Chapter 1 #2
“Hand things over to the man who helped stage the coup for the gang to leave my leadership in the first place. Henry, right? Step away while you still can. The link to the cartel is dangerous, and not something to take lightly. You boys need a clean cut.”
Shame hollowed out my chest as I considered how he’d view Henry.
He had been loyal to my father once, but he’d been the one whispering in our ears to return the gang to the initial vision our grandfather once had for it.
Instead of confirming anything about Henry, I asked, “How do you know about the cartel link?”
Dad’s jaw hardened. “Because it runs in my fucking blood, Kingston. Those men were loyal to me for twenty years. They may have wanted to return to the initial vision, but it didn’t change who they consider the true leader.”
Fuck, that hurt. He was right, but it was humiliating. El Peligro wasn’t something my brother or I loved. We abused it, and in turn, the men felt it.
Gio spoke, shaking me from my thoughts. “Even if we wanted to go, we can’t. They’d hunt us down. You know this.”
Dad’s jaw worked back and forth as if he were biting back a thousand different words.
“If you hand things over to family, they won’t. Henry is a blood relation to my uncle, they’ll follow him.”
Our dad glanced between us. I knew he understood what our hesitation was about.
If there was still a chance that Presley needed us, and while we knew she hated us, if we could ever use what connection we had to the gang to protect her, then we would.
Our silence answered for us, and we had to watch as fresh hurt worked through our father’s gaze, cutting us down to the bone.
“She isn’t coming back. While we haven’t been in communication with Kyle or heard how she’s doing…I know Presley. She will do whatever it takes to keep her family safe, and whatever you did made it to where we are no longer a part of it.”
Cold numbing truth slid through my veins at his harsh reprimand. We had ruined everything. I had ruined everything. Gio would have never gone this far if it weren’t for me.
“What about your friendship with Kyle? Haven’t you both been through enough not to leave him like this? Markos is going to kill them.”
Dad didn’t even wince or flinch as he dismissed the idea. “Kyle has always worried about his family. It’s time I do the same.”
Shock was the first thing I felt. Ever since we could remember, Kyle and my father seemed more like brothers. Even more so than Kyle did with his own brother, Decker. Dad and Kyle were cut from the same cloth, the same fear and obsessions of keeping what they cherished safe…and yet.
“Dad, you can’t do this,” Gio argued, shaking his head. He pushed his dark hair back, revealing a new tattoo snaking along his forearm. Something about punishment and penance.
Our father gave us one glance before turning toward the patio doors. “I didn’t do it, Son. You two did. We warned you not to ruin the family.”
He didn’t understand, no one was fucking trying to understand. “Adrian is going to kill her. You don’t believe us, but we know our intel is solid.”
Dad paused with his hand on the doorknob for a fraction of a second before turning. “And yet he hasn’t in nine months.” His eyes burned as he glared at us both, his voice rising.
“She’s been in Italy, living happily for nine months.”
I winced, lowering my head. Hearing it was too painful because it was what went through my head every night when I closed my eyes, what I heard every morning. What I thought of every time I considered tracking her down.
“She’s been engaged for nine months, and nothing bad has happened to her. She’s happy.”
“Stop,” Gio warned, his voice cracking.
Our dad’s eyes blazed as he took a step closer. “She’s rich, being completely spoiled and not covered in bruises. She’s not fighting anymore. Isn’t that what you always wanted?”
My brother was shaking, and I felt that same quivering wherever it was my blackened soul lingered. Of course, we always wanted her happy and safe, and fucking whole. We wanted her to find joy in this life, but fuck, did it have to be without us?
“He’s not who he says he is. Markos is—”
“Dead,” Dad snapped, and I froze. Gio’s eyes slid over, meeting mine.
I whispered because my voice didn’t seem to want to work. “How do you know that?”
“Because Markos once wanted to marry your mother. Their marriage had been arranged since her birth, and when she turned nineteen, she was to become his bride. It was the entire reason I picked up the colors of El Peligro and stamped my chest with that fucking black heart. Years later, Markos tried his hand at ruining us again through Riley, but Kyle nearly castrated him for it. We’ve never stopped tracking him, and when you mentioned his name, I made it my mission to find him.
I would have killed him myself except he was already dead when I arrived. ”
“Even if he’s dead, that doesn’t change anything,” Gio said, finally stepping closer so we were nearly side by side.
Dad scoffed and then gave us one last shake of his head. “It changes everything.”
With that, he entered the house and kept us standing out in the cold, staring at a dead garden that now represented this family.