Christian

“Where the hell have you been? I’m here, on time, with just an hour of sleep, if that!” Logan snaps the second I’m walking through his office doors, shutting them closed behind me. Okay, I get it. I’m fucking late. It’s not like these two assholes have never been late to a meeting before. It turns out sleeping at my girl’s house when I have no backup clothes is not the smartest idea. I had to rush back to the penthouse and change, it didn’t help that I woke up later than I usually do, either.

“C’mon Lo’. It’s obvious, you can tell exactly what Christian was doing last night. He looks like a hot fucking mess. Were you with the girl?” Jordan comments, smirking as he leans back in his chair.

“It’s not what you think,” I hiss at Jordan, my instincts immediately going in to protect her. I’ll be damned if my brother insinuates Selena is just some easy lay.

“Looks like you had a long night, brother.”

“That, I did, after I beat the fuck out of some lowlife who thought it was completely reasonable to do to another girl what Selena had to experience not too long ago. After that, I went to her house. I wanted to hold my girl, to make sure she’s safe. I wasn’t fucking her, not that I owe either of you any explanation anyways”

“Damn. You must really like this girl,” Logan adds, looking flabbergasted if I’ve ever seen it.

“That I do. She’s not going anywhere, not if I have anything to say about it.”

“What does she have to say about it?” Jordan laughs. I shoot him a nasty glare. “Ah. She’s a firecracker, now I understand why you’ve been so determined with this one. Your Cinderella is giving you a run for your money, Christian.”

“That she is,” I agree.

“Enough about your constantly changing love life. We’ve got business to discuss,” Logan snaps, walking out from behind his desk. He comes around the front, crossing his arms as he leans against it. “You’ve been talking with Lorenzo DiGiovanni, haven’t you?” he asks Jordan, who nods.

“Yes. Gabriele hasn’t required our services for quite a while, in saying that Lorenzo has assured me that when the time comes, and they do, that they will reach out accordingly. Now, Gabriele has asked something of us. Something that he normally wouldn’t feed into, but he’d like to know what Matteo has up his sleeve, and what it is exactly that he’s planning. Basically, we will be paid handsomely if we play along with Matteo Varca. Gabriele wants information, and then he wants him dead.”

I clench my fists, seeing them shake before my own eyes. The amount of rage that builds up inside me whenever I hear his name is shocking to me. I have never, ever, wanted to kill a man more than I want to kill Varca, and I will. I will take my time and make him suffer in the way he truly deserves. For once, I will enjoy my kill. This won’t just be for work, this will be for pleasure.

“Gabriele has cancelled his contract with The Arcane, given the events that have transpired over the past couple of weeks. In fact, Christian, he believes that it should be you and only you who ends Matteo’s life, and I happen to agree with him.”

“You’re damn right, I’m killing him.”

“After we find out the information that Gabriele wants,” Jordan reminds me.

I don’t want to wait. Ever since Selena confessed that Matteo was the one that harmed her I’ve had my men looking for him, and every single day I get a status report that he’s still in the wind. No one has any idea how angry that makes me. All I’ve wanted to do since that night is rip out his tongue and defile him in ways that would surpass any nightmare he could ever dream of.

“Fine,” I agree, clenching my teeth and holding my opinion to myself. There is always a time and a place to argue with my brothers, but this is not the time, nor the place.

“He’s agreed to pay us the full amount of the hit placed on Varca, plus a fee of twenty-five million for finding out his plans.”

“He’s willing to pay a lot for Varca,” Logan comments. “Why? We need to figure out what it is that Varca has that is so valuable to DiGiovanni. I want to know why. Knowledge is power, always remember that.” I do every single day. Our father had a knack for instilling that in us from a young age. He may not have been the best father, but he was a brilliant businessman, teaching us each exactly what we needed to know to be successful not only in life but also in this business.

“I agree. We need to figure out what it is that Gabriele wants Varca to keep quiet about. I’m not saying that we go against Gabriele’s wishes, especially since we can’t afford a war with the entire Italian Mafia, but what I suggest is that we find out and keep that information to ourselves. Even if Varca does slip up and say something to us, we lie to Gabriele and tell him that we know nothing, and as far as he knows that’s exactly what we know, nothing.”

