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“All right, take him to his new living quarters, show him the ropes,” Vincent told his men and they grabbed Zindel’s arm and took him out of the room.

Ze felt like his world was closing in on him as the door shut and his brother was gone. He turned back to Vincent. “Can I call him?”

Vincent sat back, drumming his fingers on his desk. “Sure, but he’ll call you, because I don’t want my business interrupted. When he has his free time, he can call you. It’ll be good to keep his morale up.”

“I swear, I’ll move heaven and hell if any harm comes to my brother. And it’ll just be me, so leave my club out of it,” Ze said.

“That won’t be up to me. If you make a move against one member of the Castiello family, you make a move against all of us. So, I’d think long and hard before I’d do anymore ‘swearing’,” Vincent said.

Ze stared at the maggot a few seconds before he walked out of his office. He got back to Tiger’s car and was silent because he really had to calm down. His entire body shook with the rage he felt. He screamed because that seemed to be the only outlet he had at the moment. Tiger didn’t say anything, he let Ze vent. When it seemed like Ze was calming down, he started his Maserati and drove off.

“Is he okay?” Tiger asked after a while.

“He’s okay… being stronger than I am right now. But he always was,” Ze said.

“We’ll all get through this.”

“I know we will, but I’m not going to be the same,” Ze said.

“What do you mean?”

“I’ve never felt as vulnerable and useless as I felt today. A Lord never backs down… but today, we did. I mean, I know why… I just…” His voice trailed off as he shook his head.

“There’s never backing down and then there’s living to fight another day,” Tiger said after a few more minutes of silence.

“What do you mean?”

“I have twenty-four years on you, so listen to what I’m saying.”

“Okay.”

“Never backing down doesn't mean you have to act right then and there. Patience is a virtue, cub. The best payback sometimes comes when your target least expects it. When they’re living their best life and think they’re on top of the world. That’s when you strike.”

Ze thought about what his lover said and it made him smile. “Yeah… I can wait for that moment.”

“And I’ll show you how, because when you do strike, there can’t be any blowback. And Zindel needs to be safe.”

“Of course.”

“For now, we don’t back down… but we do bide our time.”

“Yes, that I can deal with.”

Ze felt a sense of calm come over him at the thought that one day, he and Tiger would do to Vincent Moreno in the future what they couldn’t do now. Revenge was a dish best served very fucking cold.

14

COLTON

Eleven months later

“Hey prospect,get your ass over here,” Python said, gaining Tiger’s annoyed attention.

Tiger hated being called “prospect” considering he was the top assassin in his family. He felt the title was disrespectful, but he endured it for Ze’s benefit. He put down the rag he was using to clean the bar top and walked over to Python. “What’s up?”

“Follow me,” Python said and he led Tiger back to the meeting room, a place he wasn’t usually allowed for the most part. He’d only been inside to clean it and at meetings where his expertise was needed.

Tiger followed Python into the meeting room where all of the Lords’ members were waiting. He frowned, not knowing what this was about. He looked at Ze and saw the frown on his face, which greatly concerned him. “What’s going on?” he asked, because he was a man who took initiative.