Chapter Bad News
Bad News
ANGELO
“I heard you and your brother were in attendance, but I didn’t see you.” Luca looks at me from behind his enormous desk with a frown. “Your mother and I were quite disappointed.”
As if you weren’t busy facilitating some sort of inter-realm rebellion, Dad.
But I don’t say that. I need Luca to believe I’m not really aware of what he’s doing in the background, so my family and anyone else we can assemble can work to prevent it.
Instead, I shrug. “We were enjoying the delights of the Apalachin, Luca. You, of all people, know how much there is to sample.”
My lie makes him beam like a proud papa—something he’s never been for a second in his long life—and he shuffles some papers before he responds.
“I suppose I can’t blame you for wanting to introduce your brother to the finer things in demon life.
He’s been buried behind those screens for so long, that I wondered about him.
Your mother and I want lots of heirs running around eventually, which means you and he have to get started with that ‘rescue’ you’ve decided to share. ”
It takes a lot of effort, but I suppress the shiver his words make run up my spine.
I don’t enjoy his talking about our mate like that, and I like his assumption that we’re using her as a broodmare even less.
Rogue isn’t the type of woman to settle down and pop out little demon hybrids to fulfill Luca’s imperial dreams. Hell, our mother isn’t even that type—she simply gave him what he wanted quickly enough that he left her alone after that.
Once D and I were born, she handed us off to the staff, and they both continued their adulterous bullshit on their own.
That’s probably what he thinks Damon and I are doing by picking our girl—gross.
“Rogue escorted us, and we brought our other friends as well. It was an eye-opening adventure.” Hopefully, that’s vague enough for him to interpret it however he wants, and he won’t demand details I would never be willing to give.
Luca has no business in my goddamn bedroom or my mate’s preferences, nor does my conniving mother.
Luca beams again, then picks up another sheaf of paper. “Excellent. You and Damon will have our family expanding in no time. Once you produce heirs, you’ll figure out how that’s supposed to work. Your mother and I did very quickly, and it’s been enviable for centuries.”
I hold back my sneer, schooling my features as my theory of what he alluded to is proven on the nose.
Neither of my parents gives a shit about anything other than themselves, and this ‘revolution’ thing they’re part of is no doubt as self-serving as possible.
I’m not sure why they’d want anything to do with being part of the ruling class of Hell other than the title; they’re both damn near allergic to actual work.
From what I understand, the current courts and leaders actually do shit besides sit on their asses and amass wealth.
They’re not good leaders, but they are working ones, and my folks do more pretending to work than they actually accomplish.
It’s puzzling as fuck.
“Why did you ask to see us?” I venture casually as he moves more things around the desk in an impression of someone who is busy. “Usually your requests are for events or because there’s a job that needs to be done.”
Luca’s eyes narrow, and he studies me carefully for a moment.
This is a dangerous time; I’m well aware.
When he hasn’t decided if I’m being a smart ass or loyal, there’s a brief interlude where he might continue or launch into his favorite forms of punishment for mouthing off.
I got lucky today, so he must be focused on whatever he wants.
He sniffs, then looks around the room. “And where is your brother? I demanded his attendance as well.”
“Lola stopped him as I came in,” I shrug, hoping that won’t set us back to his temper getting the best of him. “She’s probably still fussing over him.”
“That woman coddles him far too much; it’s why he’s not fit to rule without you.”
Again, a statement worthy of a disbelieving scoff.
Lola despises D for being ‘weak’ as much as Luca does.
She simply shows it differently and pretends to protect him from Luca to make the staff and anyone in view think she’s the loving parent.
She doesn’t give a hairy rat’s ass about either of us, except for elevating her status as the paragon of demon motherhood and mob boss’s wife.
The fact that Luca doesn’t see it tells you just how much he pays attention to anything she does.
“I could call him in?” I offer blandly.
“No, I’ll deal with this.” Luca presses a button on the intercom on his desk, then bellows, “Damon, get your spineless tail in here before I send someone less pleasant to fetch you!”
My teeth grit as he knocks my brother for absolutely nothing, assuming he’s hiding rather than appeasing our faux-grasping mother.
D never hides from Luca, but I often leave him out purposefully to protect him.
However, I’ve never given my father the impression that he’s not along for the ride because of that—I always make sure he has an assignment to cover for it.
Luca is just being a dick because he can and he enjoys it.
Damon wanders in a few seconds later, his face a mask of indifference. “Sorry, Luca. Lola was asking me about our stay at the Apalachin. I apologize for being late.”
That’s a convo I need to hear about when we’re far away from this place.
“As you should be,” Luca says, then pushes back from his desk slightly. “I have jobs for you two, and I expect them to be done thoroughly, quickly, and with the utmost discretion. Do you understand?”
I blink, then nod automatically. “Of course. What do you require?”
Smiling with pleasure at my quick acquiescence, Luca puts his hands on the edge of the desk.
“I need Damon to build a database and application system for a membership we’re going to offer later this year.
