Chapter Two
Hayes
V incere aut mori—conquer or die —my father’s words ring in my ears as I stand in my bathroom getting dressed for the night.
The rose tattoo on my left hand is making its way up my white button up as I close my body full of tattoos inside.
Tonight’s the night. I will make sure Frances Ashton gets what is coming to him. I’ve let him get away with enough since the passing of my father. I cannot let him keep getting away with this shit without consequences any longer. My father did not build this empire without sacrifices and I’ll be damned if I let our businesses suffer because of some prick like Frances who claims to be the King of the Underworld.
He is sadly mistaken.
To my knowledge, he does not have any family. No kids, never been married; so finding something to use against him is not easy, but I am determined to take him down.
My father left it all to me: his estate, his security, his businesses, his fortune . . . I am the King of the Underworld now. Not my first job choice, I wanted to travel the world after college, but when THAT call came in, my destiny had already begun for me.
“We are sending your family’s jet to pick you up, Hayes. Your father has been killed.”
The voice of my dad’s head of security, Alan, still haunts my dreams.
He was an asshole of a man. He got the job done no matter who he pissed off, but he loved his family. He could be a jerk to everyone but my mother and me. He was one of the few men I still respected on this earth. I always knew he would shoot me straight.
As far as my understanding goes, my mother and father both come from wealthy families, though I never knew my grandparents. My mother would always cry when I would ask about her family and my father would tell me, in a rather stern tone, to stop upsetting my mother with questions that do not matter; so I stopped asking.
The life that I have, as far as I know, was my father’s doing and it’s the life that has been handed down to me to keep going.
I always thought I would have time to travel the world after college, come back home, and let him teach me the way he wanted things run. Unfortunately, I came home to ashes in a vase and a new name, Enzo Hayes Ricci Jr., King of The Underworld.
My mother passed a few months after my father died. I guess you could say she died from a broken heart.
As an only child, the responsibility of the family legacy falls on me. I was my father's heir that he always wanted. In his eyes, they had no need to have more children.
My phone starts to vibrate on the counter of my bathroom vanity, and I notice the name is my head of security for our nightclub, Club Rose.
“Hey Ben.” I answer.
“Mr. Ricci, wanted to let you know Ashton’s goons have been hanging around the last few nights. They are here again tonight. Do you want me to get rid of them, Sir?” Ben asks on the other end.
I huff, “Do they seem like trouble?”
“Not so far, Sir. They are staying around the bar and talking to your bartenders but have not caused a ruckus yet.” He reassures me.
“Keep an eye on them. Let them spend their money but the moment they touch one of our girls, you use whatever means necessary to remove them.” I order.
“Yes, Boss!” Ben says.
“Walk the girls out tonight. I do not trust those fuckers to be gone for good. I’ll be at the Auction tonight. Try not to need me, but if you do, you know how to contact me. Thanks, Ben.”
“You got it, Boss. Have a good night.”
The line goes dead, and I put the phone back on the counter, thankful for Ben. He’s been around as long as I’ve been alive. Most of my security has. They have all been a part of my family since I was born, and they all respected my father.
I’m sure some of them were unsure how I could fill my father’s shoes and even I sometimes have doubt in myself, but the one thing my father always taught me is we take care of our own.
The women who work at our clubs will not be mistreated, and I know Ashton’s men would rape and sell them if they had the chance. These men are ruthless, just like their boss.
I grab my suit jacket off the hanger from my closet and slide my arms in the sleeves. Looking in the mirror and making sure my shirt collar is smooth and straight, I turn off the light exiting the bathroom and my bedroom.
My men are waiting for me in the foyer.
“Are we still a go for the plan, sir?” my head of security, Alan, asks.
I nod, “Tell your men to be ready. No mistakes.”
“Yes, Sir.” He nods and we all head out through the front door together.
I climb into the front car with Alan while the other men get in the car behind us.
Frances Ashton has no idea who he has messed with.
I am like my father in so many ways, but there is one way I am not like him . . .
I do not forgive well.