Page 12 of Scandalous Kingpin

Years. My entire childhood. Dante’s, too.

It was destroyed—stolen—thanks to the evil in front of me. The evil that nobody knew was still alive. It was the one secret I had kept from everyone.

There was one other person who deserved a similar punishment, but the church was hiding them. Untouchable. No matter. I was a patient man, and I would get my revenge before I left this earth.

“Please, Christian.”

A soft murmur, but it was all I needed. My legal name from her mouth was my trigger. In a flash, I reached for my knife, cigarette still dangling between my lips, and sliced a finger, the sound of crunching bones lost between the buzzing in my ears.

“May the Holy Spirit free you from this miserable life and your sins swallow you whole.” I added the severed finger to a rope where it joined a number of other body parts. “Amen.”

Chapter Six

IVY

The Dublin club owned by my brothers, aptly named Irish Pricks, sparkled under dim lights while confetti rained from the ceiling. I stood in the center of the room, the bar right behind me, when shouts filled the crowded space.

“Happy Birthday!”

Balloons floated to the ceiling. “Birthday” by Selena Gomez flooded the room as my best friends ran up to me wearing stilettos and looking like a million bucks while I felt like I’d been run over by a freight train. I’d been trying to dig up everything I could about Sofia Volkov and her twin daughters so I could avenge Athair’s death, but all I’d managed to do was run into roadblock after roadblock. It was clear I was no match for the psycho villain.

“Are you surprised?” Juliette asked, smothering me in a hug.

“Don’t you think it’s a bit much?”

She frowned, stepping aside so I could see my other friends’ disappointed expressions.

“But it’s your twenty-fourth birthday.” Davina kissed my cheek. “You're almost a quarter of a century old.”

“Almost doesn’t count.” Smiling, I kissed her back, then embraced Wynter and Juliette. “But it’s perfect because you’re all here.”

“The entire DiLustro clan came,” Wynter beamed. “Even Aisling.”

I winced. “And Priest is okay with that?”

I didn’t even know why I cared. His issues with his biological mother should be none of my concern, but despite his rejection, I couldn’t help but feel sorry for him.

“He’s ignoring her,” Juliette answered. “Nothing’s changed there.”

“He can’t hold a grudge forever,” Wynter muttered. “Nobody holds a grudge forever.”

Davina and I shared a glance but said nothing. Christian “Priest” DiLustro was known as an unforgiving mafia prince in the underworld. After all, it was the reason he was able to climb to power at such a young age and run Philly with an iron fist. He even chased the Corsican mafia out of Philadelphia.

My world tilted as someone picked me up by the waist and spun me around. The spinning stopped and Bren’s face came into focus as my feet still dangled a foot off the floor.

“Happy birthday, baby sister.”

Aemon was right behind him, looking impeccable with his hand tucked into the pocket of his suit. “I remember the day you were born like it was yesterday.”

“Mama would be proud of the woman you’ve become,” Caelan drawled.

I smiled, hiding all my doubts and insecurities behind it. My brothers still didn’t know I’d overheard their discussion, nor did they know I’d been snooping around Aemon’s office.

Sofia Volkov would pay for Athair’s death. He and my brothers might have shielded me from this life, but it was part ofme. I was born into this world, tainted by its deeds and sins, and no, it didn’t bother me. It was just the way things had to be.

“I’m glad you recognize that I’m no longer a little girl.” I brushed a piece of nonexistent lint off his shoulder. “You should let me go back to the States.”

A dry grunt of amusement escaped him as Bren set me back on my feet. “It’s safer this way.”