Page 2

2

SEAN

It’s about damn time.

Bright headlights flash across the parking lot, the car slowing alongside one of the rusting shipping containers filled with cocaine.

I take a long drag of the cigarette, the cherry glowing bright red against the night. “What are you doing here? All you said was that you needed to meet.”

Aiden steps out of the car, stuffing his hands into the pockets of his leather jacket. He keeps his head up, though he doesn’t look at the workers lining the dock.

“It’s time to end the shit that’s been going on between our families.” Aiden leans against the shipping container, watching as another is lifted with a crane and put onto the dock.

Smoke curls toward the clouds drifting across the sky as I exhale. “You know I’m not the person you need to talk to about that.”

“So, you can be the one who kills my father, but you can’t be the one who negotiates terms?”

I flick the ash off the end of the cigarette. “You know I’m not. Until Dad dies, I’m nothing but his lackey.”

“You have more power with your people than you pretend you have.” Aiden’s tone is dark as he glares at me. “You act like you aren’t the heir because you prefer not to get your hands dirty.”

“Stop.” I flick the cigarette to the ground and crush it beneath the toe of my boot. “What did you really come here for tonight? You know peace is never going to happen.”

Aiden rolls his shoulders. “Ellie was attacked tonight by one of the Rinaldos.”

My mouth goes dry as I push off the side of the container and head toward the warehouse the cocaine is stored in. “I have to check the shipment. I don’t have time to deal with this.”

“You’re going to deal with this. Our families need to unite to deal with the Rinaldos. I don’t know how you’re going to get Malcolm to cooperate, but you’re going to.”

I spin around, stopping Aiden in his tracks as I glower down at him. “We’ve been friends for a long time, but don’t think that you can come here and threaten me.”

The rusty steel doors creak open as two of the workers leave the warehouse, heading to empty the container that just came off the boat. I grab the door, opening it wider and heading inside while Aiden follows behind me.

White bricks of cocaine are stacked high on pallets, plastic wrap holding them together.

Aiden sighs. “I have to protect my family. Whoever attacked her told her that they weren’t going to stop until my family was slaughtered. Ellie was attacked, Sean.”

I grab the clipboard hanging beside the first pallet, glancing at the number of bricks recorded there. “And why is that my problem? It’s not the first time she’s been attacked. Maybe if she was more likeable, people would stop trying to kill her.”

He looks like he’s seconds away from lunging at me. “Sean, this would be beneficial to you and your family too. You know that the Rinaldos are going to come for you once I’m dead.”

“You have a point.” Crouching, I run my fingers over the cracked blue wood of the pallet before looking at the others. “Something isn’t right with the shipment. The pallets have been tampered with.”

Setting the clipboard to the side, I walk down the line of pallets, counting them while Aiden fumes off to the side.

I don’t give a shit what happened to Ellie. She’s a nuisance who brought it on herself, like she always does.

“There’s a pallet missing.” My hands ball into fists as I head for the door that leads to my father’s office. “You’re going to have to find someone else to deal with your family drama, Aiden. I have more than enough of my own to deal with.”

I knock on the wooden door before pushing it open. “There’s an issue with the shipment.”

Dad’s bushy eyebrows climb high up his forehead, his frown deepening the lines around the corners of his mouth. “That’s impossible.”

“Each container should have had fifty pallets on it. The first container has been unloaded and there were only forty-eight pallets.”

Dad springs up from his chairs, hands curling at his sides. He throws the door of his office open as wide as it will go, a large bang sounding through the room. I glance at the wall and sure enough, he’s put the handle through the wall again.

I’ll have to call someone to patch that in the morning.

Dad walks up and down the lines of pallets, counting them twice before turning to me. “Check the other containers as they’re unloaded.”

I nod, grabbing the clipboard. There should be a hundred more pallets coming in tonight. “From the paperwork we have, the hundred and fifty pallets were loaded in Colombia as they should have been.”

Dad rips the clipboard from my hands, checking the invoice. “If you still have issues with inventory once everything has been unloaded, kill Drew. He was the one who sailed with the shipment to ensure it arrived and he will be the one to pay for any discrepancies.”

Aiden scowls as he steps into Dad’s path. “Malcolm, we need to talk about the Rinaldos.”

“I’m busy right now, Aiden.” Dad shoves the clipboard back to me. “And the Rinaldos haven’t been spotted in a couple years.”

“Ellie was attacked tonight.” Aiden raises his voice when Dad twists to return to his office. The words echo through the warehouse, bouncing off the metal walls and roof.

“And how is that my problem?” Dad crosses his arms as Aiden darts in front of him, stopping him from getting any farther.

I clench the clipboard until my knuckles are white. “I already told you that this wasn’t our issue to deal with, Aiden.”

Aiden ignores me, reducing me to nothing but another man in the room the way Dad has my entire life. “Malcolm, Noah Rinaldo is back. Rumors of his return have been spreading for weeks. The man who attacked Ellie said that he would slaughter my family.”

