I sighed. “I hate you.”
“I know.” She winked.
I grinned and then sighed. “Let me take care of it.”
“Your boner?”
Another sigh. “No Serena, I mean today with your dad, let me take care of it, this is on me.”
Her gaze softened. “We all let it happen.”
“I know, but this is on me, I just, I can’t let my blood—” I clamped my lips shut.
She frowned. “Your blood what?”
“You know,” I whispered.
She looked over her shoulder like there was a camera or something and then lowered her voice. “Don’t.”
It was the first time I saw fear in her eyes.
She was afraid of what would happen if I brought it up.
And I knew there was no choice but to bring it up.
“We should go.” I ignored the pleading look in her eyes.
And when she shoved me in the back, I welcomed the pain of nearly falling into the closed door.
She wanted to pick a fight. Fighting made her feel better. I knew her too well.
“Junior!” She hissed my name, then grabbed my elbow and turned me around, her eyes pleading. “Promise me.”
I sighed and then leaned over and kissed her on the forehead, then whispered, “No.”
She cussed me out the entire way down the hall. Hell, I was surprised she didn’t try restraining me and cutting off my blood circulation so I couldn’t confess.
The bosses, all except the one that would protect me, my father, were all standing in the kitchen.
Intimidating, but in a way that made me so angry I wanted to fight, because how dare they ask us to fix something, how dare they ask and ask and ask and then get mad when we do what’s best to protect the Family?
Rage filled my veins.
It pulsed in my ears as my blood roared to life.
And it must have shown because Nixon took a step back and then shared a look with the Capo.
Uncle Tex smirked. “Finally grow a hair on your tiny dick, or are you just gonna throw a tantrum?”
I didn’t answer. I lunged and punched, landing one across his jaw.
He went sailing to the ground, probably because he didn’t expect me to hit him. Immediately Nixon and Chase restrained me while Tex got back on his feet.
Blood spurted from Tex’s lip, and then he threw his head back and laughed. “Ah shit, I wish your dad was here to see you now. Hey, anyone get a video of that?”
Seriously?
My chest heaved.
“No?” Tex asked the room and then approached me. We were both tall, but he still had more muscle than me despite the fact that I punished my body for hours on a daily basis in the gym. “Well that’s unfortunate, maybe we should just FaceTime?”
Chase held me tight against him while Nixon’s hands dug into my biceps muscle. Great, was he going to just rip the muscle from my body? Was that a thing?
Ash, Breaker, Izzy, and Claire were a few feet away, most likely waiting for me to say something.
And Serena.
She was behind me.
I could feel the shock in her system as nobody said anything.
“Speak.” Tex shrugged and leaned against the kitchen counter. “Because there better be a good reason that we just enrolled twelve suspected De Lange orphans into Eagle Elite.”
I shrugged away from Chase and Nixon and stood my ground. “You guys did this, not us.”
Tex’s eyes widened as he shared a look with all the bosses. Andrei was in the corner watching me with amusement, and the rest of the bosses sat around the table like they were waiting for my execution. Dante Alfero was the only one who seemed tense like he wanted to be anywhere but here. Then again, he was young like Andrei, in his late thirties and was one of the guys that offered to burn down Eagle Elite when he went there.
If anyone understood why I did what I did, it would be Andrei and Dante, but they remained silent.
And my dad wasn’t here, so I explained the best way I could by repeating myself. “You guys did this; you guys had the hit on the De Lange Family. I hate to break it to you, but as parents, you’re full of shit. You teach us to honor blood, that blood’s everything, and yet, you’re asking me, a twenty-one-year-old college student to go around and murder innocent people just because you’re afraid of what could happen if I don’t.”
“Can I kill him now?” Chase asked in a calm voice.
I rolled my eyes. “You know I’m right. The fact that they were next door scared everyone shitless, so you wanted them executed, but instead, I invited them into the only place where we can watch them. If they make any bad moves, I’ll be the first to pull the trigger, but until then, I’m doing what you guys didn’t. I’m doing what you’ve taught us since we could walk. I’m protecting my blood.” A hush went over the room. “De Lange blood.”
Tex squeezed his eyes shut, then opened them. “You realize that we cut the De Lange Family from the Cosa Nostra. They ceased to exist.”
I smirked. “And yet they fucking do. He’s married to one.” I jerked my chin toward Chase on my right. “You guys make justifications if it’s something you want, but when it comes to kids that grew up with no parents because this guy fucking killed them all?” Again, I pointed to Chase.
He flipped me off.
Whatever, I was used to it. For a senator, he looked anything but calm and reserved. Nope, he looked like he was seconds away from ripping my head from my body.
Fantastic. “We have the chance to start over, that’s all I’m saying. Don’t ask us to repeat you’re own shitty history. You asked us to step up as the new Elect at Eagle Elite, so let us fucking do our jobs and stop questioning us when it doesn’t go the way you planned it. We’re adults now. We’re made men.” I sighed. “And women. So trust us, and leave us the hell alone.”
Tex was silent for a few minutes, and then he smirked. “You get that, Nixon?”
“I think Phoenix shed a tear.” Nixon grinned.
