Tipping Point

by Ali Parker

  I nodded and felt myself start to smile. Good. He was getting comfortable around me.

  “What the fuck are you smiling about?” Adam asked defensively.

  “Nothing, nothing.” I held my hands up innocently. “It’s just, this is the kind of secret brothers share. You know?”

  Adam rolled his eyes. “You’re not the only one who knows.”

  “Never said I was.”

  Adam leaned back in his chair and rested his elbows on the armrests. “She thinks she’s an orphan and sees herself as a sister to me. Or a friend. Which is unfortunate, because I want every fucking part of her, but it’s impossible.”

  I scratched the back of my neck and nodded. “I know how it feels to love a woman you can never have.”

  “Bastards like us are tied to such a fate. Lusting after women we are too corrupt to deserve.”

  I thought of Cat and how she must hate me by now. Someone had surely told her what I had done. Her loyalty to her brother would outweigh any feelings she still had for me. Resentment would be breeding in her heart, and I knew if she ever laid eyes on me again, she would curse my name to a God she didn’t believe in anymore.

  “You’re preaching to the choir,” I said, suddenly losing my appetite.

  “What’s her name?”

  “Catherine.”

  “Who is she?” Adam asked as he leaned sideways in his chair to rest his chin on his knuckles.

  I chuckled. “Demetri DeMarco’s older sister.”

  Adam slammed his fist on the table as he busted out into laughter. “You unlucky son of a bitch. I thought my situation was fucked. Yours is a total shit show.”

  “Tell me about it. I’m in love with her, but that’s over now. There’s nothing left to fight for.” I forced a façade over my face. No way I was crumbling in front of Adam. I’d do that shit in my private time.

  Adam and I sat quietly for a little while as he stroked his chin. When he spoke, his tone was almost conspiratorial.

  “Do you think that, perhaps, Izzy is a good second to my Elizabeth? Would she come to heel if D is dead? And if he’s not, would she if we killed him?”

  I barked with laughter. “What? Hell no! She’d try to kill you herself.”

  “I expected as much.”

  I thought on his question a little longer. Maybe if things were handled correctly, his conquest of my sister was achievable. “You’ll get your chance to see her again soon, I’m sure.”

  “Oh?” Adam asked.

  I nodded. “She’s on her way here, no doubt. Like I said before, she’s going to want my head. Nothing motivates a Castaletta like vengeance does. And once Izzy gets a taste for it, she can’t be stopped.”

  “And how are you so sure she’ll come to California?”

  “She’s smart as shit. You know that. By now, she and Joe have probably made arrangements. She’s our enforcer and our best gun. They can’t afford to make any mistakes right now, and Izzy is the only one who stands a chance of taking me out. They all know that.”

  “None of this sounds very promising to me. I want her in my bed, not standing over me, lining up the barrel of her gun with my fucking eye socket.” He smiled as if dying was humorous. I’d seen too much blood as of late to find it funny. I wasn’t sure I’d ever sleep through the night again.

  I looked Adam square in the eyes. “When she comes, we’ll make her an offer.”

  Adam lifted an eyebrow and reached for his glass of water. He took a sip and regarded me coolly over the rim, like he always did. “And what offer would this be, little brother?”

  I grinned. “If she doesn’t convert and stay with us, we kill her. Plain and simple. No need to complicate things any more than they already are. At this point in the game, it’s life or death. Nothing in between. Izzy will appreciate that.”

  “How soon do you expect us to be having this conversation with your sister?”

  “Soon,” I said. “Very soon.”

  Adam grabbed his phone from the corner of the table and called his head of security. “Double the security. I want everyone on duty today, and tell them they’ll be pulling double shifts. Everyone will be well compensated. Be on the lookout for Izabella Castaletta. Do you need a physical description?” There was a moment of silence as the guard on the other end said something. Adam chuckled. “Yeah, that’s her. Bring her down, but don’t kill her. We have company coming. Then bring her to me. Understood?”