Dad glares at me. “Sean didn’t mention that.”

I toss the clipboard to the table. “That’s because it doesn’t matter.”

Dad’s eyes gleam and in that moment, it’s clear that he’s more interested in what Aiden has to say than what I do. “If Noah Rinaldo is truly back, then we do have a problem on our hands.”

Aiden nods. “I came here tonight to offer you a way to bring peace between our two families. We’ve got a common enemy and we have to deal with him before he gains too much power.”

“You make a good point.” Dad combs his fingers through the gray hair growing along his jaw. “But the water that runs between us is stained dark with blood. What’s preventing you from turning on my family the moment I agree to peace?”

I look between the two of them, my jaw dropping. “The two of you are seriously considering this?”

Dad glares at me. “Enough, Sean. This discussion is between me and Aiden. If you can’t hold your tongue, you’ll leave.”

My teeth grind together as I give a sharp nod and take a step back.

Even though Aiden is my closest friend and has been since we were young, our families have been feuding on and off for years. All has been quiet since I killed his father sixteen years ago, but this could be a ploy.

Aiden doesn’t spare me so much as a glance. “What do you want?”

“Our families would have to be connected. You have a few sisters. I have a son.”

I stare at the two of them as if they’ve each grown extra heads. There is no way that either of them are considering what Dad just suggested. Aiden loves his sisters too much to force one of them to spend their life with me.

Hell, I think he likes me too much to torture me like that.

Aiden’s shoulders grow stiff. “No.”

Dad shakes his head, his frown morphing into a cruel smile. “If you want this to work between our families, then one of your sisters is going to marry Sean. It will join our families together permanently.”

I step between the two of them. “If I’m the one who has to get married, I would think I get a say in this mess.”

With a dismissive wave of his hand, Dad steps closer to Aiden. “Marriage is the only way. I won’t see my precious daughter married to you or your brother.”

Aiden scowls. “And you want one of my sisters stuck with the man who murdered my father?”

“I’m not marrying anyone.”

Dad whirls around, drawing his gun and aiming it at my foot. “One more fucking word, Sean, and you’re going to be walking with a limp. These negotiations are between me and Aiden.”

Aiden glances at me, his upper lip curling before he nods. “Fine. One of my sisters will marry Sean. Our families will then be allies against the Rinaldos.”

“I’m glad you see things my way.” Dad smirks, the gun still trained on me. “Sean, congratulations. You’re engaged.”

Nails dig into the palm of my hands. “Anyone but Ellie.”

Once the words are out of my mouth, I realize my mistake.

Nobody would ever accuse my father of being a kind and loving man who takes his children into consideration. Me and my sister have only ever been heirs to his empire and pawns in his game.

Showing him my hand by insisting I marry one of Aiden’s other sisters is the worst thing I’ve done today.

Dad lowers the gun and slides it into his shoulder holster before pulling the sports coat back into place. “Sean will marry Ellie.”

Aiden’s jaw clenches, a muscle twitching before he nods. “I’ll tell her in the morning when she gets home from the overnight shift she’s working tonight.”

“See that you do.” Dad chuckles as he jerks his chin in the direction of the pallets. “Shouldn’t you be checking the shipment?”

I press my lips together, holding back the words on the tip of my tongue. Arguing with Dad is only going to get me beat once he’s done negotiating.

Even though I’m a grown man, he won’t hesitate to give me a black eye for disobeying him.

I can’t wait until the day I’m out from under his fucking thumb.

With clipboard in hand, I open the doors to the warehouse as pallet jacks drive in, dropping the next round of pallets beside the first one. I count them as they come in the door while Dad and Aiden retreat to his office.

I grip the clipboard so hard I’m sure it’s going to break.

Instead of marching into the office and demanding they change their minds, I head out into the cool night, needing a breather.

As I lean against the wall, I continue to count the pallets still moving inside, keeping track of them on the clipboard.

Footsteps echo against the polished concrete floor inside as the last of the pallet jacks leaves and heads to the final shipping container.

Aiden stands at Dad’s shoulder as they join me outside. The cold look in his eyes tells me that business is settled, regardless of my opinion on the matter.

Dad glanced inside at the pallets before looking at me. “Still two missing?”

“Yes. There’s one more container to unload. The boys are doing it now.”

He nodded. “Good. Now, on to the matter of marriage. Aiden and I have come to an agreement. You’ll marry Ellie. In return, we will fight with them against the Rinaldos and in time we may see if there are places where our businesses can intersect.”

I glance between the pair. “And neither of you thought I should be involved in that conversation since I’m the one who has to get married?”

“Your opinion was taken into consideration.” Dad chuckles, pulling a cigar from his pocket and lighting it. “You will do whatever it takes to protect your family. This is what it takes.”

“Aiden, you’re really going to tell Ellie she has to marry me?”

She’s more likely to rip his head off when he breaks the news to her than she is to agree to marry me.

Aiden shrugs. “Ellie won’t put up a fight. She knows her place.”

