During the will reading, however, I’d learned I was also inheriting his half interest in the Paradise Club, and by extension the LLC he had his portion in. It was a very exclusive sex club down on the Avenue, the high-end business entertainment row that stretched four blocks down from the Vispania Tower, the Don Supreme’s main building. That didn’t bother me so much as the other half belonged to the don’s son, Gavriel Azzaro, also known as the Owl’s Talon, who happened to be standing directly behind his father.Great.
At thirty-two years old, he was the clone of the don, with the exception of a lighter olive-gold skin tone and straight blond-brown hair, also pulled back in a bun, and a short trimmed beard. He was known for his ruthlessness and vicious way of solving problems. What he didn’t realize was this wasn’t going to be an easy fight. I was going to make his life a living hell for killing my father.
“What in the fuck do you want?”
Don Azzaro reached out to touch me, but I batted him away. Tsking, he waved a finger at me. “Now, now, little girl. You don’t want to make an enemy of me.”
“What, you think your son can kill my father, his best friend, and we are going to be on each other’s speed dial? Think again, asshole. I don’t care who you are.”
Stepping back, I went to slam the door shut, but Gavriel was suddenly through and pushing me against the wall, hand on my throat. Thrusting my knee upwards, I made contact with his groin before swinging on his jaw and wrapping my other hand around his throat. There was a familiar pause in his motions as he grunted and tried to catch his breath. When his eyes met mine, I saw his raw hatred for me, but also surprise before he threw his arms up, dislodging my hold on him. Without thinking, I pulled my gun. It wasn’t the first time I had drawn on someone, and if I shot and killed him, it also wouldn’t bethe first. Having Joel as my father had brought its own threats to my doorstep, and I’d had to defend myself on more than one occasion.
Once it was trained on Gavriel, he stopped, stuck his hands in his pockets, and stared at me like he was daring me to pull the trigger. My words came out commanding and through my teeth. “Get the hell out of my house.”
Gavriel’s lip lifted in a smirk. “Don’t you understand? You are ours now. Well, once you’ve signed the rest of the deeds and transfer paperwork with your attorney.”
“I am not owned by or honor-bound to anyone. I am my own person. None of those documents mentioned the Azzaro family except for Paradise. Neither you nor your father have any right to be here. Leave.”
His gaze trailed up and down my body, and he licked his lips. It was like he was sizing me up like a piece of meat at the butcher shop. My shorts and tank top were nothing but ordinary, but there was something heated in that gaze of his that, for the first time, didn’t feel slimy coming from him.What the fuck?This was the man who’d killed my father and carved his heart out.
“Your father and I had—”
“Had. Keyword there. Youhada relationship. A friendship. Did you know he considered you one of his closest friends?” I shook my head, not believing this man before me had the gall to talk to me about my father. “Even worse, he considered you a son. He valued you just as much as he valued me, and you betrayed him. You fucking killed him.”
What appeared to be sadness passed through his eyes, and if I hadn’t been paying attention, I wouldn’t have seen it. I wanted to huff in annoyance, to wipe that look off his face. He had no right to grieve my father.
“You don’t understand.”
“What? That he was irrevocably in love with your sister?” Don Azzaro and Gavriel’s eyes widened slightly. “Yeah, I knew all about that. Dad and I talked. I noticed how happy he was the last year. When he finally came clean about it, he told me everything. How he and Rhea loved each other deeply, despite the age difference. They were trying to find a way to make you, Ezequiel, understand and accept them being together. If my father was wrong about anything, it was about how much he meant to you. How much Rhea meant to the both of you. The way they looked at each other is what true love stories are made of. Unfortunately, there was no happily ever after for them.” Setting my stance, my arms still raised with my gun in my hand, my heart racing, I growled, “Now, get the fuck out of my house or you will be leaking blood.”
Don Azzaro stormed toward me, and when I aimed at him, he didn’t stop, so I fired off one shingle shot between the two of them. Don Azzaro did stop then and looked to his son, who was studying him. When they realized neither had been hit, Don Azzaro chuckled. “You can’t even hit the broadside of a barn.”
“Care to test that theory?”
Gavriel grabbed an unopened can of soda from the pile of groceries by the couch on the floor and tossed it into the air. Without hesitation, I fired, and instantly liquid sprayed in every direction. Neither of them moved, the only sounds in the air were from the hissing of the can and my phone text alerts.
Gavriel nodded approvingly with the smallest of smirks on his face, but Don Azzaro just said, “I suggest you behave, little girl, or you might find yourself seeing your father a lot quicker than you intend to.”
He turned his back on me and walked out. When I looked at Gavriel, his head was turned toward me, eyes downcast as he muttered, “You don’t know as much as you think you do, Elin.”
A minute later, the house was silent again, and I dropped to the floor to settle my racing heart.
Chapter 4
Afterslidingintothecar with my father, I leaned against the door and groaned. He was barking orders, and when we were a few blocks from Joel’s place, he punched the divider between us and the driver.
“Insolent child!”
“She’s brazen. I’ll give her that.” I couldn’t help the instant physical attraction that had rocketed through me when she’d put her hand around my throat, or shot through the can of soda, though. “At least she has a mess to clean up.”
I felt my father’s stare as he studied me, and when I turned to face him, there was a scowl on his face. “You don’t want her, do you?”
“She’s pretty, but I don’t like petulant brats, Father. The only thing that woman has is the same blood as someone I considered a friend, before he betrayed the family.”
He huffed in annoyance. “Joel almost cost us a very important ally. We need Juarez’s men and transport across the border. Shipments aren’t going to move themselves.”
“I still don’t understand why you have to marry Rhea off to him, though.” My voice was low and respectful, but that didn’t matter. The sting across my cheek was sharp, as I slowly met his gaze.
“The best alliances are those made through marriage and blood. She will produce heirs for him. Give him a bloodline to continue in San Diego, just as I am working on finding you a wife for you to continue ours.”
