I choose not to entertain his question. Frankly, what I do with my dick is none of his business. But I know that deep within his fucked-up exterior, he gets off on the pleasure of others. His kids are no exception to that. The way he handles Kenley, sending her out to do unspeakable shit with men for his benefit is proof of that. So no, I won’t give him the satisfaction of thinking about where I plan to stick my dick.
He lets out a deep breath and rubs his temples once he realizes I’m not going to answer him. “Tell me what happened with Iman.”
“He’ll sign. Emilio is now part owner, and Delirium is the exclusive carrier of Iman’s newest brand of whiskey. We’re already working on the soft launch or whatever the fuck you call it these days. Iman will make an appearance on Saturday, and you’ll get your fucking money.”
“Perfect,” he muses with a smile. “I’m proud of you both.” Dad waves his hand, a signal that indicates he’s done with us.
I stand from the chair and stroll back into the hallway with Jude following me silently.
Once the door is closed behind us, Jude goes left, and I go right, back down the stairs.
“Alfredo!” I shout once I hit the last two steps.
He hurries from around the corner and meets me at the bottom of the staircase. “Easton.” He dips his head. “Do you need something?”
“Where is Baby?”
“His room. Should I fetch him for you?”
“No.” I shake my head. “I’ll get him myself.”
I retreat back the way I just came, strolling over to the next flight of stairs that leads me to the third floor. It’s been ages since I’ve been up here. I moved out years ago, and whenever I’m here, it’s always for business, so I never had a reason to visit the floor I spent my childhood on.
It feels the same, drab and suffocating. Memories flood me, thoughts and events that ultimately lead me needing to be free of this place the moment I was old enough. Max was the first to go, considering he’s five years older than I am. I went shortly after, then followed Emilio, and the twins. Leaon went after him, only he didn’t go far. He stays close for when he’s needed, but the older he gets, the more defiance I see in him. And Kenley, my baby sister, couldn’t wait to get to college.
Of all of us, she hated it here the most, so I helped secure a penthouse apartment, a few miles from campus. She gets on my nerves, and we fight like siblings do, but I’d do anything for the kid.
When I reach Ashton’s room, I don’t bother knocking. It’s pitch-black except for the dim light shining from the many monitors he has set up on his desk. He’s wearing headphones and bobbing his head to the music. It is so loud that I can hear it from way over here.
He’s in his zone, typing away on his keyboard, no doubt digging into a system he has no business in. As I get closer to him I realize I'm right. The name of his school dances along the screen, and I shake my head at him, a proud smile tugging at my mouth.
Like I said, everyone in this family has a part to play, but Ashton is probably the most talented of us all. I have no idea how he got into it, but the moment Dad realized how skilled of a hacker he is, Dad puts him to work every chance he gets.
Unlike us, Baby has the chance to be free of this mess. He’s the youngest, and naturally, we all want to protect him, Alfredo included. I saw the worry in Alfredo’s eyes when I asked for my brother; he probably thought my father was ready to drag him into our lifestyle completely.
That isn’t the case, and ironically, none of us want that. We’d prefer he’d stayed out of things, get his degree, and open a tech company or something, but while the rest of us were forced into a life of crime, Baby wanted nothing more than to join us. He looked up to everyone, and from the moment he was old enough to understand what it is our family does, he’s done everything he can to impress our father.
It was Max and me who convinced Dad to let Baby live as normal a life as possible. Out of all of us, he’s the one who can make something of himself that isn’t consumed with Papa Ciccone’s bidding. If Dad leaves Ashton out of it, only calling on his skill set when we absolutely need him, then we’ll handle the rest. There’s no sense in all of us being corrupted.
“What’s up?” he says when he spots me through the reflection on one of his monitors.
I grin and continue walking until the back of his chair is against my front. “I need a number.”
He doesn’t look away from the computer but nods anyway. “Name?”
“All I have is a first name.”
The keys clack loudly. “Address?”
Taking my phone from my pocket, I bring up the picture I snapped of Arloe earlier and hold it out for him. “Her name’s Arloe, she works at Ever After Books on the same block as my shop. But I don’t know if she owns it.”
Ashton pauses for a brief moment to inspect the photo. “Nice tits,” he admits.
I slap him upside the head with the back of my hand, not caring that I’m wearing all of my jewelry today. He rubs the place I hit, a low hiss coming from his lips.
“Chill,” he blurts. “You and them fucking rings. I swear you look like one of those old, has-been-ass pimps with all that fucking jewelry on,” he insults.
My gaze falls to my hands where I inspect my rings. There’s one on every finger except my thumbs, and that’s only because rings on that digit can sometimes interfere with a fist.
