Page 35 of Serena (Shattered Queens #1)

My penthouse doesn’t feel like a home. I didn’t put any effort into making it feel welcoming because it’s only me living here.

I get up, go to work, come to the penthouse, do some more work, eat, sleep, work out, and repeat.

I know that having Serena here will change that.

There are a couple of things that were a must when I moved in: my art pieces that are hanging around, mostly in my bedroom, and the fire pit that I recently purchased and had installed, along with the comfortable couch.

“I can’t believe you flew Ruby and the guitarist in for our date,” Serena says with a smile, and she lies on my chest, tracing the ink on my arms. I don’t think she realizes that her body naturally gravitates toward mine. She says she’s so opposed to cuddling but doesn’t realize she just does it.

“I knew you’d be happy to see your favorite bartender. Plus, I wasn’t kidding when I said she should work at my cousin's bar."

“You have more than one cousin?”

“Yes, Caleb has a brother, Damon. They own a couple of bars together. Caleb is older and thinks he knows best, and Damon, well, let’s just say he’s quick to prove big brother wrong.”

“I hope she gets the job. It would be nice to have another friend.”

If that’s what my girl wants, it's what she will get, but I have no doubt that Caleb will hire Ruby. I’m sure he’ll try to fuck her first, but I won’t tell Serena that.

“Why don’t you want to stay over?” The question just slips out. I’ve seen the locks at her apartment.

“My apartment is my safe space. I, uh, well, I know where everything is. The surroundings are familiar. I feel comfortable when people come over. I can control what happens.”

I hate that she was with other men, but I won’t judge her for her past.

“Just give me time, please,” she whispers.

“Luckily for you, we have eternity together.” I feel the moment her body tenses, but I don’t acknowledge it. If I do, it will fuel her insecurity about us. I don’t know how much longer I can let her live apart from me.

“I think it’s time to take you to your apartment.” If she doesn’t stay here with me, then I’ll stay with her.

The rest of the night is spent at hers with me between her legs, and I couldn’t have asked for a more perfect date. I need her to remember who she belongs to.

The next week flies by in a blur. I’m on a business trip with my cousins and uncle, who needed help finalizing a business deal. Should the situation take an unexpected turn, my methods of persuasion may be needed.

My uncle Isaac is a great man who loves his wife and sons.

He legally adopted Caleb as a child, and in his eyes, they are blood, so he’ll inherit the empire.

Damon wants no part of it. He tries to break the shackles of expectation, but unfortunately, he is so ingrained in this life that no amount of running will help him escape.

My father and uncle both hunger for power.

It’s because they both came from nothing, but unlike my father, Isaac has a trail of bodies in his wake, and some of those are from my hands.

It’s no secret that he’s ranked at a high level in the Mafia, and he has eyes everywhere.

That’s how he caught Caleb and me after our first kill.

My cousin was given information that there was a hit put out on my uncle.

So we went to confront the source, thinking ourselves invincible.

Instead, we walked into a setup. The plan was to send my uncle a message through Caleb, but always a couple of steps ahead, we were being followed by Isaac’s men.

Of course, he confronted us for being so reckless.

His advice: “If you want to be a killer, you need to learn how to be a shadow. You need to know how to hide your darkness from the world, especially you, Ian.” After that, Isaac helped us hone our skills.

Sitting here, I’m trying to focus on the conversation happening between Isaac and my cousins.

They’re going into business with a weapons supplier based a couple of states away.

Who, last year, went through a change in management and wanted to get out of the drugs business, due to pressure from local law enforcement.

My uncle wants to solidify his role as head of the business.

Also, like my father, he can’t let go of the reins.

“Uncle,” I interrupt. “This deal will benefit both parties. Not only will it expand your business, but it will make you more money than a handful of your businesses combined.” I point to the document on the desk, with all the numbers.

“Caleb and I set everything up. The pieces are already in motion. So, there’s nothing for you to worry about. ”

He looks at his sons. “Sounds like you have it all figured out. Now that business is taken care of, I can go home and make love to my wife.”

“Fuck, Dad, we don’t need to know that,” Damon says from his seat. My uncle has a shit-eating smile. I know he makes remarks like that to get a reaction. He then turns to me.

“Ian, did you get the information you needed from Miles?”

“Yes, I did.”

I recommended Miles to Isaac a couple of years ago, and since then, he’s been my uncle's go-to for any jobs related to cyber hacking. Most recently, he’s been responsible for monitoring Byron Carson.

Imagine my surprise when Miles called me a couple of days ago to inform me that Mr. Carson had been admitted into a rehabilitation center for treatment, but it wasn’t under his name, but his father’s, Arthur Carson.

The only reason Miles found out is that an alert was placed on the entire Carson family.

“Ian’s as bad as you are, Dad,” Damon says, breaking me out of my thoughts. “He does the same crazy shit you do. He had Miles put call-blocking software on his girl’s phone. That way, she doesn’t get calls from certain numbers.”

I look over at Caleb, who is looking at Damon.

“You told him?”

“Well, I needed something to talk about, and you have so much excitement going on in your life.”

“Excitement?” I raise an eyebrow in confusion.

“Yes, your woman.” He looks at my uncle and cousin. “You both need to meet her. She is smart, attractive, and gives this one”—he points at me—“hell.”

I hear the other men laugh, and I’m so close to pulling out my knife and throwing it at one of them. “You need to invite her to a family dinner,” my uncle says with a laugh. “I’ll have your aunt talk to your mother.”

“I’m sure Serena will be ecstatic,” I lie and turn to my cousin. “Caleb, if you call her ‘attractive’ again, I’m going to break your jaw. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have somewhere I need to be.”