CHAPTER 6.
Ryder woke up to the repeated buzzing of his phone. His eyes squinted at the sun's rays and he was gonna shut them and get more sleep.
But again, the buzzing started, and this time, it didn't stop. He clenched his teeth in irritation and tried sitting up. But it was impossible. He glanced down at the woman draped over him and his lips curled into a smile.
He kissed her forehead and gently pushed her off him. She stirred slightly and he stilled until she was back to snoring.
He reached for the phone on the nightstand and tiptoed out of the room, careful not to wake Hara up.
Shutting the door of his study, he plumped on his swivel chair and checked the caller ID. It was Giveon. With a yawn, he took the call.
“Speak,“ He rasped, rubbing his eyes. Dude better have a good reason for rudely interrupting his sleep.
“Ciara has been kidnapped by the Italian Mafia. And guess who carried out the mission?“
“Jason,“ Ryder breathed out sharply. This just got a whole fucking better.
“He doesn't go by the name Jason anymore. Everyone here knows him as Ghost,“
“A fitting name for a vicious capo,“ Ryder snorted. He was trying hard not to lose his shit over this. “Did you see you?"
“Yes, we had a bit of a face-off,“
“And let me guess, he didn't recognize you,“
“Yeah,“ Giveon mumbled.
Ryder felt his heart slam against his chest at that reality. He's been miserably hoping for the impossible, it seems.
”But he might have a little thought about us,“ Giveon added.
“Why?“
“Jason shot at my kneecaps, and when the bullets didn't penetrate, the smartass figured I was a werewolf,“
“Does he have any idea that he's also a werewolf?“ Ryder asked.
“Nah, I doubt. But I was almost gonna kill him with the wolfsbane bullet. When I saw him take Ciara, I almost lost it…” Giveon cut off, taking a deep breath.
Ryder heard the frustration in his voice and he could relate. It was hard on him as it was on all of them. Jason used to be family. It hurts to fight against family.
“Thanks, man,“ Ryder said, running a hand through his hair. “I know how hard it must have been for you to control the urge to put a bullet through him,“
“Well, for what is worth, I did tell him about you,“
Ryder felt his heart do a little flip at his words. “What exactly did you tell him?“
“That you're Alpha Ryder of Red Cross Pack, and he used to be your Beta. But he wasn't listening,“
“Why not?”
“He got distracted, staring at a man who walked out of the nightclub,“
“What nightclub?“ Ryder asked.
Giveon gave him a brief narrative of what happened last night at the nightclub. It was the part where Jason had created a diversion with a grenade in a room filled with hundreds of people that got Ryder on an edge.
“He sure has lost his mind,“ Ryder shook his head. The more stories he hears about Jason, the more he feels like he doesn't know the dude anymore.
“Wait till you see what he looks like now, then maybe, you'll realize why we should consider putting a bullet into his brain,“ Giveon scoffed.
“He could be the most feral beast out there and I'm still gonna clamor about him coming home to us. Don't push it,“ Ryder retorted. Killing Jason would never be an option. Never.
”If you say so,“
Ryder puffed, lying back on his seat. He took a few seconds to process everything Giveon just said to him. Then something clicked.
“If he got distracted by just one man, then the man has to mean something to him,“
“Yes, he's a Carianno,“ Giveon replied. “Sergio 'Viper' Carianno. The underboss of the Carianno family and a jerk. I looked him up,“
The name rang a bell and Ryder pulled out a drawer, rummaging through his files.
“Hold on a sec,“ Ryder pulled out a file and skimmed through it. It was the compiled list of all the Mafia families in Italy and the possible family Jason might belong to.
He'd spent more than four years on this research. That's how obsessed he was about bringing Jason home. There were over ten Mafia families in Italy. He went through it all.
“Carianno…“ He muttered as he saw it on the list. He checked under it and saw the name he was looking for.
“Sergio Carianno, got it,“ Ryder gave a lopsided smile. “I guess this solves the puzzle,“
“What puzzle?“
“Jason is in the Carianno family. No wonder he got vicious and out of control,“ Ryder was a bit torn at that realization.
Jason did have his mind darkened by the rogue blood, but it wasn't the only reason he became a monster. The Carianno family is made up of monsters.
Facts have it that they are the deadliest in Italy and come third place in the worldwide Mafia hierarchy. As much as they seem public, it was fucking hard to know where they were and what they were up to.
Ryder dedicated years to digging up solid facts about them and all he got were their names. Nothing else.
“Ryder,“ Giveon snapped, jolting him from his thoughts.
“Sorry, you were saying?“
“What do I do now?“
"Try to find out where the Cariannos are keeping Ciara and what they need her for. Although, I'm sure she must have done something dirty,“
“Or this whole thing was just a mistake and she was wrongly captured?“
“Yeah, that could be the case if we were talking about some innocent girl from the slums. But this is Ciara Macdonald, our nemesis. I hate to be this man, but she hasn't exactly been a good girl all her life,“
Ryder was back to reeling with anger. There was no way he could give her the benefit of a doubt. She didn't deserve it. Not after everything she's done.
Goddess helps him when he finally sets his eyes on her. He might just snap her neck and have her body thrown to the dogs.
“And Jason?“ Giveon asked. “What do I do if I see him again?“
“Try not to kill him, no matter how hard it gets. Try not to get killed either, I still need your ass down here,“
“Got it.“ And the line went dead.
Ryder tossed the phone on the table and carefully went through the little information he had on the Carianno family. The made men. The associates. The capos. They were all Italians. Jason was the only American there.
But that wasn't what was bothering him at the moment. Just to be sure, he went through the list again. Something wasn't right.
If Jason was a part of the Carianno family, then why wasn't his name on the official list of the Carianno members?
Why did they leave him out? What are they playing at?