Twisted in Chaos (Destructive Devastation #2)

Chapter 46

My mother. Of course. It all makes fucking sense.

Or does it?

I’m not entirely sure right now. My entire world has imploded. The future that has been mapped out for me since I was born has broken into a million pieces.

Not that I wanted it. Something I have come to realize over the past few months.

My father’s legacy isn’t mine.

If I had my way, my legacy would be my own. No one else’s. I’d take my future by the damn horns and make it my bitch. For me. Not for my last name.

What future, though?

My mother ran from me as a child, leaving me with the man she must have known was a monster. I thought he loved her and cherished her. Worshiped the ground she walked on. He bought her a zoo. Built her a beautiful home full of the things she loved.

Perhaps I was wrong on all fronts.

My future is the people sitting in the cabin I walked out of several hours ago. But I had to. My mind is a relentless mess of fuckery and confusion, pulling me in every fucking direction.

If there’s one thing I know for sure, it’s that Gabriel Viotto needs to burn in hell for everything he’s done and take my lying mother with him. I’m torn in two on what to believe. Veritas saw her at the island conducting work. And I can’t wrap my mind around the imagery. My mother. Soft-spoken and demure, commanding hundreds of men and attacking Briar Cove. Whether by drugs or violence, it was apparently all at her hands.

Or was it?

Fuck.

My head pounds relentlessly, blurring my vision.

I sit back in the seat of my worn-out truck, something I specifically bought for the cabin and left in the attached garage. It’s not fancy. Or made in the past ten years. No GPS. No electronics on the inside. Just me, the old tape player, and the open road. But it got me from point A to B when I needed it most—guiding me ten miles to the small-town grocery store to retrieve supplies for our stay. Short or long, I’m not sure how long we’ll be holed up together. We’ll survive through thick and thin.

We’re a family, after all.

I had to walk off the utter betrayal from my mother. My father avoided mentioning her once she left. Never that she had walked away or been kidnapped, that would bring great shame to us.

I see that now.

The fog lifts. Their true actions come out.

My mother left me with a demon. Were her feelings of joy upon reuniting with me a facade? An act to hide the callousness of her actions.

Because that’s what it is.

She left me. With a fucking monster. On purpose. There was no mistake about it. She walked out to raise a rebellion and left me there with him to suffer in silence. I had no choice. I was a fucking innocent child, depending on them to raise me. The one who hid me in dark closets and controlled every inch of my fucking life.

Because of her actions.

My fingers curl around the steering wheel, knuckles turning white from the force. She’s just another villain in a long line of bad people that I’m adding to my list.

Fuck.

I fall back into the seat, squeezing my eyes closed and attempting to shut out the rampant thoughts swirling in my mind. The moment I looked at those pictures and read the letters from my mother to Thomas. The reality of it all slammed into me. No matter how much I want to deny her hand in everything, I know I can’t.

Digging in my pocket, I pull out the evidence handed over to us. God, she looked so bright in Thomas’ arms, looking at him as if he held the moon in his palm. Just for her. The center of his universe. It’s a similar look I throw Journey’s way every time she walks into the room.

Love. Possession. Everything in between.

And my mother and Thomas had that.

Thinking back, I don’t think she ever looked at Gabriel with hearts in her eyes. He did, though. Maybe not to a loving extent. It was more obsession on his end, trying to keep her near.

Whatever it was, it’s over now. Everything is coming to an end.

But now…

I shove the letters and photographs away, yank out my phone with more force than necessary, and hit dial as I exit the parking lot of the bookstore I just came from. Something I never accounted for when we built the cabin was my wife’s love of books.

So, I bought every book inside the quaint space so my wife won’t get bored after getting the food supplies we’ll need for the next week.

“He—”

“How long have you known that my mother is the real Shadow playing puppeteer in the background?” To my credit, I keep my voice level without letting my rage lead the conversation.

I’m a reasonable man for the most part. Olivia only has so much loyalty to me. We’re blood. But her duties surpass our connection.

“Not very long, Jer,” she says sadly.

“How long?” I ask tightly again.

“Not that long…”

“And what else have you discovered?”

“Promise me you won’t do anything stupid.”

“Stupid? I resent that,” I say back with a huff.

I won’t be stupid. I’ll take everything from my mother and my father. No. I’ll be smart about it all. Form my alliances and take my parents down.

“This is a complicated situation, Jer,” she says through a heavy breath.

“Uncomplicate it then, Liv. Tell me what I need to know so I can fucking take them down. It’s fucking time!” I shout, heaving a breath and trying to calm myself from exploding again.

