Conquered: A Dark Mafia Romance, page 15
He narrowed his eyes then smiled. “I’d forgotten all about that. You’re right in that they are similar. However, unless I missed something, the men who received those notes are all dead.”
I rubbed my jaw. “Yes, but what if he had children who were looking into their father’s death?”
“Not a bad theory. Why wait?”
“Perhaps because we’ve been in just about every online magazine discussing our increasing business. It would be the perfect time to tear us down. Maybe this reporter is almost like a front man hired to learn as much as possible or to literally dig up some dirt.”
“Yeah, that’s likely what’s going on.”
“And if he is allowed to find anything, our cryptic friend can use it for blackmail purposes, trying to extort millions from us.”
“Or more. You put some thought into this, I see. You should mention it to Creed. With the various contacts we have, we should be able to narrow down our lists even more.”
“I’ll do some checking myself. I do have my own contacts.”
He pointed his finger at me. “As I suspected. You’ve been hiding things from us, I can see.”
“Well, the two of you were busy getting hitched and having families.”
“While true, it would seem you’re doing what you can to ignore my earlier question. Allow me to refresh your memory. What’s going on with you?”
“Out of sorts? I’m trying to get into the frame of mind for writing a book for a change. It’s very dark and I need to feel inside my characters.” What bullshit. That I knew cold from experience.
“As I said, you’re a terrible liar, Easton, and always were. That’s why you got into so much trouble with Dad.”
“Trouble? You mean being tossed in dark holes and beaten with a belt? Yeah, that’s trouble alright.”
“You know what I mean,” he said after sighing. “I wasn’t trying to bring up the past.”
“I think that’s exactly what you’re attempting to do. The question is why? Is this asshole trying to drag us through the mud the reason or am I missing something?”
“I’m not going to lie to you that I’m bothered by the fact we’re getting threats and now some two-bit reporter had become determined to capture his fifteen minutes of fame. But my real reason is very personal.”
“And that is?”
“Because I’m worried about you, brother. Up to this point, you’ve been very successful at avoiding the past as if what happened to us or what we were forced to participate in was a nightmare and not real. But I’ve noticed you cracking around the edges and now, I’m certain of it. Be straight with me. Did you kill Dylan Roxford?”
I took a sip of my drink, surprised he’d confronted me. Now I was the one glancing over my shoulder, ensuring my lovely fawn couldn’t hear our conversation. “What if I did? The asshole was an abusive kid preying on innocent women. He deserved what he got.”
“Is that what happened to Zane Griffen as well? Did he abuse a girl too?” His eyes were twinkling the same way they used to when he caught me in a lie.
I shook my head. My brothers were always thorough. Plus, we knew each other better than we wanted to let on.
“Zane was a drug dealer and attacked my new employee. That wasn’t acceptable.”
He shook his head. “You’re playing with fire. Both those kids have strong connections with this community; their fathers are both way too important men in this fucking town. The police will stop at nothing. I’m warning you to watch your back.”
“I always do. However, I was careful as I’ve always been.”
“You do know Zane is the only son of man responsible for building the Griffen Industries. You know, Kaplan Griffen who owns several multimillion-dollar corporations, many of which contribute to the police fund? You know how to pick them since the guy is also friends with the Roxford family.”
“I’m not a fool, my brother. Besides, in this town there are two types of people in the upper echelon of society. Those who cluster together, pretending to be the good guys while using their power and influence to keep the people beneath them poor. They preen and drink cognac, giving of themselves only when they believe it to benefit their bank accounts. Then there are those of us who embrace the dark side, taking what we want but usually attempting to keep innocent lives intact. In my mind, those who think their shit doesn’t stink need to be jerked off their holier than thou platform.”
His eyes opened wide. “Shit. You really are this Angel of Death.”
“A fancy title likely coined by that stupid reporter we’re going to have fun with.” He seemed shocked at my words and my callous behavior.
“Wow. I thought you’d escaped the ugliness of our past, at least to some degree.”
“It’s not possible, Styx, and you know it. Which is why I think if you were offered another opportunity to go on a hunt, you’d do it in a heartbeat.”
His jaw was suddenly clenched and he nursed his drink for a few seconds.
“Like father, like sons,” I added.
As he rubbed his forehead, I could tell we were both right about our assumptions regarding the other.
“Look, I saw the news report and although the short newscast referred to a drug deal gone bad, I have a feeling you purposely made it look that way. Didn’t you?”
I chuckled and took another sip, never blinking.
“All three of us have done some things that are heinous to most people, some for business and some against true enemies who deserved our stringent reaction, but these murders are a personal vendetta.” His words were frank, but they needed to be.
“In what way?”
“You’re trying to save our mother, something none of us could have done. Yes? Don’t deny it, Easton. You were closest to her and took her disappearance the hardest.”
“Disappearance? You mean her murder. Don’t you? Just say what it really was for once in your goddamn life. Our mother was murdered by our father.”
“Fine. Yes, brother. Our godforsaken worthless piece of shit dad decided to take his lunacy out on the one person who least deserved it. However, you’re living in the past, the only one.”
