Victorious Vice, page 1
VICTORIOUS VICE
BELLAMY BROTHERS SIX
HELEN HARDT
This book is an original publication of Helen Hardt
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. The publisher does not assume any responsibility for third-party websites or their content.
The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work that have been used without permission. The publication/use of these trademarks is not authorized by, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners.
Copyright © 2025 Helen Hardt, LLC dba Hardt & Sons
Cover Design: Shepard Originals
Edited by Eric J. McConnell
All Rights Reserved
No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic format without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. Purchase only authorized editions.
Print ISBN: 978-1-952841-37-8
CONTENTS
Victorious Vice
Praise for Helen Hardt
Prologue
1. Raven
2. Vinnie
3. Raven
4. Vinnie
5. Raven
6. Vinnie
7. Raven
8. Vinnie
9. Raven
10. Vinnie
11. Raven
12. Vinnie
13. Raven
14. Vinnie
15. Raven
16. Vinnie
17. Raven
18. Vinnie
19. Raven
20. Vinnie
21. Raven
22. Vinnie
23. Raven
24. Vinnie
25. Raven
26. Vinnie
27. Raven
28. Vinnie
29. Raven
30. Vinnie
31. Raven
32. Vinnie
33. Raven
34. Vinnie
35. Raven
36. Vinnie
37. Raven
38. Vinnie
39. Raven
40. Vinnie
41. Raven
42. Vinnie
43. Raven
44. Vinnie
Acknowledgments
Also by Helen Hardt
About the Author
VICTORIOUS VICE
BELLAMY BROTHERS SIX
Helen Hardt
PRAISE FOR HELEN HARDT
“Literally perfection.”
~Read with Aimee on My Heart Still Beats
“Helen Hardt is a master at making you fall for the bad boy.”
~Words We Love By on Savage Sin
“Hardt spins erotic gold…”
~Publishers Weekly on Follow Me Darkly
“22 Best Erotic Novels to Read”
~Marie Claire Magazine on Follow Me Darkly
“Intensely erotic and wildly emotional…”
~New York Times bestselling author Lisa Renee Jones on Follow Me Darkly
“Christian, Gideon, and now…Braden Black.”
~Books, Wine, and Besties on Follow Me Darkly
“This red-hot tale will have readers fanning themselves.”
~Publishers Weekly on Blush
“Scintillating…”
~Publishers Weekly on Bloom
“Helen's intelligent writing style and skills have made this story a must-read.”
~FireSerene Reads on Bloom
“It's hot, it's intense, and the plot starts off thick and had me completely spellbound from page one.”
~The Sassy Nerd Blog on Rebel
“This book was fantastic! It was steamy, funny, romantic, and just about any other emotion you can think of…”
~Steamy Book Mama on Lily and the Duke
“Craving is the jaw-dropping book you need to read!”
~New York Times bestselling author Lisa Renee Jones on Craving
"Completely raw and addictive."
~#1 New York Times bestselling author Meredith Wild on Craving
“Talon has hit my top five list…up there next to Jamie Fraser and Gideon Cross.”
~USA Today bestselling author Angel Payne on Craving
“Talon and Jade’s instant chemistry heats up the pages…”
~RT Book Reviews on Craving
“Sorry Christian and Gideon, there’s a new heartthrob for you to contend with. Meet Talon. Talon Steel.”
~Booktopia on Craving
“Such a beautiful torment…”
~Bare Naked Words on Craving
“Made my heart stop in my chest. Helen has given us such a heartbreakingly beautiful series.”
~Tina, Bookalicious Babes on the Steel Brothers Saga
“A dark, intoxicating tale.”
~Library Journal on Unchained
“Helen Hardt has some kind of skill I don’t have the words to describe. Her writing is addictive. She sucked in my mind and I just don’t want to read anything but her right now!”
~OMGReads Blog
“Helen Hardt…is a master story teller.”
~Small Town Book Nerd
In memory of Russell A. Staab
PROLOGUE
VINNIE
I have a feeling that the Bellamy ranch shrouds more secrets than perhaps even Austin Bellamy himself knows.
“I believe Falcon is a good man,” I say.
“I do as well. Otherwise I wouldn’t have saved his ass.”
“What about his brothers?”
Dad shrugs. “I wasn’t able to find out too much about them before I had to go to prison. The older one, Hawk, seems good. But I sense that the younger one is a bit of a loose cannon.”
My father has no idea.
“I’ll look into all of them,” I say. “I’ll make sure Savannah is safe.”
