Page 20 of Fractured Empire

Looking back at the willow tree, I pull a silver flask out of my jacket pocket and unscrew the lid. Taking a few long pulls of whiskey, I sigh before letting out a groan. My eyes snag on a shadow of black behind the thick truck of wood and I stiffen before I realize what, or rather who, the shadow belongs to.

“You were a lot nicer to her than I would have been,” my little brother drawls, emerging from behind the tree like a lurking ghost.

I hadn’t realized that rather than going inside, Nico made himself at home on the other end of my wife’s memorial tree. If anyone was going to stay still and quiet enough to be undetected for so long though, it would be him.

“I see we both had the same idea,” he tacks on, nodding to the flask in my hand. My eyes catch on the one he holds too, the container notably bigger. Nico doesn’t do social events, not sober anyway.

“Spying or simply avoiding the family?” I ask dryly, taking another drink.

Nico shrugs, coming closer. “A bit of both, I suppose. I was surprised that Rayna stayed out here with you, and not Cassio.”

It’s my turn to shrug. “She worries and he knows I’m fine.”

He tilts his head, assessing. “Are you?”

Lifting a brow, I assess him in return. “Shouldn’t you be inside guarding your little ballerina? I hear you’re very protective of the girl.”

Nico doesn’t allow himself to show that he’s affected by my comment, and maybe he really isn’t. He’s been unusually invested in the well-being of Anya Morozova since Matteo started dating the girl, maybe even before then—from what I’ve heard. If he wasn’t entirely uninterested in the female sex, I’d imagine it was because he was in love with her. Either way, I think it’s good for him to have a friend who he doesn’t simply tolerate. He cares for her, and she’s going to be family soon.

Matteo, my youngest brother, the goofball that he is, put on his big boy pants and proposed to the girl. He joined the fucking Bratva for her, and if that’s not love, I’m not sure what is. I’d envy him, if I had the energy to do so.

“Anya needs to know that she can do this by herself,” Nico replies with a dull tone. “Matteo wasn’t going to bring her, but she wanted to try. This is her first time meeting the whole family, and it’s a sad occasion at that. She’s stronger than she thinks she is, and she’ll be prouder knowing that she handled today without me hovering around to make her feel safer.”

“She seems nice,” I mention, not sure what else to say. “She brought the boys teddy bears and chocolates. It seemed like it was easier for her to talk to the children than the adults.”

Nico grunts. “Yes, well, children have never hurt her.”

“Understandable,” I agree with a dip of my head. “Are they staying the night before heading back west?”

My brother nods. “They’re going to come back to the house with us and leave tomorrow afternoon. She feels more comfortable here than she expected so far, but I think it helps that she talks to her brothers now, and that she’s already met Jade and Dad. She doesn’t feel as odd-man-out as she expected, I assume. She’s probably glad that no one is making this day about her either. She was worried about taking attention away from the funeral since she’s never met half of us.”

“Cleo would probably appreciate some of the attention being taken away from her,” I muse with a rough chuckle. “She hated being stared at, being talked about, and being at the center of things. That’s what I would have told Melani if I wasn’t being too nice, as you put it. If she knew Cleo at all, she’d know that the last thing her friend would have wanted was another pair of eyes watching her die.”

“I would have said worse.” Nico takes a long drink of his flask, seemingly finishing the last bit of alcohol. “We should go inside before everyone starts to think you’re depressed or something.”

Depressed…not even close.

Lost, confused, disgruntled, and numb, maybe.

I’d feel less guilty if I were depressed. It would be a natural, normal reaction to losing a wife. Meanwhile, I can’t even muster up a few tears to shed for her.

“Yeah, all right.”

Nico claps me on the back awkwardly, and leads the way back toward the house.

“Let me know if you want to kill someone, that always makes me feel better.”

My first instinct is to laugh, but then I remember.

“Actually…”

Chapter Nine

Leon

Drinking on an empty stomach after a restless week was a poor idea; drinking with Armani Moretti of all people in general may have been a worse one. My brother is somehow the most nagging responsible person when it concerns gun safety and hydration, but when it comes to having a good time, he turns into a different beast. Gone is the man who throws electrolyte waters and juices at you from across the room if he thinks you’re not consuming enough liquid, and in his place stands a party animal who can binge drink like a professional and hunt for a casual fuck at the same time.

Thankfully, we’re drinking in my basement, rather than some sweaty club where he would no doubt have found a woman—or man—to entice him away from me by now. Although, him leaving might be a good thing, at least for my liver. I haven’t drank like an irresponsible teenager for years, and I know I’m going to wake up feeling like absolute shit tomorrow morning. But hey, maybe drowning in shots with my brother like this will actually allow me to sleep.