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Have a lovely first date, Bossette. Break his fingers if he touches you inappropriately. xoxo
My eye twitches. “And Chip is…” I vaguely remembering her calling someone by that name yesterday. The moment’s blurry with residue drugs, and both the people I recall didn’t stick around for very long.
“Chip is my underboss’s husband. She trained him well.”
I see. The Rosanera family is matriarchal, with a fully women-dominated leadership. It’s not the traditional way to run a mafia, but perhaps the attitude of pledging to a female head is part of the reason behind why her family members treat her the way they do.
Sexism runs rampant in the environment I’ve grown up in.
The cheap pride that comes from believing men are better than women defines a lot about a character.
If that pride is absent in the members that join her family, her ranks must be comprised of a higher caliber of person. And, unfortunately, replicating it would mean dismantling my current numbers then beating some sense into the rest.
My parents rarely opted to initiate men with morals.
They cared far more about undying obedience.
So, I’m left with a group of men whose honor ends at loyalty. Which means I’m stuck playing roulette on whether my men are clinging to their loyalty for my parents or their loyalty to Veleno. It’s split. And a split foundation isn’t a very strong one.
Unwrapping my sandwich, I survey the contents, find them tolerable, and take a bite.
“First things first, I think you should get rid of Granger.”
I choke on an olive.
Briar pops another stray pickle in her mouth. “He doesn’t respect you. His vision doesn’t align with yours. He called me mean words.”
“It would tear Veleno apart if I remove him without reason.”
Composed eyes pin me, blatantly untroubled. “So?”
“Do you have any idea how many lives would get stuck in the resulting anarchy?”
She sighs. “Right now, that man is chipping away at your family, gathering support to his side with a pretense of more money and power. It’s only a matter of time before he usurps you. He’s only taking so long because, inevitably, some people with consciences prefer your methods.” Lifting her hand, she uses her thumb to rub a spot on my cheek. “Loyalty and trust are big in our world. There are consequences if he acts too soon. More than that, he’s a businessman who knows how fragile human life is. He doesn’t want to get caught in his own crossfire. You’re both hesitating to do what needs to be done for your own reasons, but every second you wait is one where he gains another one of your subordinates.”
Gently, I push her hand away. “This is neither the time nor the place to talk about this. I don’t trust you. Why would I listen to your suggestions?”
“You have to break a few eggs if you want to make an omelet. Your parents knew that. No doubt that’s why you’re stuck walking on the shells now.”
My eye twitches.
She doesn’t falter for even a second. “I’m not fragile. I’m not oblivious. I’m an irritation because I want to be, not because I can’t help it.” Finally releasing my gaze, she bites into her sandwich, licks a droplet of sauce off her lips. “If you agree to collaborate on my terms, I’ll handle everything—the problems in your family, the Maxim Project, your crippling loneliness. You just need to let me.”
“Crippling loneliness,” I echo, unamused.
She smiles.
I drag my attention off her. “I’m not interested in using you like that. If we proceed under your nonsensical terms of falsifying romantic involvement, there will be no emotional or physical exchange.”
“It sucks to be all alone in the world,” Briar murmurs, bright eyes darkening. Her soft voice cracks. “It sucks.” Her lungs fill. “I like you, Rowan. Do you really think I’d have performed an elaborate heist to kidnap you if I didn’t believe something great could come of it? I didn’t want to arrange a formal meeting with your administration on the chance they were corrupt. I’m not here on accident. I’m not making nonsensical demands. We’re not just playing the Maxim Project. Your entire family needs to come undone if it’s going to survive. I know we could be something great. Beyond how the front of a relationship can work in our favor, I want you.”
My heart thumps against my ribs.
“We’re alike. You’ve also seen the darkest parts of this world. You’ve worked for them. You’ve let your own blood and sweat stick in the moth-eaten shadows. But you’ve never let yourself see beyond that. Let me show you the light.”
It sounds so…pleasant. So unlike anything my parents ever taught me. In my world, there has never been a possibility to let myself see the light. In my world, darkness reigns.
My parents trained me to be something less than human. My father scoured my flesh in an effort to remove my soul. To him, I was his heir and protege. Never his son.
