Chapter Seven
Maximus
This event was the last place in the world where I wanted to be. The only reason I was here was because I heard a rumour that Roberto intended to hold an auction tonight to sell Olivia to whatever sick fuck wanted to own and break her.
I would never allow that to happen.
Dale had irked me but I was well aware of his true character.
The man had been incapable of pulling the trigger of a gun, and I doubted that he had had a legal erection in his entire adult life.
He was an anomaly in our world, and his father had intended to put him out to pasture with his beloved horses, where he could do no harm.
His biggest problem had been proposing to Roberto’s youngest sister, since he had been planning who he would pair her with for years.
Jake appeared beside me, handing me a glass of whiskey from one of our waiting staff. With Tobias on the warpath, we were taking no chances, so we would only be drinking from bottles we had brought with us.
“The vultures are circling,” he said, nodding at those in the room surrounding us.
“Roberto has made it very clear what he is seeking in return for his sister,” I replied. The greedy little fucker wanted money, property, and business.
“She always was a stunning beauty,” Jake said. “She was completely oblivious to the reaction she evoked in the men around her.”
I had witnessed the lustful looks over the years, and had wanted to stab quite a few men who had made disgusting suggestions of what they wanted to do to her.
Initially, I had put down my feelings to the fact that she was a similar age to my youngest sister and I put Olivia into that category with Poppy.
Then, I realised that I considered Olivia to be mine, and any man touching her was against my rules.
Several heads turned toward the door, and I casually looked in that direction to see Olivia and her mother walk into the ballroom. She was dressed in red lace, her dark hair in loose waves around her face, and her eye make-up highlighting her green eyes.
She had always been more than stunning, her beauty becoming more breathtaking every year. Her innocence added to her appeal, and attracted every predator in this room like a moth to her flame.
“I wonder who Roberto will pick for her?” Jake said from beside me. “I hear Tomasso is very interested in her for his eldest son. They’ve been making a lot of money lately from an unknown source.”
I had my suspicions what that source was, but was biding my time until I discovered more proof.
“Roberto is a fool,” I replied, my focus set on Olivia and her mother crossing the room. “We are supposed to protect our families, not sell them off to the highest bidder.”
“Poppy married for love, and she doesn’t seem very happy lately,” Jake muttered, taking a large mouthful from his drink. It hadn’t evaded my attention that my closest friend had been more than a little protective over my sister. He went quiet for months after Poppy announced her engagement.
Jake was right, Poppy looked increasingly unhappy, her smile too tight, and the light in her eyes dimmed.
Lucio was walking a fine line, and I wouldn’t think twice about putting a bullet in the back of his head if Poppy gave the word.
I doubted the world would notice an asshole like him was missing.
I glanced at Jake for a moment. “I told you years ago to tell her how you felt,” I said. “Instead you let that worm burrow his way into my sister’s life until she had hearts in her eyes. Now he has the prestige of our family through that marriage, and I blame you.”
He tossed me a stinking glare designed to make me cower, but instead I merely stared at him. “Technically he wouldn’t be your brother-in-law if he was dead.”
I nodded thoughtfully. “He wouldn’t be my brother-in-law if you’d manned up and put your best foot forward.”
“Fuck you,” Jake muttered.
Any other man would have died for that insult.
“No thanks, you’re not my type,” I commented, sipping my whiskey.
“From the way you’re watching that poor girl, she ticks your specific boxes. Pity you refuse to fraternise with anyone in the main families.” Jake was being an asshole because he was hurting over Poppy.
“I have rules,” I replied.
“Your rules are going to get you killed one day,” Jake snarked. “The majority of them don’t make any sense.”
“That’s the point of them. Never do what anyone predicts.” I took another sip of my whiskey and tried to ignore Olivia.
For years, I had looked forward to speaking to her at parties because no one ever spoke to me like a person except her.
The night I killed those men for trying to abduct us, I witnessed the horror in her eyes and saw the monster I truly was, and felt shame.
From that night, she had stayed away, and I had watched over her from a distance.