He takes off before I can say anything else, striding beneath the dim lights and getting into his car. The engine roars as he guns the car to life. Music pounds from his speakers, shaking the windows, before he disappears into the night.

I turn to Dad, my head spinning. “You can’t make me marry Ellie. She’s not good for this family. She has nothing to offer it.”

Dad puffs on his cigar, blowing out a cloud of smoke. “The way I see it—and the way you should start seeing it—is that she offers this family an alliance we need.”

“Remaining friends with them wasn’t enough?”

“Do you truly believe that Aiden forgave you for killing his father?” Dad scoffs and takes another deep puff of the cigar. “You would be a fool to think that he’s forgotten it. A smart leader bides his time.”

“Aiden wouldn’t kill me.” I step around the corner of the building, watching the men with guns patrolling the marina.

None of them step toward the pallets of cocaine as they are unloaded from the shipping container. They stare straight ahead, focused on doing their duty to protect the shipment above all else.

Dad nods to the men. “You would do good to finally learn to follow directions as they do.”

“I killed Maxwell on your orders. If there’s anyone Aiden is going to hold a grudge against, it’s you.” I lean back against the building, reaching for the pack of cigarettes in my pocket. “I’ve followed your orders my entire life.”

“Then continue to do so and marry Ellie Lynde. You have three days to get your mind in order, and then the marriage will be happening, even if I have to walk you to the altar at gunpoint myself.”

I swallow hard as I tuck the clipboard beneath one arm before shaking a cigarette from the pack. “I’ll be there.”

“Good.” Dad steps forward as a sleek black car pulls up in front of the warehouse. “Do not disappoint me.”

“I won’t.”

Though I may disagree with the marriage, I value my life too much to go against my father.

He crosses over to the car, opens the back door, and slides in.

It’s only when the window rolls down that my heart jumps back into my throat, the way it always does when he’s displeased. “Rebecca is going to help you verify the pallet count.”

And there it is.

The reminder that as long as he is alive, nothing that I’m ever going to do will be good enough for him.

Rebecca gets out of the other side of the car with a sympathetic smile. “Hey, Sean.”

“Becs.” I put the cigarette between my lips and light it, taking a long drag.

Dad says something to his driver that I don’t catch, and they whip out of the parking lot.

Rebecca sighs and shifts her purse higher on her shoulder. “What did you do to piss him off this time?”

“You mean other than having hesitations about marrying Ellie Lynde?” I take another long drag, blowing the smoke in rings toward her.

She bats away the smoke, her eyes widening. “You’re going to marry Ellie. As in the woman who used to threaten to kill you?”

“The same one.” I flick the ash, inhaling again.

Normally, the heady smoke calms me at least a little, but tonight the tobacco isn’t doing its job.

And that has everything to do with the demon woman I have to marry.

Rebecca stares at me for a moment before she starts laughing. “You know what, that’s a good joke. For a moment, I thought you were serious.”

I give her a flat look. “I’m serious.”

Her nostrils flare, blue eyes shining. “Sean, tell me you’re not. There’s no way you’re getting married to her. She’ll wait until you’re consummating the marriage, and then she’ll cut your throat.”

“At least it would be a wedding people would never stop talking about.” The corner of my mouth twitches as I tease my younger sister, laughing when she winds up and punches me in the shoulder.

“You’re an idiot. You should be worried about this.”

I finish the first cigarette and light another. “I’m worried, but there’s also nothing else I can do about it. Dad and Aiden negotiated the terms. Apparently, he likes you too much to marry you off.”

Rebecca snorts, leaning against the wall beside me as pallets filter into the warehouse again. “I doubt that. He overlooks me because I don’t have a dick. Which is a good thing. One of these days, I’m going to escape this hell.”

“There’s no escaping it, Becs. You just have to learn how to embrace it.”

“The day I do that is the day I roll over and die.” Rebecca bumps her shoulder into mine. “We could run away like we used to plan to do when we were little.”

“He would hunt us down and you know it.” I blow more smoke rings in her direction, grinning when it earns me another punch to the shoulder. “I wouldn’t leave either way, Becs. I like this life. I was born for it.”

“Funny. I didn’t think you were born to marry a woman just because Dad says so.”

“It’s going to bring peace between the families and we’ll stand up against the Rinaldos when they attack. It’s the best situation we can hope for.”

She sighs, leaning her head on my shoulder, her dark hair falling around her face. “I don’t think this marriage is the answer.”

“It’s the only plan anyone has.”

“And you think that’s fine?” Rebecca pushes off the wall, snatching the cigarette from where it burns between my fingers and tossing it to the ground. “There has to be some way out of this, Sean.”

“There’s not. I’m going to marry Ellie.”

“You shouldn’t have to.”

I give her a crooked smile. “What other choice do I really have?”

All I can do now is prepare for the hell I know Ellie is going to put me through.

She may be beautiful, but she’s deadly, and I get the sinking feeling that I’m walking straight into her trap.