Aslan was… disgusted.
"What the fuck?" he drawled, stepping away from Lennox, his heart racing, his insides turning.
Lennox was laughing. Even though Aslan had headbutted him with his gun and the spot was bleeding, the madman was still laughing.
Oh, Kade hasn't had this much fun in a month. His temple was throbbing with pain, a headache was beginning to form, but still, he couldn't stop laughing. The horror on his face, the way his breath had quickened, it was all worth the pain he was going to suffer later.
Aslan was disgusted by Lennox and disgusted with himself.
For years he had felt like something was wrong with him. All his life, he had felt incomplete. He thinks he finally knows what has been wrong with him.
He couldn't help but remember that terrible night fifteen years ago when his father had made him sleep with a woman. His father had hired a prostitute that night.
He wanted his heir to become a 'man.' The woman has kissed him, messaged him, sucked him, and did everything she could to make him hard, but his dick hasn't even raised even a little.
He would always remember what she had said when he began to panic.
"It's okay, boo. If we were all the same, the world would be a very dull place."
He didn't understand what she meant then.
She had left, telling his father that his son did well and she would feel him for days. He remembered trying to keep his chin up as his father patted him on the head. That was the first time his father had ever looked proud of him.
He still didn't understand what was wrong with him. But he avoided women like a plunge, never got hard even when they stood naked in front of him. He had made a show of bringing women home just to avoid his father's questions, but he never touched them. He only paid them a heavy amount of money and they left the next day, their lips sealed.
He thinks he finally understands what is wrong with him. And that filled him with disgust.
He came here to bring back his father's killer, but he learned a truth about himself he wished had stayed hidden.
"Oh, Lord," Lennox chuckled, wiping a tear off his eye. "As much as I would love to stay here all night and explore more ways I can make you snap, we have a war to fight, pretty boy."
Aslan didn't even have the strength to be offended by being called a pretty boy. "Tell me what this war is about."
Lennox straightened, the amusement vanishing, and regarded Aslan with a serious expression.
Aslan hated to admit, but his duality was staggering.
"Mafia dons all over Turkey are at war with each other," Lennox informed him, his back straight as if he were a soldier addressing his superior. "What may have started this war, you might ask? The answer is quite simple. Why do men fight each other? It's either for three things; power, money, or…"
"Women," Aslan completed for him, nodding to himself.
"He's got brains," Lennox said with a serious look and Aslan just stared blankly at him. "Emir Kaya, the don of Turkey's capital city, slept with Selim Demer, the don of Konya's mistress, and he made sure everyone knew. Selim was furious, not because he gave two shits about the woman but because his pride was hurt. And so instead of also fucking someone important to Emir and calling it a day, he killed Emir's daughter."
Aslan's eyes widened and Lonnex nodded at his reaction. "That has to be the most stupid thing a don has ever done. A war between the two cartels broke out and Emir killed Selim. And so it seems all the dons suddenly had an awakening; they began killing each other. I honestly to God don't know if they want to kill each other until one was standing and that one person was going to rule Turkey's underworld. That was stupid, delusional, unreasonable."
"My father was killed as a result of the war," Aslan said absentmindedly, leaning against the wall.
"He's catching up," Lonnex muttered.
"And I'm next."
"Applause yourself, pretty boy."
Aslan let the weight settle over him.
His father had been killed because of a war that started over something as pathetic as a bruised ego, and now he was next in line for the same fate. He had always known the world he was born into was ruthless, but this? This was pure stupidity masquerading as strategy.
He ran a hand down his face, forcing himself to think, to shift past the shock. "So who do I have to kill to end this?"
Lennox gave a sharp, amused laugh. "Oh, pretty boy. That's adorable." He stepped closer, lowering his voice like he was sharing a secret. Aslan stiffened at his closeness but he forced his face to remain blank. "You don't end this by killing one man. This isn't a story where you cut off the snake's head and the war dies with it. This? This is rot. It's infected the bones of Turkey's underworld. The moment you take out one don, another steps in, hungrier, more vicious. There's no peace in his game. No ending."
Aslan clenched his jaw. "Then what the fuck am I supposed to do?"
Lennox shrugged, infuriatingly causal. "Get stronger. Get smarter. Or die."
For a long moment, none of them spoke. The rain outside had slowed to a dull patter, the sound filling the silence between them, Lonnex's headlights still offering them light.
"Who's leading now?" Aslan finally asked.
Lennox had been cleaning the blood out of his temple but paused, looking back at Aslan. "The war?" He tilted his head as if in thought. "There's no single leader, but there are few names you should be losing sleep over. Emir Kaya, obviously. Selim's death made him untouchable, and he's acting like he owns Turkey now. Then there's Taylan Yïdïz—he's young, just like you, unpredictable, dangerous, and doesn't give a shit about tradition. He just wants blood. And finally, there's Efe Arslan." Lennox's expression darkened. "The one you should be most worried about."
Aslan narrowed his eyes. "Why?"
Lennox's lips curled into something that wasn't quite a smile. "Because, unlike the others, he doesn't want power or revenge. He doesn't care who dies, as long as there's fire and blood. He's a madman." Lennox paused, looking at Aslan intensely. "He had a personal beef with your father. He's the one you're looking for."