I turned and saw that Nixon had his phone pointed at me and that my dad was watching me with so much pride; I wanted to collapse to the floor and puke.
“This—” My dad nodded his head. “—is why we’ve been so hard on you. And you’re right. You’re ready. Forgive us for—how did you put it? Making you pay for our shitty sins.” He grinned. “And, son…”
“Yeah?” I croaked.
“I’ve never been more proud of you.” He smiled—a genuine smile, which was rare—and my mom blew me a kiss with tears in her eyes.
“So.” Breaker cleared his throat. “Does this mean my dad doesn’t get to kill you during breakfast?”
Tex sighed and then gave Breaker a little shove. “No killing in front of the bacon.”
“Thank God because I’ve been sneaking pieces during that entire speech, so hungry.” Breaker stole another piece only to get it smacked out of his hand by Tex.
I relaxed a bit, and then I realized that I couldn’t relax.
Because this meant that I’d just stood up to the most powerful bosses in history without getting my head chopped off.
And on top of that, my dad said he’d been proud.
Which meant me and Serena would never happen, couldn’t because I’d finally been given what I’d wanted my entire life.
Freedom and acceptance to do things my way.
And loving her would take that from me.
Nixon held up his phone to his ear. “You did well raising him, Phoenix, despite all odds…” He looked up at me. “Yeah, he’s been great other than sparring with Serena at midnight and catching her chin.” He barked out a laugh. “Yeah, well, she should have blocked him better.”
Weird. Our life was so weird.
They hung up, and then Nixon put both of his hands on my shoulders and stared me down with his icy blue eyes. “You did good, son. Keep your enemies close, and you did just that while saving lives.” I frowned as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a ring. “Each bos
s has an underboss in the organization, a second in command. Chase is mine, though he’s horrible at it now that he golfs with the president—”
“He says hi, by the way.” Chase laughed and moved away from us.
Nixon kept talking. “It’s yours now.” He placed the heavy ring in my hand, it had the Nicolasi crest, and I knew what it meant, why it felt so heavy—because it was.
Nixon Abandonato, dad to the girl I was in love with but had to hate, had just crowned me king.
Chapter Twenty-One
Serena
Nothing crazy happened during classes. In fact, it seemed like the new De Lange kids were shyer than middle schoolers on their first day. When they did see us, they gave us a wide berth.
Tank had texted that he wanted to bring me coffee, and even though I wanted to tell him no because I knew I was leading him on, I said yes.
Which was how Junior found us an hour later, Tank asking me about what I wanted to do with my life and me fighting boredom as I lied about wanting to be a teacher. My life was already determined, and if Tank knew how ruthless I could be, he’d probably shit his pants.
“That’s cool.” Tank took a sip of his coffee. “I’ve kind of always wanted to go into law enforcement.”
I choked on my next sip. “You’re kidding, right?”
“No.” His grin was the perfect mix of sexy and cute. Too bad I liked lethal and off-limits. “It’s just an interest; a family friend used to work for the FBI before he retired.”
“Good thing we have the FBI on lockdown then,” I muttered, semi-joking, but not really because we actually did.
They loved us because our crime was organized and it kept money in the United States so really, they had no complaints.
Tank smiled again and shook his head. “Yeah, good thing.”
“Is this the part where you tell me you’re actually an undercover agent who’s thirty but just looks young?” I wondered out loud, causing him to laugh so hard we had people staring.
Junior made his way over.
And suddenly, Tank stopped laughing and tensed up like he was getting ready for a fight when Junior had been nothing but nice to him, treating him like a friend.
Weird.
“Hey guys,” Junior took a seat on the picnic table across from us. “Serena, I’m headed home. I know you rode with Ash, but—”
“Ash had to do something for Chase,” Tank piped up. “So, Annie and Claire took the car to go shopping or something. I think they mentioned a dress to match the boots.”
I froze. “When did they leave?”
He frowned. “I don’t know an hour or so ago?”
Panic hit me square in the chest. I wasn’t even sure why something felt wrong; it just did. I mean Claire was with Annie of all people, it wasn’t like Annie was going to suddenly pull a knife out of her cardigan.
I shot a look at Junior, who was already on his phone.
There are moments in life that take you by surprise. I’d like to think that I was the type of person that was so weathered down by what my family did that I didn’t really shock easy.
But seeing the phone fall from Junior’s hand, watching his face visibly pale as he fell to his knees and shouted was enough to traumatize me for life.
“Junior?” I shot to my feet. “Junior, talk to me, what’s wrong? What happened?”
I would remember this moment the rest of my life, I knew it, I knew it in my blood, in the way he shook his head like he couldn’t believe it.
We were mafia; nothing shocked us.
But I knew this would.
And I prayed it wasn’t any of our parents; I prayed that something awful hadn’t happened to them.
I grabbed Junior by the shoulders and shook him. “Junior, talk, now!”
He swallowed and looked up at me. “It’s Claire.”
“Claire?” I hated how relieved I felt. “What happened to Claire?”
“The brakes had been cut.” He slowly stood and ran his hand through his hair. “It was a hit meant for Ash, but he let her borrow his car…” His eyes flashed with anger. “She’s in the hospital—they don’t think she’s going to make it.”
