AllFreeNovel
Share Us
The other needed her destruction.
The two sides were at odds, but one way or the other, if the woman lived, she would pay for destroying my family.
Either with her body or with her life.
“Mr. Giordano?”
Hearing my name, I slowly turned my head, Luciano’s surgeon standing in front of me.
Then he shook his head.
And my world collapsed around me.
As he explained what happened, the words faded into a pool of bloodlust. I made a promise to my brother and one I intended on keeping.
If the woman was responsible for his death, I would kill her with my bare hands.
CHAPTER3
“But there was no need to be ashamed of tears, for tears bore witness that a man had the greatest of courage, the courage to suffer.”
—Viktor E. Frankl
Gabriel
Tears.
Far too many had been shed over the last three days. Three fucking days of watching my family suffer, my mother barely functioning given the horrific loss. I’d even found my father in his office, a half-empty bottle of scotch on his desk, tears staining his cheeks.
I’d shed none.
Years before, I’d accused Luciano of being unable to show emotion. He’d advised me that it was best never to become attached to anyone given our line of work because the loss was unbearable. He’d been a hard man, ruthless in every regard, and there wasn’t a single person who knew the two of us who hadn’t said we were born from the same cloth. We were certainly best friends.
I hadn’t realized it until now, but perhaps I’d adopted his philosophy after all. I’d become completely emotionless, except for anger. It burned like the midnight sun, needing a full release. I had my reasons, including the loss of Luciano.
Sighing, I wanted nothing more than to drown out the sounds of organ music. Everything about this hatred was hypocritical.
The day was cloudy, the frigid cold of the recent weather pattern keeping the same ugly snow on the ground that had led to his death. I sensed the cold and ice even standing inside the church, the chill coursing through me like a venomous snake. I stood far removed from my family, incapable of providing any comfort. At least Maria had arrived in time for the funeral, although she’d said few words to me.
There was very little to say between us. I’d lost her trust by shoving aside my heritage.
An accident.
The news had arrived this morning. There was no one to blame for the accident that had stripped my family of a member. What bullshit.
I slid my hand into my pocket, wrapping my palm around the ring Luciano had been wearing when he died. The truth was I had no right to take it from him. I’d yet to earn my place in a separate but equally powerful organization. However, the black onyx piece jeweled with a serpent was a symbol that I intended on honoring.
It stood for a brotherhood that our father considered blasphemous, but Luciano had believed it the way of the future, pitting enemies together under difference circumstances. My brother had teased, associating their quarterly meetings to knights claiming a powerful position at a roundtable. Only they weren’t gathering for humanitarian purposes, only to keep bloodshed to a minimum. Maybe joining was the only way to feel close to him.
Maybe I was hungrier for power than I’d wanted to admit to myself.
As my father approached, I stiffened, knowing exactly what he was about to say. I’d prepared myself for the ugliness of the words, the requirement that I could never escape. What he didn’t know is that I’d made peace with being forced to take over the helm of our empire. There was a simple reason why.
Bloodlust.
It had consumed me, the hunger for revenge all I could think about since learning the girl’s name.
Sarah Washington, daughter of New York Mayor William Washington, the esteemed leader making no bones about the fact he planned on taking down my family. The accident had been no coincidence. There wasn’t a single person alive who could convince me otherwise. In my mind, it wasn’t supposed to be anything but a minor fender bender, the girl using her feminine wiles to plant drugs or some other evidence in his car. I raked my hand through my hair, fighting to keep air in my lungs.
