CHAPTER SIXTY-THREE DAMON
CHAPTER SIXTY-THREE
DAMON
NOW
“Any update from the girl?” Dad asks, his eyes locked on his laptop rather than bothering to look at me sitting across from him.
I don’t know why he called me in here instead of Ronan, seeing as he’s the one responsible for questioning her, but he wouldn’t have been able to drag my brother from that cell right now anyway.
He’s been holed up in there with her since last night, and I’ve been trying to tell myself ever since that I’m not jealous.
When I saw her hunched over that toilet on the cameras, I was out of bed before I could think it through. The fact I ran into Ronan in the hallway just makes it worse because now he knows I’m not as indifferent toward her as I’ve made out.
“She’s maintaining that she knows nothing, and I’m inclined to believe her.”
That gets his attention. “She’s always been a good liar.”
I nod along with him, even though it’s not the truth.
Chloe’s actually a terrible liar, and that’s never changed.
When she was in the fifth grade and came home from school with a bruise on her arm, she tried to tell me that she fell over during PE.
It only took the guilt of lying to me for her to crack.
The bruise was from Jimmy Logan shoving her off the playground because she was scared of heights and wouldn’t jump down the way the other kids were.
The next day poor Jimmy took a tumble of his own off the edge of the playground and broke his arm in three places.
The point is, Chloe couldn’t lie if she wanted to, and if she truly has no information to give us, we brought her here for nothing.
“I’ve been through her phone, and there’s no sign of him on it. No photos, no texts, no calls. Objectively it appears that he is not a part of her life and hasn’t been for a long time. I think we should cut our losses.”
Despite each word dripping with disinterest, his cold eyes stare at me like he can see my lies. “So you think we should kill her?”
I swallow, nausea rolling over me at the idea.
When this all started and we found her again, I think I could have pulled the trigger.
But being reminded of everything we used to have, of what she meant to me growing up before my soul was torn from my body right before her eyes, I don’t think I’m capable of it.
And that’s a very big fucking problem.
“It’s an option.” I nod slowly. “I think the De Marcos and the Syndicate of the Legion will be a problem if that’s the route we take. Camilla has been blowing up my phone and has implied she’s willing to burn us to the ground if any harm comes to her.”
He chuckles. “I’d like to see her try.”
“I have word that the Saint James family are assisting them, and I wouldn’t be surprised if the other New York families followed suit. Is killing Chloe worth the bullshit it’s going to bring us, especially if she doesn’t know anything?”
It’s a long shot, but if there’s a chance I can appeal to the part of him not desperate for revenge, we might be able to come out the other side of this intact.
“You sound like your brother.” He stares across the desk at me, the accusation hanging between us.
“If you decide killing her is the best option, that’s the way we’ll go.
But I think it will be more hassle than it’s worth.
She doesn’t know anything. She didn’t back then, and she doesn’t now.
Her pregnancy with Ronan’s baby didn’t reach term, and she poses no threat to us unless we go ahead with killing her.
Then we’ll have a whole host of new enemies at a time when we can ill afford it. ”
The crime families of the South have largely stuck to our own territories over the years, never bothering one another unless it was necessary.
But as the new generation has begun to take over, there has been more unrest. The new leaders are greedy and desperate to make a name for themselves, which is making them bold.
Even if my feelings toward Chloe weren’t as complicated as they are, this would still be the smart move, but my father’s need for vengeance has always clouded his judgment.
“I’ll think about it,” he says, turning his attention back to his computer and effectively dismissing me.
I can’t remember the last time we had a conversation about anything other than the business or the family. I used to tell myself it didn’t matter, that I didn’t care that he only saw me as his prodigy and no longer as his son, but I was lying to myself.
It fucking sucks.
But it will be worth it in the end.
Because soon, I’ll be the head of the Lombardi family, and I won’t ever have to take orders from anyone again.
Not even him.