I feel at ease knowing Finnic will be right where I left him when I return another time.
All of this started because of my idiot brother’s decisions. I can’t necessarily blame Finnic for his part in all of this. If something as atrocious as that happened to me, my brothers would’ve recked this city to find out who committed the act and no stone would’ve been left unturned.
But it wasn’t me. It washer.
Finnic did what any natural person would do.
An eye for an eye. Well, almost.
He only beat him to death.
If I was done that way by another man and Viktor found out who that man was, he wouldn’t stop there. I could guess that he would take an eye for an eye pretty seriously, allowing the man to feel what I felt in such a moment like that. If there ever is a moment like that.
There won’t be.
After we arrive at my penthouse, Dante is already there, leaning against the wall, waiting for me to enter. He anticipates my arrival since we have trackers on our phones.
“Since my service decided to cut out on the drive back, I’ll go ahead and continue where I left off.” I unbutton my coat, and as I do, Dante walks behind me to help drape it down my shoulders, tugging it off. “Everything went as I thought it would.”
“Is he going to be a problem?” he asks as he places the coat on the hanging rack by the door.
I slip out of my heels one by one, letting them fall behind me as I cross the room toward the floor-to-ceiling windows.
Every inch of this penthouse is my inheritance. Every corner, every shadow, every echo of my father’s former life now belongs to me.
“Finnic?” I ask with humor in my tone.
“Something funny?” Dante questions as he arches a brow.
I allow a slow smile to spread. “Not necessarily. I just think it’s interesting that you think he’ll be a problem in a place like that.”
His tone hardens, “You know what I mean, Leigh.”
I turn to look back at him as he stands by the black sectional a few feet away. “I do know what you mean. All you need to know is that most of Beacon is on our payroll. If something happens, if something changes - we’ll be the first to get a call. Especially when it comes to Finnic.”
He steps closer. “And what about the other one?”
I ignore his question, moving onto more pressing concerns.
“The families think my father’s death is an opening for them to expand into territories he locked down.”
Dante’s jaw tightens. “I know that.” He shakes his head, “One of our contacts reached out to me earlier today about the Lucchese brothers.”
A cold laugh leaves my mouth, “I’m not surprised those greedy bastards are the first ones to try and go after those facilities.”
Dante nods slowly. “It wasn’t two months ago that they were trying to siphon profits off of the warehouse on River Street.”
I walk over to the mini bar. “They’re sloppy.” I say as I pop the cork on a five thousand dollar bottle of red, pouring it into a regular wine glass.
With the wine in hand, I trail back over to the windows. The city lights reflect onto the glass as I swirl the liquid around. Every glint of light reminds me that the streets below are moving pieces in a game I now control. “My father was only respected because one, he was a male. And two, because his father gave him a title that any other little shit could’ve been given.”
I take a slow sip, letting the wine sit on my tongue before swallowing it down. It isn’t worth the five thousand, but I’ll keep drinking it like it is.
I glance over my shoulder at Dante. “I don’t have theluxury of being a man. I just have what he passed down to me.” A low chuckle leaves my throat, “He wasn’t ready to pass it down, but that doesn’t make a difference.”
His gaze narrows. He knows where I am going with this.
“I won’t ask for their respect,” I continue. “I’ll condition them to it.”
