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CHAPTER1
Constantine
Present day
“Here’s the latest list your father has proposed. At least a few of them might keep your attention. I took the liberty of checking their backgrounds. Several are… interesting.”
Translation: Not up to the Thorn standards.
As the family attorney, Barrett Sheffield placed a file on my desk, I took a deep breath. He’d stormed into my office without an invitation, determined to interrupt my day.
And it pissed me off.
List.
How many lists of women had I been provided in the last few months? Too many, my father’s insistence I marry and produce an heir to the throne more of an annoyance than anything, but there was too much business on the table as it was.
Besides, it couldn’t matter how beautiful the woman was, not a single one would be able to tolerate a savage like me.
I shoved it aside, furious when he pushed it back. Then he dared to open the flap so there was no chance the savage man inside of me wouldn’t be curious enough to glance through the photographs and the names.
“You know I don’t give a shit,” I answered, although I found it impossible to resist at least flipping through the documentation.
“You’re running out of options,” the family attorney said in retort. Barrett had been our attorney for almost two decades, acting as if he was my godfather far too often. “We’re now looking at women from other cities. In my opinion, only two are decent candidates.”
“For what?” Gabriel Giordano asked from the sidelines. His smirk brought a chuckle to my lips. He was in town to handle some connecting business. I hadn’t paid close enough attention how much he looked like his brother Luciano, a man I’d called a good friend for years.
Even if we were considered enemies, rivals seeking power at all costs.
“My father is insistent I get married, providing an heir to the throne.” My answer was laced with my annoyance. While I wanted an heir, at least one child to continue the family legacy, I found it incomprehensible my father had made it his mission to find the perfect candidate.
In my mind, there wasn’t a woman on this earth who could tolerate the darkness dwelling inside of me. I was a sadistic man, a complete dominant who accepted nothing but full submission. My tastes were such that what few women had managed to endure my dark proclivities hadn’t returned for a second helping.
“Well, you are considered Kansas City’s most eligible bachelor. Right?” Gabriel was enjoying the moment, witnessing what I considered a weakness of our family.
I noticed Barrett’s harsh glare directed toward a member of the Brotherhood and sighed. He couldn’t understand my affiliation with the man any more than my father could.
After returning my gaze to the file, I flipped through several documents, gritting my teeth.
Betsy, daughter of Missouri’s most hated senator.
Amelia, daughter of a corporate mogul who owed our family money.
Jennifer, niece of a former NFL football player, her uncle’s penchant for gambling placing him in hot water with our organization.
While they were all beautiful women, not one of them was acceptable.
None of them would be able to handle my needs; they were walking, talking mannequins and nothing else. I wanted a real woman with curves, hips I could grab onto. I fisted my hand, the darkness inside of me swimming close to the surface. I wasn’t certain it was possible to find a woman who’d enter into a contract and not expect a relationship.
I wasn’t looking for romance. I simply wanted to honor my requirement of bringing an heir to the throne. It was the way of my family and had been for generations, even if I couldn’t stomach the thought of the old ways.
“I’ll take a pass,” I said, shoving the file aside.
“Your father will be pissed,” he said.
“You can tell my father that I’m far too busy handling the fact the Grasso family has decided to set their sights on our territory to plan a fucking wedding. No, I’ll tell him myself.” I was finished with the game of matrimony for now. The Sicilians were pigs, their recent overture more invasive than I’d liked. They’d toyed around with trying to slide into the region for years. It had never bothered me until now.
I didn’t like the shit I was hearing on the streets. Times were different than my father was used to, rendering his recent attempts at keeping our enemies from encroaching on our territory useless. He wanted to wage war in the streets. The brutal tactics of old were no longer acceptable. At least not while I was CEO of our multibillion-dollar corporation. I’d shifted our wealth into more legitimate operations, arms deals kept to a minimum. While they were the most lucrative side of our business, the risk versus the reward had grown much higher with the continued push from the DEA and other members of law enforcement.
