Chapter 9
VOSS
Azlan Deth is a scary motherfucker. Coming from someone who grew up with Loren Van Doren as a baby brother, that says a lot.
His eyes are cold in a way that even Loren can’t pull off.
He’s six feet, covered in dark tattoos, and has long hair.
He almost always has chains around his wrists.
I’ve always thought they were significant in some way though I’ve never asked.
He has his nipples pierced too. I know because his shirt is almost always too tight, which means I can see the enormous skull tattoo through the thin fabric—as well as those damn piercings.
It’s the cold, dead look in his eyes that gets me, though. I swear to fuck, he’s one of those people who you just know has a touch of the devil inside him, whether you believe in the devil or not.
There’s a comment in Peter Pan when Peter notes that Captain Hook’s eyes turn red when he kills. I imagine Azlan’s doing the same.
He’s currently standing in my doorway with my oldest brother, Myro, as I finish a phone call. Azlan isn’t impatient, and yet, feeling his eyes on me makes my skin crawl.
“Yes, Mr. Marcucio. Your security is basic level, and that’s my price to fix it. There are no discounts for the rich; I’m not the government.”
Myro snorts.
I listen to Marcucio sputter angrily for a solid minute longer before I interrupt.
“I have another meeting, so when you come to a decision, let me know. You should be warned that I bill for every lengthy phone rant about my prices. This was your single freebie. You get what you pay for, and there’s literally nothing you can offer or threaten me with that’s going to lower my price.
However, if you’re a pain in the ass, there’s a ten percent asshole fee. ”
“Are you fucking kidding me?!”
“Goodbye, Mr. Marcucio.” I hang up the phone and spin in my chair to face my brother and Azlan. Myro laughs loudly. I’ve even managed to crack a smile on Azlan’s face. Score. That brings my tally up to twenty-eight.
“Take a seat.” I gesture to the wall lined with seating options. “I don’t need to remind you that many of them are not squarely fastened, correct?”
“I’ve fallen on my ass enough times in your presence to have learned my lesson,” Myro says. However, when he sits, there’s a moment where he nearly topples backward. It’s difficult to curb my laughter, but I manage.
Azlan remains standing.
“You’re not waiting for Dad to debrief?” I ask.
Myro frowns. “Dad told me I don’t need to debrief with him anymore.”
I can’t decide whether I want to frown or grin. We all know that Dad has been taking a step back and letting Myro take the lead—much to Myro’s internal panic.
“When are you going to talk to him?” I ask.
He sighs. “What am I going to say? ‘I don’t want to be the king of Van Doren, but neither do any of my brothers, so you need to stay in that position until you die, and then we’ll all watch the empire you built crumble because none of us are good enough to fill your shoes.’ How does that sound?”
I frown. “Shitty. It needs some work.”
Myro nearly topples again, forgetting that there’s no support in the stool he chose. I burst out laughing before I take pity on him and pull over a chair that has a solid base, so he doesn’t always have to engage his core muscles.
“You’ve had this the entire time and just let me struggle?” he asks, narrowing his eyes at me.
I smirk. “Yes.”
“Bitch,” he mutters.
“Maybe…” I let my voice trail off because I don’t actually have a suggestion for Myro.
The only one that I could offer that might help would be if I wanted to step up, and I don’t.
I’m not scared of much, but failing is certainly my biggest fear.
I’ll definitely fail if I have to be Dad’s successor.
Myro is honestly taking one for the team. He’s taking on the role, so none of us has to. Not because he wants to or because he’s confident in his ability to be as good as Dad.
None of us would be as good as Dad.
“It’s fine,” Myro says. “As soon as my non-existent kid is old enough, I’ll hand off the reins.”
“I’m going to caution you to pay attention to your kid before you hand over a multi-billion-dollar empire to them,” I say. “Also, Uncle Noaz already has a kid. Maybe Emerson will want the position.”
Myro waves his hand. “I don’t know. Thankfully, he’s not stepping down tomorrow, so… I have a little time to get my shit together.”
“You know Dad has confidence in you, or he wouldn’t be giving you his crown,” I remind him. “Dad is far from dumb.”
“I know.” He waves his hand again. “Azlan doesn’t need to listen to me gripe.”
Azlan looks entirely indifferent to this conversation.
“Robert Thomas Kennedy Jr. has been disposed of. Azlan ripped out his spine.”
I look at Azlan, and fuck, the hairs on my body stand on end. Jesus fucking Christ. “You did what?”
