Chapter 2 #2
“You’re wanting more time or less?” Pappy knew above everyone else that I was ready to get the fuck out of the government but I had to still hold my place until I got the official go-ahead to leave.
My grandfather saying what he meant was that things were in the works for me to no longer have to be here.
Which meant someone else was stepping in to be available to provide us with information.
I was curious to see who it was since few of my brothers had blood siblings who weren’t already tied up in businesses or work for the family.
“I’m stating a fact.”
“You are. But you also can’t quit abruptly without having issues. And the desire to have eyes in place for us is also still a key factor in why you were there to begin with. And let’s not forget your partner. I’m sure he’ll be pissed to be left high and dry.”
I smirked at my grandfather’s words because he wasn’t wrong.
Vega’s ass was going to be highly pissed when he found out I was getting the option to leave all this shit behind.
He could too, but his family still needed him to be in place where he was.
I wasn’t going to sugarcoat this shit for him.
Vega was as good as I was with what he did.
We understood the criminal mind because we were criminals.
Not in how the people we tracked were but we’d seen the depths people would go through to survive.
To attain power and to keep it. Polite society and the place of always being centered and considered that so many of our counterparts came from meant they were working with blinders.
They often couldn’t remove the prejudices they had despite statistics showing that it was more of them, white men, that engaged in the crimes that landed on our desks.
Hypocrisy was an amazing tool of white supremacy which allowed both of us to excel where others failed.
I wasn’t sure if Vega was going to traverse this solo or if he was going to speak to his people about getting out.
Knowing him he’d suck it up and keep working.
The things we do for family.
Pappy continued before I could give my opinion on Alec.
“He’ll get over it. Or he’ll finally transfer south, like the family has been wanting him to.
Using our ports and carriers has been more than lucrative for both families.
That’s not a tie we’ll break anytime soon.
I know that they don’t like to rely on just anyone to get their information for them so he might need more time to get away. ”
“Unless he gets angry he’s stuck in the government without me.”
“Again, I think he’ll be fine because he understands, more than anyone, the family dynamic that you come from.
I’m not doubting that you’ll be more than able to get away from all this when the time is right.
I know you have all the routes memorized so I’m not going to question you on that.
How do you think you’ll be able to handle everything else? ”
I gritted my teeth causing my jaw to clench as I thought about the everything else he was referring to.
My father’s family. I didn’t have family in my eyes outside of my grandfather but he still had relatives.
The history between my mother's and father’s people was intense.
And ugly. A feud that started almost immediately at my conception and now thirty-five years later, was still some bullshit.
And I was about to step in as head of it all.
The only ally I truly felt I had on either side of the family was Pappy and even he was alienated from the Nakoa side and still held at arm’s length and greeted with disdain by the Franklins.
They hated that someone they deemed an outsider was now in charge of their family’s legacy but that was their own greed biting them in the ass. And laziness.
“Are you worried that I won’t be able to handle it?
” The muscle in my jaw ticked again at the thought of being doubted and it was twice as irritating to think he might feel that way.
This room was one that I had been in often since we’d made the move across country.
It wasn’t my childhood home nor Pappy’s main house, but it was where we’d ended up because of business.
It turned out to be a smart move since I ended up working in the government sector.
They could see how good I looked on paper and not question a lot.
To them I was the little orphaned boy who lived with his grandfather.
The mental tests they’d had me do showed I was eager to belong, which made me susceptible to their bullshit.
It was laughable how easy those things were to fake in order for them to think I was what they were looking for.
My high school reputation of being a loner but extremely intelligent also played a large factor into how I was recruited to the service.
Pappy’s chuckle soothed what was the start of my irritation but I still waited to hear what he was going to say before I gave him a full pass. When I met his eyes again he was smiling having found my irritation humorous.
“You know that would be the least of my concerns. I’d be more concerned that you were going to kill all of them.
” The way the bronzed skin around his mouth tilted up into a grin made it clear he would be more than happy for me to do his dirty work.
Pappy lacked a sense of connection with a lot of his family for reasons that stretched back from before even I was born.
The circumstances since then had done little to repair the relationship so I was positive he wouldn’t mourn them at all if I had to dispose of them.
“You think so little of me?”
“I know how you can be and what you’re not going to tolerate. You don’t have the familial love to put up with them the way I do.”
“You’re right.”
Pappy might have hated a lot of his people but he’d been raised in that era of respecting your family no matter what.
Sadly, he’d taught his kids to think for themselves and what he ended up with was two spoiled kids who assumed that everything would be handed to them without having to put in any work.
I’m sure he was still surprised that I hadn’t turned out to be a piece of shit or a doormat but he was hoping the day never came that I switched up. Thankfully, I knew it would never come.
“Who’s going to be your second?”
His question halted the self-assurance I had because it was something I hadn’t allowed myself to dwell on.
Now, that lack of planning was going to be an issue.
I hadn’t thought of having a second because everything in my family line stopped with me.
I had one cousin that I actually got along with but he was a professional football player and despite his girl being a killer; I didn’t know if this was the type of life for him.
He could be ruthless but his ruthlessness had to be combined with a noble purpose.
Besides, he was far too recognizable to be as stealth as he would need to in order to work with me.
People would think the same about you.
I shook off my thoughts of Grant helping to join the family business because we were still connected through the Nakoa side and not the Franklin side.
So it wouldn’t allow me to have a balanced view that would reflect the needs of both families.
That was the issue the Franklins had with Pappy.
They felt as though he would put the needs of the Nakoas over theirs.
I understood their point of view because they had nothing to bring to the table besides their Consortium connection.
The fear was valid but Pappy wasn’t that type of person.
The only other person in the Consortium that had to worry about shit like this was Liam since both of his family businesses were heavily integrated.
But even his father Deuce knew that it was going to be fuck the Merricks if one family had to survive and he was okay with that.
Until his nephew took over the family lairdship, I’m sure Deuce was ready to let them all fend for themselves without the protection of the Consortium.
Thankfully, Bhaltair was a good man despite his piece of shit father and he was Liam’s second in command.
There wasn’t a Franklin or a Nakoa that I trusted with that type of responsibility with me.
Besides Pappy, of course. So his question got my mind wandering and I hated not being able to give him an immediate answer.
“I’ll have to give it some thought. Don’t want to rush into something that needs this much consideration.”
The issue was blood. I had to have a blood relative as my second and they couldn’t be someone from one of the other families.
Priest had operated without one for a minute since his family’s business had an entire army of people that had his back.
Now he had cousins who could step in if the need arose.
The only close connections I had were with my brothers and the idea of forging relationships with any of my kin made me want to lock them all in a warehouse and burn it down instead of trying to build a connection.
They’d all turned their backs on me and I didn’t forgive easily.
Pappy studied me again seeing the flames my imagination had conjured up displayed in my eyes. He nodded, signaling that he was letting the matter rest. At least for now.
“There’s no way to rush it since there are so few people who would actually meet the criteria for it. I’ll have to do some thinking because trust is a commodity too easily given and lost. The last thing I would ever want to do is suggest someone to you that wouldn’t work out.”
I cracked a smile at his words feeling the tension this conversation had caused finally break.
“Suggest. You think I’d listen to what you said, old man?”