“Bullshit!”
“Don’t bullshit me. And we shouldn’t argue but I know you better than you think I do. This grasp at trying to be normal is crumbling around you.”
I gritted my teeth. What neither he nor Creed knew was that I’d had an opportunity to save her, or at least so I remembered. It had eaten at me for far too long. “Yeah, well, if that’s what you want to think.”
He did something out of character for him. He placed his hand on my shoulder, giving a brotherly squeeze. I slowly lowered my head, trying to keep from reacting. He knew how much I hated being touched.
Huffing, he pulled his hand away, moving toward the window. “I don’t like what’s happening to you, Easton. If you aren’t careful, you’re going to lose yourself to the same darkness that almost consumed both Creed and me.”
“Don’t worry, brother. It’s already happened.”
“Then you need to do something to control it.”
Another laugh escaped my lips. “I already have.”
“I’m not talking about writing a book about a fucking serial killer, for God’s sake. That’s crazy. It’s like you want to evoke the ugliness from the past, something you told me yourself you wanted to do everything in your power to avoid. Why in God’s name would you want to write a brutal piece that is exactly like our real life?” He turned around, his voice deeper and more controlling than before. He’d always tried to fashion himself as a surrogate father when he’d been able, doing his best to protect his two younger brothers against the evils of the world.
It hadn’t worked. The boogeyman had gotten to us anyway. His guilt had been in not being able to do so while mine centered around my mother, avenging her death. Creed? He was a mixed bag but certainly the brother most interested in violence and bloodshed.
“Have you ever considered it’s a way of exorcising the demons locked deep inside, Styx? You were off saving lives before being hired to kill dozens of people. Creed thought himself to be the mafia king of the world. God know how many other bodies he added to the hunting grounds. I simply tried to live like a normal guy teaching classes. Well, get this. We’re not normal by a long shot. We never will be. You can hide behind all the celebrations and birthdays you want but the bottom line is that our past is embedded in our memory banks. While it’s affected each one of us entirely differently, we are younger versions of our father.”
A flash of anger rolled into his system. “Yes, I have. More than once. I know what I am and how I tried to cope with the devil inside. I finally found balance for one single reason. A woman. My wife knows all the ugly details because I kidnapped her. Remember? I took her life away for the sole purpose of attempting to soothe the beast living inside me, the same one that’s living inside of you. I was lucky that she saw past the monster, preferring to seek out the good in me. And yes, there is good, just like there is in you. More so in you because you’re like our mother. Tell me why you hired an intern. Be honest with me.”
He could make me more exasperated than almost anyone. But he was also the one who correctly called me on the carpet. “Yeah, okay. Maybe you’re right in that I’m finally realizing I need to add some light into my life, that I hunger for a hint of salvation. Maybe I’m trying to see if lightning will strike twice.”
“By hiring a kid?”
“She’s not a kid, Styx. I assure you she’s an incredible, magical, and very talented woman who could make any man hunger.”
As if on cue, she suddenly appeared in the open doorway to my office, catching my eye and my hunger. She’d changed into shorts and a tee shirt, now barefoot wearing her signature ponytail I’d seen her wear in class. Only instead of the clothing being baggy, it was form fitting enough to highlight her voluptuous curves.
Even my happily married brother sucked in his breath.
“I apologize. I didn’t mean to interrupt,” she said, giving my brother a respectful nod. “I’ll leave you two alone.”
“That’s okay, Sara. This is my brother, Styx. This is my new assistant, Sara Adams. She’s quite a talented author herself. I think you’ll be seeing her books lining the shelves of Barnes & Noble one day.”
She beamed from my nod of approval, walking with long strides highlighting her shapely legs toward Styx, her hand outstretched.
He was able to throw me a quick look before accepting her gesture. “The pleasure is all mine,” he said. “Just be careful with my brother. He’s a little cranky from time to time.”
When she laughed heartedly, it was as if the entire world had just been lit on fire, the sound was so melodic. “I learned that months ago by sitting inside his class. I’m hoping to get a different perspective now, like he’s a starving artist in need of direction, which is what I intend on providing with my powerful research.”
She was egging it on, and he was loving it.
“I have a feeling, brother,” he said without bothering to look in my direction, “that you’ve met your match. She’s very formidable, which is exactly what you need in your life.”
I could feel the scowl on my face and did what I could to ignore the man. “Older brothers are a pain in the ass.”
“That much I know to be true,” she said, winking for both of us to see. She must have sent her story to my email, which I couldn’t wait to read.
“Was there something you needed, something wrong with your accommodations?”
“Not at all. Milly was kind enough to provide me with more than I need. I was wondering if it would be okay with you if I had a glass of wine.”
“Of course. You have full run of the kitchen. Open any bottle you’d like.”
“Be careful saying that. I do have expensive tastes.”
Her change in demeanor was delightful and I burst into laughter. My soul already felt lighter. That is if I actually had one. “No worries. I can afford to fulfill your greatest desires.”
