“Where the fuck is Amir?” I snap.
“Busy.”
“Didn’t we agree we wouldn’t go anywhere without our bodyguard-slash-driver? With Lorenzo’s men lurking, we can’t afford mistakes.” Collin lets out an irritated sound, and shrugs. My little brother always had a rebellious streak, always defying Da’s orders when we were younger–always doing whatever he wanted, regardless of the consequences.
The thought of him putting his life on the line and tempting fate sends a sharp spike of frustration through me. My teeth grind together. “We agreed we’d all be standing at the end of this.”
Collin rolls his shoulders. “Bro, when did you become such a nag?”
“Since I have to stop my reckless little brother from getting himself killed.”
Collin shakes his head. I don’t miss the twitch of his lips. “Fine. I’ll have Amir with me from now on. Happy?”
“And he’s driving one of the armored cars. Not this flashy piece of shit.” I rap my knuckles against the dashboard. “This thing is a fucking bullseye.”
Collin’s fingers flex around the wheel. With exaggerated slowness, he lifts one hand off the wheel and gives a mocking salute. “Aye aye, captain.”
Collin presses the gas. The moment stretches, an unspoken agreement hanging between us. He veers onto back road, the sports car eating up the distance between us and the airstrip where a private jet is waiting to take us to Boston. Collin turns his head toward me, the ever-present smirk nowhere in sight. Revealing the emotionally detached brother I grew up with.
“Listen, C, I can’t promise I won’t push boundaries. That’s exactly what you’ve been doing to keep us safe all these years. So, by that logic, I’ll embrace the same approach. I can only promise that I’ll use every resource at my disposal to ensure our survival.” He turns his focus back to the road. This is the best I would get from him.
A familiar tension coils in my stomach as the silence stretches between us. The stark difference between us has never been clearer. His detachment isn’t just something he’s chosen. His lack of emotional understanding made him excel at killing. I did this to him, shaped Collin into the executioner. He followed my lead until there was nothing left but more ice in his veins and blood on his hands. My pursuit of vengeance has forged him into something unrecognizable. “What’s the update from New York?” I ask. Sebastian and Gabriel stayed behind to ensure The Vista went up in flames, since we adjusted our plans after Troy got shot.
“Yeah,” Collin’s all cold efficiency. “Rizzotto Holdings is still crawling with cops… they found the drugs, the guns. The story broke this morning. It’s all over the local, national news, and social media too.”
I smile, satisfaction curling through my chest. “Good. What about the offshore accounts?”
Collin’s fingers tap against the wheel. “Jake hacked into Lorenzo’s bank accounts, wiping them clean. Even the offshore ones. But some big deposits and withdrawals in the last six months are off. He and Troy can’t track the source of the funds or where the withdrawals went. Not without direct access to his actual books.”
“We need to figure that out. But even if we don’t, Gabriel will leak Lorenzo’s link to money laundering. That will make investors scramble to dump their shares in Rizzotto Holdings. Once it’s vulnerable, we move in for a takeover. We’ll bankrupt him. Take everything. Only then will we kill him.”
Collin cracks his neck. “I can’t wait to play. I’ll make him wish for death long before we finally give it to him.” I don’t miss the way his fingers flex on the wheel. He’s waited for this moment for sixteen years, and now we’re so close.
“Vengeance is almost ours, Col.” My voice is quieter now as my thoughts drift to them, our parents. Would they recognize us now? Would they see their sons in the men we’ve become? Or would they look at us and see nothing but monsters wearing their children’s faces? In this world of blood and might, we don’t just survive in this life—we thrive in it. Instead of curbing Collin’s hunger for violence, I’ve nurtured it. Pointing him at our enemies and letting him go wild; there’s no going back. I have to accept what we are, what I’ve made us.
“So, Col, you didn’t tell me. Where did Liam and Trent find the fuckers from the drive-by?” I ask, dragging us back to business. I don’t need ghosts clouding my focus. Not when our enemies are circling.
Collin shifts gears, taking a sharp turn toward the private landing strip. “Lorenzo had them lying low in the city. I told Sebastian, Trent, and Liam they could start working on them until we arrive.” He flicks me a quick glance. “Oh, and I’ve got a surprise for you. The second guy from that night–the one with Leo? He’s with them. Trent says he was in the car during the drive-by.”
My fingers curl into a fist. Some debts can’t be paid in blood fast enough. Rage coils hot in my chest, sharp enough to make my pulse thrum. But I don’t let it spill. Not yet. There’s a savage satisfaction in knowing he’s cornered, breathing borrowed air until I decide how he dies. I want his face in front of me when the light leaves his eyes. These past days have been a fucking roller coaster–Troy taking a bullet, the Vista going up in flames, the strain of waging a war while running our businesses. I need an outlet, and there’s no better way to bleed off some of this pressure than dealing with these fuckers personally.
“Sorry, Col,” I crack my knuckles. “But I can’t let you have all the fun today, brother.”
Collin hums, amused. “More like you need to fuck.” He casts me a sidelong glance. “So, my guess is your pretty accountant still hasn’t let you sample that pussy yet?”
Closing my eyes for a second, I remind myself he’s my brother, and I love him, and he’s the one driving. However, my efforts do nothing to calm my irritation. “Fuck off, Col.”
“I don’t get it,” he muses, seeming genuinely perplexed. “Pussy is pussy. If that’s what you need, find another.”
I turn to him, my expression blank, but my voice sharp as a blade. “Collin.” His eyes flick to me at the sudden shift in tone. “The only reason you’re still breathing after that statement is because you’re my brother… Aria is going to be my wife. She’s family, and I’ll burn down the entire fucking world to keep her safe.”
Col’s head tilts back slightly, eyebrow creasing. His brows lift as realization settles behind his sharp blue eyes, and a slow nod follows. His gaze cut once to the rearview mirror before settling forward again. To Collin, family is sacred and crossing that line is the fastest way to die. If I’m placing Aria in that same category, then to Collin, she’s untouchable. “Color me surprised,” his mouth curves. “Now, everyone else owes Troy ten grand. The fucker was right.”
I narrow my eyes. “What?”
“We all bet you’d get bored with Aria once you fucked her.”
A muscle ticks in my jaw. “You fuckers have too much money and way too much time if you’re sitting around betting on my cock and where I like to stick it.”