He gives a weak smile. “I know you will, Vinnie.”
“I should’ve been here, Dad.” I run my hands through my hair, sighing. “If I had been, Mikey would still be alive.”
“I’ll never stop mourning your brother,” he says. “Just as I’ll never stop mourning your mother.” He looks at me, a small glimmer of light in his eyes. “But I have you, and I have Savannah. I trust Falcon to keep Savannah safe. And you know what I need you to do.”
“I’ll do it, Dad. You have my word.”
I drop him off at the prison, and when I get back to my mother’s home—now my home—my grandfather is waiting for me at the front door.
“I have nothing to say to you.” I brush past him, opening the door.
“Check your email,” he says. “You’re back on that flight to Colombia. Leaving tonight.”
“Send someone else.” I take a step inside the house.
“Nope. I’m sending you.” He grabs my arm. “You want to be my second-in-command? That’s who I need on this mission. You’d be there now if your mother hadn’t had that heart attack.”
I grit my teeth. “Don’t even talk about my mother.”
He frowns, laying a hand over his heart. “You think this isn’t killing me? She was my child.”
“Yes. Your only child.”
His lips twitch.
And I cock my head.
“My mother was trying to tell me something before she died. Something about you. Something about my father.”
He raises an eyebrow. “You mean you haven’t guessed?”
I whip my arm out of his grasp. “Stop playing games with me, old man. If there’s something I need to know about my father, you need to tell me.”
“All you need to know about Vincent Gallo Senior is that he’s a weakling.” Grandfather scowls.
“Weak men don’t kill a man to save their daughter from marriage to a degenerate.”
He says nothing.
“So don’t ever tell me my father’s a weak man again.”
“To the contrary,” he says, “your father is the strongest man I know.”
“But you just said—”
My flesh goes cold as ice.
Oh my God.
What my mother was trying to tell me…
What my grandfather just said…
I feel my blood draining from my face.
There’s a reason I look so much like my mother, so much like my grandfather.
And my father doesn’t know. He doesn’t know.
And all mafia brides are supposed to be virgins…
Nausea grips me, but I resist the urge to double over and retch.
“You fucking bastard,” I grit out.
A wicked grin crawls across his wrinkled face. “Now, Vincent,” he sneers. “Is that any way to speak to your father?”
I grab his shoulders violently. “You raped your own daughter?”
“And that surprises you?”
“Wasn’t she supposed to be a virgin?”
He shrugs. “She was. Until about a month before her wedding. I waited until I knew she was ovulating.” His grin widens. “I suppose one could say I invoked the right of prima nocta.”
My stomach is twisting into a pretzel. “And you knew… You knew she was pregnant…”
“Yes, I lucked out.” He smirks. “Your grandmother couldn’t give me any more children, but I knew I wasn’t the problem. I had to make sure my l
“My father…”
He clasps his hands together, frowning. “Do you know how difficult it’s been, Vincent? Letting you take his name?”
“Oh my God…”
“So you see—”
I cut him off. “You knew I was your son this whole time. You still raped me with that billy club.”
He raises a finger. “As my father did to me.”
Vomit threatens to erupt from my throat. “This is over, old man. It’s over now.”
I reach for my gun, and out of nowhere, two goons who work for the family leap into action. They must have let themselves in before I got home. They charge forward like twin shadows. The first goon lunges at me, slapping the gun out of my hand. It skids across the marble floor, stopping under a side table.
I duck as the second goon swings a fist at my head, and counterattack with an uppercut to his jaw. The man staggers back, but before I can get back to my gun, the first goon grabs me from behind in a bear hug, lifting me off the ground.
I grit my teeth and slam my head backward into the goon's face. I can hear the crunch of his nose breaking. He drops me, and I pivot on my heel and throw an elbow into the man’s throat for good measure. He gags in response.
The second goon recovers and charges like a bull, tackling me into the staircase. The impact sends a painful jolt up my spine, but I wrap my legs around the goon’s waist and flip him into the other one. They both crash to the floor, and I slam my fist into the goon’s temple once, twice—until he goes limp.
My grandfather—correction, my father—remains calm, almost amused, as I stand, panting. He slowly brings his hands together in mock applause.
“Impressive, Vinnie. Now tell me, son, what’s your next move?”
I wipe a smear of blood from my lip and dart to the side table, diving for my gun, but my father steps forward, drawing his own weapon just as I get mine. We’re faced off, our guns aimed at each other’s chests. The room falls into a tense silence.
The man who sired me smirks.
