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At home, they usually forgot about me when they didn’t need something, so I could just live my life in peace.
But when Dad paraded me out with the family like he actually cared for me, it pretty much guaranteed a beating as soon as I got home. There was no way I could get through a few hours without pissing one or all of them off. It had been that way since my mom died when I was just ten years old. She had been my shield from the monsters that made up the rest of the family.
“I’m coming.” I pulled away from Mario’s grip and straightened out my suit, ignoring the bruises on my back that were smarting under the uncomfortable clothes. I kept a neutral expression as I approached the red carpet.
These charity galas were all just a front for criminal activity. Drugs, people, and politics were bought and sold under the guise of saving some kind of animal or plant species.
It was disgusting, but it was the world I’d been born into. I knew nothing else.
The only thing I did look forward to was making a fat donation to the actual causes when my dad wasn’t looking. It was the least I could do since I’d never actually do anything good in the world. When Dad later complained that I gave much more than what was expected to keep up our ruse, I would just tell him that oneof our rival families had written a big check, and I wanted ours to be bigger.
That was always enough to shut him up.
Competition came naturally to my father and brothers. They wanted to be the best, especially when compared to the Ferrini family.
My father was extremely unpredictable in many ways, but his ego was one thing I could count on. It would always be bigger than his brain.
As soon as we were inside the museum that was hosting the event, Mario directed me to a table that Richie and my father were already seated at. He pointed to an empty chair before pulling out his own and having a seat. “Sit down and shut up. We have business to attend to tonight.” His eyes narrowed, and he shook his head. “And fix your fucking face. You look like you just took a bite of something sour. Pretend like we want you to be here.”
I took a deep breath and locked my eyes on the glass of water in front of me, waiting for everyone else at my table to get engrossed in their own conversations so I could take a look around.
The people-watching at these gatherings was as fascinating as it was disturbing. There was more money than sense among the crowd, and I could learn a lot just by observing.
Most of the people in the room were involved in some sort of underground and highly illegal activities, so when I saw the local news anchors or politicians in the room, it just pissed me off.
But those were the people I expected to see. The ones who shocked me were the local ministries and school board leaders. And, of course, law enforcement.
All of them received payments from my family or the Ferrinis to keep our activities quiet.
I liked to imagine they were there to support the cause and were ignorant to everything going on around them. But I wasn’t naïve enough to believe anyone was innocent. Growing up in my family taught me many things, and one of the most important lessons I’d learned was that everybody had an evil side.
Right as that thought flitted through my mind, Andro Ferrini crossed the room, walking with smooth strides and the confidence of an alpha who owned the world.
And if the rumors were true, he was about to.
His family was one of the most notorious crime families in the country. More powerful and wealthier than mine, which meant they were at the top of my father’s hate list. My dad ran a rinky-dink drug gang in comparison to what the Ferrinis did. They had their fingers in just about everything and seemed to own power just about everywhere. Their connections spanned the country, and my family was just a blip on the radar compared to them.
Vern Ferrini, the patriarch of the family, was getting older, and supposedly, he would be passing the reins to Andro within the next month. From what I’d heard, it would happen as soon as Andro got married.
That was the part that seemed unrealistic. I’d never seen Andro with the same omega twice, so I had no idea who he was planning to settle down with. But as the days ticked away, my childhood fantasy of being the chosen one was slowly dying.
Not that I ever expected it to come true. Fantasies never did. If I were smart, I’d quit indulging in dreaming and focus my attention elsewhere.
But with the death of that fantasy came the harsh reality of my actual situation. There was no way out for me.
The annoyed voice of my brother, Richie, interrupted my thoughts. “We’re fucking talking to you, Joey. Pay attention.”
“What?” I turned to my brother and then realized my father was staring hard at me. “I’m sorry. Can you repeat that?” Fuck, I was going to pay for that later. I tried to hide the wince that came instinctively.
He just shook his head. “This is why we can’t trust you, Joseph. You always have your head in the fucking clouds. We’re here to do a job. Appearances are important, and you’re fucking it all up.” His voice was harsh, and my brothers’ emulated him when they spoke to me the same way.
Imitation was the sincerest form of flattery, after all.
They never could quite master it, though. Their anger and hatred toward me was too raw, whereas my father’s was controlled. His was a thousand times more terrifying. His calculated cruelty was not something I could anticipate or avoid.
“Right. I’m sorry.”
He held up a finger and pointed it in the air. “Ten thousand. That’s the check you write. No more. No less. Don't give me any noise about others donating more.”
