Chapter 4
Your brother is home.
On instinct, my heart beat faster. Antoni. My twin. The other half of my soul. For a split second, the grief I warred with constantly was gone. The pressure behind my breastbone eased. Joy and light and hope thrummed through me.
Then reality crept over me once again, and it all washed away on the air-conditioned breeze. Antoni was long gone. Dead and buried in a city that never loved him like it should have, in a world that he wasn’t built to rule but had been forced to anyway. Just like me.
So, who was Grey talking about?
“Grey?”
“We’ll be home soon.”
Cryptic bastard. He loved making me work for things, forcing my brain to fight to follow his as it twisted and turned at all times. I didn’t know how he lived with it day in and day out. It was exhausting just being near him sometimes. But this felt like something else. Less like a game and more like something he didn’t want me to know.
Not good.
I racked my brain the entire drive home. I had no other siblings, and trust me, I’d looked. My father had been a known manwhore in his prime. That no bastard Marcosa children were running around was a blessing and a shock at the same time. I thought about my cousin Cameron, who was practically a second brother, but Grey would’ve just said his name instead of torturing me. Besides, he was out scouting a new opening-night act.
By the time we pulled into the Marcosa estate, I was two seconds away from throttling him.
Twisting in my seat, I glared. “Greyson, I don’t have time for games. Who is?—”
It was the frustrated smile that gave me my answer. The angry tightness in his jaw that spoke of grinding molars to dust. It hit me like a mallet to the head.
Once, I’d had another sort of brother. A temporary brother. One whom Antoni had loved and Greyson hated.
A boy who’d never felt like a brother at all.
Fuck.
“Dominic is no more my brother than you are. Our parents were married for ten whole days. Christ, he didn’t even have time to move in before they filed for divorce.” I scowled at Grey, knowing the hatred was still more than present in him, just like I knew the feeling was mutual for my former stepbrother.
Grey shrugged, fingers tapping on the seat. “Still your brother.”
I had the urge to tell him to go fuck himself again. Instead, I glared. “Where is he?”
The angriness melted away to a satisfied grin. “I had him placed in the formal sitting room.”
The one with the most uncomfortable couches known to man. Of course. Christ, the pissing match has already started.
I laid my hand on his. “Have him sent to my office, please.”
Grey frowned at our hands and then out the window. “As you wish, reina.”
Yep, this is going to be so much fun.
* * *
For the first time, tension swirled between us as Greyson and I walked silently through the halls of our home. I knew who’d put it there but not why, and that irritated me. Even more, I didn’t like that there was no real way to fix it, so I kept my silence and let Grey keep his.
By the time we made it to my office, I felt so off that I was nearly crawling out of my skin.
Moore and Tennessee relieved the soldiers at the door, sweeping the room even though it’d already been done once. After the month we’d had, no one was willing to take chances, even with an old friend.
Satisfied, they both took their places just outside, and Grey pulled the door open.
“Finally. Did you lose your manners when you sold your soul, Greyson?” Dominic’s voice rolled through the air, smooth and thick as molasses. The razor-sharp frustration was so out of character for Dominic, it was nearly laughable, and I knew it was all thanks to Grey. The two were oil and water personified, and that colored their every interaction. “What would your owner say?”
My eyes narrowed. It was one thing to poke at Grey, but it was another to be outright disrespectful, especially in front of me. Grey reached back to squeeze my hand briefly before stepping into the room, his big body obscuring mine from view.
“I’m not sure. I’ll have to ask.” He turned back with that mischievous smile that said he wanted nothing more than to show just how much he disliked our guest, but it was gone in a flash. For once, I was glad to see him wearing his second-in-command mask. I didn’t have the time or patience for a dick-measuring contest.
“What do you think, reina?” Grey asked, stepping away from the door so I could see. “Do you have my manners as well as my soul?”
I snorted. “I hold nothing of yours that you haven’t freely given, Greyson. Not your head, not your heart, and certainly not your soul.”
Grey stepped close to press a kiss to my cheek, his whisper soft against my skin. “Don’t be so certain.”
I stepped away before I could read too much into his words.
Dominic stood from a large leather chair in front of my desk, running a hand through his hair as he grinned at me. “Mariposa, I hoped you’d be here.”
