Princess: Ridgeview Prep Book 2

by Quinn, Londyn

  Xander

  “You’re a fucking lunatic!” I scream. “Why the hell did you do that?”

  Rossi smirks at me and sidesteps Lorenzo’s bloody body, which is now sprawled in front of the one exit I can see. “Because he served his purpose. Lorenzo screwed himself when he decided to play both sides of the fence. He didn’t think we’d find out, stupid fuck that he was. He took our money and our offers but then spit in our faces when he ran back to you and your family, the people whose loyalty he violated.” Rossi shakes his head and paces in front of me as I try with every ounce of strength in me to pull the restraints loose. “See, that’s the thing about shitting where you eat. It always gets fucking messy, Xander.” He leans in close enough so that I can smell the nicotine on his breath. “But you know all about that, don’t you? You got involved with things you didn’t understand, things that were none of your damn business. And you pulled your little girlfriend right into the shit show next to you. How did you think this was gonna go down, huh? Did you really think you could screw with our plans and not even realize you were fucking with more than your girlfriend’s golden pussy?”

  “Where is she?” I bellow. Christ, I want to pummel the shit out of this douchebag, but I’m powerless to make a move.

  And that’s not a good thing, considering that all signs point to me lying right next to Renzi in the same bloody puddle.

  “Rossi!” A booming voice echoes in the still air, and I blink fast.

  Wait...I know that voice!

  “Phoenix!” I scream. “I’m in here!”

  Rossi’s face twists into a grimace and he whacks me in the head with his gun.

  Again.

  A searing pain shoots down the edge of my jaw, my brain scrambled by the sudden force. I swear to God, when I get out of this fucking chair, I’m going to take that gun of his and shove it up his fat ass!

  “They have me zip-tied to a fucking chair!” I shout.

  Loud thumping noises follow, almost like a herd of elephants stampeding the place. I let out a breath when my father and brothers crash through the door and jump over Lorenzo’s body, guns in their outstretched hands.

  It’s over. Jesus, it’s finally over.

  Except...what exactly is over?

  “What the hell is going on?” I mutter. “How did you know I was even here?”

  “Lorenzo called,” Phoenix says in a low voice, nodding his head toward the body. “I guess he wasn’t of use anymore to you sick fucks, was he?” He storms over to Rossi and holds up the knife to his throat.

  “Fuck the threats,” Jase grunts, hurling his body at Rossi and ignoring the gun in his hand. He grabs both sides of his jacket, slamming his head back against a heavy wooden coffee table before stepping on his neck with one foot and on his gun-clenched hand with the other steel-tipped boot. “Let it go,” he hisses. “Or the spike in the bottom of my shoe is gonna shoot through your wrist and puncture the vein, making you bleed out in fucking seconds.”

  “Subtle,” Phoenix grumbles, using his knife to slice through the zip ties holding my wrists and ankles together. When I’m finally free, I leap out of the chair, raking a hand through my hair. “Where’s Charlotte?” I stomp over to Rossi and kick him in the side of the temple. “How do you like that, dick? Doesn’t exactly tickle, does it?”

  Jase and Phoenix exchange a look. “Where the hell is Charlotte? And where’s Dad? They were right behind us with—”

  A shrill yelp pierces the air right outside of the room. I jump at a familiar clicking sound and spin around to see Charlotte’s tear-streaked face as she walks into this dungeon followed by Cammy and Charles Hawthorne...the sack of shit who is holding a gun to my dad’s back.

  “You dirty fucking bastard,” I seethe, clenching my fists as he shoves my father into a chair.

  “Sit tight,” Charles says to my dad. He waves Cammy and Charlotte inside. “Shut the door,” he growls and Cammy’s eyes widen as she huddles into a corner. Her arm wrapped around a quivering Charlotte.

  Charles looks at me with a menacing smile. “I did tell you I’d fix this, didn’t I? I told you I’d find out who is behind the terror assault on my family.” He grabs my father around the throat and squeezes. My father sputters as he claws Charles’s hand off of him to no avail.

  “Get the fuck off of him!” I yell.

