Page 125 of Villainous Kingpin

I stood for a moment, then tilted my head and strode to an empty chair. The furthest one from all four of them. They followed suit, taking their seats. Except for Bas. He came over and sat next to me. I shot him an annoyed look, but I didn’t say anything.

“Do you have everything you need?” Bas asked as he placed a napkin on his lap.

“Do you Italians always wear a three-piece-suit?” I blurted out, irritated.

A heartbeat of silence and the room filled with laughter. Even Bas. I hated how much I missed his laugh, how the sound of his laugh made me all jittery on the inside and sent a warm timbre rumbling down my back.

“Not always,” Dante chuckled.

“When we fuck, we don’t wear it,” Bas commented, his voice laced with something dark and suggestive.

Duh, I knew that, but I didn’t acknowledge his words.

“How long have you been skating?” Emory asked as she reached for the carbs on her side of the table. I guess it was her attempt to help me dodge a bullet.

“Long time,” I muttered. Truthfully, I couldn’t remember a time when I didn’t skate.

As we all dug into our food, the four of them chatted while I just listened and ate. They stuck to generic subjects. After all, they were masterminds of the underworld. Unlike Juliette, Ivy, Davina, and I. The four of us were a catastrophe of the underworld.

I couldn’t help but notice how comfortable Emory was with the gun strapped to her holster. She was like a badass femme fatale. Did her father teach her that or Bas?

A cold shiver ran down my back at the memory of her father. I hated his guts. There were so many nights I wished I pointed that gun to his head and pulled the trigger. He’d be dead and no longer part of my nightmares. He’d have paid for destroying my mother’s life.

“Wynter?” Priest’s voice pulled me back to the present company. Three sets of dark eyes and one set of blue eyes met me. Among his cousins, his hair and eyes seemed even starker.

“You okay?” Emory asked, frowning.

“Yes.”

“What were you thinking about?” Bas asked.

How I want to kill your father. But I didn’t say that, instead I answered, “Nothing.”

“Umm, I asked why you switched from single to pair skating,” Emory stated, her eyes sharp on me. She might not resemble her brother, but she was just as sharp as he was.

My eyes burned, and I blinked to ease the sting. The memories of their father’s attack clawed at my chest with every shallow breath. But even worse, for my mother who had lost everything when she was my age.

“My mother’s specialty was pair skating,” I answered, my voice distant to my own ears. I turned to look at Bas. I ached for him, every minute of the day. It was a raw kind of ache, constantly present in my chest. It had become a constant companion from the moment I walked away from him. But my love for him was a direct betrayal to my mother. “She was shot in the knee. It ruined-”Her. “... her career. But then you knew that, didn’t you?” I questioned, keeping my attention to Bas. The tension was so palpable, I feared it’d snap and leave death in its wake. “After all, you are your father’s son.”

Bas’ eyes turned dark and hard, something harsh and brutal in them sent fear down my spine. For the first time in my life, I was terrified of Bas. I tried to hide it, I really did. But my hands shook badly as I tried to clench them together and my lip quivered.

If I started crying, I’d lose my shit.Don’t start crying! Don’t start crying!

Bas shot up from his chair and it landed back with a loud thump, making me jump in my seat. He stormed out of there with a dark expression on his face and his jaw clenched so hard, it had to hurt.

Dante and Priest were right behind him, leaving me alone with Emory and wondering if Bas knew what his father had done to me.

CHAPTER50

Basilio

My father shot her mother and Wynter knew it.

“Basilio, wait up,” Dante called out and I turned to see both my cousins striding after me.

“Priest, hack into my father’s records and see if you can locate his next shipment,” I told him. “Dante, figure the schedule for the Afghanistan supplier and keep it in your back pocket. In case we need it with the Ashfords.”

I left them behind, striding through the large terrace door and into the hot desert sun that seared. It didn’t compare to the fury consuming me on the inside. I had to cool off or risk losing my cool. If I did, I’d scare the living daylights out of her.