My heart thumped at the sound of the childhood nickname I hadn’t heard in a decade. Butterfly. I’d never understood why he’d named me something so soft and delicate. I had been a princess of blood and bone when we met, and now, I was a ruler in my own right. Soft was never going to be my life.
I wondered what Dominic would think if he knew just how deadly his butterfly had become in his absence.
“Well, this is my home. I didn’t know you were coming, though.” Not that we kept in touch often. Just enough to know he was still alive and thriving in Chicago, where his mother had relocated after her failed marriage to my father. I looked him over and smiled. “The city looks good on you.”
And it did.
He’d always been tall and muscular. Imposing, even. But to me, he was strong and able to protect me. At thirty-five, he looked like sex on a stick. He’d grown into his body, so the muscles he’d always had fit him well. He knew it too. He’d rolled up the sleeves of his black button-down to showcase incredible arms, while the dark jeans on his legs clung to thick thighs and a bulge that certainly wasn’t hiding its size. His eyes were fringed with thick lashes and hooded as he looked me over, and those mussed, inky waves made him look like he’d just rolled out of bed. Or that he was ready to jump back in it.
The allover effect screamed badboy, and despite my understanding of what a real bad boy was, it still had my body clenching in remembrance.
Once upon a time, Dominic had been my first crush. My first heartbreak. My first everything.
As if he knew what I was thinking, he smirked. Even after years apart, I could tell it was practiced. A panty-melting smile made for a playboy. From what I’d heard about his exploits in Chicago, that was accurate. Not that it bothered me. Not at all. Like Grey, I pretended that flare of jealousy didn’t exist.
Deny, deny, deny.
“Sorry to show up unannounced. My trip was last minute.” Dominic grabbed my hand and bent low, hair brushing my skin as he pressed his lips to my wrist. “You look as beautiful as ever.”
From some men, I wouldn’t have believed the words, but Dominic had never lied to me. Not when we were kids hiding crushes from our parents, and not when he was torn from my life, spirited two thousand miles away overnight. He’d never laid false promises at my feet or played me to get what he wanted. I’d given it all freely and without reservation.
No, Dominic was a lot of things, but a liar wasn’t one of them.
“Thank you.” I moved to one of the seats in front of my desk, waving him to the other, while Grey took his place behind me. When we were settled, I finally asked the one thing I was dying to know. “Why are you here, Dominic?”
Honey-gold eyes bored into me. “I heard you’re in need of some help.”
The loss of an integral member of my family was crippling news, but in our world, it was dangerous too. Underbosses were essentially heirs. Without a younger sibling for me to pass the throne to, Rey had become mine by default. Despite his reluctance at first, he was good at it. He was also the only one I’d trusted to take over. We’d trained for years for him to replace me, and now it didn’t matter.
With Rey gone, not only did we have a hole in the line of succession, we also had a massive hole in the empire in general. I didn’t have any options for a second heir. Greyson refused, despite his family and mine being closer than blood. He didn’t want to rule; he wanted to advise me and only me. None of the other men in our family were the type to wield as much power as I did. Not when they all had the seeds of corruption planted in them. I’d give it to Moore or Tennessee, but we all knew they didn’t have the support to hold the territory even if they’d wanted to. The other families would cut them down before I was even cold in the ground.
If I died before I found a new underboss, my family’s legacy was over. The other territory leaders would scratch and claw until everything Marcosa was safely distributed between them. I didn’t want to interview replacements, but I had no choice. Someone had to take over, and there was no one in my family I trusted to continue the work I’d done in the city.
In the years since I’d taken over, we’d killed off the skin and drug trades. Sex was always for sale, but we had stricter standards for the health and safety of the sex workers. People were not property—they were employees. They couldn’t be bought or sold. Not without their permission. I’d also laid out a blanket rule: no opiates distributed within Seattle limits. Our focus was on imports and exports, usually art, jewels, and stolen goods. We made more than decent money, but it was nothing compared to the cash we’d raked in when my father was alive. I didn’t care. I didn’t mind living in the darkness, but drugs was too far in the black hole, even for me.
