Maximus (The Vendetta Brotherhood #7)

Chapter One

Maximus – Ten Years Ago

I tugged at my tie, since it felt as if it was choking me.

Right now, I was supposed to be at the game with my mates, cheering our team, and trying to score with the cheerleaders.

Instead, I was stuck at yet another event while my father paraded me as his heir.

There were others in the same situation as me, and I felt sorry for them, each of us trapped in a family which demanded we follow their path.

A shadow moving from the doorway into the hall I was hiding in caught my attention, the head peeking in first, followed by a slim figure. Her eyes widened when she saw me sitting on the stairs, before she looked back from the direction she came.

“Don’t mind me,” I said. “I’m hiding from my destiny.”

She chewed the side of her mouth, glancing back again before straightening her back and walking toward me. “Papa was discussing my marriage in there.” Her entire body shook in revulsion. “This morning, I was styling my Barbie’s hair, and tonight I’m being made to twirl and smile.”

My lips twitched at her expression. “You’re a bit young for marriage,” I commented.

“Not in our world,” she replied, rolling her eyes.

I delved into my pocket to retrieve a hip flask with Dad’s most expensive whiskey in it, taking a swig and offering it to her.

“I’m twelve.” She eyeballed me as if I had crawled out of somewhere nasty. “It’s against the law.”

“I’m fifteen and was taught to fire a gun before the age of ten. As you so eloquently pointed out, we belong in a world not governed by normal laws.”

She stared at me for another few seconds before she quickly sat down on the stair beside me, tucking her ridiculous pink dress around her. “I hate these events,” she said in a voice so low I barely heard her.

I felt that sentiment down to the depths of my soul. “Whiskey helps,” I replied, taking another mouthful of the fiery liquid.

“I’m Olivia,” she said after a few minutes of sitting here.

“Maximus,” I replied automatically.

“I know who you are,” she said. “Everyone knows who your family is.”

My back molars ground together, and I swallowed the urge to drink more of the alcohol, since I bore the bruises of my drunken misdemeanour for weeks the last time I embarrassed Dad.

“Then call me Max, no one seems to know who he is.” I trailed my fingers through my hair and lay back on the stairs to stare at the ornate banister that snaked upward.

Olivia lay down beside me. “I wanted to be a scientist and work in a lab. Papa promised I could be anything I wanted, until I realised business deals are cemented with marriages.”

“Technically, he can’t do anything until you come of age. If you’re so aggrieved, do what my sister Poppy does, and act like a brat in public until you’re left at home.” Some days, I envied my younger sister.

Her laughter rippled over me, and for the first time in too long, a genuine smile echoed on my lips. “Papa would lock me in his dungeon and there are creatures down there that scurry away when you turn on the light.”

We had a dungeon as well at one of Dad’s more remote properties. I vomited the first time he made me go there with him.

“Ever wonder what it’s like to be normal?” I asked.

“Mama says everyone has their own brand of problems. She steals Papa’s whiskey the same as you.” She sounded indignant at the thought of whiskey theft. “Doesn’t mean I don’t hate these events.”

“My dad makes me dance with different girls to see what we looked like together,” I complained.

“Papa dresses me up like one of my dolls and makes me smile constantly.”

“I’m made to go golfing with Dad, and I hate hitting that little ball around a field more than I hate algebra.” I glanced at her to see if she could equal that.

“Papa makes me go to elocution lessons because I used to have a lisp, and he forces me to learn the piano since all women need a social talent. I would love to chase a little ball around a field in the open air,” she muttered and thumped her fist against the banister.

My eyebrows flew up at her burst of temper. Normally, the girls at these events stood with their hands clasped in front of them, and their heads lowered. I was beginning to think that was what they were like in real life as well.

“They are fine attributes in a wife,” I teased, feeling her tense beside me.

“So is the kick boxing I do after school on a Monday afternoon,” she retaliated.

“You do realise every man in that room carries a gun?”

“My teacher says a well-aimed kick to the gap between the legs stops both males and females, and gives you enough time to escape.” She tapped her foot on the stair as if mentally practicing her kicks.

I couldn’t argue with her logic as in my martial arts training, I had received a kick there on more than one occasion, and the pain brought you to your knees and tears to your eyes. It had never occurred to me that women faced the same problem.

Voices in the distance made me aware I had been gone too long from the gathering.

I sat up and stared down at her. “I’ll make you a deal,” I said. “When we’re stuck at these events, we’ll meet up on the stairs and hide from our parents.”

Her grin reminded me of a pixie about to create mischief. “I suppose you are mildly more entertaining than the old men in that room, smoking cigars and blowing their foul odour in my face.” She pointed her finger at me. “That doesn’t mean you have priority claiming me for marriage.”

I rolled my eyes at her and pushed myself to my feet, brushing my trousers to make myself into the presentable heir again. “My father is king of this world, I’m the most eligible bachelor at these events, you’d be lucky if I gave you a second look.”

She wrinkled her nose at me and stood, fluffing up her pink dress. “Get over yourself. One day, you’ll end up with a boring wife with no personality who loves to organise dinner parties.”

“Twenty dollars says my wife will be a hellcat who defies all our rules.”

Olivia pouted and stared at my outstretched hand for a moment before shaking it. Then she straightened her back and marched off toward the doorway she walked through with her head held high.

This was definitely the most interesting party I had been to in a long time.