“Are we going to have issues in Texas?” my brother asks over the phone.
“Nothing Franco can’t handle,” I admit, leaning back in my chair. “A new biker club wants to establish themselves in Dallas.”
“Are we letting them?”
“Franco is going to look into them. If they appear legitimate and won’t disrupt any of our businesses, he’ll set up a meeting so I can speak with their leader.”
“You hate Texas,” Stefano reminds me.
“Not as much as you hate New York,” I remind him. “I’ve been thinking about switching you places. You’d like it here,fratello. I already know you get along with the Shadows.”
“Don’tbrotherme, Maverick,” Stefano says, his voice sharpening. “I know your play. You’ll try to guilt me into thinking it’s what you want. But you love Palm Springs. You love your home there, and you love the Shadows. You don’t want to leave.”
For a moment, I say nothing.
Because he’s right.
I do love it here.
I love the quiet mornings before the estate wakes. I love the children’s laughter echoing through halls. I love the way the Iron Shadows treat me like a man instead of a title.
I love having something that almost feels like peace.
“Maybe not,” I admit. “But I can’t let you live the rest of your life playingDonwhen I know you want nothing to do with the empire.”
“All I am is a face here, brother,” he tells me. “There isn’t much else I have to do.”
“Lies,” I sigh.
We go silent.
There was a time when silence between us was easy. When we were boys, silence meant comfort. It meant we were together and nothing else had to be said.
Now it carries fifteen years of distance, duty, and choices neither one of us should have had to make.
“Okay,” I say, softer this time. “What if we ask Vito or Angelo if either of them would be interested in heading up New York? You could come live here.”
“Mav.”
“I miss you, Stefano.”
The words leave me before pride can stop them.
And once they’re out, I don’t take them back.
“I miss my brother,” I continue. “Not the face standing in for me. Not the man pretending to beDonbecause our enemies are too stupid to know the difference. Mybrother.”
Stefano exhales on the other end of the line.
“Maverick…”
“You’ve done enough,” I say. “More than enough. Let me give you a life outside of my shadow.”
A quiet laugh slips through the phone, but there’s no humor in it.
“You mean outside of our face.”
I smile faintly.
