Being denied is new for me, and I’m not heartless when it comes to what she’s going through. But I’m done waiting. It’s time she knows I’m as serious as I’ve ever been.
Rubbing the nerves sizzling at the back of my neck, I look up at my brother. The guy is still hovering over me like the protector he is. Swear it pumps hot through all our blood. The man taught me the meaning of the word. Both my brothers taught me many things, and in return, I paid them back by killing the man they saved me from.
His name was Angelo. A pedophile, my mind wouldn’t let me forget. One night when I was barely old enough to wipe my ass, he’d kicked me hard in the side, waking me in a startle and pain. I lost my breath and laid there, clutching my stomach, begging for air.
I’d been sleeping on the floor outside my mom’s bedroom door, waiting for her to come home. The bitch laughed, told me to get to my room, or she’d slap me stupider than what I was.
Feeling sorry for myself, I drug myself to my room, curled up in bed, only to jerk awake hearing Lane screaming for our mom. She wasn’t going to help from whatever woke him. Not when she was in her room getting higher than a kite. I’d save my brother if needed it.
About shocked the shit out of me when I pushed open his door and caught Lane nailing Angelo in the balls. What I saw and heard coming from the perverted pig after he dropped to his knees stuck with me. He threatened to kill us all if Lane wouldn’t play nice.
Meaning, he wanted my brother to bend over.
I remembered Angelo’s face and his last name, and when I told Gabe about it. We tracked him down, snuck into his house, and I murdered the sick fuck. I killed him for undoubtedly all the other young kids he’d tried and likely succeeded in raping.
The world is a better place without the sick man, and it was gratifying to know he wouldn’t be touching a kid again.
I left him on the floor to rot right where he belonged, soaked in his blood and piss and shit-stained boxers. That’s something I’ve never shared with Lane and Logan. Not sure why. Guess it doesn’t matter. The sick prick is rotting in hell.
“You know I will, Logan.” I won’t, and he knows it. I can’t have him or anyone in our family near New York. Even though he and Lane want to be there, paying back Aidan and Roan for helping when Luca went missing. This is different. This is the worst kind of danger.
Whoever killed Victoria’s family obviously doesn’t give a flying fuck who they kill. That’s heartbreaking enough. Add my blood in, and I might as well put a gun to my head and pull the trigger.
Besides, I’ll have my hands full with Victoria and the new job I’ve taken on. I’ve been training for almost a year for it. The last thing I need is to be concerned about my family.
At first, Lane and Logan thought I’d lost my goddamn mind when I told them I accepted Roan and Aidan’s position as an enforcer. The jack of all trades. The man to crack heads together, break bones, kill if their crime against the Empire calls for it, and do whatever else Roan needs to be done.
The dirty work.
I then let loose a truth I’d been holding in. For quite a while, I’ve felt like crawling out of my skin. Too much sitting behind a desk doing a job that bored the fuck out of me. I wanted a fresh start. To leave behind the memories of parties and alcohol and stop wasting my life. They told me to do what I had to do.
Of course, this was all before Victoria and me. Not sure how she’ll take the news, or even if she knows I’m moving to New York. Guess I’ll soon find out.
“Yeah, well, I want the best in life for you as well as Victoria. Just watch your back.”
There’s a warning in his tone. Stating he’ll be on a plane in a hot minute if I need him. I’ll kick his ass if he shows his face. A face much like mine and Lane’s that sometimes I do a double-take in the mirror.
People still comment on how much we all resemble one another. Luca and Braxton are looking like they’ll grow up to be the same.
“Always.” I’m not invincible, and I sure as fuck don’t have eyes in the back of my head, but I’ve always had a steady hand and a sharp mind when I wasn’t drunk on my ass. I was and still am a relentless motherfucker who isn’t afraid to turn a man’s face into blood and bone beneath my pounding fists.
“You got this. Proud of you,” Logan says, placing a hand on my shoulder, giving it a gentle brotherly squeeze.
“I’m not too proud right now. Need to deal with Lexi.” The other female in my life. The one that has me wrung so tight at the moment. I’m struggling to breathe.
“Know that, but if you don’t wipe the troubled look off your face, Lexi will know something’s wrong. In a few days, a week tops, she’ll forget who you are. No big deal.” He shrugs like the asshole he is doing his best to get me to bust out laughing with his dig.
Too bad I’m not in the mood for hysterics. Not until I get the part gutting me done and over.
“Fucking funny, dick. Take my coat and get the hell off my jet.” I smirk, lift a brow, and toss him my jacket.
Logan exhales, knowing the time has come for me to get moving. I’d already said goodbye to him, Lane, and the rest of the family, fucking around is only stalling the
