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“I thought you were the smart one of the group. Did I make a mistake? You’re the product of two adults making adult decisions.”
“How do I accept this?”
“Do as I say. Get smart. Control those emotions.”
“But how do I face the guys?”
“We tell them the truth about the accident. A mechanical failure on a wet road caused the bus to crash. However, since you can’t prove foul play, there is no point in adding to their pain.”
“You want me to lie to them?”
“What are you lying about? This is all your mind making up possibilities of the reasons for the accident.”
“You know the truth as much as I do.”
“Listen carefully.” Arin leaned forward. “Truth is very subjective. Those boys need facts. Your brothers don’t need any more pain added to their shoulders based on some truth you feel. I will never deny Shah is your enemy. He threw you away, took your legacy.”
“So you’re saying with him dead, I can’t take back everything he stole from me?”
“Exactly. Men like him need to suffer. Slowly, painfully, publicly.”
“How?”
A smile touched Arin’s lips. “Learn the world your enemy walks in. Become part of it. Play the game so well everyone forgets you weren’t born into it or overlooks it. Then, when you slowly take over, no one realizes what happened.”
“Why aren’t you telling the others to do this?”
“Each of you has unique talents, and I plan to utilize all of them. Be honest. No matter how much we polish Nik and Kir, they will never lose the edge of the streets. And for what I need them to do, I don’t want them to lose it.”
“What about Rey? He’s the one with the genius IQ.”
“Oh, I’ve already put him into training. He’ll have a similar curriculum as you, but his volatile temper makes him a better fit in other areas. You are the one who will represent the family. You’ll clean up so nicely that the New York elite will fall all over themselves for a piece of your time.”
“I swear I will kill Shah the first chance I get.”
“Boy, you aren’t killing anyone. Sit your ass down.” Arin laughed. “You need to grow some hair on your chest and let your balls drop. But when you’re ready, you’ll have gone to the right schools, speak using the correct words, know the right people, and wheel and deal with the best of them.”
“There has to be more to this than my revenge.” I’d learned from the moment Arin took us in that he had a motive for everything. He’d lost his wife and children in a territory war, and taking us in had surprised us. At times, we couldn’t figure out why us.
“I have three reasons. First—” Arin lifted a finger, “—I want the King name to become synonymous with power in New York, if not the world. In fifteen years, hopefully sooner, everyone will know of all four of you in some way. And two.” He lifted a second digit. “The best revenge is to live well in the face of one’s enemy. Let Ashok Shah see the son he threw away sitting as a king on a throne while he lingers below.”
“And if I still want to kill him after I achieve your vision?”
“I’ll hand you the weapon to do it. But I feel that once you check those emotions, you’ll have more fun fucking with Shah’s business prospects. Death is too easy. Hurt them where it counts. In the bank account.”
“What’s your third reason?”
“You’re my son now. Family isn’t always blood. You are my legacy. I will never throw you away. You are my child until my dying breath. Even beyond that.”
His words had meant more to me than he’d ever know. Arin wasn’t the affectionate kind of father, but his words impacted us.
The King brothers were his legacy.
And I’d taken his saying,“Hurt them where it counts. In the bank account,”as my mantra.
It made me a cold-hearted bastard with ice in my veins instead of blood. But, then again, those were facts.
I was a bastard.
