Chapter 6
CHAPTER 6
CARTER
I don’t want to have this meeting today, but it’s best for my family to integrate more with the St. Clair’s inner circle now than right before the wedding in three days.
Three fucking days, I’ll be a married man. I can’t say it doesn’t piss me off. Despite how brutal this business is, Mom and Dad’s marriage was the real deal. Dad loved Mom and she loved him right back. He gave her everything she wanted and needed. The only thing he wasn’t able to do is save her from the bullets that were meant for him. The bullets she took for him.
I’ve wanted a marriage like that. Sure, it would have been hard, not many women understand the game and how dangerous it is. But I figured I’d have all the time in the world to find that special someone that would be Mrs. Whitlock.
Now, I’m marrying my enemy. It doesn’t matter than he’s a man; it’s the fact that it’s fucking Kai . Of all people, I have to tie myself to him.
I’m not naive enough to think it will only be for a matter of years like Kai is. This is for life. Our lives will be forever intertwined, and I fucking despise him for it. My dad and Charlie St. Clair are also on my shit list.
It’s hard to be pissed at my dad, but he knows how important it is to make my own decisions. He said he would never use me or Declan as a pawn in his games, but that’s what he’s doing. Maybe he doesn’t see it as a game because if we don’t align ourselves with the St. Clair’s, we’ll end up dead. It’s a matter of survival. But fuck if I don’t feel a little miffed that I have no say in who takes my last name.
Will he take my last name? Knowing Kai, he’ll fight me on that, even if he doesn’t care.
“Fucking asshole,” I grumble under my breath, but Gavin hears me.
He glances over at me with a raised eyebrow. “What’s up?”
“Nothing,” I say, not wanting him to know that I’m bitching about Kai taking my last name, even though I don’t want to be married to him at all. “Listen, don’t start bullshit today. It took Dad hours to convince Charlie not to kill you for your disrespect. I’d hate to kill that family off before this truce even got started.”
Gavin grins at me, but I can see he’s at least a little apologetic. One thing I can say about Gavin is he’s loyal and his loyalty doesn’t have a price tag. He’d never fuck me and my family over, no matter how bad his ego wants to rebel.
“You got it. I’ll be cool.”
I take his word for it because he’s not the type to lie.
Instead of meeting at our casino like we did last time, Dad agreed that it’s best to meet at theirs, to make the arrangement seem equal. I honestly don’t give a fuck where we meet. This marriage is happening, whether I like it or not, so where we meet to talk is the least of my concern.
My biggest worry? Kai coming to live with me. After Kai stormed off the other day, Charlie said that part of the deal is nonnegotiable. I broached us not living in the same place, under the guise of not being together if someone tries to kill one or both of us, but my Dad and Charlie saw right through that shit.
“You’re stronger together,” Charlie said, and Dad agreed.
I wouldn’t live with Charlie and Kai, so I guess it was settled. Why does Kai still live with his father? We’re the same age, but he has a room at his father’s place. Yeah, it’s big as fuck, but why not have his own home? I moved out of Dad’s house when I was nineteen, happy not to be under his watchful gaze all the time.
The Indigo Arc Casino is the first casino the St. Clair family built when they started buying up real estate, from what my father told me. It’s small, showing their lack of knowledge of casinos and their builds. Though I’m not sure how. Kai owns a construction company—why the fuck he hasn’t given this casino a facelift is beyond me. So he won’t embarrass me in this marriage, I’ll make him shut this place down for at least half a year so I can make it better.
There are no patrons today, the casino closed down for this meeting. With two rival mafia families gathered in one place, it’s smart not to have innocent civilians around. If this meeting goes awry, having an empty casino would benefit everyone.
When we step inside, a guard from my family and one from the St. Clair’s stand beside the door. I clap hands with Richard, one of our guys and give the St. Clair’s man the once over, dismissing him with a twist of my lip.
“Gotta search you,” Richard says. “No gun policy.” He looks pointedly at Gavin.