  Adam hung up the phone and called one of the maids into the dining room. He asked her for a bottle of champagne and two glasses, which she returned with minutes later. Adam popped the top, and the cork bounced off the ceiling. He poured us each a glass and handed one to me.

  “Here’s to a short life,” Adam said.

  “Not much of a toast,” I grumbled as I clicked my glass to his.

  “I wasn’t talking about our lives. Here’s to short lives for our enemies, and for your sister, if she refuses to submit.”

  “Cheers,” I said.

  Adam leaned forward, and something in his stare darkened—something I hadn’t seen before. There was menace there, lurking beneath the surface of his preppy boy looks. He gave me a devilish grin. “Your sister stays alive until I’ve had my night in bed with her.”

  “She’ll try to kill you any chance she gets,” I said.

  “That’s what drugs are for. After I’ve had my fun, we can kill her. However you want. Or, if she’s smart, she’ll hitch her wagon to ours, and I can fuck her every night of the week.”

  I sipped my champagne, watching the man sitting at the head of the table, and swallowed the last bit of goodness inside me. There was no turning back. “Brilliant.”

  13

  Demetri

  I opened the passenger door for Izzy to get out of my car. She stepped out, one long leg at a time, and I offered her my hand. She took it, giving my fingers an appreciative squeeze, and I closed the door behind her.

  The Castaletta private jet rumbled behind us, and the stairs had been lowered for her. A single flight attendant waited at the top as Izzy glanced over her shoulder at it before turning to smile at me. “I’ll see you soon, okay?”

  “Keep the tracker on your phone turned on at all times. And keep the damn thing with you.” I gave her a stern look as my breakfast swirled in my stomach. I knew Joe wouldn’t allow me to go with her, but fuck me if I didn’t want to with every cell in my body.

  Izzy rolled her eyes at me and rested her hands on my chest. “Okay, Daddy.”

  I grabbed her wrists. “I’m being serious right now, Izzy. The last thing we fucking need right now is you getting into trouble. And Marco is trouble with a capital T.”

  “You think I don’t know that?”

  “I know you do. I just…” I released her and raked my fingers through my hair in frustration. I wanted to go with her. I hated that my girl had to get on a plane and fly to California to take her brother out by herself. She deserved better. But orders were orders, and she and I both had jobs to do. “Be safe out there, you hear me? Marco isn’t going to play nice.”

  “Neither am I,” Izzy said firmly. She patted my chest. “Don’t worry about me. I’ve got this. I’ll be back before tomorrow night.”

  “Promise,” I demanded.

  “Hush.” She winked.

  I thought for a second that she might kiss me, but she turned and started walking away instead. I popped her in the butt, and I heard her try to muffle her laughter as she kept on walking.

  Leaning up against the side of the car, I crossed my arms over my chest and watched my girl climb the stairs and enter the plane. When she was out of sight, I stayed where I was and watched the plane take off, all the while thinking hundreds of thoughts at once.

  If we both made it through this shit storm in one piece, I would get down on one knee and ask Izzy the one damn question I’d been wanting to ask her for six fucking years.

  She was my girl, and I was her man, and it was time for us to make shit official. I lo
ved her, and I was done pretending I didn’t.

  When the jet was high in the sky, I got back in my car and called my sister over the speaker. She answered on the third ring, and her voice was tentative and nervous.

  “Hey, D,” she said.

  “Cat. You free for breakfast? That diner we used to go to with Momma?”

  She paused for a second. “Sure.”

  “Fifteen minutes?”

  “Give me twenty.”

  “All right. See you soon.”

  Cat showed up three minutes after I had picked out a booth and taken a seat by the window. A waitress was filling up two coffee cups when Cat slid into the seat across from me and shrugged out of her thin grey cardigan. She folded it up neatly and placed it on the open seat beside her. Then she busied herself with adding cream and sugar to her coffee while I sipped mine black. She was doing anything and everything she could to avoid looking at me.

  “I’m not mad, Cat,” I said after giving her a couple minutes to try to gather her courage.