More than once, I had contemplated arranging an accident for Dale before they got married. A car crash was easy to organise, as was a heart attack. Roberto had been sloppy with the fall off the balcony. There wasn’t a single man in this room who believed that had been an accident.
“Lucio just arrived,” Jake said, and I felt him stiffen beside me.
“He can’t swim very well,” I replied.
“Sorry?” Jake turned to stare at me sharply.
“Lucio,” I replied. “He’s deadly on land, but I’ve seen him in the water. He’s fine as long as he stays on the boat, but there is panic in his eyes when he is in the water, and his movements are sloppy.”
“Is there a reason you’re telling me this?”
I shrugged one shoulder. “Poppy would suspect me, but if I was with her when the adulterous asshole met his demise…” I let my voice trail off.
Lucio was married to my sister, but had several mistresses that he kept in apartments all over the city.
That was a level of disrespect that I would not overlook forever.
“Noted,” Jake said, nodding his head once.
There was no doubt in my head that my order would be carried out at some point in the future, when I least expected it so that I would be genuinely shocked.
Roberto strutted into the room next, his body language saying he thought he was the alpha male who held dominion over everyone.
He wasn’t.
A true alpha didn’t need to display his power because every single person knew he was the deadliest creature in the room.
I scanned the room, and my eyes found a pair of green eyes with fear lurking in their depths.
There had been a part of me that always considered her mine.
She had been the only one who saw the real me in the darkest recesses of these parties, the one person who knew how I really felt about being heir to the strongest family.
Her stare was a punch in my stomach, a visceral reaction that I couldn’t control.
My attention snapped to Roberto as he tapped the side of his glass with a knife. I suppressed the urge to roll my eyes at his display.
“Thank you all for joining me for this special occasion,” he said, pretending this gathering was merely for him. It had been in our calendars for months. “Tonight, I intend to announce the engagement of my beloved sister, Olivia.”
I felt the command in her eyes, drawing me back to her position. Olivia looked ready to run, her hands forming fists at her side. Her mother grabbed one of those hands, a fixed smile on her face.
“There are so many interested parties who want to join our family, I feel it only fair to host an auction to find her perfect husband.” Roberto held his glass up, a feral smile on his face.
“Is he seriously selling his own sister?” Jake asked, her tone laced with disgust.
“Apparently so,” I replied, finishing my drink. He was a bigger asshole than I gave him credit for.
“So, who will be first to bid?” Roberto continued.
I had had the misfortune at being present at some of these auctions before, but they were normally held behind closed doors, and only certain people allowed to attend. The results were never spoken of again, and greedy men literally bought a pound of flesh.
“One million,” a voice sounded from the back of the room.
“Two.” Another bidder joined in.
I refused to look while the auction heated up, and men gave into their lust. Olivia continued to stare at me, as if I was the rock giving her strength to survive this.
“Any more bids?” Roberto asked when we reached twenty million dollars. “No? I thought Olivia would be worth more.” He pouted, and glanced around the room.
Olivia’s eyes closed in a silent prayer, and my stomach twisted.
Out of the corner of my eye, the man with the highest bid moved forward.
I had always disliked Sam – he was a slimy worm whose father had made a lot of money fast through drugs and weapons, and bought his way into our world. He had no pedigree and no finesse.
Sam made his way toward Olivia, and she flinched back, her hand moving to her throat in fear. I watched as her lips moved in a silent prayer before her eyes opened, and she stared directly at me.
I nodded without knowing what I was agreeing to, and my heart felt like it had a hand tightening around it. Olivia’s eyes widened, biting both her lips at the same time, her face pale.
Roberto held his hand out to Sam, diverting his path away from Olivia.
Her spine straightened and head came up. The fierce warrior I remembered returned from the past. “Don’t I have a say in who I marry?” Olivia asked.
Roberto’s glare cut to Olivia, his top lip lifting in a sneer. “Did we not have this conversation?”
“We did, but I disagree with the answer,” Olivia replied. “Also, I’m already engaged, and I don’t think my fiancé would approve of you selling me to another man.”
Her look finally made sense as my brain caught up with what was happening.