VICTOR
Victor stuffed his hands in the pocket of his slacks and tilted his head at his baby brother. The way he was staring at Bella’s sister indicated he was up to no good.
“What’s up with that smile, bro?” Victor probed.
“What’s up with yours?” Lincoln countered.
“Answering a question with a question? Oh, you’re plotting something.” Victor chuckled. “Donatella?”
Lincoln grinned with a nod and scratched his beard. “Man,look at her.”
“I see her. She’s gorgeous. I also see the man standing next to her,” Victor pointed out.
“He’s nobody,” Lincoln snorted.
“Whatever, Linc,” Victor dismissed while searching the yard for his wife.
Lincoln’s shenanigans were of no concern to Victor. His mind was preoccupied with the fact that he was going to be a father. He couldn’t have been more pleased. Truth be told, he’d been trying to get Taylor pregnant long before they married. He was overjoyed at the thought of tossing a ball with his son or having a tea party with his little princess. Taylor had given him everything he ever dreamed of.
“What are you boys up to?”
Victor turned toward his mother’s voice. Lincoln moved quick to swallow her up in a suffocating hug.
“You’re killing my mother,” Victor muttered.
Linc was definitely a “mamma’s boy.” He had been from the very beginning. Although Victor adored his mother, he’d spent more time being groomed by his dad. However, Linc spent most of his time with their mother. It was no wonder why he was an excellent cook and kept an immaculate house. He often said being away from her was the hardest thing about deployment.
“I’m sorry. It’s been so long since I’ve seen this beautiful woman. I’ve missed you, Mom.” He planted a sloppy kiss on her forehead.
“I’ve missed you too, my love. How long are you here?”
“For a while. I’m not sure how long.”
“Where are you staying?”
“At Victor’s.”
“Wait! What?” Victor jumped in.
Lincoln gave him a lopsided smiled that reminded him of when he was as a little boy. “Oh, I didn’t tell you? My bad. Taylor said that I could crash with you guys while I’m in town. She wouldn’t hear of me staying in a hotel.”
“Hotel? Why can’t you stay with Lucas? You hate all the security around me.”
Lincoln shrugged. “Don’t want to. I want to spend time with my big brother.”
“Aww, that’s sweet,” Tabitha Creed gushed.
Victor glared at his brother. He wasn’t buying the “I miss my big brother” bit. But it didn’t matter. His family was always welcome in his home. And, if he were being honest, he missed his brother. Because of the upcoming election, life for him had been so hectic that he missed all of his brothers.
“Yeah, sweet,” Victor mumbled, feigning irritation.
Once more, Victor did a quick scan of the yard. He was looking for Taylor. Instead of laying eyes on his beloved pregnant wife, his eyes landed on Jeffrey Morgan. He grunted louder than he intended. His aggravation was no longer feigned when he saw his sister-in-law’s bootlicking, ass-kissing fiancé. It was bad enough that he had to put up with the annoying bombardment of praises from Donna’s date, the ever so ambitious prosecutor, Zach Barnes.
“What’s up, bro?” Linc asked, eyeing him curiously.
“Nothing. Just wanna be you for a day.” Victor sighed.
“Oh, good.” Linc coughed. “That means I can be you. I can sleep next to that goddess every night.” He pointed at Taylor who was having a seemingly rambunctious conversation with Bella and Donna.
“Watch yourself,” Victor warned, his eyes still trained on Jeffrey.
In his peripheral, he saw vigorous movement. He turned. It was Gregor, his head of security, Kena, his assistant, and Renee Griffin, his press secretary. Victor folded his arms and waited for news he knew wasn’t good.
Gregor said something to Jeffrey that sent him in the other direction as Renee approached.
“What is it, Renee?”
She frowned and reached into her briefcase. “It’s the Times.”
Victor groaned and waited to read what was sure to be a disturbing headline. Renee pulled the paper from her briefcase and handed it to him. On the front page was a picture of him from Taylor’s birthday party in a laughing huddle with Jack Storm and Luca Savelli. The headline read: ANOTHER ILLINOIS GOVERNOR LINKED TO ORGANIZED CRIME.
