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My sister-in-law is a gorgeous blonde with icy blue eyes and a confident, menacing aura. She can be pretty scary at times. Which is to be expected considering her position. But I actually like her, most of the time.
She gestures inside her son’s room. “I heard all that. You’re not half as bad a person as you pretend to be, Graham. You actually have a heart.”
I make a face. “I thought you were mad at me.”
“I was, but your brother convinced me to lay off you. So, what’s going on? Why aren’t you moving back to D.C.? Hasn’t it been your dream to inherit the company since you could talk?”
“True. But I think I only wanted it so bad because Xander wanted it, too. Yes, I’m aware how childish and immature that sounds.”
“As long as you know.” She laughs. “But I don’t think that’s it. I think now that you know you stand a real chance of getting what you want, you’re worried it’ll somehow slip through your fingers. You’re scared you won’t be good enough.”
My eyes narrow. “Remember when I asked for a therapy session? Me neither.”
She smiles. “You’re not a bad person, Graham. Sometimes, good people make terrible decisions, I know that better than anyone. But you shouldn’t beat yourself up about it. Take some time to think about what you really want. Then go home and fight for it. I’ve got your back. And considering I’m one of the most powerful people in this city, that’s a pretty big deal.”
Something in my chest tightens and gratitude fills me. “Why are you being so nice? It’s creeping me out.”
She places a hand on my shoulder as she passes by my side. “You’re family, Gray. Family’s everything.”
When she leaves, I let out a deep breath. My brother and his meddlesome family are making it very hard for me to do the right thing.
The truth is, I don’t think I deserve to inherit the company. Not after all the shit I’ve pulled over the last couple of years. Nate said everyone is capable of change, but I’m not sure that applies to me. Not when I’ve excelled for so long at being the bad guy.
That’s all I know how to be. But I’m starting to think that might not be all I am.
CHAPTER 2
Isabella
Ihave never held a gun in my life. That shouldn’t be a surprising fact. Lots of people have never held a firearm before—probably because they didn’t need to, or they didn’t have access to one. But that’s not the case for me. I’ve been around guns since the day I was born. I’ve been around people who constantly made use of them, who wouldn’t hesitate to shoot or kill someone. And yet I have never held a gun before.
Not by choice, though. At least, growing up, it wasn’t my choice. No one placed a gun in my hand when I was little, not because it wasn’t ethically right but because I was a woman in the Cosa Nostra. And I’ve had it ingrained in my mind by my father and the other men in my life that, as a woman, my only duty was to my family. All I had to do was smile and look pretty. Marry the man chosen for me, be a good mother.
All of that was bullshit. But it wasn’t until my father died that I realized how stupid it was. My father’s death was the single best moment of my entire life. The only thing being his daughter taught me was endless trauma, susceptibility to death, and constant exposure to it.
His death unfortunately didn’t stop me from being his daughter. From having his last name and all the responsibility that came with me doing so. I don’t believe in the ideals he put in my mind anymore, but the fact remains that some of them still stand. Our society isn’t very progressive. And even the best men have a tendency to be unreasonable.
“Are you fucking kidding me?” my cousin shouts.
Enzo Russo is the Don of the Russo family. That makes him the head of the family, the boss. He controls everything around here. And I’m starting to realize he also thinks he can control me.
“Would you stop yelling? I’m right in front of you,” I say, bored.
I’m seated on the couch while he paces the length of the living room in front of me. His wife is also in here. Rosa has an annoyed expression on her face as she looks at her husband, hand on her hips. I appreciate the solidarity. But if Enzo yells at me one more time I’m yelling back.
“You could have dated anyone. Literally fucking anyone, and you chose Jason?” Enzo asks through clenched teeth.
I shrug. “What’s wrong with him?”
His jaw twitches. I’ve actually never seen him this angry before. He’s usually so calm and collected, never fazed. It’s nice watching him lose his shit.
“You’re on thin ice, Isabella. This isn’t funny.”
“I don’t understand why you’re yelling at me.”
“You don’t understand?” he asks in frustration, running his hand through his reddish brown hair. “You could have dated anyone you wanted, Isa. Anyone apart from my capos. And I really fucking thought you’d be smart enough to stay away from my second-in-command. Do you think it’s easy controlling all those men? Most of them are cold-blooded murderers without any respect for women. And now they don’t see you as an untouchable woman in the family, they see you as someone they can have.”
“Surely, they’re not that stupid. And if you can’t control the men under you, then why are you even Don, cugino?”
