Her. He means Viola. “I know,” I say.
“And she’ll be at Harper-Black Estate.”
“I have to go. I have no choice. I’m supposed to be the leader of the fucking organization now,” I say, downing another shot and then finishing off the bottle. “I’m the only fucking Duke left.”
Although, some might say I’m not a real Duke, since I was adopted.
I need to get the other four to trust me, so I have to attend. And I should respond soon. The rest of The Five aren’t known for their patience.
Out of all of them, I only give a fuck about Kristian Vice, Dino’s brother. I want him gone. A couple of the others might decide to back me if it means Vice is no longer part of the organization. Marques is a sure bet. With Jude incarcerated, he’s going to want retribution. I need Dino on board with this too. Since he went into the family business, running his dead dad’s drug empire with his evil brother, I have to know he has my back.
“You know, Kristian is going to make a play for my position,” I say to Dino.
“Marques and Earlshore will back you, surely?”
“No they fucking won’t, they’re scared of him. And your brother is a bomb waiting to go off and you know it. Baron too.”
“Baron doesn’t give a shit about politics. He will back whoever keeps the ring up and running,” Dino says in a low voice as his face darkens. He’s right. Baron and Vice have also been circle jerking each other for as long as I can fucking remember. If we start a war with one, the other will follow. But I have no beef with the Barons. And I have something on Finn that’ll keep Baron on a short leash.
“I don’t give two fucks about Baron. He just needs to stay out of my way while we deal with Kristian.” I emphasize the we.
“Are you asking me to kill my own brother?”
I look directly at him. “No. I’ll handle that part.”
He exhales and shakes his head. “What about Viola?”
I shake my head. “Forget her. She left us. What we need to do is finish what she started. That’s what we need to do.”
Dino nods his head.
“So, the plan still stands? Even with Viola gone?”
I give him an evil fucking smile in answer.
Without our Angel of Death, I thought we’d fall apart. She was the glue that held us all together. But with her gone, I can finally see what the problem was all along. I was hiding behind her. She took out Joseph for Saskia when it should have been me. I was too arrogant to get my hands dirty, but you can’t be in this world and keep them clean.
The hostess brings us our coats. Our ten-minute meeting is up. No rest for the fucking wicked.
“Don’t worry about your brother. Do your exams and then leave this shitty town,” I say to Dino.
“I’m not leaving,” he says, jaw set, eyes hardened.
I look at him and see the damage she did etched clearly into his features. He’s going to break again. He’s at the edge ready to step off it. Feeling the weight of every other fucking problem bearing down on me, I nod my head.
“Then how about you ditch Kristian and come with me. I’m off to pay Finn a little visit.”
Dino frowns. “Why him?”
“He knows when the pre-meeting to the organization’s little shindig is going to be held.” Finn called me after I sent him a photo of him with some girl, who did not look like she gave any consent whatsoever. He was the one who gave me the heads up about the invite. His uncle is Graham ‘Griffin’ Baron after all. Fucking Finn. He’s about as useful as a dick flavored lollipop most of the time. I’m impressed he came through, but also wary. His uncle isn’t on my favorite persons list. Still, I trust him more than I do Kristian. Having Dino there might just be the support I need. Especially if Viola’s there too.
And just maybe he’ll see once and for all…
That she’s not fucking worth dying for.