Part 2

“Have you decided on what to do next?”

My jaw ticked and I relaxed the clenched muscle. I decided to ignore his question. “Why the midnight visit from Gage?”

“This family spilled a lot of blood to guarantee your generation the freedom you have now. There are no arranged marriages in your future, no official godfather seat up for grabs. To the public eye, we’ve gone legitimate and we’ve kept our noses clean ever since you were born.”

“I’m aware,” I said. I was raised knowing exactly who and what we were. I knew how we made money, the tactics we used and the connections we had. I doubted another family was as powerful as ours were. The Vittori’s, the Volkov’s and Makolli’s were ruthless, and none of us minded spilling blood, not even me.

“Your sister wants to expand her horizons and go to University,” Dominic said. It was said with a tinge of sadness. My twin had been stillborn and Honor had been a miracle after doctors told my mother she wouldn’t be able to conceive again. For that reason, we all doted on her.

A faint smile started on my lips. “And you want me to go with her to ensure her safety.”

“We still have enemies, Saint. Your sister is a prize people will kill for to use against us. I’ve also decided that this is a prime opportunity for you to spread your wings.”

“You mean, get more involved in the family business.”

Dominic nodded his head. “Yes, but you’ll do it where we have no reach, so essentially, you’ll be on your own. You’ll have to make your own connections, get a foothold in the area that you will then rule.”

“You’re giving me my own seat of power?”

Dominic smiled for the first time. “Yes, but don’t get too happy about it. It won’t be easy and I won’t be around the corner to help you. This is a chance for you to prove what you’re made of.”

“Who’s going with me?” I was close to my cousins, Niko and Elian, but they worked closely with their own fathers and I wanted to strike out on my own.

“You and Bishop have a golden opportunity and the time to strike is now.”

“What about Aaron?”

“Aaron’s only sixteen. He stays at home, close to his father.”

“Does he want to?”

Dominic grinned. “Not a fucking chance, but Ethan is his father and he said no. Something about you and Bishop being a bad influence.”

I barked out a rough laugh and shook my head. He wasn’t wrong. “Fuck, maybe Aaron’s better off here.”

“Honor and Arya will both join you.”

I almost choked on oxygen. “Arya? Gage agreed to that shit?”

“You know those two girls are more like twins than cousins. Now you will have a new level of incentive to succeed. Honor wants to go with you and where Honor goes, Arya goes. Gage didn’t have much of a choice. Anya convinced him.”

“How? With an axe to his balls?”

Gage’s dark laughter came from behind me. “She handcuffed me to the bed, fucked my brains out and then had me say yes while edging me. It was fucking torture. I had no choice.”

“She edged you?” Gage’s wife, Anya, was a Volkov by blood and a Vittori by marriage. She embraced Gage’s darkness with her own and in all that chaos, they found each other.

“The woman’s fucking talented,” Gage said with a smirk.

Dominic shook his head. “I don’t want to know that shit.”

“I bet Hudson does,” Gage said, and we all burst out laughing.

“Fuck off, go play with your cars or better yet, go edge your wife and grow some balls.”

“Fuck you,” Gage said, and opened the study’s door.

When the door closed behind him and we were alone again, I turned back to my father. “I’m sure you already have a destination in mind.” 

“Honor, Arya, and Bishop will be attending Briarwood University in Pennsylvania. It’s exclusive, elite and just big enough to make your mark. There are a lot of smaller towns around Briarwood where your influence can reach. Lots of politicians with holiday homes.”

“Hmm, politics. It’s always good to have a few politicians in your back pocket,” I said, and got to my feet. “I won’t disappoint you, Father.”

“Wrath is barely an hour from where you’ll be. Call him if you need to, his crew is solid. Never be too proud to ask for help.”

I smiled. “That’s good. Wrath’s a good man to have on my side.” I could still remember the first time I met Wrath, staring at him through the back window of an SUV when I was 5. Wrath had killed the man and saved my life after I’d been kidnapped.

“Go get some rest. Your mother will be happy you’re home,” Dominic said.

“So … there’s no pregnant girl?”

Dominic raised an eyebrow. “What the fuck are you talking about?”

I chuckled and wiped a hand over my face. “Fucking Gage. He made me believe some girl came to the house, claiming to be pregnant. I told him it wasn’t mine, but fuck, for a minute there I was worried.”

“You know the rules, Saint, there can be no pregnant girlfriend. A pregnant wife on the other hand will ensure that I don’t have to decide on your punishment. We don’t father children out of wedlock and we don’t divorce. You might not have an arranged marriage looming over your head, but your future wife will be someone that brings something valuable to the table.”

“It’s not called an arranged marriage, but it will be one.”

“It’s not easy being a Vittori, but you have it easier than I had it,” Dominic said.

My father’s turbulent past with Conrad Vittori was no secret and I knew that in some aspects, I was very lucky. Dominic was hard on me, but he never abused me or hit me. My father guided me, showed me the error of my ways and sure, I had blood on my hands, but that was the Vittori way. My father had made sure that I could stand on my own two feet and lead this family if it ever came to that.

“Go sleep, Saint, I’ll see you in the morning.”

I nodded my head and headed up to my quarters, the one all the children shared. I slipped into my sister’s room first, and kissed her forehead. “I’m home, Honor.”

“I missed you,” she murmured.

“Me too.”

Inside my own room, I had to laugh. There was a little red heart-shaped chocolate on my pillow. I shook my head. That could only be Wilder. He was wild and untamed like his father, Hudson, but he had some of Cooper’s calm as well. I also knew that he’d only been home a week and he had one year left to finish his degree in Criminology.