Chapter 15
The Past
My soul has never felt more dead.
Sharp rain pours down on me, soaking my suit, as I stand outside the cathedral.
“You fucking did this,” I mutter to myself. “You’re the reason they’re all dead.”
I’ll blame myself until the day I die.
Every action has a reaction.
The darker the action, the viler the reaction.
My family is dead.
Their home bombed.
All because of greedy men.
Greedy men feed off power. Always have and always will.
The overhead light shines above me as I stare into the black night. The funeral ended five hours ago, and I’m the only griever left.
I dig my Zippo lighter from my pocket, open it, and watch a hint of a flame flicker. The rain kills it seconds later, and I repeat the action, watching the same result.
I snap the Zippo shut at the sound of a car door slamming. Genesis, still dressed in her black funeral dress, circles her BMW and starts walking in my direction. The rain lashes out on her.
My now-deceased sister’s best friend.
The woman who’s stared at me for years like I was her favorite sight and who I’ve fought with myself not to do the same. It’s like she’s always trying to read my mind whenever she is around.
That’s why I’ve always maintained my distance. I don’t like people’s attention on me, especially ones I don’t trust.
I pretend not to notice her. As she grows closer, I see she’s barefoot. That’s the first sign she’s lost her goddamn mind. No one walks around New York barefoot unless you want to get tetanus.
She stops in front of me. “What really happened to them, Julian?”
I slowly raise my gaze to her, acting as if I were bored. Her dark hair is down, wet strands stuck to her flawless face, and mascara is smeared across her cheek. The fucked-up makeup isn’t from the rain.
It’s from her tears.
Her heartache.
Her fucking pain.
Unlike me, she doesn’t hide her emotions.
She waits, resting her hands on her hips, and she’s clearly out of her mind if she thinks I’ll answer her.
“Get back in your fucking car,” I say, grating the words out.
“No.” She furiously shakes her head, and rain flings from her hair. “I want to know what happened to them.”
The last person I’ll give information to is this rich bitch who thought she was living dangerously by hanging out with my sister.
“That’s none of your concern.” I crack my neck and slip my Zippo into my pocket. “Go home, Genesis.”
“They were murdered, weren’t they?” she spits, her anger matching mine. She steps closer, and the sweet scent of her floral perfume floats between us.
“You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
The last thing I need is her going to the cops. I’ll deal with the people who killed my family myself. They’ll die at my hands, not rot in a prison cell.
“Yes, I?—”
I snatch her hand, cutting her off, and yank her toward me.
Her soft body collides into my chest. She blows out a ragged breath, peering up at me through thick lashes. I push her away at the same time I grab her wrist, cupping my hand around it like a shackle.
She attempts to stop me as I drag her away from the sidewalk, through rain puddles, and back to her car.
The driver’s door is unlocked, and the dome light beams when I open it. She gasps when I shove her inside. Her eyes are wide as she waits for my next move.
“Go the fuck home.” I lower myself to her level, getting in her face. “All connections you had with my family are gone. Go back to your innocent life and stay the fuck away from me.” I rise and slam the door shut.
I turn around, mutter, “Good fucking riddance,” and walk toward the cathedral.
I stop to punch a random car. A mixture of pleasure and pain radiates up my arm. I wait for the alarm to fire off. When it doesn’t, I punch the car again and shake my hand out.
“You know that’s not a fair fight, right? Unless that Buick is a Transformer, it can’t defend itself.”
I whip around to find Genesis standing behind me.
She must not know sass gets you killed.
Maybe I should show her.
I inch toward her, but she doesn’t back away, like I hoped. “I told you to go home.”
“You aren’t my boss.”
“No, but I can force you to do things.”
She’s too brave.
I don’t like it.
“Get in your car.” I get in her face again, spit flying from my mouth. “Don’t make me say it again.”
She whips around, and my shoulders relax when she walks away.
They tense back up when she moves in the opposite direction and sits on the cathedral steps.
This girl is fucking mad.
“I’m staying here until you talk to me,” she states, full of attitude.
I take three large strides, standing over her. “Sit in the rain for all I care. Warning: This area isn’t safe, so try not to get murdered.”
She doesn’t flinch at my words.
Instead, she holds up a finger. “Speaking of murder , the police didn’t confirm that as their cause of death.”
She pulls her knees to her chest, and I hate that my eyes travel as her dress rises up her thighs. Unfortunately, it stops inches from where I could get a view of her pussy.