“First, I did the whole spread eagle thing,” Azlan says, and he mimics ripping open his shirt as you might see Superman do to reveal his lycra. However, he’s referring to his ribs spreading open like cabinet doors.
Bile rises.
“Uh… great.”
“Before he died, I pulled out his spine. Just to see what would happen. If I hadn’t disrupted his spinal column, I think he’d have lived through more of it,” Azlan adds.
“I have an idea for next time to keep their spinal column intact and extend their death while I dissect them. We’ll see if it works. ”
I shudder as I stare at him. “Great,” I repeat. “Uh… he’s dead, then.”
Myro laughs. “Yeah, Voss. Very, very dead. There’s no coming back from this. No need for a wake.”
“Right. Okay. Good debrief.”
“You’re not the one we’re going to debrief regularly,” Myro notes. “You look a little green.”
“Didn’t you blow up all of New York to wipe out the mafia families?” Azlan asks.
“Yes, but I didn’t personally kill anyone.”
“I’d say you personally killed a lot of people,” Azlan says.
“Not with my bare hands. Not in front of my eyes.”
“Then you shouldn’t be a killer. If you can’t look into the face of the people you kill, then you shouldn’t pull the trigger,” Azlan says.
“I agree,” I say. “That’s why I’m not a killer.”
“He’s right,” Myro says. “He came home having created a new life instead. I can’t say I’ve done that on any of my contracts.”
I roll my eyes. “Dude, shut up.”
He laughs. Once more, Azlan cracks a smile. Twice in a day. That’s a new record.
“We’ll have to find a different outlet for debriefing. Maybe the triplets,” I suggest. “Or Loren.”
“Actually, that’s not a bad idea. It might tempt him to take a contract every now and then,” Myro muses.
“You think so?” I ask.
“Listening to Azlan’s gruesome details as he recounts his adventures? Yes, I do.”
“Hm. Noted. Otherwise, the triplets. Good suggestion.”
“Glad that’s taken care of. Good talk.”
Myro laughs as he gets to his feet. “Don’t loosen the chair,” he says, studying the one I pulled out for him. “I’d like not to have to think about sitting.”
“That’s how you’re going to get flabby, bro. You don’t engage your core muscles.”
He gives me a bemused look. “I don’t make my lover do all the work. Trust me, my core muscles are engaged plenty.”
I laugh. “Fair enough.”
Myro slaps my shoulder on the way by. As he gets to the door, I say, “Hey.” He turns to look at me. “I’m not abandoning you. Even when you’re the new dad, we’ll all be right here. You know that, right?”
He smiles. “Yeah. Thanks for the reminder, though. I appreciate it.”
“Not to be cliché, but you’ll never be alone in this business. Even Loren will step up if he thinks you need support, Myro. He’s psychotically loyal.”
His smile turns into a grin. “Actually, that does more than it should to set me more at ease.” He leans against the frame.
Azlan leaves, and my brother watches him go for a minute.
Then he looks at me again. “I won’t abandon my post,” he says.
“That’s why I haven’t said anything to Dad.
None of you wants to be in Dad’s position any more than I do, but unlike me, you haven’t been training with Dad since you were a kid.
If there were another option, I’d step back in a heartbeat.
But there’s not. So I’ll carry the weight for as long as I can. ”
“I’m going to be all sappy and shit, but we’ll help you carry it.”
“Yeah, I know.”
“I also don’t think Dad’s blind or stupid. I’m sure he’s well aware that you don’t particularly want to be the king of Van Doren Technologies. But I think he’s also come to the same conclusions that the rest of us have. There isn’t another option right now.”
Myro nods. “I agree.”
“Maybe we talk to Uncle Noaz. Maybe we all need to have a conversation and kind of put it out there that we need to… uh… train all the kids and make it an option for them to grow up to be king,” I suggest.
“You know, if we keep referring to Dad’s position as king, I think all the kids will be interested.”
“Not necessarily. We’re still not interested.”
“We’re old enough to have literally witnessed in our lifetime how Dad single-handedly made this company explode onto every fucking scene,” Myro says. “If I were following up someone with a normal or even slightly unusual amount of success, it’d be a different story.”
“That’s fair. Go home and work your core muscles out. I can see your stress the longer we talk about this.”
Myro laughs. “Fine. You need to sign off for the day, too. It’s almost eight. Why are you still here?”