I take my piece from under my arm and from around my ankle and hand them to him. I keep my blade on me. They said no guns, not no weapons. I learned that little tidbit from Kai, when he pulled a knife on me at The Devil’s Den. It’s a handy weapon to have at the ready.
Once we’ve handed over our guns, the St. Clair man tells us where to go to get to the gathering. Gavin walks ahead of me, checking in the spaces of the doors to make sure no one pops out. Despite how much he jokes around, he doesn’t fuck around when it comes to my safety.
We make it to the gathering and there are wall to wall dangerous motherfuckers. On one side are my people, standing behind my dad and on the other side are the St. Clair’s, posted up behind Charlie. While Charlie and Dad have been working together on this bullshit arranged marriage for months, they still don’t trust each other. It’s evident in their eyes and their posture.
Kai is leaning against a window across from the door I just entered, directly in the middle of both families, his arms crossed over his chest. His expression appears bored, but I can tell he’s on high alert. When his gaze locks on mine, his eyebrows dip further and his lip curls.
Fuck him.
I don’t take a page from his book—I go to stand by my father, facing the enemy. Facing the family I have to tie myself to for survival.
Charlie grunts, his gaze straying over to Kai, then back over to us. “Let’s get down to business. Our families have been at odds for decades. Now it’s time to let bygones be bygones, for the sake of our families’ longevity.”
“I agree,” Dad says, clasping his hands together in front of himself. “My son, Carter, has agreed to the prospect of marriage with your son. With the union of our families, we will be one. That means we have to work together, put aside our difference and figure out how to move forward as the St. Clair-Whitlock family.”
Well, I guess that answers my question about last names.
“Is everyone in agreement?” Charlie asks.
One of the St. Clair men steps up beside Charlie, his large mustache making it hard to understand what he’s saying. “I don’t like this any more than anyone else standing here. But I don’t want to die, my name forgotten when I put my blood, sweat and tears into building this family into the force that it is now. If working with the Whitlock family ensures I keep getting money and my family will be taken care of, I am with you. But if at any moment, you fuck us over?—”
Dad cuts the man off with a snarl. “You have no room to threaten me, Henry. You’d do well to remember that you’re not the boss of this family. Step back before I make you.”
Charlie raises his hand before Henry can reply. “That’s enough. There will be no betrayals. We all have shared interests in this endeavor. So, let’s figure out how we can make it work.”
During the entire discussion, Kai and I don’t say a word. Which does more to show that we aren’t really important in the grand scheme of things. We’re here to do our duty and make sure our families thrive. Other than that, we have no say.
That alone makes me want to rebel against this whole marriage. The only thing that stops me is the news we received before we attended this meeting.
One of our shipments was almost intercepted, just as the St. Clair’s told us theirs was. Someone chased down our decoy truck and killed the driver. Luckily for us, none of our product was on board. A message was spray painted on the back of the truck: We’re coming for you.
It’s the first time they’ve made contact with us. From what Charlie said, they’ve been sending him messages for a while. So, despite how much I don’t want to go through with this marriage, I have no choice if I want us to survive.
After details are hashed out and we figure out how to seamlessly—as much as possible anyway—integrate as one big happy fucking family, everyone starts to leave. Dad holds me back, and Charlie walks over to Kai. I guess they want to talk to the two of us. Or berate, going by how red Charlie’s face is while he talks to Kai. He may try to look unaffected, but I can see an emotion dancing in Kai’s eyes while he looks at Charlie, though I can’t identify it.
It’s obvious they don’t have a relationship like me and Dad. I’m not even sure Charlie likes Kai, if the rumors told about them are true. It’s said that Charlie almost beat Kai to death when he told him he was gay. Then tried to get him to fuck every woman that he brought in front of him, even while he was underage. That’s a big reason why I wonder why Kai still lives under his roof. It’s obvious Charlie doesn’t care if Kai lives or dies and is only interested in conversing with him now because he’s useful to him.