  “Tell your brother to step off of Rossi or I will squeeze the ever-loving shit out of the old man’s throat. I will crush his goddamn windpipe!” Charles looks around at us with a maniacal glint in his eyes. “You aren’t the ones in control here, do you get that? You can’t stop us and what we’re about to do!”

  Phoenix nudges Jase and kicks his foot off of Rossi’s arm. Rossi rolls onto his side and jumps up, his gun now pointed at my brother.

  We are so fucked right now and I still don’t know why, dammit!

  “It’s too bad your family didn’t listen to you, Xander. You were so close, but you didn’t realize it. And if your father and brothers had a shred of intelligence between them, they’d have connected the dots.” He leans close to my father’s purple face. “But you didn’t, did you, Marco? Xander raised the red flags, but you and your dipshit spawn ignored them. Not that I lost a second of sleep over it,” he says with a snicker. “Even with Lorenzo double dealing, you guys still couldn't get out of your own way.”

  Charles lets go of my father and he coughs and chokes as he takes large gulps of air, one hand clutching his red throat. The gun barrel doesn’t move from my father, though.

  Neither does Charles. He stays on him like flies on shit.

  Just one more thing about this situation that stinks in the worst way possible.

  “And once Lorenzo gave you Montrose’s name, I knew I had you where I wanted you. I was hoping you’d take the bait, Xander, and you didn’t disappoint. You ran straight to my daughter because you knew she was in danger and lost sight of everything else, just as I knew you would. You had all of the answers right under your nose, but because you were so blinded by lust, you missed them all. You chose Charlotte over your family. I’ve had to make choices like that, too,” he muses, tapping the gun on the side of his pinched face.

  “Dad, what are you talking about?” Charlotte’s voice quivers.

  Sharp breaths slice away at my lungs, and dragging in oxygen hurts like a bitch.

  “You cleared the path for us to take exactly what we wanted. I knew I could count on you, Xander. I knew you’d play right into our game. And now, tonight, the whole reason why we’re celebrating is because of you. Bringing you here, making sure the rest of your useless family found their way here...it was a slam dunk. There was no way we’d lose.”

  “You sonofabitch!” my father shouts.

  “Are you finally getting it, Marco? Your family has been playing it safe ever since you took over this territory. You’ve made me lose hundreds of millions of dollars because you’re too much of a pussy to take any risks. You make your money and you don’t give a shit who you step on to do it,” Charles snarls. “So I brought in a partner, someone who has the balls, the fucking muscle, and the reach we need to grow and expand our enterprise. With my money and your old friend Moretti’s connections, we’re about to take everything. Because you fucking slept through every opportunity to work with us! And if you’re not with us, you’re done.”

  “Jesus Christ,” I mutter. He was fucking us all along! And I actually bought his bullshit! I launch my fist, my target his smug-ass grin.

  “Do it and I shoot the old man,” Charles hisses before smashing the barrel into my father’s cheek.

  “Daddy! Stop!” Charlotte screeches.

  My father groans, his shoulders sagging in the chair. My eyes dart over to Jase and Phoenix, silently willing either of them to mentally supply me with a plan for how we’re gonna survive this shit show.

  There are two guns too many pointed at the people I love, and it’s gonna take more than hope and a prayer to get out of this one.

  “What do y
ou want out of this, Charles?” my father mutters, wincing as a trickle of blood runs down the side of his face.

  “I want your empire,” he replies. “I’m going to do all the things with it that you were too much of a pussy to tackle.”

  “So, what, you’re just gonna kill me and my sons? You think that’ll give you free reign to take over?”

  “I don’t really need to kill anyone,” Charles says with a nasty smirk on his face. “Your crew has had it with you. They want a new leader, one who’s not going to screw them over, one who’s going to make them rich. Look at Lorenzo. It wasn’t hard to get him to sell you out. Just dangle a little cash in front of the greedy fuckers and they’ll gladly bend over.”

  “And if they need a little extra convincing, they can talk to me.”

  I twist around toward the intruding voice. I didn’t even hear the doorknob twist open. I’ve never seen the man before, but the hairs on my arms stand at attention the second his voice pierces the air.

