Victorious Vice (Bellamy Brothers #6)

2. Vinnie

2

VINNIE

Y our life begins tonight, Vincent. You will see what awaits you.

My grandfather’s—my father’s—words race through my mind.

This whole thing makes me nauseated in a way I never knew possible. My mother. My poor mother. The deathbed confession she was trying to give me.

The man who raised me, who I love, isn’t my biological father. He doesn’t even know that.

My grandfather, my mother’s father, is also my father.

How fucking twisted is this?

I should have stayed in Europe.

I can’t call Mario Bianchi Grandfather anymore. And I’m sure as hell not calling him Father.

He’ll just be Mario.

Mario. Mario, who’s a rapist. Who committed incest. Who’s taken countless lives.

At least my mother was eighteen.

God, did I truly just have that thought?

I’m actually grateful my grandfather isn’t a pedophile? Just a man who raped his own daughter?

Thank God for small favors. But not fucking small enough.

Mario has something in common with his new business partner. I’m pretty sure Declan McAllister is an incestuous rapist and a pedophile.

How the hell am I going to protect Belinda when I have to go to Colombia tonight?

I have no one. My mother’s dead, my father’s in prison. Michael is dead, and I can’t ask Savannah to step back into my world. Thanks to my father’s—the man who I consider my father—machinations, she does not owe any more debt to the family.

There’s no one to help me. Mario certainly won’t.

There’s no one to help me but me.

And I can’t do anything from Colombia.

Damn.

Then of course there’s Raven. My beautiful, sweet Raven. I love her so much it hurts. It literally twists my insides out.

I don’t believe her father would ever harm her. I believe he loves his children.

But he’s not the man she thinks he is. I don’t know for sure, but he may have had a hand in sending Falcon to prison. I don’t think it’s what he wanted, but he may not have had a choice in the matter.

There’s something so warped about all of this. Diego Vega’s involvement with my family, with the Bellamy family.

Vega’s dead, so I can’t find anything out about him. I’ve scoured the dark web for information about him. He, or his people, scrubbed it clean.

The two minions with him that day, according to Falcon and his brothers, were never heard from again. They were most likely stopped at the border and either taken prisoner or killed.

And now I have to go to Colombia for a month.

Raven will be safer if I’m out of the country. That’s reason enough to go.

What the hell did Mario mean when he said my life begins tonight?

Does anyone else know the true circumstances of my birth? Anyone besides Mario and my mother?

Because if any of our enemies do…

It puts a big red target on my back.

To take out Bianchi’s son? That’s a big fucking deal.

I was already his true heir. If they know that I’m a direct product of his loins, it’s all over for me.

God… It’s all making so much sense now.

No wonder he let me stay in Europe so long.

In his own distorted way, Mario loves me. Was protecting me.

Elmo, my bodyguard, is traveling with me to Colombia. He sits next to me at the gate, ready to board the chartered plane.

I buried my mother only hours ago, and Mario wants me on this plane.

A month.

So much can happen in a month.

I just have to make sure that Raven stays safe. She’s my first priority. And unfortunately, Mario knows this.

She’s my weakness.

But she’s also my strength.

If I can bring down this family, then Raven and I can be together. Make a life of our own.

I’ll do what I need to do in Colombia.

I fire up my iPad and read the notes about the people I’ll be meeting—those involved in the piece of the trade that Giacomo Puzo was negotiating.

A lance strikes my heart. Not that I felt anything for Puzo, but he had a family. Two little girls. I may not have struck the blow that killed him, but I am ultimately responsible.

Sure, he was corrupt. The world is a better place without him. But who am I to play God?

Who is Mario to play God?

But putting a stop to him will save so many more lives in the long run. Puzo was a necessary casualty.

These thoughts plague me as I board the plane and take my seat. Elmo, next to me, is silent, his gaze cast outside the window.