Still, I knew that the moment I died, everything would revert. All the sanctions I’d placed on the other families would disappear, and the city would return to what it was before. The worst part was, there was nothing I could do about it. Not without an heir.
Feigning a calm I didn’t feel, I settled back in my chair like we were discussing the weather instead of my life’s work. “Possibly. Do you know anyone up for the job?”
Dominic mimicked me, leaning back in his chair, legs spread like he was the king in the room. Grey snorted behind me. “Me.”
My first instinct was to say absolutely not. The last thing I needed was Grey and Dominic in close contact all the time. They wouldn’t last a week before someone was maimed or dead.
“You can’t be serious,” Grey snarled.
“What’s wrong, pup? Don’t want to share your master?”
Grey stepped so close I felt the warmth of him on my back, and his voice was low and deadly. “She’s never been yours, and you know it.”
Dominic’s lips quirked into a smirk, and I knew I was screwed. “On the contrary. She’s definitely been mine.”
Fuck, fuck, fuck.That was one secret I’d never divulged to Greyson for a reason.
I felt his pause, his hot gaze on my skin like a brand when I didn’t refute it. Then all I felt was his heavy disappointment.
Why was that always worse than someone’s anger?
“Grey, give us the room, please?” Dominic’s smirk grew, and I threw him a glare that promised pain if he uttered another word. He mimed zipping his lips, leaning back in his chair like he hadn’t just detonated a man-sized bomb in my world.
For Greyson’s part, he didn’t say a thing. He was just gone, the ever-silent soldier. My heart ached, knowing that, for the first time ever, we were out of sync.
I turned on Dominic the moment the door shut. “You’re an asshole for that.”
He raised a petulant brow. “What? It’s not my fault you never told him.”
“He didn’t need to know,” I growled.
“That I deflowered his best friend? I thought you two told each other everything. Besides, if I were him, I’d want to know.” When I didn’t respond, he shrugged. “I’d tell you I’m sorry, but we both know I’m not.”
Unrepentant bastard.
Praying for patience, I glared at him. “Just keep your mouth shut about our history while you’re here.”
“So, forever, then? Long time to keep secrets.”
I couldn’t help the laugh that leaked out. “Let’s be honest, Dominic. You’ll be out of here in a week.”
Now, it was his turn to glare. “I said I was here to help. That implies that I’m planning to stay.”
“Implications and actions are two different things.” He clenched his jaw but said nothing, so I moved back to the matter at hand. “Having you around sounds like a costly mistake to me.”
“Costly, how?”
I ticked things off on my fingers. “Furniture, medical bills, ammunition, and liquor, for starters. That’s if you and Grey manage not to kill each other in the first week. You’re already causing issues, and you’ve been here less than an hour.”
Dominic nodded, running a hand over his stubbled jaw while he thought about it. “You’re probably right, but it’s not like you don’t have the money to replace whatever we break. As for morale, that’s not something I can help you with.”
No part of me wanted to be stuck in a Dominic vs. Greyson war. Frankly, I didn’t have the time or energy to deal with their shit, but another part of me was also relieved. If he was honest about his intentions, having Dominic as my underboss would be a boon. I’d have an extra layer of protection, someone I trusted to have my back without stabbing it. I’d also have someone I trusted to keep the family pointed in the direction I wanted. A leader who would help the people in our city, not just hurt them.
Ifhe stayed.
“Do you even want the job?” I asked.
Dominic snorted. “No.”
“Then why?—”
“I came for you.” He frowned like he hadn’t meant to say that and shoved a hand through his hair again. It was starting to stick up all over the place, and it reminded me of him as a preteen. A little bit of that boyish charm peeking through. It was just enough to push away some of my irritation. “I always intended to. I was just…”
“Busy.”
Our eyes caught, and I knew we were both thinking of all the ways he’d been tied up somewhere else. Or rather, with someone else. Surprisingly, he looked a little ashamed, his eyes focused on his fingers picking at a hole in his jeans. “Something like that.”
“So, why now?”
He looked up again. “You need me.”
I’d needed him years ago, but he didn’t need to know that.
There was a fierceness in his eyes as he continued. “You need friends around here. People who want to protect you. People who would die for you.”
