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I laughed bitterly, shifting my thoughts away from the old man. Good. I’d never been called good in my life, including by my family. Only Cassie had clawed her way through the ugliness of my world, dragging out a portion of me that I’d done everything to vanquish.
Illinois.
I paced the floor of my office, which I’d done several times that morning alone. A week had passed with no additional information regarding Rocco’s whereabouts. I had dozens of men on the street in New York and couldn’t find one asshole. My anger was reaching new heights.
I drifted to the past, which I’d done far too many times since my return. I’d kept my promise, ensuring her safety, two of my men stationed in Illinois until Rocco was found.
That’s the least I could do for Garrison.
Garrison had insisted we drive to New York to handle the infamous task. I hadn’t understood why he had to stop in Illinois. It hadn’t made any sense. Then again, I hadn’t given a shit about much at that point. But I could remember almost every detail regarding that fateful day, the early morning confrontation with her mother placing me in a bad mood that had stayed with me all the way to New York.
I’d been short sighted, hot tempered, and ready for a fight at that point.
“We go in, we state our piece, and we get them to agree to back down,” I said quietly as we stood outside the huge warehouse entrance, the location in one of the worst sections of Brooklyn. The fact the Luciano family had thought they could attempt to take over even a small portion of our turf hadn’t surprised me. It had been my father who’d ignored my warnings.
Fuck him.
Now his worthless son had to clean up his mess. This would need to be the first of many, but soon I’d make changes. Soon, the empire would be mine and there was nothing my father could do about it.
“I don’t like this,” Daniel stated, scanning the parking lot. “It’s too quiet. This could be an ambush.”
“Using those cop instincts of yours again, Daniel?” I sneered, throwing him a hateful look. In the ugly fluorescent lighting, I could still see his look of disdain. He wasn’t cut out to be on this side of the law.
“He’s right,” Brogan added. “We need to be careful.”
“Don’t worry, guys. I’ll have your back,” Garrison said, grinning as he checked his ammunition, snapping the cartridge into place and heading for the door. “Let’s roll, boys. We can do this.”
Another memory. Fucking fantastic. I’d managed to shove them all out of my mind until recently. Until Cassie had dropped into my life. I should have brought her back, not listening to any of them. Illinois was too far away. No matter if the others believed me or not, she’d become a target the instant someone found out who she was.
Unless I handled the bastard who’d threatened us and killed Garrison first. I had no intentions of leaving business from years before unattended.
Rocco Luciano would die by my hands.
I thought about everything Cassie had told me. Then I picked up my phone, dialing my attorney. Things had to change. It was past time to make that happen. I was done living in the shadow of my father. This would be the first day of a new outlook. “Jeffrey. You and I need to talk. I’m thinking about doing something entirely different with Paradise Island.” After providing details, most of which seemed to shock him, a warmth swelled in my system, the feeling pretty damn good. I was doing the right thing. When I ended the call, a smile crossed my face.
Then I heard a knock on the door. I leaned over the desk. “This had better be good.”
As Steven walked into the room, I could sense he’d found what I was looking for.
“You found him,” I stated the obvious.
“Didn’t need to, boss. He requested a meeting.”
