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“I got it. You call the meeting. I’ll handle Korr.”

“Cassius,” Severo’s voice was laced with something Cassius couldn’t quite place, but he knew it toed the line between surprise and hesitancy. “While I appreciate your enthusiasm, a problem of this nature should be dealt⁠—”

Cassius interrupted him as well. “This isn’t a discussion or negotiation. Your problem is now my problem, and I’d like to think that you know enough about me by now to know my problems don’t last long.”

“Which is fine with us,” Severo folded his hands. “But there’s no guarantee the rest of the Family will feel that way. We have rules in place for a reason.”

“I personally don’t give a fuck how the rest of the Family feels,” Cassius shrugged. “And since no one has bothered to step up to the plate to handle business, I don’t see why they should open their mouth with an opinion.”

“It’s politics, son,” Armond sighed heavily. “And despite what you think, Severo and I have noticed the signs of dissension in ranks long before you were made aware of any of our troubles.”

“Though, admittedly, we weren’t sure just how fractured things were until now,” Severo admitted. “The Sabini and Martinelli families have both taken a backseat, content with focusing on their legal endeavors, but the Cavataio family has seemingly gone rogue. They’re not only part of the reason we’re under so much legal scrutiny, but they’re also recruiting people into their organization who don’t respect the basic principles we’ve built our lives around, and drawing too much attention. Your father and I have been discussing ways to unite our organizations to monopolize, but this task force throws a wrench in that plan.”

Rubbing his chin, Cassius nodded, understanding. Any sudden overlap, shared assets, coordinated moves, or even aligned interests would raise a red flag.

“Not only that,” Armond picked up where Severo left off. “Antonio Cavataio might be an impulsive idiot, but he isn’t stupid. Under normal circumstances, uniting would strengthen our position. But right now, it would do the opposite. It would suggest desperation⁠—”

“And give him more leverage to sway people to his org,” Cassius finished.

Severo cleared his throat. “Nevertheless, we need to call a meeting to alert the rest of the families as to what’s happening without drawing attention to ourselves.”

“I’ll handle it,” Cassius offered. “We’ll host it at Sinsation. That’ll give me an excuse to check on things behind the scenes and get a feel for what’s going on.”

He measured the weight of the task he’d given himself as Severo and Armond gave their parting words, then followed his father out of the house and back to the car. They rode back together in silence, the low hum of the engine filling the space between them. Streetlights flickered past the windows as Armond stared ahead, his expression unreadable.

When the car pulled into the drive of the family home, Armond stepped out first. Cassius followed, the house standing solid and familiar against the night sky. Without a word, his father headed inside, already shifting his focus to the next problem waiting to be solved.

Cassius didn’t stay long. He went to his room, changed, and within minutes was back behind the wheel, pulling away from the house and into the night.

Across town, a moment of peace awaited him. At least what he hoped would be a moment of peace. After following the GPS directions to the address he’d been given via text, Cassius eased into the driveway, climbed out of the car and locked it, carefully jogging up the porch to the door, and knocking once.

The door opened to Zelina, tall and poised, her rich ebony skin glowing under the porch light. Her robe hung loosely, draping one shoulder, and her natural curls framed her face in thick, defined coils that caught the light. High cheekbones and full lips gave her a striking presence, and she smiled when she saw him, but it quickly shifted into the meanest of frowns.

“Took you long enough to make your way here. I was starting to wonder if you’d forgotten about me.”

“You’d be a hard woman to forget, Z,” he smirked, moving past her as she stepped back to allow him inside.

Zelina had played a role in Cassius’ life for years, since they’d met in middle school. At one point, they’d had a friendship that turned into more and then went stagnant. She was a constant that never pressed him for more, and he appreciated and respected her for it.

But he wasn’t stupid enough to think she didn’t have at least a certain level of expectation from him, and after the week he’d had, combined with knowing that she was likely aware he was in town, Cassius thought it was as good a time to drop by as any.

Following her to the living room, Cassius dropped onto the couch, none too surprised when she immediately straddled his lap.

“Between your broody demeanor and your tense shoulders, I’m assuming that nothing good brought you home,” she circled one of her arms around his neck. “Want to talk about it?”

“Nah,” he replied swiftly, loosening the belt tied at her waist to allow her robe to fall open. His center hardened, and Cassius licked his lips at how her breasts nearly spilled over the top of the bra. “Ain’t nothing to talk about.”

He captured her mouth before she could respond, done with conversing for the night. The only thing Cassius wanted was a stress reliever, and tonight’s choice of poison was Zelina’s thick thighs.

“Sooo,” Ilaria began, peering at her sister. “Did Daddy happen to tell you what was up with the other night orrrrrr...”

Aella snorted as she lowered her feet into the warm water inside a pedicure bowl. She and Ilaria had set aside time for a sister date that included getting their nails done and then lunch. “Please. That pleasure is reserved for the inner circle only, which he has made clear we are not a part of.”

It’d been almost two weeks since the gala, and Severo hadn’t uttered a word about who the man was that had interrupted their night, or what he wanted.

“And you sound so angry about that despite how you’ve yelled from the mountaintop that you don’t want to be,” Ilaria grinned.

Aella rolled her eyes, noting that her sister had a point. She’d wanted in on Aged Creek Whiskey, absolutely. But she had absolutely no interest in the dark side of her family’s legacy.