That was the last thing I needed. “I don’t want that.”
Dominic softened, reaching a hand across the desk to slide over mine. I stared down at them, feeling the warmth of his skin like a balm for my soul. “I know you don’t, Mari. I know this isn’t the life you wanted, but it’s the one you’ve got, and there will always be sacrifices for those in power.”
“Maybe, but they should be mine to bear.” I tried to pull my hand away, but he refused to let go. When I looked up, that fierceness in him had grown threefold.
“That’s not how this works. That’s not why Rey stepped in front of you.”
I yanked harder, trying to pull free in earnest. I was pissed off. He didn’t know what everyone else did because he hadn’t been here. I didn’t want to talk about Rey’s death. Like a child pretending that monsters weren’t real, I wanted to stick my fingers in my ears and scream into the void.
I took a controlled breath and calmed myself. My office was not the place to have a breakdown. That was for later when I was alone. When I didn’t feel like I was splintering to pieces anymore, I spoke. “Let me go, Dominic.”
“No. I know it hurts, but Rey died doing his duty. Protecting his queen. Don’t dishonor him by wishing that away.”
I stopped fighting.
Was that what I’d been doing, dishonoring my cousin? Had I been overlooking his sacrifice as something other than what it was? He’d sworn to be by my side, to protect me at all costs. He’d done that, and he’d lost his life in the process. As his family, I hated myself for being responsible, but I knew Rey. Even if we hadn’t been in the life, he’d have stepped in front of that bullet for me a thousand times over.
The realization healed a tiny piece of me.
I didn’t realize I was crying until Dominic pulled me from my chair and into his arms. He palmed my cheeks, wiping away the tears like we were still lovers. I wanted to lean in, to let him hold me. Like Greyson, there was love in Dominic’s embrace, but unlike him, there was also romantic history. Potential. Which was why I knew that, despite how much I liked Dominic’s kindness, I had to put a stop to it.
“I don’t cross professional lines, Dominic. If you’re my underboss, that’s it.”
He shook his head, his fingers wrapping loosely in my hair. “I know I’ve been gone a long time, but there’s never been an it for us, mariposa.”
I stepped away, needing more space than I’d ever get in his embrace. “You’re right, you have been gone a long time. Too long, some would say. We had our chance a lifetime ago, Dominic. So, if that’s the only reason you’re here, you can see your way out.”
“I’m not going anywhere,” he snarled. “Why can’t you see that?”
Since he’d been gone damn near twenty years, I thought his frustration with me was a little unjustified, but if he wanted to prove himself, I’d let him. Only time would tell if he was in it for the long haul, but I wouldn’t hold my breath. It wasn’t in my nature. “Then we’re in agreement.”
Dominic stared at me through narrowed eyes, and I wondered if he could still read me like a book. Finally, he nodded. “I’ll be a consummate professional when I need to be.”
It wasn’t enough and we both knew it, but I let it slide. I’d had enough emotional drama for the day, and I still had Greyson to contend with. Motioning Dominic back to his seat, I sat in my own and made a decision I knew would create a shitstorm in its wake. Since it felt right, I decided to deal with the aftermath when it hit. “We’re having a summit in two days. If you can get a nomination from three of the four capos, I’ll accept.”
We were meeting to discuss the Aces problem. With no luck on intel from our normal sources, we needed to tap our informants across the city before we got caught with our pants down again. It was as good a time as any to introduce Dominic if he could get the nominations.
Dominic’s brows rose. “Even if your dog disagrees?”
Lord give me patience with these two. “I know things work differently in other families, but in mine, you and Grey will be on equal footing. I suggest you learn how to play nicely because I don’t have time to mediate your issues while I’m trying to keep my heart beating. Understood?”
I speared Dominic with a look, and he inclined his head in a move so like Greyson, I nearly laughed. “Of course.”
He didn’t promise to behave, and stupid I was not, so I knew they’d be at each other’s throats when my back was turned. But I didn’t care. So long as no one died, they could beat each other black and blue in the sparring ring every day. Whatever it took to keep the boat afloat.
Done with our conversation and the day, I stood. “I’ll have your old room made up for you. Sleep well, Dominic.”
“Sweet dreams, mariposa.”