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She nods. Alone with my mother, the tension settles in the room like fresh rain on barren soil.
“You’re twenty-six. Shouldn’t you at least introduce me to someone special?”
“There isn’t anyone.”
“Oh, I forgot. You’re too busy with your gang. I can’t believe you’re still friends with him.” Disgust coats her reproach. In her eyes, Cameron is guilty just by association.
“You’re enjoying your lifestyle because of my gang.”
That shuts her up quickly. After my father’s death, we wouldn’t be here if I didn’t do what I had to do. She waves me off while I cock my head.
“Why don’t you spare Leonie the image of you painting our father as—”
“As what? A criminal? A cheating bastard? He ruined everything by choosing that whore. How quickly you forget that if he didn’t die, he would have been somewhere else, living his best life with that woman and her daughter.”
Having had enough, I stand up, the chair scraping against the polished floor.
I kiss her cheek. “I never forgot what he did, but while you wallowed in your self-pity, I had to master this fucked-up situation. Goodbye, Mother.”
She lets out an indignant huff. “Are you gonna leave me now?”
“Enjoy the rest of the night. This used to be your house too.”
Back in my bedroom, I peel my clothes off and head to the shower. The hot spray unknots some of the tension in my muscles, but not enough to fall into a peaceful sleep. There is no such thing for me. And I stopped searching for that a long time ago.
I wake up before my alarm rings. I don’t know why I insist on using one. My body is set on waking at five a.m. After a three-mile jog, I shave and put on my suit.
My driver takes me into the city where the bank logo, HB, covers the top of the building. Everyone bows their head, greeting me on my way to the elevator.
After meetings and personal calls to our best customers, I call it a day and drive to the compound situated on the city’s outskirts. It’s secluded and in the belly of a forest, strategically located between the bank and my house.
To an outsider, it looks like another luxury building. The floor-to-ceiling bulletproof glass stretches over five floors. There are three penthouses. But it’s all a façade. I’m here for business.
The security device scans my retina, and the elevator descends, heading three floors down to the real reason for the building.
Cato and Cameron are already in their seats. I roll my shirt sleeves over my elbows, our tattoos visible on our forearms. I take my seat, and Cato pushes two folders toward me.
“These are our new candidates, waiting for you to make the last call.”
I open the folders, scanning through them. Hayden Carrera and William Thompson.
An established stock mogul who is also in the business of real estate and an heir to a media conglomerate, who has a penchant for illegal purchases.
My father might have led our bank into being one of the ten largest banks in the world, but I went further, creating an accounting firm to complement this. I wanted to climb so high that no one could ever reach me. It took time, skills, and the best team money could buy. We didn’t go to college for the fun factor. We went to pick up recruits. It’s a well-oiled machine, and it purrs like my Lamborghini Aventador.
“How are your polls?” I ask Cam, and his lips curve in his trademark arrogant smirk.
“We’re heading there, safe and steady.”
“Good.”
“This calls for a celebration,” Cato says, heading toward the bar. He retrieves a bottle of whiskey. It would have been so damneasy if we just wanted money. But above everything else, we want control and power.
We clink our glasses, and my quietness doesn’t go unnoticed. I raise my glass and say, “We live and die together.”
We empty our glasses, and Cato points at his forearm—a triangle with three symbols: a chain, a knife, and a cross. We chose this life, and now we have to deal with it.
We head upstairs, where people mingle in our private club. Depravity happens at the highest level. We provide entertainment once in a while, private parties where nothing is taboo. Our customers believe it’s for them, but we do it for ourselves.