An unfamiliar twinge flows through me, but I push it away. I can’t be feeling sorry for Kai. Fuck him. If his father doesn’t like him because he’s gay, that ain’t on me. I haven’t told Dad I’m into dudes as well as chicks, but if I did, he wouldn’t give a fuck. His love comes without conditions, which is more than I can say for most people.
Kai pushes off the wall and saunters over to us, his face a blank mask though his cheeks are tinged a dark red. “Carter,” he says in a voice devoid of any emotion.
“Kaison.” His eyes flare at my use of his full name. I don’t think I’ve ever said it to him before.
“My room is being packed now and will be delivered to your house tomorrow.”
I raise an eyebrow at him. “We’re not getting married for another three days. Wait until then.”
His gray eyes turn stormy, but he just shrugs. “Up to you.” He pauses a beat, then begrudgingly holds his hand out to Dad. “Dominic.”
Dad shakes his hand, a look in his eyes that he reserves only for me and Declan. Yeah, so Dad sees that Charlie doesn’t fuck with his son either. “Good to see you, kid. How’s everything going?”
Kai looks nonplussed, as if Dad asked him the answer to the mysteries of life and not about his day. He stammers, then says, “Good. Thanks for asking. If you’ll excuse me.” He motions to his bodyguard and they both head out.
Charlie follows him with his gaze, his eyebrows a slash on his forehead. “You’re gonna have your hands full with that one. Fair warning, he’s practically useless. You’ll do well to dump that little construction company he has. It’s a drain on the business. Or convince him to hand it over. I keep telling him to let me turn it around, but he’s fucking stubborn.”
My eyebrows dip as I look between Dad and Charlie. From what we discussed the other day, Charlie suggested I use the construction company on some of our new builds. What the fuck is he pulling? Dad gives me a half shrug. I turn back to Charlie, more wary of him now. He’s up to something; I just don’t know what. “Thanks for the heads up. I’ll check the books and see what can be cut if it’s hemorrhaging money.”
Charlie’s face reddens as he turns to me with angry eyes. “I just said?—”
I step closer to him, not willing to put up with his shit. He isn’t my dad, and he sure as shit can’t order me around—I’m not fucking Kai. “And I just said I’ll check the fucking books. As of today, nothing that Kai does concerns you. None of his business concerns you. If he has issue with his company, as his husband, I’ll fix it. Is that clear?”
Charlie’s bodyguards step closer, but so do mine and Dad’s. No one moves for a few breaths. I don’t back down. Even though I loathe Kai, Charlie is too hands on when he doesn’t need to be. I won’t tolerate that shit.
“What did you say?” Charlie seethes, his eyes narrowed.
“You heard me. That company will belong to me and my husband. You have no say in it. Keep fucking pushing and I’ll call this whole fucking marriage off, the war be damned. You need us as much as we need you, but I’m willing to blow all this shit up if you don’t step the fuck off.”
“Enough,” Dad says, stepping between us. “No one is calling anything off. Charlie, don’t take this truce for weakness. You won’t threaten my son in front of me again.”
Charlie looks back and forth between the two of us, Dad’s face a mask of indignation as he stares him down. Their dislike for each other bleeds through their gazes, but they know they need each other, so neither makes a move.
Then Charlie throws his hands up. “Don’t look for me to bail you out when it fails.”
“You’d be the last person I’d ask for water if I were on fire,” I tell him calmly. He glares at me before he storms out behind his son.
Sighing, Dad watches him leave, shaking his head. “Wanna not piss off your father-in-law?”
I bark a laugh and throw my arm around his shoulder. We walk out together. “Fuck that guy. You see how he treated Kai?”
Dad looks at me in surprise. “Almost sounds like you care.”
“Not likely,” I grunt. “This marriage isn’t about me caring about him. It’s about our survival. Kai and I will interact only as much as we need to. How his father treats him ain’t my concern. But how Charlie treats me is. I won’t allow it. I’ll fucking bury Charlie St. Clair before I allow him to disrespect me.”
“Agreed. Let’s just get past this war before you think about offing your father-in-law, okay?”
I chuckle. “No promises.”