Page 86 of Love & Power

“Forgive me if this sounds rude, but I don’t know what diseases you might have. It is my duty to ensure I don’t acquire an illness that might be passed to Astin, which would then be spread to the rest of the men in our family,” Atticus explained. “Although I do not enjoy the feeling alcohol gives me, so I prefer to abstain.”

“Huh, that’s actually really sweet, Plato,” Von decided and bent down to grab something else out of the mini refrigerator. “How do you feel about sparkling water?” she asked, offering him a small bottle of the beverage.

“Thank you. I think I would enjoy that,” Atticus admitted.

Liu leaned forward, looking from the bottle to Von. “Ah… now that Atticus made that point, maybe you and Bear should split this one, and we’ll open our own.”

“Damn, and people say I’m the brown-noser,” Braxton teased, knocking his shoulder against Liu’s.

Von snatched the bottle and tossed another to Braxton, who scrambled to catch it. “All right, Good-Times, since you want the attention, go ahead and open that one.”

“Damn right, I’m a good time,” Braxton agreed as he rolled down the window and waited until we stopped to shoot the cork at the stop sign. The ting of it striking the metal confirmed he’d hit his target. “How many people do you know can do that?”

Shaking my head, I leaned against Hound as I watched my family interacting with such ease. For as long as I could remember, this was the dream I wanted and wished for as I blew out my birthday candles, but I never expected to have it happen. Hell, back then, I would have settled for just having my father around or being able to see him a few times a year. Now, I was surrounded by people who chose to be part of my life, and it was better than anything I dreamed up as a child.

“What are you thinking right now, Tin-Tin?” Ryker whispered, looking at me with a worried gaze.

Reaching over Hound’s lap, I wiggled my fingers until he gave me his hand. “I was just realizing my wish actually came true.”

He cocked his head, not following my train of thought. “Ry, come on, what did I wish for every year growing up?”

Understanding dawned on his face, and he lifted my hand to kiss the back of it. “Looks like I was proved wrong then.”

“What did you tell her?” Hound demanded, sounding irritated that Ryker would dare to discount my wishes.

“I told her you can’t tell anyone what you wish for, but I knew she always whispered it to the picture she kept of her mom. One year, I told her that if she really wanted it to happen, she had to keep it to herself,” Ryker answered, which caused Hound to scowl. “Hey, I was an even bigger idiot back then, all right.”

“Scary to think that you… now is an improvement,” Jace added with a smirk.

Ryker proceeded to flip Jace off, making everyone laugh.

All too soon, we turned down the driveway that would lead us to the island Twilight Hall sat on. The humor and lighthearted mood slipped away, replaced with a somber tone as we prepared for what was coming next.

The limousine parked at the main entrance, and two men came to open the door, offering their assistance as we exited the vehicle. I headed straight up the cobblestone path to the stunning arched entrance. Twilight Hall was modeled after the historic baroque style of Nepreea which made this the perfect setting for the coup d’état that was about to take place.

Ivy was waiting for me in a stunning dress that looked like liquid gold had been poured over her body. She pulled me into a hug and kissed my cheeks like we hadn’t seen each other this morning. “Ready?”

“There has never been a moment in my life I’ve been this ready for,” I shared.

With a squeeze of my hand, she knocked on the door which I heard unlock before opening. Striding forward, I walked down the long, columned hall with the sound of my heels filling the silence as I reached down to turn off the safety of my gun. This was it—the end of an area and the beginning of a new criminal empire that the next generation would mold for the future. Too long has it been lost in the past, shackled by antiquated tradition and ideology. All that ended here, tonight, by the very person they feared would be their undoing.

That, my friends, is what we call a self-fulfilling prophecy because if they’d left me and my family in peace, I never would have needed to hunt them down. Yet here I am, their own personal grim reaper, come to collect the souls owed to me.

Climbing the three steps leading to the entrance of the room chosen for this evening, I paused, waiting for Thad to give me the signal. It might have been arrogant of me to plan my surprise entrance for the moment they lifted the glasses to their lips but fuck it.

This was my show.

Even through the door you could hear the roar of clapping as they congratulated Domenico on his rise to power. Dom had chosen his grandfather’s closest friend and adviser to give the toast just so he could tell the man the truth before he died. A choice I fully supported and understood. We’d been worried the absence of his mother at the funeral and the party would be a problem. However, a rumor about how she wasn’t handling Rocco’s death well at all had been circulating like wildfire, almost like someone had planted the idea.

Of course, Ivy refused to admit it was her, but I knew better.

“It’s time,” Thad said, pulling the chain off the door, gun in hand.

Both doors opened, revealing me like I was the belle of the ball. The way we had the room set up, everyone was facing this direction for the toast so there wasn’t a chance they’d miss my arrival. With my resting bitch face firmly in place, I entered the room, my dress sweeping across the floor as I made my way over to Domenico. There was a cry of surprise, and men went to grab their weapons, but they wouldn’t be found. One requirement we had for those chosen to work this event was their skills as pickpockets. They could take anything else they liked for themselves as long as whatever weapons they found were removed.

“Ladies and gentlemen, I’d like to introduce you all to a dear friend and ally, Astin Caprioni-Raffa,” Domenico announced, taking my hand and kissing it quickly before turning his attention back to his guests. “From this moment onward, the De Santis Family will no longer be a pawn for the Accardi and Leoni Families to use. May you all rot in hell next to my grandfather.”

In a moment of sheer luck, the first of the marked guests started to bleed from every opening in their body before dropping to the floor and convulsing.