  I know him.

  Moretti.

  He’s short and heavy with eyes like black marbles. Thick, dark eyebrows furrow as he walks toward me. “Xander Iazetti.”

  I swallow past the lump in my throat. I can fucking take him. Let him try to make a move on me!

  “The rising star,” he continues, lifting an eyebrow at my father. “But you never gave him a chance to spread his wings, did you, Marco? You gave the keys to the kingdom to Jase instead. If you’d have taken a chance on the one son who actually has a brain in his head, you might not be sitting in that chair right now.” He snickers. “Ironic, but good for us.”

  Charles snickers. “Very good.”

  Moretti looks at Charles and gives him a quick nod. “You’ve all played the game well. Now it’s time to announce the winner.”

  I look at Charlotte hugging her mother tight, and I grit my teeth.

  It never occurred to me that the one I’d have to protect her from was her maniacal father.

  The door creaks open again, and Carl Montrose barrels in, holding up two highball glasses of something amber-colored. He takes a sip from one and winks at Charles. “It’s time to make the announcement.” He shoots the liquid from both and slams the glasses down on a heavy wooden credenza.

  “Jesus Christ,” Charles mutters. “Is it always about you, Carl? You and your good fucking time? Haven’t you done enough to derail our plans? It’s bad enough you can’t keep your dick in your pants and you put the whole operation at risk when you showed up in that club! You and your dipshit son have done enough to fuck up this operation!”

  The pounding between my temples is so loud, I almost miss his caustic words. My eyes flicker over to Phoenix and I follow his gaze to the knife still peeking out of his shirt cuff. His gaze urges me to be patient for a second longer, but I don’t know how many seconds we have left.

  And judging from the tone of Charles’s voice, I don’t think Carl has many left, either.

  Carl’s face relaxes into a smile. “My dipshit son and I did exactly what we were instructed to do.”

  Charles opens his mouth to no doubt spew a vicious remark until a brief flicker of confusion masks his otherwise angry expression and stops the words before they tumble from his lips. “What the hell are you talking about?” The gun in his hand falters slightly and my eyes widen at Phoenix.

  “You know,” Moretti says. “There’s one thing that means more to me than anything else, Charles. Do you know what that is?”

  “Money?” Charles growls.

  Moretti walks toward him, shaking his head. “No. Family.” He looks past Charles at Cammy and Charlotte huddled in the corner. “A long time ago, I thought you’d be the perfect partner. You had money, balls, and connections. You were a guy who could get shit done.” He shakes his head. “But then you made a sacrifice of the worst kind. Your own flesh and blood. You killed him because you chose what you love most — money.”

  “What is he talking about?” Cammy screeches, running over to Charles and clawing at his arm. “What does this have to do with Andrew?”

  “It was you!” Charlotte shouts from the corner. “You killed Andrew! And then you tried to kill me!” Before I can reach out a hand to grab her, she takes off at full speed, launching herself at Rossi, digging her long fingernails into his neck. He stumbles backward, off-guard and off-balance, his foot catching on a tattered corner of an area rug. He collapses on the floor in a heap, the gun clattering to the hardwood floor a few inches away.

  Rossi struggles against her, but she pounds her fists against his massive body, slicing away at his scar and scratching every other exposed inch of skin. “You bastard! You did this!”

  “Enough!” Moretti frowns at Charles. “I knew then that you wouldn’t win the game. It was a test, and you failed. I knew where your loyalties lay when you made that choice and had your wife’s appointment mysteriously run late.”

  Carl pulls a panting Charlotte off of Rossi and pushes her against Phoenix.

  “No, no, no,” Cammy whimpers, covering her face. “Please tell me it’s not true! My baby!” She looks at Charles, a murderous glare in her eyes. “You did this to us! You made me believe it was my fault and you took away my baby! You killed our son!” She grabs for the gun in his hand and he shoves her into a wall. A framed painting shudders against the force, glass shattering as it hits the ground.

  “I did what I had to do,” Charles growls. “To keep what we owned! To protect what I built!”

