AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“What is it you’d like to say, Junior?” my father asks.
The men who stand behind us stay silent as they wait for my father’s instructions. I do the same, slightly disappointed that neither men nor Wells were able to finish Keen off. All his antics were fucking ridiculous, and for what?
He thought he would get somewhere with that shit?
He couldn’t have.
Perhaps Junior is going to offer us some insight into the situation.
“Keen and my father were close. He told me that he didn’t think it was right, a mistake made two decades ago being the reason for his demise. Then our mother…” His words trail off, and I know what he’s saying.
Their mother was collateral damage. It wasn’t because we didn’t love our aunt. The whole thing with her still bothers me. I wanted her to stay untouched, unscathed, but the truth is nobody in the family is left in such a way.
“So you’re telling me he had a vendetta against the family, and you didn’t come to me?”
My father’s face starts to turn a shade of red that I haven’t seen very many times in my life. He’s usually very calm, terrifyingly so, and doesn’t show anything. But that is not what this is. Flicking my gaze down to his hand, I watch as his grip on the knife tightens.
Junior clears his throat, shaking his head a couple of times before he speaks. “It’s not that. I didn’t know what he was doing. But I knew he was unhappy with how things went down with our parents. I assumed he’d get over it. He’d been locking himself in his room for hours. I want to give you full access to that space.”
The family has full and complete access to any members’ space at any time. We don’t typically do raids, though, without a reason. It’s a family trust thing. We are not all only family by blood but also by vow. It wouldn’t be productive to have everyone fucking terrified that their homes would be tossed at any given moment.
I know my father probably could have checked on Keen’s shit without asking him anything, but I also don’t think he has ever raided someone’s home, at least not in the decade I’ve been a member of the family.
“That’s a nice gesture,” my father murmurs. “I’ve already sent five corps members over to catalog everything in the home. But I appreciate your offer.”
My entire spine straightens at his words, not that I have anything myself to hide, but he didn’t tell anyone about it. He just fucking did it, and that is not like my father. I turn my head to look at him and watch him for just a brief moment. He looks like my father, but his actions are startling me, and I find myself a bit confused.
“Next, we have the Simons,” he announces, ignoring my eyes on his profile.
I know that Junior and David, the youngest brother, are not in the clear. They probably won’t ever be, but their heads are safe for tonight. We have other things to worry about at the moment.
My father’s next words come out under his breath, just loud enough for me to hear. “Your wife will be joining us soon. We will get to the bottom of this all tonight. You start tomorrow as an executive with a clean slate for your initiation.”
I’m unsure of what to say.
Unsure of what that means exactly.
Instead of asking him, I stay quiet and wait.
If I have learned anything about my father, it’s that he always has a plan, and he rarely reveals it all at once. He will usually tell his executives his initial moves but not much else until he feels they need to know.
However, none of that is the case this time. Nobody fucking knows what’s going on in his head. And we don’t have time to ask because both Simons are dragged through the door and thrown forward.
I watch as they slide around in Keen’s blood, their hands tied behind their backs as they slip and slide in the wetness before losing their balance and landing on their knees. They lift their gazes to meet my father’s, their eyes locking on his.
Smirking at the sight of the tears that well in both of their gazes, I can’t wait to find out what the fuck they’ve been up to with Keen. They have been, without a doubt, up to no good, and it’s not just because they’re selfish assholes who have sold one daughter and are trying to sell another.
“We will start as soon as the women arrive,” my father announces.
As if his words summon them, the door opens and the women take a step inside. They’re side by side, their faces forward, and I wait for them to take in the scene before us. The blood, the dead body of my cousin, the couple on their knees waiting for their execution.
My mother doesn’t bat an eye. Her gaze stays focused on my father. They speak to one another without needing to say a word. They’ve been married for so many years. They’re so close and connected that they do not need words… ever. They say everything they need to with one another in this moment.
Parker’s eyes widen as she takes a step forward, then stops. I hear her gasp but don’t look at her. She’s Wells’s problem. Why Dad thought she should come here before she was married to Wells, I have no fucking idea.
Silence surrounds us. The executives and managers behind my father, brothers, and me don’t say a fucking word. This is uncharted territory. My father does not permit women in our meetings, especially where death is involved.
This is a special occasion.
