Page 45 of Stand: Part One

The fact that he didn’t even know was unsettling. It felt like they’d be another inconvenient family he wouldn’t want to be bothered with. But if they could be useful to him somehow, then they would serve a purpose. And what he would use them for could only spell disaster for me.

He was lying to himself if he thought he wouldn’t use them as leverage. He wouldn’t be able to help it. Fuck, he could even use me as leverage against them. What the fuck would that look like?

And what would he do when my brothers came of age? It’s not like he would just let them go off into the world so they could pursue their lifelong dream of zoo-keeping or whatever the fuck they wanted to do with their lives.

He’d probably decide for them, place them in an environment he could control while still putting them to good use. The thought alone infuriated me. Stealing my future was one thing, but stealing theirs was a crime I was not willing to stand by and witness.

I would not watch them come home in body bags because they were caught in the crossfire for simply existing in Darren’s world. I couldn’t let my mom live with that as their potential future.

And what about my mom? What the hell could Darren possibly do with her? What purpose would she serve? I couldn’t think of anything. She’d probably end up wasting away in the shadows, forced to watch the lives of her children deteriorate little by little until the day she joined my dad in the afterlife.

Fuck, I was going to make myself sick if I kept thinking about it. The what-ifs haunted me, and Camaro was starting to sense it as she whined beside me and rubbed her face into my lap.

I ran my hand through her fur, playing with her ears as I tried to calm the knots forming in my stomach. If Darren found them, any hope of escaping this life would be over, and I would never think of it again. Because I wouldn’t be able to leave them behind.

Which was why my only hope was to dismantle this world from within while I still could. The walls were already starting to crumble, the solid foundation Darren had so carefully crafted was slowly breaking down, and that leaky roof was so close to collapsing I could almost feel the sunlight behind it.

I had successfully separated Darren from two of his greatest allies. His youngest brother and his closest friend. He now had a war in each hand to juggle, and from what I remember, wars were hella expensive. But it wasn’t enough yet. He needed to lose territory. Miss gainful opportunities. Exhaust his resources. And alienate his remaining allies.

One little brick at a time.

I didn’t care how heavy the sledgehammer was. I’d keep swinging it, even if all I got was a bit of red dust in my face. At least I still had the strength and the stubbornness to keep swinging.

I just hoped the day never came when I didn’t…

14

Paper Cuts

I gripped the steering wheel too hard, my white knuckles ready to burst through my skin if I didn’t ease up.

“You worry too much.”

I turned to glare at my brother sitting in the passenger seat, looking far too comfortable.

“I told you to stay home.”

“I’ll be fine,” he said, tugging on the sleeves under his suit jacket. “Matt would be a fool to pull something here.”

“It’s the first time you’ve been out in months. Foolish? Yes. Unlikely? No.”

He rolled his eyes and opened the car door. “Let’s go before these assholes grow a brain and change their mind.”

Groaning, I stepped out of the driver’s seat and joined Daniel’s stride toward the club where we were set to meet. Four members of our security team fell in line behind us, giving us the numbers as they flanked our sides.

It was just after midnight, and the place still had a line of people wrapped around the building. Stepping up to the bouncer at the door, Daniel gave him our names, and he immediately moved aside to let us through, much to the line’s disdain.

Inside, the music boomed throughout, and the dim lighting mixed with neon body paint on every half naked dancer created the wild atmosphere I usually aimed to avoid.

But with deals like these, the best place to meet was always in a very loud, very crowded but still private area. The feds could never hear shit, and they preferred not to strike in crowded places with too many civilians at risk of rogue bullets.

This club wasn’t very big inside, but it would provide enough cover for tonight.

A blonde woman appeared at my left, her black stilettos and hot-pink dress matching the decorum a little too perfectly.

“This way, gentlemen,” she said with a smile, waving us to follow her.

She led us around the dancing crowd toward a private booth where Luis Montero waited next to his cousin, Theo. Both men stood as we approached, the guards surrounding their booth looking slightly on edge the closer we got. I kept my smirk to myself.