This wasn’t my home.
All the memories I’d had with a beautiful past had been ripped away. Now they needed to be dead and buried. No one would ever believe my story. Zane Emmett was from a family of power. His father owned the police and the government.
And everything in between.
My mother had forsaken me.
I rushed to the door, tears blinding me. There was no returning to my life. No chance of finding a way through this.
My life as I knew it was over.
As of today, Daniella Dunham was dead.
CHAPTER 1
Eight years later…
Sinclair
Very little tempered the darkness furrowing inside.
My lineage was all about power and control.
While feared by those who would dare oppose the Prince family, there were others who respected both our accomplishments and our savagery. With wealth came opposition, enemies daring to believe they could take what belonged to us.
Often in our world it was kill or be killed.
And I certainly didn’t have a death wish.
While I was no stranger to methods of brutality, reveling in the sheer joy of overpowering anyone with balls big enough to challenge me, I was often reminded I wasn’t getting any younger.
However, the power I wielded was undeniable.
After chasing the asshole down a back alley, I’d dragged him back to the comfort and privacy of a secure warehouse. “Who is this son of a bitch?” I rubbed my eyes, furious at the situation. How had three men gone unnoticed long enough to break into the warehouse and steal a crate full of party favors? Expensive party favors.
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
“He’s nobody from what I can tell.” My Capo was mildly amused whereas I was livid. “But maybe we should check. The other two managed to get away.”
Yeah. Tell me something I didn’t know.
“I don’t give a shit who the fucker is, Enzo. He could be the president’s son for all I care. I’m not playing a fool’s game here.” No one stole from us, especially some two-bit foot soldier for some street gang who thought he’d found an easy score. Unfortunately, it had been. Far too easy.
Someone had known exactly how much time they had before someone arrived at the facility. Three minutes. It had taken three men all of three minutes to break inside, hotwire one of our loaders, and drop the millions of dollars’ worth of product into an awaiting van. They would have been miles away had I not been close when the alarm went off. The two in the van had managed to drive away and with the afternoon traffic, finding them would be next to impossible.
By now, the van was ditched, the product safely hidden.
I was one pissed-off Underboss. The protection of the cargo had been my responsibility. Even worse, the site had been temporary, the location known by very few in our organization.
Enzo snorted as if what I’d just spouted in anger was nothing but a caustic tale of bullshit. “Yes, sir.” He grinned and took a step away, holding up his hands.
“Do you hear that, you son of a bitch? I’m in a shitty mood and if you want to know the truth, it’s all because of you. You interrupted my entire goddamn schedule.” I glared down at the bloodied and broken man. We weren’t getting anywhere and were close to the tourist trap of the French Quarter. Hissing, I raked my hands through my hair, glaring at my right hand.
My knuckles were going to swell.
I pushed him away, finally backing away while thinking about how in God’s name the bastard and his buddies had managed to infiltrate the operation. This was definitely not how I’d wanted to end my day.
When Enzo yanked the asshole’s head back several inches, the worthless piece of shit opened his eyes, the swollen tissue covering almost every inch of his face giving me a smile.