Olivia’s footsteps and a door closing penetrate through the anger. Killing the murderous haze clinging tightly to my being, nearly choking me. I want someone to bleed. I ache for it. Need it. Shadow will fucking pay when I get my hands on him tomorrow. He’ll be the release we need to move forward and think clearly.

“Do I need to call you back in ten minutes when you’ve calmed down?” she asks softly with understanding. Oh, Liv. Always a good cousin with a big heart. A person to ground me when need be.

“No. I’m calm,” I say, squaring my shoulders and attempting to ward off the tension.

“Right. Calm,” she quips.

“Yeah, yeah. I’m fucking calm.” It’s a lie. I’m seething on the inside, unsure how to get rid of this incessant fire brewing beneath my flesh and putting pressure on every molecule of my body. I blow out a breath, putting my mask back in place. My anger will get me nowhere but jail—or worse, death. “Please, Liv,” I say, licking my lips. “I need to defend everyone I care about. My parents have stabbed everyone in the back to get where they are…”

“Especially yours.” There’s a familiar pain in her voice that resonates with me. It’s the reason I never wrote her off or shunned her like the rest of the family. We’ve always had a connection. A childhood we wanted to be erased from.

She was raised in the same life I was. My cousin. A mafia princess. Except more volatile and damning. Her family was shamed and exiled, forcing them away from Briar Cove straight into the arms of the most notorious gang in Southern California. Her father was always a fuck up. A man who wanted everything for himself without putting the work into it.

Well, until…

“Especially mine,” I confirm. “She walked away, Olivia. And left me…” Anguish twists my blackened soul, forcing me to feel everything I’ve kept behind my carefully constructed mask of indifference. I’m Jericho Viotto. I’m not allowed to show my emotions. The days after my mother left and I was thrust into the darkness by my father’s drunken antics, I grieved her.

She wasn’t dead, but she was gone.

I grieved and grieved until I couldn’t anymore. No more tears were shed. Perhaps from the punishments I endured to force away the feelings any normal person possesses. All because I missed my sweet mother, who read to me at night and shielded me from the man who became the devil of my story.

My villain.

To think, after all that grieving and wishing she’d come back to protect me, it was all a lie. A veil over my fucking eyes. The lack of a funeral and any extensive search for her should have alerted me to something being wrong. It was as if she had vanished into thin air.

Poof.

And now, after so many years, she’s reemerged to do—what?—I haven’t a clue.

“A large part of Shadow’s men were present on the island. They confirmed they lived there in the hotel and followed the man you call Shadow’s orders. They’ve been living by their own rules there with drugs and booze and girls. She was the true mastermind behind everything they’ve done, but lived in the shadows. We have confirmation that Thomas Mondelli and Grace Viotto worked side by side for three years until she recently disappeared…” she trails off.

So, that means my dear old mother is up to more than just reuniting with my father. She’s out for some sort of revenge. Or else she’d never have shown back up. It seems only Thomas and my mother were privy to whatever they had planned that sent her back. It's good to know I have half of that equation in my basement, ready to answer his crimes before we bleed him dry.

“Did they talk willingly?” I quip, easing myself into the driveway of our cabin and park.

“Pfft. I have my ways. You wouldn’t believe the amount of people living there. It seems like their most loyal stayed on the island.” Olivia rambles, detailing her mundane encounters while detaining over fifty men and transporting them back to Veritas prison. “They’ll be at home there with the other criminals. Besides, it’s an island, too,” she huffs, yapping again.

More questions I’ll get answers to from Shepp and Journey later. But also from our prisoner. My excitement ramps up the more we speak, and the anger fades into the background. It’ll never leave. For now, though. I’m harboring it in the box in my mind to use as a weapon against the ones who have betrayed us most.

Once back at the cabin, I climb out of the truck with a clear mind. Rage and anger have left the building. Although, they’re simmering in the background, ready to strike when the time is right and when I can unleash the monster trapped inside, aching for the blood on his hands.

I lean against the truck, staring off into the distance. The mountains around the cabin elevate us above the world, hiding our existence from any sort of enemy. The air is a little thinner. Cooler. And prickling my skin with goosebumps. It’s our home away from home. A reprieve from normal routine, taking me from my role as the Briar Cove mafia heir. I’m the man who should have all the answers. A person the family looks up to. But I have a feeling my father has left me out of almost everything he had planned. I thought I had it all at one time in my life. Even a few months ago. An identity crisis in the damn making.

There’s a new future in the making—brewing beneath the underbelly of Briar Cove and in the mountains miles away.

