He rounded on me and returned to the strangers who were talking quietly until my father returned to their circle. I felt my heart pound against my chest, and my palms were slick with sweat, but I didn’t care because I had done something I had never done ... I stood up to my father. I made it clear to him that he was nothing to me and my brothers, and that I was the parent he should have been.
He didn’t care ... I knew he wouldn’t, but he now knew that if he wanted me to head runs and to make them successful, then he would ensure my brothers were taken care of when I wasn’t around. It meant nothing to my father, but it meant everything to me. Once I did this job well, it would be extra security for my brothers. Their safety was all that mattered to me, and if it meant I had to run drugs and weapons ... then so fucking be it.
CHAPTER FOUR
Twenty-five years old ...
“Ryder, what are we gonna do?”
I looked from the frosted windowpane to Kane, and said, “Whatever we have to do to keep Damien safe.”
Kane swallowed but nodded, agreeing that no matter what, our brother’s safety was the most important thing. I looked from Kane, to Alec and Dominic who, like us, sat in a chair in front of a large desk owned by Marco Miles. This piece of shit ... he had my family right where he wanted us. For as long as I could remember, Marco and my scumbag father were grooming me and my brothers for their business. I had been working for them for years—running guns, drugs, and a few times, people ... once the price was right. I shifted in my seat, feeling my stomach swirled with dread.
An hour ago, Damien had gotten into a fight with Marco’s nephew Trent. Damien was the only one of my brothers who grieved our parents’ deaths, and when Trent taunted him about them, he exploded into a fit of rage and attacked him. The fight turned deadly, and Damien somehow got his hands on a gun and shot Trent. The doctor pronounced the kid dead not long after, and since then, me and my brothers were on lockdown.
“He’ll kill Damien,” Dominic said, his hands shaking. “I know he will.”
I was terrified of that too, but I forced myself to think logically.
“Killing Damien won’t benefit Marco,” I said, firmly. “Marco is like Dad in more ways than one. He doesn’t care about family; he only cares about money. If he can make a profit moneywise out of Trent’s death, then he will.”
“What do you mean?” Kane asked, perplexed. “How can he make money from this?”
I looked forward. “We work for him. We work off the debt that Damien would have to pay to keep his life.”
“You already work for Marco, though,” Alec pointed out.
“Yeah,” I agreed, “but I think he knew that my intention wasn’t to stick around now that Mom and Dad were dead. This worked out well for Marco; if he accepts our offer, then he owns us until we pay off the debt.”
“What offer are we making him?” Dominic asked. “And how do you know he’ll accept it.”
I looked at my little brother and patted his shoulder. “We’ll offer to work for him, and he’ll accept it because he is a greedy prick who loves money.”
My brothers grunted in agreement.
“We’ll only make the offer if you’re all happy with it,” I said, looking at each of them. “I can’t make this decision for you guys.”
“Ryder”—Alec blinked—”of course we’re happy with it. If it means keeping Damien safe, then we’re doing it. Period.”
Kane and Dominic bobbed their heads in agreement to the plan and looked at me as though they thought I was crazy for suggesting otherwise.
“I just can’t believe all of this is happening,” I said as I rubbed my eyes. “We were supposed to be out of here in a few weeks. I had it all planned.”
I had thought about it every waking hour since my parents died. The only thing keeping me, Alec, and Kane under my dad’s thumb were the twins. They were still kids, and if I took them, I knew Dad would send a manhunt after us. I was biding my time until they were adults so we could freely leave, but things sped up when Marco had them killed for double-crossing him. I had money saved, and I was going to move my brothers to Canada. I was going to get us out of the States and away from Marco completely ... then everything went to hell when Damien killed Trent.
“Plans have changed.” Kane regained my attention. “We’ll make new plans.”
I nodded and looked towards the door when it open and Marco entered on his own, closing the door behind him. He looked very fucking chirp for a man whose nephew had just been killed, and it made my blood boil.