Page 24 of Avenging Azalea (California Made Men #2)
The movers were walking back inside, so I moved out of their way.
The foyer here was large enough to be a home on its own, and I wondered if it was all worth it.
Was power, money, and our place in the order of things worth the fights, loss of trust, and anger that simmered under the surface of this fancy facade?
Father said we played chess, but it felt more like Clue. I always wondered when I might walk into the house to find someone dead in the dining room, bludgeoned by a candlestick.
“Alright, I’ll check in on her as well. How’s Kaylani? She seemed really shaken yesterday at the hospital.”
My sister was normally the life of the party, bubbly and cracking jokes. But yesterday, she’d sat staring at the wall, slowly rocking for hours without speaking.
“Kaylani will be fine. The bullet came through the window and went right by her head before hitting Savannah. It’s going to take some time to get over that,” Goran said.
“Thanks for looking out for everyone.”
Goran nodded as I gripped his shoulder and walked inside to deal with my father.
There were only two places he might be: the office or his man cave. I chose his office and heard him yelling before I reached the door. I knocked, not caring about his tirade.
“Come in,” he barked out. “I don’t give a shit what his lawyers say. He can’t just remove a billion dollars in businesses from the parent company overnight. Find a fucking way to stop him, now!”
Father hit End on his phone and threw it on the desk. “Fuck,” he growled.
In the past, I would’ve felt guilt over our family being torn apart, but there was none. Father had brought this on himself.
“Have you spoken to your brother?”
“If you mean Nathaniel, then yes. But before we touch on that topic, I need to talk to you about something important to me.”
My father eyed me as I unbuttoned my suit jacket and took a seat.
“How do you do it? You’re always so fucking calm.”
I smirked. “Someone has to be.”
“True enough. What do you want to talk about?”
“You’re not going to like this conversation any more than the one you had with Nathaniel.”
Father gulped down the coffee on his desk and then stood up to get another from the machine in the corner. He topped it off with a shot of whiskey.
“Don’t judge me,” he snarled. “I feel you staring.”
“Just wondering if you were going to offer me one.”
“I’m trying to figure out how to keep my empire from falling apart, so excuse my poor hospitality,” Father snarled, but put on another cup. “You can doctor it yourself,” he grumbled, sitting down on his leather sofa. “I assume you’re angry with me, too?”
“That goes without saying. We’ll have a conversation about the stunt you pulled that almost got an entire branch of your family killed, but not today.”
I stood up and wandered over to make my second coffee of the morning.
Caffeine was essential today after not sleeping a wink.
Even after the freezing cold shower, it had been impossible to rest. As soon as I closed my eyes, all that filled my mind was Fawn.
The taste of her lips…the feel of her body against mine and the knowledge that she was just down the hall.
Pushing the thoughts aside, I grabbed the mug and joined my father on the couch.
“Alright, out with it. What do you want to talk about?”
There was no point in beating around the bush.
“I can’t marry Vera.” Father choked on his coffee while I continued. “I know what I promised, and I’m sorry. I just can’t.”
“Why?” He growled at me.
“The why doesn’t matter. Something has come up, and I cannot continue with this arrangement. I’ll speak to Mr. Vilanova and explain that?—”
“No,” Father said, cutting me off.
My eyebrow raised. “No?”
He put his coffee on the side table and leaned back into the couch. I was reminded of how he treated business colleagues as he assessed me.
“I can’t let you back out, Titus. I’m sorry, but there are extenuating circumstances surrounding this merger. This is an iron-clad contract.”
“Nothing is iron-clad, you taught us that. I will not play this game with you. Tell me exactly what is going on, or I’m out. I’ve given everything to this family, the business, and you, but I’m drawing a line in the sand without an explanation.”
“I can’t tell you,” he said.
I took a sip of my coffee, set the rest aside, and stood.
“Well then, I guess you better talk to Ronan again. Good luck with that.”
Turning to leave, I got halfway to the door when Father swore under his breath.
“I can’t give you all the details, but we need this marriage to protect both families from the Curators.”
Slowly, I turned around to stare at my father.
“The Curators? What the fuck did you and Mr. Vilanova do?”
I hadn’t heard their name since I graduated from Wayward Academy.
It was widely known that they ran the school, but more than that, they were a secret assassin force.
I looked around the room as if they might appear suddenly.
You didn’t dare cross them. No one even knew who the hell they were.
They were the ghosts that haunted the nightmares of crime families.
But they didn’t normally get involved with issues outside of the school and the protection of its students.
“The less you know, the better. It was not our finest moment.”
I narrowed my eyes and scrutinized his face for any sign of a lie. He was good at hiding his feelings, but the only thing I detected was worry.
“Look, Titus, I wouldn’t force this if it wasn’t necessary. I do recognize what you’ve done for this family.”
“Why don’t I believe you?”
“You can believe what you want, but I’m telling you the truth.” He got up, went over to his desk, and pulled a letter from inside.
He held it out to me, and I was tempted to walk out.
The Curators were no joke, and I didn’t have a death wish.
I took the letter that looked like it had been transported through time from the Middle Ages.
The aged paper and weathered sides were one thing, but there was also an official wax seal with a Trojan head.
Mr. Dimitri Mikhailov,
This is a courtesy letter to inform you of our investigation into the circumstances surrounding the incident with Mr. Vilanova.
If we find that you and Mr. Vilanova are responsible for the actions that resulted in a Curator casualty, then it is our recommendation that you alert your family. Retribution will be swift.
Curators
“You killed a Curator? How did you know who they were? Why would you do that? Are you insane?”
Horrified by the implications, I dropped the letter onto the desk.
“I will not confirm or deny anything, Titus, but I can tell you that if something did happen…the death was an accident. The only hope we have of this going away is if you marry Vera. We need to present a united front to show that we’re on the same side and hold no animosity toward each other.”
“Since when do we have issues with the Vilanovas?”
He waved his hand dismissively at me.
“Not the point. If the Curators come for us, they’ll come for everyone. So even if you don’t care about me anymore, think of your mother, sister, nephew.”
“Are you kidding me?” My calm demeanor slipped, and I stomped across the room. “You have a lot of nerve trying to guilt me with family after the shit you pulled with Savannah and Cutter.”
“I can’t change what I did. This is a serious threat against everyone you love. They won’t stop at our immediate family. They’ll go after Fawn as well.”
He was damn lucky that I was no longer in arms reach. My hands clenched, itching to wrap around his throat.
“Don’t you dare say her name. Not now, not ever.”
“I warned you that caring for her was dangerous. Is she why you want out of the engagement?”
“Why I want out is none of your business. I’m not surprised the rectifying of this situation with the Curators has fallen to me. Thank you for putting everyone’s life in danger and laying it on my shoulders to keep them safe.”
He didn’t respond as I turned to leave. I grabbed the handle but didn’t turn to look at him as I spoke.
“If I find out that you orchestrated the death of a Curator, you won’t have to worry about them killing you because I will,” I growled.
Walking out, I slammed the door behind me.
Son of a bitch. Well, that just answered my question…no, money, power, and standing weren’t worth everything sacrificed.