We’re coming for Gabriel Viotto—an attack they’ll see coming because they’re probably expecting us. So, we’ll be smart. Calculated. Ruthless as fuck. So when they see us, they won’t know what got them.

No one on the wrong side will survive.

I hum and pull out my phone, intending to make moves. My chess pieces are gliding across the board, collecting my enemies until I’m on the other side with my much-needed allies.

I snort when the cabin's front door opens and shuts with a slam, alerting me of Arrow approaching. Try as he might, he has no tact. He thinks he’s a cat on the prowl, but his sneaking abilities are severely lacking this time. The only situation he seems to make no noise is when he’s drugging people unexpectedly.

“Did you get it?” Arrow asks, bounding in front of me and bouncing on his toes.

“Do you think it’ll turn out how we want?” A sliver of hope shines brightly inside me, elevating my mood.

Journey thick with our child flashes in my mind. Is it the ideal time? No. There’s a raging war too close for comfort. She will stay far, far away from it all. Well, if I have my way.

I jerk my thumb toward the truck's backseat when he folds his hands, pleading with me.

“Daddy Jer, have no fear. Her tits are big. Her period is late. Her birth control is mounted in the basement. It’s everything we talked about,” he says, digging in the bags until he pulls out two boxes displaying pregnancy tests. He fucking whoops twice, almost banging his head off the car. “Now, to see the results!” he shouts, taking off toward the house, running at full speed.

Jesus. He’s going to tackle her and force her to piss on the test right in front of him. Ugh. I pinch the bridge of my nose. I’ll have to save her after I conduct my business. Shepp will protect her for now while I track down my allies.

Looking down at my phone, I dial one of the two people I need to speak with and let it ring.

“Jericho Viotto,” Elias greets through the phone in a deep tone.

“Elias,” I reply with a curt nod he can’t see. “How’re you feeling?” Since we parted ways after the explosion on his wedding day, we haven’t exchanged more than a few words. Some here and there through text messages. So, I knew he was alive after being shot.

“Better than ever,” he quips with a sigh.

“And married life?”

“As good as I hoped it would be. Now, what can I do for you today? I’ve got shit to do. A gang to run…” Elias trails off.

“I’d like to call a meeting of my newly formed allies and collect on our deal.”

“Ah, yes. Our deal,” Elias says smoothly. “Briar Cove could use the fighters.” He tsks at me, clicking his tongue several times. “Seems there’s a new sheriff in town.” Yes. A woman claiming to be the new ruler.

“Any word on Gabriel? I’ve barely heard a peep since we last spoke,” I say, kicking a rock with my shoe and watching as it falls down the sloped driveway and finally stops.

Is he still ill? Dead? Fuck, I hope so. The only issue I would have with that is he should die at my hand with Journey’s help.

“Still head of the family and showing his face. There’s a woman now with him, holding him afloat. He’s looking sickly lately.”

I raise my brow. “In the last three years that you were partnered with Shadow, did you happen to meet her?”

There’s quiet on the other side of the line. “Her? As in who?” he inquires lazily.

“The woman parading around with my father. It seems she and Shadow had quite a partnership on the island. Making plans…” I trail off, watching the clouds move through the crisp sky.

“The only Shadow I knew was that fucker who attacked me at my goddamn wedding,” he says with a tight voice. “We met here and there on the island. Dinner and planning, but no woman. Ever.”

Interesting. So, if my mother was truly behind being Shadow, she never showed her face. She lived up to the name she had created for her alter ego and let Thomas take over the reins to build their army. My main question is how and why? She was away for twenty years. Why didn’t she stay away?

“I’ll give you my coordinates, and we’ll meet up. We have many things to discuss in person.”

Now, I have to track down the last half of my allies—Mikhail—someone who pledged themselves to Journey and our war.

“And that fucker you took?” Elias questions eagerly, knocking me from my thoughts.

“Awaiting his fucking execution,” I grit out.

Elias and I say our goodbyes. A weight slightly lifts off my chest.

We have a plan, of sorts. But we’ll figure it out. Elias is on my side. From what I can tell, at least. Could he double-cross me? Sure. But I’d be ready for him to do so.

I sigh, staring at my phone again, treading the number I programmed when Shepp handed Journey Sunshine’s phone number. Now comes the hard part. Mikhail Antonov. The son of the head of the Bratva. Or, I guess he is the man in charge now after losing his father.

If there’s one thing I know about the elusive Antonov family, they aren’t ones to hand out their loyalties to anyone.

And so, the real work begins.