AllFreeNovel
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I wasn’t.
The reason people came for them wasn’t because of their wealth or power—they came for them because these men had something nobody else had.
Love. Family. Each other. Blood.
They came for the Five Families out of jealousy. It was clear as day they thought if they just had what these guys did, they’d be happy too, they’d be honorable too, loyal, good.
But goodness didn’t come from having what others did, it didn’t come from things or money, it came from within, and it came from sacrifice, something that my family was never really able to understand.
They inflicted pain for respect.
Abuse for results.
Torture in place of love.
No wonder we were twisted.
“What are you thinking about?” Next to me, Katya yawned as the SUV pulled up to Andrei’s.
“You,” I whispered. “Us. Everything.”
“Long day.”
“Long days,” I corrected.
She squeezed my thigh. “I have you.”
“I have you,” I repeated back, wrapping an arm around her and pulling her close to me. “Whoa…”
The entire house was lit up, music was playing, and there was a catering van parked in front.
“Are we having a party?” She frowned.
We quickly got out of the car and went to the front, where we were greeted with a full glass of wine or champagne, food, and all of the family.
Tex walked up and lifted his glass. “We don’t celebrate death. We celebrate life.” He clinked his glasses with ours. “So now, we smile, and we live—for them, we live, and we eat.” He leaned in. “Don’t mention to Chase that we got a caterer. He’s still super pissed about it and goes into a tirade that almost always ends up directed at Nixon. And last time, Nixon… well, I’ll just say there were shovels involved over Christmas, it wasn’t pretty, the duck got loose—” He shook his head. “Many little ducklings lost that day.”
“WHAT!” Katya yelled.
“Kidding.” He winked. “But Dante did lose a tooth.” He shook his head. “Anyway, relax, drink, eat, and if you need to talk to women who are more sensitive than the ass connected to you, they’re in the kitchen arguing over which wine to pair with the cheese.”
“I SAID IT SHOULD BE RED!” A loud feminine voice shouted. Tex winced. “That would be my wife. She’s very passionate about wines now that she’s pregnant again and can’t have them. Be right back, maybe, if she doesn’t kill me.”
Katya drank some of her wine and turned toward me.
I knew that smile; she was thinking things. “What?”
“Let’s go upstairs.” Katya grabbed my hand.
My eyebrows shot up. “To… change?”
“Kind of.” She laughed.
“Watch a movie?” I guessed jokingly.
“Hmmmm…” She jerked her chin toward my champagne. “I’d finish that to numb the pain you’re about to experience through vigorous exercise.”
I’d never chugged champagne so fast. I grabbed her wine for good measure, tossed that back, and pounded my chest. “Ready.”