The engines roar to life and I clutch the iPad tighter. The names and faces on its screen are the Colombia Cartel heads, local law enforcement, politicians—everyone has their slice in this pie. I’m about to jump headfirst into a viper’s nest with nothing but my wits to protect me.

One thing is clear though. Being Mario Bianchi’s heir gives me an advantage. A dangerous one, indeed. The fascination and fear that his name commands might be the only things keeping me alive in Colombia.

I lean back in my seat and let the outside world blur into nothingness. I am alone with my thoughts, an island amidst a sea of chaos. I imagine Raven’s face, her soft smile and the way her eyes light up when she laughs. The thought of her gives me the strength to push through this ordeal.

As the plane ascends through clouds, though, I find myself thinking about the meetings awaiting me. Though I am armed with knowledge about these people, it’s impossible to predict their intentions or anticipate their actions.

Will they respect me because I’m Mario Bianchi’s heir? Or will they see me as a threat? A young buck trying to infringe upon their territory? Or worse, will they see me as an opportunity? A means of using my lineage against me?

I open my eyes as we hit cruising altitude. Outside the window is pure darkness. It almost looks serene and peaceful, a stark contrast to the war brewing inside me.

I have to stay focused. I can’t afford to let my mind wander too much. I have a part to play, a role that I can’t jeopardize with emotions or distractions. Which means…I’ve got to truly leave Raven behind me.

I start going through the files on my iPad again. Faces and names swirl before me, each attached to an extensive list of sins. Extortion, human trafficking, drug smuggling—just another day in the life of these people. My job is to convince these terrible people that I’m one of them, that their secrets are safe with me.

The plane jolts slightly and Elmo looks at me. His eyes are dark and unreadable as they always are, but I note an edge of worry in them. I give him a nod, hoping to reassure him, before turning my attention back to the iPad.

I read the names again. There’s Jacinto Agudelo, the cartel kingpin known for his ruthless business tactics and a penchant for torture. His eyes in the photo are cold, calculating. I’ll be staying at his mansion in Bogotá, and my business will be mainly with him.

Next is Hernando Reyes, a corrupt politician whose greed knows no bounds. And then there’s Isabella Valentini, a fiery redhead who lives in New York and works with a trio known as “the Unholy Trinity,” but who is apparently in Bogotá to negotiate for a Manhattan family.

The list goes on…

Until I see a face that makes me squint. A gaunt, very old woman, with whisps of snow-white hair. Deep wrinkles in her face, but still a shadow of beauty in her weathered features.

She’s not nearly as well put-together as the people in the other photos here.

No name is attached to her photo.

Does this old woman have something to do with why I’m going to Colombia? I can’t imagine they have much use for a woman of her advanced age. Hell, they don’t have much use for women of any age.

Maybe she’s a witness or something. Or the widow of a fallen don.

I shake my head to clear it. This woman is ancillary at best. The other names are well known in the cartel, the men Puzo was trying to recruit to his side.

Puzo’s no longer an issue, thanks to me.

The purpose of this trip is to get these people to make a deal with Mario.

But why…?

How…?

Why is this woman’s picture in here?

I stare at the document, blinking as if that might make her position in all this clearer.

My mind is a whirlwind of questions with no immediate answers. Even Elmo’s usually reassuring presence does nothing to subdue my growing unease. There’s a reason this woman’s photo is in here, but I can’t for the life of me figure out why. Maybe it’ll be made clear once I arrive in Colombia.

My gut tells me there’s more to the story.

There’s always more to the story.

As I stare at this old woman, Raven’s face flickers in my mind again. I’m not sure why. I mean, I’m constantly thinking about her, but why should this old woman trigger the thought?

Something in her eyes, maybe?

Raven has beautiful eyes. So beautiful that you can get lost in them. I swear to God, the first time I saw her, her eyes took me in so much that I barely noticed she had no hair. And her smile is a beacon in the storm that is brewing around me.

I must protect her at all costs.

Which means leaving her in my past.