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“What would I do without you?” Carina asked me with a sad face.
“Let’s just be happy and hope that you don’t have to answer that question.” I rubbed a hand across her cheek before turning to leave.
I took one more look in the mirror, telling myself to be ready for whatever might happen. The respect I held for my father was different from how Carina viewed him. I had already done the worst and walked through fire many times, all beside my father—who did whatever was needed to protect our family while searching for revenge on men who were even worse bastards than the devil himself.
When meeting with a snake, you couldn’t show any signs of weakness, otherwise the snake knew exactly where to strike. The only difference between my father and a snake was that my father didn’t shed his skin. Unfortunately, I was growing scales that would rival his at some point, as I became the future of our family and city.
“I just want you to know I love you, and to me, you’re the only family I have.” I heard her voice follow me down the hall as I walked away.
“I love you more,” I called back softly without turning around. The word love was a sign of weakness, and I couldn’t say it to my sister’s face anymore.
* * *
In our large mansion, my wing was on the opposite end from my father’s. The walk to his office felt much longer because of the thoughts running through my head. I had many other things to handle today, this was wasting my time. Even though the other tasks weren’t nearly as bloody as my first mission had been, I was thankful that there would be work to keep me occupied after our meeting. Staying busy and looking over the books and meeting with all the business heads was the only thing that made me not think so much about life and the person I had become. I didn’t regret it, but I didn’t like thinking about the what ifs.
When I reached the door to his office, all I could do was stand in front of it with my hand hovering over the knob. It wasn’t shaking because I didn’t fear my father or the things he asked me to do. Today though, I feared what he had to say; something in my gut told me I wasn’t going to like this meeting.
Without strength, you have nothing. Show your weaknesses and your enemies have already won.It might not seem very motherly, but for the children of a mafia don, it was good advice. Ever since my mother had told it to me, I’d lived those words.
I was around five at the time, and we had lost a family pet: a German shepherd. Unfortunately for him, he’d died doing his job, protecting us with his life. Men had broken into our family’s vacation home. I didn’t remember many details, but that dog had guarded Carina and me just long enough for the alarm system to wake everyone else in the house and slow the intruders from being able to take us out of the window like they’d planned. I worked hard not to think about that dog, because emotion could trap me, and that couldn’t be allowed.
I knocked loudly on the door. For a split second, the only thing I could hear was the rapid beating of my own heart. Nerves were something I had trained out of myself years ago, or so I thought until this moment. My entire focus was on the door in front of me and what might happen behind it.
Who could guess what new schemes my father had managed to cook up this time?
“Enter.” His deep voice was crisp and strong today.
I opened the door. Things looked just like they had yesterday when I’d come in to discuss what had happened with Carina the night before.
My father was sitting at his desk, his brown hair barely touching his shoulders. His eyes were the same smooth chocolate as my sister’s and mine, and they were appraising me as I entered.
Stubble covered his chin, and he relaxed in his chair with his shirt sleeves rolled up his forearms, which might have given the appearance of indifference, but his eyes were cold and menacing.
His office was meticulously clean. There wasn’t a single thing out of place. Each book on the shelves had their place even if they had never been read.
The floor was a mahogany wood that matched the masculinity of the man sitting behind the same antique desk his father had ruled our empire from in his day.
“When I summon you, I expect you to be before me in a reasonable amount of time.” He clasped his hands together as his eyes dropped to look at his watch. “Thirty-four minutes is not a reasonable time.”
“My apologies, sir, disposing of the body took longer than I had considered,” I said matter-of-factly. I could match his fire with my own, but today, something told me to wait on pissing him off any further.
There was no arguing allowed when it came to my father. I wouldn’t win against him, and I had learned that lesson years ago. Instead, I took a different route and worked my ass off, hoping that one day he would respect my opinion. My hopes weren’t pinned on it. I had no hopes.
All I could do was stare at the man before me. He was nothing like a father should be. Not gentle or kind in any way, but then how could he be any of those things with the type of life he lived? When anything less than ruthlessness was viewed as a weakness, he couldn’t afford to show even a hint of kindness.
He let out a frustrated breath. “Your sister,” he began, and it was then I noticed a bit of uneasiness about him. He actually seemed unsure of himself—something I wouldn’t have expected from my father. “Is she…” He took a moment to think over the word that he wanted to use. “Coping?”
“Yes,” I answered him. “She’s fine. I don’t think what happened has even fully processed for her.” I held my interest in check. This was nothing like my father. “Although, I don’t imagine that’s why you’ve called me here this morning.” My voice was serious, not sarcastic or defiant. He might be worried about her but this meeting wasn’t about her almost being drugged on an outing she wasn’t approved to go on. I wanted him to get to the point so I could move on with my day.
“Good.”
“Is that why you called me here?” I asked, trying hard to refrain from snapping at him. If he had wasted this hour of my day when I could have been working, I would be pissed. “To ask me about how my sister is doing?”
“Tell me something,” he began, completely ignoring my question. “When is the last time this family has known peace?”
“Not since before the day I was born,” I answered truthfully.
He leaned forward against his desk, “I have arranged a marriage for your sister.”