I’ve had someone draw up the specifications to ensure the proper security, questions, and vetting mechanisms are listed.
You will build this within the next three weeks and come back for a meeting where we can ‘test’ it.
Once it’s verified, I will provide details on launching the program. Is that clear?”
Damon frowns for a second, then asks, “Is the person who made your list of requirements tech-inclined? If I don’t have the right information at the beginning, I could make very time-consuming mistakes in the foundational build.”
Luca doesn’t know shit about technological stuff, so that’s a well-worded and fair question.
But our father admits no faults, so his face reddens and he slams his fist on the desk. “Of course it is! I didn’t come up with it myself; I was given the specifics by those who are experts in the field. How dare you question my competency!”
Stepping closer to the enormous piece of furniture, I hold up my hands placatingly. “Luca, wait. D was only confirming that he has the necessary tools to complete your assignment within the time slot and do it right the first time. He doesn’t want to fail you, right, bro?”
My twin nods, then pushes up his glasses. “Correct, Ang.”
I feel his simmering rage at being dressed down for clarifying something like a good employee, but he’s doing a great job of hiding it. Turning back to Luca, I ask, “What is my job?”
Our father sucks in breath through his nose, then cracks his neck as if we’re the most irritating thing he’s ever experienced.
I highly doubt that, but whatever gets him through the day.
Finally, he says, “Once your brother builds and launches this successfully, you will be in charge of setting and completing interviews for the members in the ‘round two’ live portion of the vetting. There will be a small panel of interviewers, and your unique skill set will be perfect for leading them in verifying the authenticity of those beings.”
I frown, trying to puzzle out what the fuck Luca is doing until it dawns on me.
We’re setting up a pre-qualification for supernaturals to join their goddamn rebellion as discussed at the Apalachin—and I’m the fucking interrogator.
When Luca lets us leave, Lola is nowhere to be found.
I let out a sigh of relief as we pass through the living area, the sitting room, and the foyer without being accosted.
This visit troubles me in ways I can’t discuss yet, and I have no idea how we’re going to finagle it so it hurts rather than helps him without giving away our disloyalty.
“Always good to see them,” Damon murmurs for whatever surveillance is listening.
We got used to making sure we said and did the right things in every section of our house the moment we moved to the surface.
We realized even as younger demons that our parents would punish us for any perceived slight, and stroking their egos helped keep their ping-ponging moods from smacking into us unexpectedly.
“Yep. I can’t wait to get to work on the stuff Luca gave us. His trust is one of the best things he’s ever given us besides our names.”
Seriously, it’s always this corny, and it never fails to work.
Damon and I open the front door, leaving quickly and heading to the car we came in.
We took mine this time, so we knew for certain that we could outrun something if we needed to.
Since the event, our family has been watching every shadow for enemies.
It’s not really paranoia, per se, because we know Mina, the Sickos, possibly the Stuhlls, my own mob, and now the damn cops may have people tailing us.
We can’t stop doing normal shit, but this knowledge forces us to revamp every procedure and protocol when some new fucking threat comes up.
It’s bullshit, and I hate it with a passion.
I peel out of the drive, maneuvering the car down the long drive and onto the private road that leads to their mansion. Once we’re far enough away from their neighborhood and speeding along the highway, I turn to my twin. “You know what that shit is, right?”
“Of course I fucking do, Ang. I’m not stupid,” he replies irritably. “I risked my ass in there to ask my question because I was already trying to figure out how to leave backdoors open so I can monitor it without being seen.”
“You’d have full developer access, though,” I say as my brows furrow. “Why does that matter?”
“Because if Luca has people who know what they’re doing, they can see what I’m doing in the logs with admin access.
Hell, for all I know, his experts are techno-mages.
Building a secret door will keep my spying on things away from their prying eyes—if I’m good enough to hide it correctly.
If he just made up some stuff with his friends, who have zero technical aptitude for it, then I don’t have to figure that shit out. Get it?”
I don’t, but I nod. “Okay. That’s probably as close to understanding what you’re doing as I’ll get, bro, but I see your point. You had to know what kind of people would examine and spy on you as you built this thing.”
“Yep,” he replies. “But my part isn’t really the shitty one, and we both know it. Fuck knows who he’s giving you on this ‘team’, and you’ll be expected to push the limits of the applicants who make it to your interviews until they break. That’s what he wants, you know.”
“I know.”
“Are you okay with that?”
I give him a disbelieving expression. “D, I do that shit for him all the time. And we know the people joining this ‘club’ or whatever are no goddamn angels, especially if they make it to round two. It’s not like I’m clubbing baby seals.”
“True.” He’s quiet for a moment as I navigate toward our next stop, which is the gateway office for the portal. “But I also know that Luca will pick people with far fewer morals than you to assist. And that might actually bother you.”
That’s the one thing bothering me since our asshat father gave us these assignments, but I was hoping he wouldn’t catch on, damn it.
Guess we’re all going to be worried about this when everyone hears about it—Rogue is gonna be pissed.