Chapter 16
Soren
“What did you do?” Rosalie asks me the second I storm my way into the house.
I’m just glad it’s not Eivor that approaches me first. The couple hours on the plane was spent trying to figure out what I can possibly say to him.
It’s going to have to be the truth. If he knows as much as I think he does, there’s no other option.
The truth is the last thing he wants to hear, though, that much I’m certain of.
What he’s going to do about it, I have no idea.
“Don’t worry about it, Rose,” I tell her as the door closes behind me. “It has nothing to do with you.”
“The hell it doesn’t. You had me scoping the fight club for information when you’ve had no intention of ever going through with the plan.
Didn’t you?” she asks with her eyes ablaze with irritation.
Her arms are folded, her feet planted firmly to the ground, and I know she’s not going to leave me alone.
“You weren’t suspicious at all?” I ask her in retort. “When I pulled him out of the ring instead of letting him get himself killed?” I narrow my eyes.
“It…it was a bit strange, but I figured there was a reason…alright, I can see the way you looked at him, but you’ve fucked our enemies before. That doesn’t mean you don’t go through with the job,” Rosalie huffs at me. “Eivor is pissed.”
“I bet he is, and I’ll handle it,” I tell her, anger flaring in my own eyes. Heating my body up and causing my hands to clench into fists. “This isn’t just about fucking, Rose. I don’t know how to explain it b—” I’m cut off by my uncle’s voice booming into the entryway.
“Tell me what this is about then, Soren Antonio Fiorelli!” he shouts at me as he approaches. Eivor’s hands are swinging wildly around his body. His eyebrows furrowed and face red.
“Let’s go into your office, Uncle,” I tell him.
He doesn’t like being told what to do, and he takes my suggestion for a demand.
“Don’t you tell me what to do or where to go, young man,” he growls at me.
I almost snort at his words, but I keep it in. I know how serious this is, even if there’s a part of me that wants to question his hypocrisy.
“Young man? I’m almost thirty, Eivor,” I do manage to say this however.
“Yes, and for that you’re incredibly idiotic! You’re going to explain yourself right here and now,” he demands of me.
Aunt Patrica walks up behind him, a couple guards are following her.
“Let’s take this into the sitting room, shall we?
” she suggests. He takes her suggestions much better than mine, and storms off ahead of us.
She gives me a look of pinched face disapproval before she follows him.
Rose lingers behind me as I walk in, and I glance at her.
Her own face shows her disappointment, and it’s hers that hits me the hardest.
If there’s anyone in this family that I want to remain loyal to, it’s my sister.
“You’re cavorting with Carmine Dresvanni as though it’s not your job to help bring his family down,” Eivor accuses me, sitting down on the loveseat and running a hand through his hair. “Drink, Patricia, drink.” He waves his hand in frustration.
Patricia quickly pours him a triple and hands it to him. He downs half of it and sighs.
“I know my job,” I tell him. “I just…don’t agree with it, Eivor.” I try to keep my voice calm, collected, not get worked up like him. It’s difficult. Knowing that he’s angry with me for not going through with a plan that makes absolutely no sense.
“Agree with…” he scoffs. “The only thing you need to worry yourself about is how you’re going to end his life, not why it needs to happen, Soren. I gave you an order to clean up your mess.”
My jaw tenses. “It hasn’t been a week.”
He takes the rest of his drink down and slams the glass on the table, making my aunt and Rosalie, who is standing nearby, flinch. I lock eyes with Eivor, not wanting him to think I’m weak or willing to break under whatever this tyrant hold he thinks he has over me is.
Still, my heart aches within my chest. I want to remain loyal to my family…but, that family is starting to include someone Eivor wants me to get rid of. It’s never been so hard in the past to be rid of someone before. I’ve never felt so deeply until this moment.
“I don’t give a damn how long it’s been. Any other time you’d have this done yesterday,” he says with a raised voice and starts to stand up. Patricia puts a hand on his leg which prompts him to sit back down.
My back and legs are tense as I prepare to stand myself, but don’t.
“I know,” I admit.
“Explain to me, Soren,” he motions to me. “Explain to me why you’re sleeping with Carmine instead of killing him. Enough of this don’t agree bullshit that you’re going on about.”
I scoff this time. “It’s exactly about what I don’t agree with, Uncle,” I remind him. “I can’t tell you and avoid it at the same time.”