“You won’t do it. You don’t have it in you.”
I tighten my finger on the trigger. “I killed Puzo.”
“Indirectly.” He crinkles his forehead. “I’m not so sure you have the balls to get your own hands dirty.”
“I have nothing left to lose, old man.”
I fire the gun. The bullet slams into my father’s chest, and he stumbles back, a stunned expression crossing his face. He looks down, his hand clutching his suit jacket.
But then I notice.
No blood.
I go to him, rip open his shirt.
Sure enough, a bulletproof vest.
He lets out a cold, dark chuckle. “I’m afraid you’ll find this old man still has a few tricks up his sleeve.” He stares daggers into me from the floor. “I own you, Vincent. Your name should be Mario Bianchi, Junior. But I’ll let you keep his name. Consider it a gift from the man who fathered you.” He looks down at his vest, chuckling lightly. “And I won’t punish you for this. In fact, I’m proud of you. I would’ve probably done the same thing in your shoes, which is why I was prepared.”
Rage.
Pure rage. The kind that blurs your vision and roars in your ears, demanding action, any action, just to release the fury burning inside. It’s the kind that makes your hands shake, your body tense, and your thoughts spiral out of control, searching for something—anything—to destroy.
But I hold it in.
I hold it fucking in.
I will never concede.
But at this point, I have to let my grandfather think that I am.
“All right, Grandfather.”
He clears his throat, glaring at me.
I draw in a breath. “Father,” I say. “I’ll be on that plane tonight.”
“Good,” he says. “Your life begins tonight, Vincent. You will see what awaits you.”
1
RAVEN
Several hours earlier…
The service for Vinnie and Savannah’s mother is over. Jared, my bodyguard, and I walk out of the church. We awkwardly dogleg to avoid the receiving line. I don’t want to look at Vinnie. I’m only here because my brother is engaged to the daughter of the deceased.
As we reach the parking lot, I hear a buzz from my purse.
I reach in, but it’s not my normal phone that vibrated.
It’s the burner.
I’ve been carrying it around with me just in case the Uber driver—or whoever is on the other end—needs to get in touch with me.
Jared’s eyebrows rise when I pull it out. “What did they say?”
I pull up the text. Three simple words send my heart into violent tremors.
You’re in danger.
“What does it say?” Jared asks again, this time with more of an edge to his voice.
I hand him the phone.
His eyes widen. “Who sent this?”
I gulp. “I don’t know. I’ve had this phone since I took that Uber ride home from Austin. When the driver pulled over, scared the hell out of me, and told me I needed to invite Vinnie over for dinner that Friday night.”
“So this is his phone?”
“It’s the phone he gave me.”
Jared snatches the phone out of my hand. “I need to take this. See if we can trace the phone number.”
“It’s a burner phone,” I say.
“Yeah, most likely. But I have to do my job, Raven.” He examines the phone’s screen. “If you’re in danger, as this text indicates that you are, then I—”
“You need to protect me,” I finish for him. “Yes, I know the drill.”
He frowns. “You need to take this more seriously.”
“Believe me, Jared, I take it very seriously. I just…” I shake my head. “I just attended a funeral for a woman. A woman who seemed to be in perfect health only days ago when I saw her and ate dinner at her house. A woman who meant the world to Vinnie and Savannah. Before that, my brother and Leif found surveillance equipment in my home. My home, Jared. And yes, I know that’s why you’re here. Why I need you to be here. Why I need a freaking bodyguard.” I sit down on the curb, rubbing at the sides of my face. “My life for the past several years has been surreal. Nightmarish, truly. I was sick, wondering if I’d even live. But I’m alive, Jared. I’m alive, and I feel good. At least I should feel good. I kicked cancer’s ass, and I fell in love. But I don’t feel good. I feel bad. Someone’s watching me. The man I love is in danger. Belinda, his eleven-year-old bride-to-be, is in danger. I can’t help either one of them.”
Jared sits down next to me. “Raven…”
“For the love of God, let me finish.” I snap back to my feet, pace the sidewalk. “I’m supposed to be on top of the fucking world, Jared. I beat cancer! And I fell in love! I try to watch the sunrise every morning, the sunset every evening. I stop to smell the roses, and I take every minute as it comes, appreciating it. At least that’s what I’m supposed to be doing. And now, everything has changed again. I don’t have to worry about my white blood cells killing me. Instead, I have a whole new threat for my life, this time from people I don’t even know. Because of the man I love. Because of my brothers and what they did eight years ago.”
