Page 5

I would never forgive him for it—he was too trusting of what he was promised and ended up dying in vain because of it. I could forgive stupidity—I could not however, forgive a death when torture was more deserved.

I clutched my hands at my sides and stared straight ahead.

There are rows and rows of enemies in pressed black suits. Everyone looks so refined, so tame. I know the truth though, blood drips from each and every one of their hands and yet they have the audacity to point those same fingers at my family—atme, as if we’re the problem when we’ve proven in the last two years that they’re the ones who need to open their eyes.

The thing about making enemies? The ones who stay alive never forget, they pass down the bitterness, the rage, the inhumanity to their children and their children’s children until we’re unable to be baptized in anything but blood colored glasses.

Raven stood behind the pulpit like a fallen angel playing at sainthood. Her black dress hugged her curves, her face was like stone, her jaw clenched, her eyes locked on mine briefly before she addressed the room again.

No tears. I wasn’t surprised.

She held everything in like a poorly timed grenade.

Raven was beautiful in such a way that you weren’t even aware you were getting caught in her web until it was too late, until you had the scars and trauma to prove it.

I saw nothing but hatred in her eyes, for me, for the world, and maybe a bit of vengeance.

Expected, as always, from someone who believed she lost everything when she had no idea what she actually gained from said loss. Emotions were useless, they kept you from seeing the bigger picture, the facts, the numbers.

Her voice cracked with each slow sentence she spoke. “…he was protective of the five families, some might say to a fault, he loved us with his whole heart and—“ Her voice wavered just a bit.

He was supposed to just be her bodyguard, an asset to the five families.

What he took to his grave other than cowardice?

His betrayal.

What I’d take to mine?

The truth.

3

RAVEN

The one with the tough love.

Iwasn’t given an opportunity to hug anyone—not that I wanted it. I just wanted to go back to the house, lie in my childhood bed and hide under the covers and pretend it was all just a horrible nightmare.

When the service was over I held my head high and walked toward the back of the church.

Ace was waiting.

All I knew was that he was the replacement.

Of course my dad would give me the coldest and most calculating De Lange of them all. He came back years ago for college and immediately fell into line with my family all over again, protecting my dad, and now protecting me even though he was only twenty-seven to my twenty-one.

He’d risen in the ranks so fast that he’d become a made man before graduating, and I’d been an immature high school girl used to getting everything I wanted. And I’d always wanted him—I’d told him as much. Apparently he couldn’t get over thefact that he practically grew up with me and still saw me as an annoying kid.

I couldn’t even think about that day.

I should have remembered that Ace was the epitome of self-control and that I’d been a hot headed idiot thinking I could be the one to break it. I mean how many times had I tried to get him to crack as a child? I’m pretty sure I was the reason he had a nervous tick in his eye for a solid year, but how was I supposed to know the chicken would lay eggs in his bed! The plan was to scare him not have him jump into it and crunch them! I heard rumors that to this day chickens still made him tear up. One time, Ivan called him chicken killer and he pulled out his knife.

I shook the thought away and cringed as my brain strolled down memory lane. I was sad, focusing on anything but Louis was distracting from the severe pain. I’d gotten a bit drunk off the graduation wine my parents had served and approached him, started stripping thinking he’d be all in only to have him turn around and start muttering.

“What? Nervous?” I taunted. Was I slurring my words?

Nah.” He followed the denial with a heavy annoyed sigh and checked his watch. “How long are you going to be embarrassing yourself like this? I’m hungry.”