“Just tell us, Sor,” Rose demands from her place. She steps closer. “I want to know what the hell you’ve had me involved in.”
“Yes, tell us what you’ve gotten your poor sister into,” Patricia demands.
“Everyone that isn’t a man needs to shut the fuck up,” Eivor hisses.
Rose tenses, but my aunt just leans back in her seat and folds her arms.
Rosalie looks to me, locking eyes with me for just a moment. I see hurt there, but now I’m not sure it’s just about me.
“Rose is anything but poor,” I defend her.
“I don’t give a damn,” Eivor leans forward and grabs the bottle again, pouring half a glass and downing it with a huff. “Just tell me why you’ve really been saving Dresvanni’s ass. Does he really have that good of a dick?”
I glare at him and grind my teeth. “I’m protecting him because I want to,” I insist. “Because your plan of destroying their family just to take power is fucking terrible. Eivor, you’re making all enemies and no allies.
The Dresvannis have a dozen families on their side all around the world.
Who do we have, the Carvels? The Greers? What are they gonna do?”
“Taking is the only way we’re going to end up on top.
Don’t you want the best for this family?
” he asks me as he finally stands up and starts to gesture with his hands again.
I stand up as well, not wanting to be below him.
I tower over him instead, and I get some kind of sick pleasure in knowing he hates it.
He’s always hated that I’m taller than him.
“Yeah, of course I do,” I tell him. “But maybe…for one second, you could think about how dangerous your plan is. The way I see it, you’re gonna get us all killed if you keep insisting we take over people for their power instead of making a deal with them.”
“No!” he shouts at me. “You are going to get us all killed! You could have ended this days ago. Killed Carmine, got us into that goddamn house, and taken care of the rest. Then we’d already be on top.
We’d have even more power. We could convince the others to take our side. Take those twelve allies.”
I step closer to him. “And do what? Do what, Eivor? Kill those twelve allies and take their power too? I know you. Better than you realize.”
“Goddamn, the Dresvanni really got up your ass, didn’t he?
What did he do, tell you he can give you more power if you side with him?
Fuck you so good that you forgot who you really are?
” Eivor grabs me by the front of my shirt and I rip myself from his grasp so quickly that I nearly fall to the floor. My heart is pounding in my chest.
Aunt Patricia looks wildly uncomfortable, but she doesn’t say anything.
“You’re not going to say anything?” I ask her. “Your husband wants to wipe out twelve families, and you’re just going to sit there.”
She looks away from me.
Rosalie looks less angry with me now but more so sad. Her body language is closed off and she’s inching her way toward the back of the room away from us.
“Shut your disgusting fucking mouth,” Eivor growls out at me. He steps over and pulls his gun out in a flash, placing it under my chin.
I freeze.
“This isn’t about sex, Uncle,” I tell him, tight lipped.
“I don’t care what it’s about. You’re going to close your trap, then you’re going to go and find Carmine, and you’re going to kill him. Do you understand me?” he places his finger on the trigger. His eyes are wet with tears, and I want to spit at him for it.
How dare he? He doesn’t deserve to say Carmine’s name. Have it come out of his mouth. He doesn’t deserve to feel sadness or pain in this situation. He’s not the one being asked to kill.
No. He wants me to do his dirty work.
“Okay,” I say slowly. “I understand.” My voice is cold and robotic. I ignore the ache in my stomach.
Eivor removes his gun from my chin and shoves it back into his pants. He pats me on the side of the face. “Atta boy.”
I take a step back from him, and turn around, I walk to the entryway to the room, past my sister.
Rosalie’s brow furrows and she mouths at me. I’m sorry.
I don’t reply. Instead, I simply look over my shoulder toward my uncle.
“The blood is on your hands, regardless of who does it.”
I leave without another word. Just stinging in my eyes.
I know Carmine is still in Greece. So, I’ve got two options. Wait for him to come home or take the two-hour flight back to Greece. Then what?
I know what Eivor expects of me, and I know what I need to do. I need to kill Carmine. I have a sinking feeling in my gut that drowns me more and more as I drive to the Dresvanni estate.
I have to kill Carmine.
I’m pretty sure he’s a dead man either way. Whether I’m the one who kills him or not. The difference being that if I don’t kill him, I’ll also be a dead man. Do I care? Do I care so much about loyalty to my family that I’m going to kill the man I’ve promised to protect?
I can’t think and I don’t want to. I want to stop. I just want everything to stop.