Page 28 of Blood & Heartache

Slumping back against the couch, I regarded the man across from me. “How the hell did my father not see what a fucking godsend you are? To leave a man like you manning the door while others watched his back was just plain stupid.”

Boykov gave me a half smile and a shrug. “Maybe he didn’t know because I never felt welcome to offer him the support you freely accept from me. Some bosses expect their body men to be seen and not heard so as not to build attachments. That way, when something happens to them, you don’t suffer an emotional loss and another person can more easily take their place.”

“Do you think that’s what my father was doing?” I pressed. “Keeping his men distant, I mean.”

“Your father had begun to change in the last few years. His hold on things was slipping. Not in a way many would notice, but those of us who watched closely could tell. No longer having meetings at the manor, making us stand outside the room and not in, and far fewer bodies to clean up than we used to. None of these things on their own would have drawn any attention and didn’t for a long time. Then it was too late to fix what was already falling off the tracks as you’ve been discovering the closer you look under the mask that he’d been wearing,” Boykov explained. “When you arrived, it brought back some of the spark and vigor your father had been missing. Yet I knew after that first day of meeting, and hearing you handle things, that told me it was time for me to see the writing on the wall and support the new leader, which is when I asked to be reassigned.”

Hearing what he’d just told me explained so much. If Daddy had cut off most of his support and only had his brothers, Liu, and Mrs. Laningham left to advise him, there was no wondering how Harvey managed to get his claws in as deep as he had.

“Growing up as I did, alone for the most part, I’m not good at working with people. I’m fantastic at using people to get what I want, but that doesn’t make me a good leader, now does it?” Sitting up, I grabbed my cane from its spot on my wheelchair and pushed to my feet. Gingerly, I made my way slowly to the desk. “Guess it’s time for me to learn a new trick, so I don’t end up alone and vulnerable in this world.”

Brushing my hand along the rich wood, I considered the vast knowledge I had about the Caprioni Family and businesses it owned. The empire my father had built came from taking the scraps of an idea his father had and turning it into a thriving enterprise. That’s what we children are supposed to do in this lifestyle. We take what’s been handed down to us, use our new perspective on things, and advance it to the next level. To do that, though, I’d need the right people to help me get it there. This wasn’t something a single person could accomplish, which was what my father had been trying to tell me since I’d arrived and introduced me to my lieutenants. I was the one who’d been stubborn and refused to see the truth of the matter.

Staring at the seat my father sat in every day when ruling this empire, I came to a conclusion. While I respected the man my father was and what he’d done—it was my turn to lead this Family.

Slowly, I lowered myself into his chair, closed my eyes, and took a deep breath. The only way I could rule over this empire was to do it my way. Daddy was regimented. He liked order, systems, and knowing what to expect every day. I was quite the opposite, and I have no doubt it would shake things up and piss people off. Too bad, so sad. If they don’t like it, then they can try and do something about it.

What do I care? Dead people cause so much less trouble than ones who are still breathing.

Opening my eyes, I found it wasn’t just Boykov here with me, but Liu had returned. They both stood watching me as if waiting to see what I’d do next.

I gave them both a small smirk and leaned forward, resting my arms on the desk. “Who’s ready to shake things up around here?”

Boykov snorted and shook his head. “Do you know any other way to do things?”

“Nah, not really,” I admitted with a shrug. “Question is, are you willing to put up with me? Will you be my head of personal security and watch my back until one of us winds up dead?”

Boykov’s expression shifted from lighthearted to serious in the blink of an eye. He approached the desk and looked me dead in the eye as he placed his gun and knife on the desk and held out his hand to me. I knew exactly what he was offering me, so I stood and pulled open the top drawer where Daddy always kept a gun and spare dagger. Grasping the knife, I took Boykov’s left hand and turned it palm-side up. With a quick swipe, I ran the top of the blade over his palm. The blood welled up, and I balled his hand into a fist and let the blood dribble over the gun and knife.

“This blood now means we’re Family and loyal to its leader. You live by the gun and the knife protecting the Caprioni Family. Fail, and you die by the gun and the knife. With this vow, you now have been baptized,” I said, repeating the oath that all who have come before me have given as leaders of the Caprioni Family.

“I entered the Family alive, I will only leave when dead,” Boykov responded, completing the oath.

As I took my seat, he pulled a cloth handkerchief out of his pocket, pressing it to his hand. “You know the last time I did this, it was a prick on the finger.”

Raising my right hand, I showed him my mark. “Yeah, but it’s way easier to see your loyalty this way. Told you I was gonna switch things up around here, and this is just the start.”

“Well, when you do the full ceremony, you’re gonna need to supply some gauze or something. Otherwise, they’re going to bleed all over the house,” Liu pointed out as he took Boykov’s place in front of me, setting down his weapons.

“I’ll trust you to take care of that then,” I teased, pushing myself back up on my feet to perform the oath for Liu.

This time, I tried not to cut as deep, but deep enough it would leave a permanent scar. It was pointless to do this if the scar wasn’t noticeable. I wanted it to serve the purpose of making sure they could never forget they swore their oath to me. Liu didn’t flinch or even blink at the cut. I’d expected that from Boykov, but it just made me respect the man even more.

“I entered the Family alive, I will only leave when dead. My honor and loyalty shall remain true or so my soul shall burn,” Liu responded.

The second half of the oath surprised me, but then a memory surfaced.

My blood spilled from my wrist over a picture of St. Jude, the patron saint of lost causes. The image was picked up and offered to me by someone I couldn’t make out in the hazy light. A flame appeared and lit the image of St. Jude on fire.

“Say it, girl,” the man demanded. “You are a Raffa as much as you are a Caprioni, and as such, you will give your oath to both Families.”

The paper was burning quickly, but my mouth remained shut. I wasn’t fucking giving this man any goddamn oath. They’d done nothing but push me to the brink of sanity, and what was my reward? Pledging an oath of undying loyalty to a Family I never planned to have anything to do with.

“Astin Otilia Raffa, you will give me your oath, or I’ll kill you where you stand,” the man roared.

This time when I looked up, with the added light of the burning image, I saw the man’s face. His long, wavy silver hair was brushed back from his face, but in his rage, some strands fell onto his brow. His beard was all white, neatly trimmed and full, setting off his features. His eyes were what caught my attention—they were the same as my mother’s.

“So you’ll kill me just like you killed her?” I taunted. “Go right ahead. After everything you’ve done to me, I won’t have a life I can live among people when I never know what will make me snap and kill them all. Finish what you started, dearest Grandfather. Kill the only family you have left and put your line to rest once and for all.”