Am I brave or just foolish? “It’s true. Dad’s obviously desperate for the alliances and if they're not working out, you know he’s targeting Lucia next for some sleazy deal. Or you.”
He gives a short, humorless chuckle. “Mine is a given, he’s been bombarding me with a list of what he calls acceptable candidates.”
“Sorry.” I get it. I do, I’m just lucky my marriage to Mason was a good thing.
Until he finds out you betrayed his family.
“You have to keep Lucia off Dad’s radar,” I say. “She says she’s been crying the entire week, and every time he says something to her, she runs up to her room to vomit.”
“Afton.” He may be twenty-five, but he sounds like he’s carrying the burdens of a much older man. “Don’t you get it? We’re all just collateral to Dad. Fuck, he’d lend out Mom if he thought it would give him an advantage.”
Nausea hits me, thinking of my desperately placid mother, trying so hard to make this all seem normal.
“Tell me what’s happening, Sam. Please. It feels like it’s all falling apart.”
“He’s been taking stupid risks,” he says quietly. “We lost that prime runway because he insisted on running too many flights through there, too much cargo. It was our most valuable airfield for transporting the drugs from the Matsumori Yakuza. The Feds got wind of it when one of the nearby farmers reported unusual activity. Kenji was pissed that we might have exposed the Matsumori Yakuza as well.”
Dropping into a chair, I stare out the window, trying to put all this together. “What else?”
It sounds like Sam’s forcing the words out between clenched teeth. “He’s shooting men for ‘disloyalty,’ he says. He took out Robert Gorman and John.”
“Wait… He killed John?CousinJohn? And Robert was one of his chief advisors! They would never betray him, he was-”
“He. Doesn’t. Care. Do you hear me? Instead of ruling by making everyone rich, he’s trying to keep order out of fear,” he says, sounding exhausted. “I’m doing everything I can to keep order, but all the captains are pissed. Shooting Robert in the fucking face during a board meeting didn’t help.”
“I can’t picture him getting his hands dirty,” I say blankly, “he always loved his expensive suits and his country club membership.” My poor brother. I can hear his misery from being helpless to stop this. “What’s happened? Why is he losing it?”
“I’m not sure,” he sighs. “I think he’s been banking on this vision of being the most powerful crime family in America with these two alliances-”
I snort before I can help myself. “The Cavendish Syndicate is nowhere near the most powerful group in the country.”
“When things didn’t go the way he expected, he started lashing out and being irrational.”
“What can I do?” I ask. “How can I help?”
“Stay on the MacTavish clan’s good side. We might need them if this all goes to shit with the Matsumori group.”
I can’t say that I just betrayed them. If Sam didn’t mention it here, it means Dad didn’t tell him. More secrets.
“I’m sorry, Sam. This is horrible. Please, do what you can to keep Dad away from Lucia.”
“I will,” he says, “we’ll talk soon, all right? I have to get back to the house.”
“Love you, brother.”
“Love you back.”
***
Mason…
“How the feck did this happen!” Uncle Cormac slams his fist down on his desk hard enough that I think the mahogany cracked.
My cousin Duncan stifles a groan at the sound.
“What’s your problem?” Michael asks.
“He was drinking last night like the fate of the nation depended on it,” Logan tattles.
