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Prologue
Colton
At thirteen years old, kicking a ball around with my younger brothers and their friends should be high on my list of priorities. It’s fun. It lets me see that, at this moment, there is no difference between us. There is no them and me like my dad portrays.
“Cole, you kick like a girl,” shouts Damien, my younger brother by three years.
We all laugh at my brother’s comment, but that laughter dies the moment we hear our father’s SUV driving into the grand driveway.
“Kick it back, Kally,” I call over to the only girl that ever comes to my family home. She and my younger brother, Clark, who is about to turn nine, are inseparable. I can see why. Even at her age of nearly six years old, she’s pretty, kind, and into everything the boys are in to.
I dive to stop the ball from hitting my father straight in the face. “Good catch, son. My office. Now.” He glares between us all.
“But…” I begin to protest, and my father turns his death glare on me.
“No buts. Now.”
I kick the ball as hard as I can. It bounces off the water fountain, knocking into Clark’s head on the rebound.
“You’re a dick!” Clark calls out to me. “Run along.”
I’m used to being ribbed by my brothers for dropping everything just to appease our father. I’m a pussy, a pet; I’ve heard it all. If only they knew what I was doing with our father, they might change their mind about the pussy comment.
I walk into the house and head to my father’s office. My mother is walking towards me with grabby hands. She pulls my face towards her and kisses my cheek. If my father saw this act of love, he would have been angry. I would have been taught a lesson somehow. The last time my mother made me look like a sissy, I spent eight hours in the outhouse tied up by my wrists. It burned, but I wouldn’t cry or show weakness. You never show emotions, son. My father’s words echo around me.
“Don’t keep your father waiting.”
I roll my eyes. Everyone is always out to please my father, except Damien and Clark. I can see the displeasure every time they don’t listen or contradict what Dad says, but he never acts on it. If that was me, I’d get a slap and told not to answer back. I’ve stopped trying to analyze it. I do what I’m told, act as I should, and then everyone gets to lead a happy life.
“What’s going on out there?” asks my father the minute I step over the threshold.
“Where?” I look behind me to see what he’s talking about.
“Outside.”
“Nothing. I was playing football.” I don’t understand why that’s such a bad thing.
“You’re not like your brothers and their friends, Colton. You’re special. Playing kid games is for losers. Do you want to end up like your brothers with no future or prospects?”
I shake my head. “No, sir.”
“Good. Now, I’ve got a job for you to clean up. Think you can manage that?”
I shrug. I’m not sure what I’m going to be cleaning up this time. The last time it was someone’s brains splattered all around the walls of an apartment in the French Quarter. I wasn’t allowed to ask questions; I shadowed Matt and got the job completed.
“Good. Matthew will be here in ten minutes to pick you up. Change into dark clothing, do as you’re told, and report back when you’re finished.”
“Yes, sir.”
I feel like a puppet sometimes, but I know it pleases my father that I want to be a part of his business. I want to do everything he does and more because, one day, I’ll be the only person who takes over from him. I know I’m being pushed into this life early, but it’s all for the best. You don’t get things easily in this life. Everything is earned… or in my father’s case, taken.
I leave my father’s office and head up to my room. I hear my brothers and their friends laughing, playing pranks on each other, and it suddenly hits me. Their play is different from mine. They enjoy what they do, and somewhere deep within me, I enjoy what I do. It’s not all about pleasing my father, it’s about earning my place. My siblings play with footballs, and I watch heads roll. They climb trees, and I dig holes to bury bodies. They pick up sweets from the mall, and I deliver drugs on the streets. The only difference is, I’ll never be afraid of anything. I’ll climb this ladder from the bottom and work my way to the top. Everyone will become afraid of me. Everyone will worship the ground I walk on because I’ll be the heir of the Collinson Empire.
Chapter 1
Clark
My family drives me crazy. Business for my family is a bit of everything, and not always on the straight and narrow. While they hide behind the Collinson name—they deal with corporate companies, buying and selling them—but what everyone else is unaware of is the drug and weapon money they launder through these businesses. The Collinson name is well-established, well thought of, and respected.