“You’re gambling our lives on Gabriele believing that we don’t know anything. He knows that we aren’t dumb. He’d see a move like this from a mile away,” I tell my brothers, Logan nods in agreement, and Jordan interjects before Logan has a chance to speak up.

“I think you forget how good of a relationship I have with Lorenzo. If I tell Lorenzo anything he believes me. We aren’t just business associates, we’re friends.” I see how Jordan uses the term friends loosely. Jordan is most definitely not friends with Lorenzo DiGiovanni. He only uses Lorenzo as a way to keep a good relationship with the Italians. Logan and Jordan are alike in this sense, doing whatever it takes to keep people happy – business wise and on a personal level. Me, I couldn’t give two fucks about who likes me. I doubt I ever will. At the end of the day, it’s a good thing that I’m not in charge of the family business. I’d burn everything that my father built into the ground. He’d be rolling in his grave for sure.

“I don’t like the idea, but I know that it’s necessary, so I agree. We should take whatever information we can acquire and keep it for our own advantage. All of us know how things are constantly changing between the different mobs, cartels, and mafias. If my intuition is right, this is big. Which means we need to know.”

The rest of our morning was filled with legitimate business. Logan has recently asked for Jordan and my opinions on the newer businesses he’s been investing in, stating how we all needed to make executive decisions and not just himself, how this was a family business, after all. I couldn’t disagree with him, as much as I wanted to, I just couldn’t. Logan was trying to do right by his own morals, to legitimize what he could of Steele Enterprises. Honestly, I’m proud of everything that he’s accomplished, but he forgets one thing. Once you’re in this life, you’re in it. The only way out is by climbing the ladder or taking a bullet to the brain. I’d be damned if I got a bullet to the brain. I’d make the ladder my bitch, even if my brother couldn’t. I’d keep us all safe, even if it killed me.

***

Brooklyn and Logan welcomed Emmett into their lives just two short weeks ago. Each day passed faster than the next, and there are times when I forget he’s even here. Those moments pass quickly when I hear his blood curdling cries from Logan’s office. He told Brooklyn to bring Emmett in to see him as much as possible, that he wanted to spend as much time with him as he could. I could understand exactly why this was important to my brother. Our own father did spend time with us, but it was always on his terms. He never went to my soccer, Jordan’s football, or even Logan’s baseball games. No, Mr. Steele was always so focused on making business decisions, furthering the length of not only our name but our pockets too. To be honest, I don’t even know if he made it to my birth.

I’m walking down the corridor of Steele Enterprises that houses the executive offices. From the corner of my eye, I see Brooklyn come darting out of Logan’s office, shutting the door quickly behind her. The girl looks like a hot mess, and I’ve never said that about Brook. “What’s wrong, babycakes? You look like you just robbed a bank peeling outta Lo’s office that quick,” I chuckle, but Brooklyn doesn’t find it funny whatsoever. She slumps, puffs out her bottom lip and next come the water works.

“I…oh, my god,” Brooklyn mutters, hiccups passing through her lips. “It’s Mase. I don’t know what’s going on, but he was rushed to the ER, and I couldn’t take Emmett with me. I had to bring him here. I…I’m scared Chrissy.” Mase, none other than Mason – the toughest bastard in all of Atlanta. In short, Mason is like Brooklyn’s surrogate grandfather. Back in the day her mother and Mason were good friends, Brook, and her brother, Sebastian grew up around with Mason being a constant factor in their life. “I gotta go.”

As if she’s somehow gained superhuman strength, she wizzes past me. I reach out and grab her arm, clenching to where she can’t get out of my grip.

“The hell you are driving in the emotional state you’re in Brook. I’ll drive, c’mon.”

If you ask me, the last year has flown by. I remember the first time I met Brooklyn, how I insisted on calling her a bitch and Logan almost ripping my tongue out for being a snarky bastard. Back then I never understood why he was so protective, but now that I have Selena – I understand it. Brooklyn and I walk to my car where we get in and drive the ten minutes to the hospital.

