dimitri’s jacket too warm and comfortable to take off.
Dimitri’s men followed.
Tonight was insane. I’d left my condo to meet Johnathan at a nightclub. He knew I wanted to be at Romeo’s memorial to get a closer view of the Syndicate. Then, more death came. It was the first time I saw a dead body in front of me.
That was probably why I couldn’t just leave the club and head home afterwards. I had to stay and find out who had killed the beautiful woman in the cage that looked just like me.
Sure, Chanel Jones represented a dark criminal group. But when I looked at her frozen in death inside that cage, I saw a beautiful black woman that had been taken from this planet too early.
I didn’t know who was killing off the Syndicate’s people, but I would find out. I was becoming obsessed with it. And I even started feeling somewhat guilty for the dread and exhaustion on Dimitri’s face.
He looked out of it tonight. He might as well let me help him.
Dimitri and I both had an interest in finding the killer. I didn’t like people who murdered, even if they murdered criminals.
Leaving the South of Paradise, I entered Caviar Lime Highway and got in the lane heading to the West. Dimitri’s guards remained behind me. The Luxury Road exit would appear in a few miles.
Why did Dimitri mention Jonathan’s college tuition? He was definitely hinting at something.
So many questions filled my head.
Did Jonathan get money from the Syndicate to go to college? Why would they do that?
I thought back to my college years.
I’d hung in with the It group—other sons and daughters of politicians. Most of them were white and from old money. They’d actually called themselves the It group, which explained how much ego lay within the members.
Somehow Johnathan joined us. He used to do many of the guys’ essays for them. Eventually, they started bringing him for our pizza and beer nights at a college café that we loved to frequent.
The guys treated Jonathan like some orphaned mascot, always making him do things and keeping him as the butt of most jokes. I felt bad for Jonathan many times and came to his defense.
By sophomore year, I left the It group, realizing the women were spoiled prima donnas who loved to snort coke and pick at others who couldn’t afford designer clothes. Meanwhile, the guys were no better. All of them had deteriorated to frat boy douchebags.
I tried to convince Johnathan to leave the group with me. He would have none of it. He remained dedicated to the group and continued to party with them for the rest of the years.
For my sophomore summer break, I spent a few weeks with my family in Sydney, Australia. By then, my brother had begun disappearing and not showing up to any family holidays at all. I’d gone simply because I was feeling bad for them. However, when I told my parents that I’d stopped spending time with the It group, they were devasted. One would have thought I’d confessed to a heroin addiction. They gave me the silent treatment the rest of the dinner. I woke up the morning after to a note from my mother, explaining that dad and she decided to spend the summer somewhere else. The message was clear—do what I was told or be on my own.
I chose my own path.
Junior year, I switched my major to journalism and met Xandi. Due to the major change, my parents closed my bank accounts and canceled my credit card. Surprisingly, my grandmother secretly created a massive trust fund for me to pay for college. My only requirement from her was that I couldn’t tell my mother. I didn’t.
Meanwhile, Jonathan pledged with the rest of the It douchebags. They all moved into the frat house and commenced to be involved in scandal after scandal. Their parties were over the top, resulting in five nonfatal overdoses and three DUI accidents. Additionally, some girls complained about possibly being drugged and raped. Nothing ever came out of the sexual allegations. A lot of the time, rich fathers paid off the girls’ families.