“Someone texted me for a debrief, but those assholes weren’t coming in for a few hours.”
He watches me with a smile as I shut down my computer. We leave the office together and drive our separate ways.
While I should head to my room to change, all I really want to do is see Brek.
I’m tired. I want to lie on his naked chest. Listen to his heartbeat and his steady breathing.
I want to forget my worries about Myro taking over VDT when it’s not something he wants to do.
He’s never shared that burden with us, and yet, I think we all feel it a little because we know he doesn’t want the job.
It makes us feel guilty, like we should want the job so he doesn’t have to take it.
I knock on his door and open it. Brek isn’t asleep. He’s got his phone in his hand, though I can’t tell if he’s scrolling, reading, or maybe watching something. Whatever he’s doing, he brings his hand holding the phone down and smiles at me.
Closing his door behind me, I kick my shoes off. Then I’m stripping my clothes on my way to his bed, so I’m practically naked by the time I reach him. Brek sets his phone to the side. As soon as he does, I fall on top of him.
He laughs. When I don’t move, he tangles his fingers in my hair. “Long day?”
“Can I vent for a minute?”
“Yep. Want me to listen, commiserate, or make suggestions?”
I grin because I fucking love that he asked. “Listen.”
“Okay. Go.”
“I’m not really venting, but I need to say it out loud.
Dad is a beast. Like, if we were in medieval times, he’s the man who slayed the dragon.
He’s Alexander the Great and has conquered the world.
He’s King Arthur, ushering in prosperity and elevating life for everyone in his kingdom.
He’s… a damn god. I swear, he’s accomplished more in his lifetime than nearly anyone in history.
With a damn pen and not a weapon. But… he’s nearing the age where he should retire, and that means someone needs to follow in his footsteps.
Imagine being the man to come after God.
The ones who tried to carry on Alexander the Great’s legacy—and failed dramatically, mind you.
Eventually, King Arthur dies. Beowulf dies from the injuries he sustained from the dragon that he saved his kingdom from.
No one can fill the hero’s shoes. But someone has to. ”
“Is that someone you?”
“No. My brother.”
“That clears it up.”
I grin. “Myro. The thing is. Myro is already terrified of trying to live up to our father’s legacy.
I love Myro. I have all the confidence in the world in him.
But he’s right. He’s not Dad. Dad is… special.
It takes a really fucking unique person to do all the shit Dad’s done. But what are our options?”
“I know you want me to listen, but can I make a… comment?”
“Yeah.”
“Maybe the problem is that you’re looking for one person to take Jalon’s spot when you’re right. No one person is like your dad. Maybe Jalon’s succession needs to be multiple people. It’s not like he runs his empire alone anyway.”
His words sink into me, and I nearly laugh because, uh, yeah! Of course. How fucking stupid have we been this entire time?
I pick my head up and look at Brek. “You’re an amazing fucker.”
He laughs. “Yeah?”
“That’s brilliant. I even said something along those lines literally minutes ago. Right before I left Myro. But it was still a future with Myro as the king and the rest of us his knights or some shit. Not multiple kings.”
“You really do think of this as a kingdom, don’t you?”
“No, it’s more the consolidation of power in Dad, fashioned after the kings of old. Not the figurehead monarchs and patriarchs we see today. Although, yeah, kind of, right? Dad rules a damn empire. Which is why it’s always been so intimidating to his sons.”
“I have another suggestion.”
“What’s that?”
He shoves at me until we roll and I’m on my back. Brek climbs on top of me and grins down. Maybe he’s grinning because his body on top of mine immediately makes my dick perk up with interest.
“How about we do some experimentation?” Brek suggests.
“What kind of experimentation?”
“Well, I’ve heard orgasms are a great source of stress relief. I’m not stressed, but you are, and… I’m a little curious to see how my body takes interest in different situations.”
“Okay. I’m game. What do you have in mind?”
Brek grins and slides down my body. He shoves my legs apart and looks at my crotch. A thrill runs through my body and pools in my cock. Right before Brek’s eyes, I get hard for him.
“How about I suck your dick? But full disclaimer: I’ve never had a cock in my mouth before. I can also count on one hand how many times I’ve had my cock in someone else’s, and not once was I into it, so… you can guide me if you like.”
I nearly groan in anticipation. “Go for it. I have a feeling I’m going to like your mouth on me regardless of what you do with it. That’s not an invitation to bite my dick, though.”
He laughs. “Noted.”