I stick to Brooklyn like glue, weaving in and out of the hospital corridors. Before she was pregnant she had a pretty big target on her back, and I know that she thinks the danger is gone since we figured out who was trying to harm her, but she just can’t grasp the idea that the danger will always be here. Fuck, she’s going to be a Steele soon, and even if she wasn’t, she’d still have that giant X plastered across her back because she’s been with Logan, and she’s given birth to his child. In our dark twisted world, there are no rules.

The big guns play dirty, and luckily, we know how to as well. There is no dark code saying that family members are off limits. People will hurt you where you’re weakest and knowing Logan – Brook and Emmett are his weakness. Ever since Logan rescued Brooklyn from her kidnapping, if that’s what we even want to call it, he’s had guards posted to Brooklyn and now even Emmett around the clock.

I know that my situation with Selena is completely different, Brooklyn is going to be my sister very soon for fuck’s sake, but that doesn’t mean that I don’t have the unyielding desire to protect Selena and the kids. I haven’t even met them yet, but it doesn’t matter. They are important to Selena which means that they are important to me as well. I’ve had at least two guards posted to Selena’s detail since that night at Russo’s, no matter what she does – I always have my eyes on her, and I always will.

It may be odd, but there is this feeling inside me like I need to grab Brooklyn’s hand, so I do. I grab my soon to be sister’s hand and hold onto it for dear life, still unsure on why exactly I’m doing this. Have you ever had a feeling like something bad is about to happen? That’s the kind of feeling I have right about now. It’s that gut feeling – preparing you for something awful.

Brook walks up to the nurses’ station and waits until a short brunette, maybe just a few inches shorter than she puts the phone back onto the receiver. “Can I help you with something?” she asks with snarkiness laced through her voice.

“Yes, I’m here to see Mason…” Brook grabs her phone from her purse, swiping up “He’s in room 311.”

The woman types away in her computer, nodding. “Yes, I see. Who are you to him?”

Brooklyn, poor, sweet little Brooklyn was about to tell this woman her life story. Instead of allowing her to do that, I interjected. “I’m his grandson, and this is my fiancé. My sister Ashley should be here, she’s probably already in the room with him. Didn’t Ashley text you with the details, sweetheart?” I took to Brooklyn, whose glare is burning right through me. I’ve had my fair share of drinks at Mason’s which means that I know enough about his and Brooklyn’s relationship and have met the infamous Ashley Mason. She is one terrifying bitch.

“Yep.”

“I can only let the family in, your fiancé is going to have to wait over there.” She points to a seating area off to the side of the nurses’ station. There are three couches and a bunch of chairs, in between some of the chairs are little tables that house magazines and tissue boxes.

“My Brooklyn has been family since the very first moment I met her. If anyone needs to see him, it’s her. She’s been worried sick since my sister sent us the group text telling us he was rushed here. Please, this once can you let us both through? We just found out she was pregnant, and I’m hoping that the good news will help my grandfather,” I lie and coax my way until this nasty little nurse is right where I want her. “Please, just this once?”

“Fine.” She grits her teeth, glancing quickly over to Brooklyn. “You’re lucky this one is so damn charming. If he wasn’t…”

“Oh, I know. I’m so lucky,” Brooklyn huffs.

“You go around the corner and follow the hall, he should be the eleventh room on the left.” I listen to her instructions and lead Brooklyn in that very direction.

“I cannot believe you just did that. People know who we are, Christian, you saying shit like that is going to give the paparazzi a reason to talk shit! I understand what you were doing, but next time do me a favor and don’t say anything. I have a son now. Logan and I have a son now. Neither of us wants this kind of mustered up bullshit to be plastered all over the press, and it will be because you don’t shut your damn mouth!” She snaps, ripping her hand from my own and darting down the hallway until she must reach Mase’s room. I watch her, how the anger and determination slowly fall from her face and is replaced with an unfiltered sense of shock. That’s the only preparation I have for what is to come.

Shit, this can’t be good.