  She finally glanced up at me. Her face paled, and her bottom lip started to tremble. She blinked furiously to fight off tears that she felt, but I couldn’t see, and then stared at the table. I hated to see my older sister coming undone. It was so far off her normal persona that it shook my insides a little.

  Clearly, she wasn’t willing to talk yet, so I kept going. “Joe told me that you and Marco were sleeping together.”

  She stiffened, and all the remaining color in her face drained away.

  I reached across the table to grab her hand that rested beside her coffee cup. “Cat, look at me.” She looked up with glassy eyes. “You didn’t know. You couldn’t have. None of us did.”

  She shook her head, and the tears she was so desperately trying to keep at bay spilled down her cheeks. I squeezed her hand as she wiped her tears with a napkin. “I’m sorry, D. I never meant to put you in this position. Or anyone. I had no idea that he was… that he was going to betray us all. I can’t believe I was so stupid.”

  “You weren’t stupid, Cat. He played us all, not just you. We’re all in this thing together, okay?”

  “What does Izzy think?” Cat asked with a slight scoff. She and Izzy had never been huge fans of one another.

  I shrugged. “I haven’t talked to her about it. I don’t think she’ll really give a shit. She’s pissed at Marco, and she’s going after him.”

  “Going after him?”

  I nodded.

  Cat pulled her hand out of mine and ran both her palms up and down her thighs. “Oh.”

  Our waitress returned and asked if we were ready to order. I ordered my usual platter of eggs, sausage, toast, and hashbrowns, and Cat stared aimlessly down at the menu. She was overwhelmed. I could see it all over her. So I took over and ordered her the same thing as me. The waitress collected our menus and left us alone.

  “I have some news that might make you feel better,” I said. Cat didn’t answer. She didn’t even look at me. “Drake’s back.”

  That got her attention. “Really? When? How is he? Does Joe know?”

  “Slow down.” I smiled. “Yes, he’s all right. He’s been back for just about a week. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner, but I didn’t know how shit was going to play out. Joe knows, but he’s all right with it. Turns out, he knew Drake was alive this whole time.”

  Cat leaned in close and dropped her voice. “He knew? And he didn’t go after him?”

  I shook my head. “He knows the DeMarcos aren’t traitors, and he says he understands why Drake left. But now it looks like he might be back for good. Or at least, for the next little while. Joe needs him. We all need him.”

  Cat sighed and looked out the window. “How’s Drake’s new wife taking it?”

  “Honestly? No idea. But I hope they can make it work because she’s perfect for him. You’ll like her.” I took a deep breath, letting the greasy goodness all around me still my thoughts. I had no fucking control over most of the shit going on in my life. No need to let those parts rule me and my thoughts.

  Cat smiled and ran her fingers through her hair. “I don’t want to ask but… what’s the plan with Marco? I know Joe won’t just sit around and let him get away with this.”

  “We don’t need to talk about that.”

  “Yes. We do. I can handle it.” Cat’s jaw tightened, and her eyes filled with strength. There was the sister I knew.

  I studied my sister. She was a tough woman, like Momma, but I didn’t want to be the one to bring her bad news. I knew firsthand that you couldn’t help who you fell in love with, and I didn’t want to twist the knife that was already buried in her heart. But I had to. She needed me to.

  “Joe sent Izzy after him. She got on a plane to California this morning. We all figured he ran to—” I started, but she cut me off.

  “The Coopers.” Cat nodded. “Makes sense.”

  “Yeah.”

  “And you’re okay with Izzy doing the clean up?” Cat asked, cocking her head to the side. The color was returning to her face. Somehow, she was managing to compartmentalize all the shit swirling around her. She was a DeMarco through and through.

  “I don’t have a choice. Joe’s orders. And Izzy wants to take care of it herself.”

  “Of course she does. She’s the one who has lost the most because of him. I seriously cannot believe Marco would be capable of killing his mother.” She paused and visibly swallowed as her voice grew to a hoarse whisper. “Or his little brother.”