“They said it was an accident, but I’m not dumb,” she rambles.
“What will you do if it was murder?” I scoff. “You going to solve it, Scooby-Doo?”
Her sweet face hardens. It’s not a good look on her.
“Whoever killed them needs to be killed. What’s it called? Retribution?”
“Are you going to kill them?”
She looks away from me.
“You might’ve thought you were tough, hanging out with my sister, but you know nothing of our world. If anything, her death should be a warning for you to stay away. This life wasn’t made for you.”
It wasn’t made for any of us.
We were all just shaped into it.
“Julian,” she says, staring up at me, her eyes suddenly looking innocent, “will you kill them?”
“You already know the answer.” I immediately regret saying that. I don’t trust her, so why am I even entertaining this conversation?
“Good.” She blows out what sounds like a breath of relief. “I want every person involved to suffer.”
Genesis might be different than I thought.
A darkness crawls inside her innocence.
An understanding that I don’t get much from the outside world.
But I’ll save her from the trauma and stop her before she gets too deep.
I take a step back, scrubbing a hand over my jaw. “And I want you to get back into your car.”
She stares at me, wide-eyed, but doesn’t move.
“Do you want me to drag you in there again?” I can’t believe I’m standing in the rain, having this conversation with her.
“I’d prefer you didn’t.”
“Have fun sitting out here, alone, in the rain.”
“I’ll get out of the rain then.” She stands, walks up the cathedral steps, and disappears inside.
Taking a second, I debate whether to follow her.
I read people well enough to know that’s what she wants.
For some reason, she thinks I’ll be the good guy here.
I’m the opposite of the good guy.
Which is why I know I’ve lost my wits, that my family’s deaths have really fucked with my head, when I climb the steps.
I grip the door handle, knowing I’ll tell her nothing.
She’ll never know she’s right.
The Popovs murdered my family over a territory war. They own a casino chain along the Jersey state line and East Coast and decided to expand into New York City. Apart from the holes-in-the-wall, Lucky Kings is the exclusive casino in the city.
When we first found out about their interest, we approached them civilly to offer them a payout to get the fuck out of our city. They declined and purchased land to start the project. In retaliation, we burned down the framework when construction started.
We continued to do that each time they found another location and attempted to rebuild. They needed to know we always eliminated competition, whether it be by money or murder.
The night of my family’s murders, we’d burned down their location and killed the two men watching guard. Blowing up my family’s home was their revenge.
Now, I’ll get mine.
I’ll avenge my family and kill every person responsible.
But first, I have to deal with this fucking woman.
What the fuck do I do with her?
I could bail and let her hang out in there alone.
If Melissa were here, she’d get mad if I left Genesis vulnerable.
For my sister’s sake, I swing open the cathedral door and step inside. Genesis is hunched forward in a back-row pew, shivering and dripping wet.
I slump down next to her and keep my voice low. “I’ll kill them.” My tone turns harsh. “Now, will you get your ass in the car and go the fuck home?”
She stares forward. “I’ll go home if you go home.”
“My home burned down.” I don’t mean for my response to sound pitying.
Her attention whips to me, the reality of my words hitting her.
While I have my own home, it’s never felt like home . It doesn’t have the warmth of family like my parents’ house did. I’ve never been a people person, but my family was the exception. I enjoyed spending time with them.
You know who I don’t enjoy spending time with?
This woman here.
She’s pulling up too many memories.
She reminds me of the lightness inside my family.
My sister and mother.
I can’t fucking stand that.
To get my mind off problems, I usually do one of two things:
Kill someone.
Fuck someone.
Melissa would’ve definitely kicked my ass if I did the first to her friend.
She’d have also kicked my ass if I did the second.
But out of the two, I’d prefer option two.
Genesis’s breathing hitches when I lower my hand to her thigh and slowly inch it up her skirt. Goose bumps spread over her skin. She parts her thighs farther, still gazing straight ahead.
I tilt my head down so only she can hear me. “Do you want to go back to my place? Where I lay my head at night?” My eyes are glued to her, and my cock hardens as I sweep my hand closer to her pussy.
Her breathing quickens, and she adjusts how she’s sitting to provide me further access into a pussy I know is probably sweeter than anything I deserve.
“Answer me,” I demand when my finger feathers along her panty line.
“Yes,” she moans.
“Let’s go then.” I draw my hand back from her pussy, stand, and hold that same hand out to her.