“No.” I shook my head. “No, that’s not true. She’s strong; she wouldn’t, she can’t—”
Junior pulled me against his chest while I tried to process what he’d just said. Tank cursed behind us. “Was Annie with her?”
Junior let out a heavy sigh. “Yeah, she was in the passenger seat, Claire spun the car so that the impact hit the driver’s side… she saved Annie’s life.”
We got in Tank’s car after realizing that not only had someone tampered with Ash’s brakes, but they had tampered with Junior’s as well.
Claire getting in her accident, didn’t just save Annie’s life, but ours.
Tears filled my eyes as Tank drove his truck to Mercy West in downtown Chicago. Already there were reporters outside the ER along with enough men in suits to make the place look like it was ready to host a political campaign for Uncle Chase.
The minute we pulled up, Ax, one of Andrei’s men, came over, grabbed Tank’s keys, and said, “Get inside.”
We didn’t need to be told twice.
Breaker was sitting with Izzy and Violet while the bosses were all pacing the floor, most of them on the phone, most of them yelling—and then there was Ash, in the corner, sitting by himself, staring at his hands like they held her blood.
Junior and I made our way over to him at breakneck speed.
He didn’t even look up; he just stared at his hands.
“Ash,” I reached out to touch his shoulder, he flinched and jerked away.
Shit.
Junior sat down next to him. “How is she?”
Ash sighed and then looked up. His eyes were bloodshot like he’d been crying. Then again, he loved her; he’d loved her faithfully, had done anything he could to protect her. He knew she had Petrov blood in her, knew that she would need the protection of his name, and lucky for us, he fell for her even though it would eventually be revealed that he had been set up.
Not that he needed to know that detail, that Nikolai Blazik had basically made it so that Ash was obsessed with Claire the minute he saw her at her high school graduation.
It was a secret my dad made me promise to take to my grave, the fact that Ash never really had a chance to choose who he loved.
It was chosen for him.
I never thought it would end up like this, though.
He took another breath and leaned back, pinching the bridge of his nose with his fingertips. “She’s in a coma.”
I breathed a sigh of hope. “Medically induced?”
He swallowed slowly and rasped out. “No.”
I reached for Ash’s hand and held on tight. “Is she in surgery?”
“It wouldn’t matter.” Ash’s voice broke. “There’s too much damage, even if she did wake up—they did everything they could. We’re just waiting for Nikolai to get here.”
I was almost afraid to ask. “Why are we waiting for Nikolai?”
His eyes met mine; I’d never seen so much pain in another human being in my life. “So he can say goodbye.”
“But—” My eyes filled with tears, I wanted to yell at Ash, to lash out and tell him he had to fight for her! That he loved her, and that’s what you did when you loved someone! You fucking fought!
I couldn’t find my voice.
I couldn’t breathe.
There had to be something someone could do. We were untouchable, right? The great Cosa Nostra?
I pushed my hand against my chest as a sharp pain sliced through me like I was getting chopped in half.
For once, Junior pulled me against him while I tried to swallow the knot of emotion in my throat. Claire had been part of us.
And I’d put a tracker on her.
I’d doubted her.
And now I was never going to be able to tell her sorry.
Ever.
I clawed at Junior’s shirt only to
realize that I was trying to get skin, to touch his skin because if he was warm, breathing, I knew he was still there.
I knew we were still holding each other.
Because had Claire not gotten in that car, it could have been any one of us, it could have been Junior in that hospital bed.
It could have been me.
Pain, like I’d never known, slammed into me as I realized I would do anything, anything on this earth to keep Junior safe even if it meant keeping him safe from my love.
Because he was it for me.
I loved him so hard that it turned into hate so lethal I was sick with it. Because if I couldn’t have his love, I wanted something equally as strong. His hate would be all I had.
But for the first time since our fight over a year ago.
I wanted to risk everything for more.
He held me tight against his chest.
I opened my eyes and stopped breathing when my dad eyed Junior and then me with curiosity—at least that’s what I thought it was until I saw his clenched fists.
Why did he hate him so much when he trusted Phoenix with his life?
It made no sense.
For now, I ignored the questions and held Junior close; I breathed in his cologne, and I pressed my face against his chest and told me myself that I was already close enough to his body when my heart screamed more.
Time went by.
I wasn’t sure how much. What I did know was that I felt like I was outside my body when a hush fell over the room, and Nikolai Blazik, made man, one of the most famous doctors in the world, entered the ER with tears in his eyes and walked toward us.
The crowded room shifted.
Every single suited-up man bowed his head while the bosses parted, giving him the respect he deserved, each making the sign of a cross over their chests.
Nikolai didn’t stop until he was in front of a stoic Ash.
He went to his knees and grabbed Ash by the hands, then kissed each one and whispered, “Her blood is not on these hands.”
Ash shook his head. “I should have been there.”
“Had you been there, you’d be dead,” Nikolai said in a harsh voice. “And the Abandonatos need more than one heir.” He sighed. “Her parents just landed at the airport. They’ll want to see her, but to make things easier on them, I came first.”
Ruthless Princess Page 16