  I nodded. “Once she puts Marco down, we can push the Kallups back with the Coopers. Everything will go back to how it was, and everyone can continue to operate within their own circles without any crossover.”

  My phone rang. I fished it out of my pocket and blinked at the name flashing across the screen: Fredrick Carrington, the club owner of Kadia in New York City. His brother, Michael, and I went way back, but I’d just recently met Fredrick. Getting a call from him was odd, unnerving. “Hello?” I put the phone to my ear and gave Cat a look. I’d only be a second.

  Fredrick’s panicked voice filled my ear. “Demetri? Demetri, are you there?”

  “Yes, it’s me. What’s going—”

  “My daughter is missing, Demetri. I need your help. They took her. I know they fucking took her. Please.” There were tears in his voice.

  “Slow down, Fredrick,” I said. “Who took her?”

  “I can’t talk about it right now. I need to do this face to face. Please just say you’ll help me. I don’t have anyone else I can trust with this. I’ll do anything.”

  I ran my hand down my face. This was not the kind of shit I needed on my plate right now. My hands were full. I should have said no, but fuck, Michael would have done anything to help me or the Castalettas. Where I didn’t owe Fredrick shit, Michael was someone who could ask for just about anything.

  I knew just the guy. Big, bald, and no nonsense.

  “I have a guy I’ll send down to you. He’ll handle it the same way I would. In exchange, you’ll give us a cut of Kadia and pull the Castalettas into your ring of nightclubs.” If nothing else, I needed to make sure we benefited from this exchange. Now was not the time to be handing out free favors. Plus, I would have to answer to Joe either way. Better to give him a gift in the middle of explaining why the fuck we were involved on the Bertinellis’ turf. I took a short breath and held it. First, I sent Izzy to the Coopers’ turf in Cali, and now I’d be sending Marcus to the Bertinellis’ in New York. What the hell next?

  “Done,” Fredrick said. “Just help me find my daughter.”

  “We will. My guy will arrive tomorrow afternoon. Send a car for him.”

  “All right. I don’t know how I can thank you.”

  “No thanks needed, Fredrick. Now keep your shit together. You won’t be of any help to that girl of yours if you’re falling apart. We’ll get her back to you.”

  Fredrick was silent on the other end. I didn’t wait for him to respond. Instead, I hung up and pocketed t
he phone, giving my attention back to my sister.

  “Everything okay?” she asked.

  “It will be. Just more shit to add to the pile. That’s all.”

  Our waitress returned with our plates of food and set them down in front of us. She gave us a cheery smile as she topped up our coffees, asked if we needed jam, and bid us a good meal. I dug in, famished, and Cat stared at her plate, her fork hovering over her hash browns.

  “Eat,” I said. “You’ll feel better.”

  “I haven’t been able to keep anything down since Marco left.”

  “Well you can only keep going like that for so long. I need my sister in my corner. So eat as much as you can and try to forget about him. I know it’s easier said than done. Believe me, I know.”

  Cat gave me a sad smile and then stabbed a sausage with her fork. She dipped it in ketchup and took a bite off one end. “Happy?”

  I nodded. “Yes. Now do it again and again until your plate is clean.”

  “You sound like Momma.” She smirked.

  “You look like her.”

  “Lucky,” we echoed together and shared a smile.

  We spent the rest of our meal together talking about everything besides the shit going on with Marco and the syndicate. It was nice to turn that part of my brain off, if only for a little while. My thoughts still drifted to Izzy every few minutes, but I did my best to give Cat all of my attention.

  After the waitress collected our plates and I paid the bill, we began talking about Marcus and how things were going at the new office.

  “Things are good,” Cat said. “I like him and Zak. They’re a good team. And I trust them both. I don’t know why, but I do.”

  “They were both a good find. I’m glad they’re on our side.”

  “I agree. I’d hate to be on the other side of the fight from either of them.”

  I chuckled. “Me too.”

  “I think Marcus could kick your ass,” Cat said coyly as she drained the remnants of her coffee cup.