The slight blush was far too adorable, reminding me she was still very young.
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
I think the two of us were holding our breath for a full thirty seconds after she walked out of the room. When he turned toward me, he crowded my space as if fearful someone would hear us.
“I meant what I said. I think you’ve met your match with her, which is a good thing. She can certainly hold her own around you. However, allow me to be perfectly frank with a piece of brotherly advice.”
“Could I even stop you?” I asked with amusement in my tone.
“Be careful. You’re going into the same dangerous territory I did so without a net. She doesn’t know about your extracurricular activities.”
“Of course not.”
“She will learn about them eventually, especially since she’s living here. You can’t ignore the darkness any more than I could but for so long. Plus, you’re just as possessive. You’re going to keep her, even if that means against her will. And don’t try to tell me otherwise because I can already see it in your eyes. The intense longing. The kind of burning desire that will eat at you until you can’t sleep or eat. Just be prepared for the full ramifications and for losing a part of you that you’ve been attempting to hold onto for a long time.”
“And what is that, pray tell, brother?”
“Your heart.”
CHAPTER 16
Sara
I wasn’t used to being surprised, not really. During college, I’d seen so many insane things from catching lovers inside a girl’s bathroom fucking like rabbits to the horrible initiations into fraternities and sororities that I’d wanted no part of. Maybe I had been sheltered while living in Montana or even Seattle where I spent my early formative years, but the moment I stepped foot off the bus in Chicago, it was as if I’d lost my virginity all over again.
The city, the lights, and the crowds had been overwhelming. Almost immediately I’d buried myself in my studies or in fiction books, most of them by my favorite authors: Stephen King and Dean Koontz, and lapping up every Bentley Little for the third and fourth time. My roommate at the time had called me a wallflower, making fun of me in front of all her cool friends because I had cheap clothes from Walmart or mail order from JCPenney.
Meanwhile, she wore Gucci or Prada on her feet, her handbag costing more than my first car, and her clothing as if she had a personal shopper in Paris.
So what did the wallflower girl do? She’d buried her nose even deeper into books, finally getting inspiration to write several short stories. At first, they’d been tame, more like horror lite, but over time, I’d allowed my loneliness and depression to drive me deeper into violent acts of murder, spirits with malevolent thoughts, and demons who rose from the dirt like cockroaches.
It had fulfilled a need in me, although it had also pushed me further into being a loner.
Until Josie and Taylor had popped into the diner one day. Instead of making fun, they’d asked me questions, all three of us finding common ground. We’d become fast friends almost overnight, which had pushed my writing to the back burner for almost two years.
Now I could feel it coming back with a vengeance, ideas flowing like wildfire.
Especially since I’d overheard some of what Easton had said to his brother. I’d heard the angst, the odd concern in Styx’s voice that wasn’t typical of a normal family. Oddly enough, it was a similar conversation I’d heard my parents expressing when I’d announced I was accepting the full ride scholarship to the University of Chicago. It had been funny to me at the time. They’d left all they knew in the blink of an eye after news regarding my uncle had surfaced, yet when I’d wanted to better myself, my mother had cried herself to sleep.
I wasn’t certain how to react to hearing about how much Easton’s past had affected all three men born into the Saint family. What little I’d captured in my foray into secretly listening added credence to the stories my friends had alluded to. Styx had been a hired assassin? I knew there were such professions, including mercenaries hired by various military operations to extract kidnapped foreigners, eliminating everyone involved with the abduction.
But I had a feeling the kills mentioned were much more gruesome. What in God’s name had their father done to them to turn them so bloodthirsty?
Or maybe I’d read too many horror books.
What I’d heard hadn’t really bothered me. What had made me swoon a little too much was hearing praise from Easton. He genuinely seemed to appreciate having me around.
That only fueled the fantasies that much more, which was utterly ridiculous.
I’d sipped on my wine, enjoying a hot bubble bath complete with a few flameless candles and enjoying myself thoroughly.
All the while I’d plotted stories and fantasized about the rough and tumble man.
While I’d forgotten to ask if there was a dress code for dinner, I had a feeling flip-flops and shorts, my usual evening attire when it was this warm outside, wouldn’t cut it. My mother had given me a simple yet lovely body-hugging black dress for Christmas, which had shocked me until she’d said it was my graduation present.
Something appropriate to wear under my cap and gown, she’d said.
Or to funerals.
My mother was a no-nonsense woman and it had taken the wind out of my sails. But for some crazy reason as I took one last look into the mirror, twisting and turning back and forth, I was grateful I owned at least one nice piece of clothing. Plus, it looked entirely different on me than I’d thought it would, highlighting curves I hadn’t known I had.
Baggy was my uniform, jeans in the winter with oversized sweaters. I wanted to say I looked like a princess, but the color didn’t seem appropriate. Still, I’d even taken a few minutes to curl my hair with the electric curler I’d forgotten I’d purchased ages ago.
I almost didn’t recognize myself, especially with gray eyeshadow.
After blowing myself a kiss in the mirror, I grabbed my empty wineglass and headed out of the room.