  “That’s all you care about!” Cammy shrieks. “Your fucking money! Your status! Your goddamn toys!”

  He shoves the gun between her eyes. “Yeah, and you’re just one more liability,” he seethes. “It should have been you! You should be the one lying in the goddamn ground!” His face turns bright red, his jaw twitching. “No more stupid mistakes!”

  Bang! Crack!

  “Ahh!” Charles falls into a nearby table, blood gushing from the side of his leg. Just enough of a distraction to get him away from Cammy.

  “It’s like they said, Charles,” I say through clenched teeth, walking toward him with Rossi’s gun in my outstretched hand. “You failed! You fucking lost!” I squeeze the trigger, the bullet slicing through his other leg. Screams ripple through the air and I’ve never heard such a happy fucking sound. I walk over to Cammy and without a word, I place the gun next to the spot on the floor where her body quakes with sobs. She looks up at me, her blue eyes red and puffy, her cheeks covered with black-streaked tears.

  I walk over to my father and help him struggle to get out of the chair as Charles begs his wife for his life. Moretti just watches, his thick arms folded over his chest.

  Cammy hovers over Charles, her teeth chattering but her outstretched hand unwavering.

  Pop! Pop!

  Two shots. One to the head.

  And the other to the heart.

  Fitting. His should be shattered, too.

  Charlotte rushes over to her mother, both of them clutching each other, gut-wrenching sobs almost distracting me from the fact that our arch-nemesis and his crew are still here and very much alive.

  Moretti turns to my father. “You had the first offer and you turned it down. We could have run this whole fucking territory. Instead, you’ve run it straight into the ground.”

  “No, I’ve just kept it clear of scumbags like you,” Dad grumbles.

  Moretti shrugs. “I think I’ve managed to sweeten the deal, yeah? With Hawthorne out of the way and Carl funneling in the cash from their joint company, we can do great things, Marco. It’s a chance for you to show some balls for once. Inspire some confidence.” His eyes flit toward me. “And if you’re not up to the challenge, maybe Xander is.”

  “I’ll never work for you,” I growl. “And I don’t give a fuck what kind of money you have. It won’t be enough. It’ll never be enough!”

  “You’ve got a lot to learn, son,” Moretti says. “I already have the army, and you will never be able to compete. The money is just gravy. It b
uys me entry. But once I’m in, you can guarantee, I ain’t leaving unless it’s in a body bag. Capice?”

  “That can be arranged,” Jase mutters, flexing his fingers.

  “I believe that’s a declaration of war, Jase. You never learn to keep that damn mouth shut, do you?” Moretti snips, a shit-eating grin on his face. He nods his head toward Carl and Rossi and strides toward the one open door in the basement dungeon that nobody once came to investigate. “A smart man would kill you on the spot for that comment, but I think I’ll let you live to see another day, Iazettis. And get ready. My troops are already on their way.”

  Chapter 27

  Charlotte

  This isn’t over. It can’t be. Moretti can’t walk out of this basement!

  My mother clutches my right arm. She’s rooted in place, her eyes fixated on my father’s body, which is engulfed in a puddle of his own crimson blood.

  Yanking the gun out of her trembling hand, I shove it into Xander’s. “Finish this once and for all,” I whisper as Moretti’s back turns to us while he starts for the exit on the other side of Lorenzo’s body.

  Moretti’s enforcers burst through the stairwell door, guns trained on all of us. We’re in a damn fishbowl at this point. They never planned on letting any of us go.

  “Moretti!” Xander bellows. “We’re not done here.”

  Moretti slowly starts to turn around, a sinister simper still plastered on his face. “Young Iazetti, don’t forget, if you pull that trigger, none of you will see the morning. Do your family a favor and drop the gun.”

  Xander’s arm locks, the hammer pulling back slow. “You always underestimated us. You thought it would be easy to take us over.”

  “I proved that I could get close,” Moretti says. “I proved that your ‘loyal’ subjects aren’t so loyal after all, that they can easily be bought and disposed of when they’re no longer useful. I showed you that I can break through your iron curtain and make you scatter like cockroaches because you don’t know what the fuck to do next!”