Page 128 of Villainous Kingpin

“Let’s all relax,” Dante the peacemaker announced. “We have to work together, especially now that we have visitors coming.”

“Basilio, does Wynter know she’ll be your glue for the rest of your life?” Emory muttered, warning clear in her eyes. “You have to give her a choice.”

My jaw clenched and my mood darkened. The fact was that Wynter would run if she was given the chance. I didn’t need a mind reader for that. She left me once; she’d leave me again.

We were all seated now, seemingly calm but tension brimmed underneath us all.

“And what are you going to do, Basilio? Drag her down the aisle by her hair,” she continued, egging me on.

“If I have to.”

Someone cleared their throat from across the room, and the three of us looked over to find a guard standing by the door.

“Is this a good time?” he asked.

“Oh for fuck’s sake,” Wynter snickered behind him and side stepped him. “I don’t give a crap if it’s a good time. I’m hungry.”

Avoiding my eyes, Wynter strode to the seat furthest from the three of us and sat herself like a queen. Like someone who was used to getting her own way. Like someone who knew exactly how much she was worth.

It was what I loved about her when we first met. Her strong personality. Her determination. And the way she watched me. Like I was her prince. The latter was no longer there.

One of the staff took her breakfast request and disappeared to go grab her food. Silence filled the room, Wynter’s attention was on everything but the three of us. She was purposely ignoring us and with every second that ticked, my anger rose.

That she would dare ignore me.

“Did you sleep well?” Emory asked her, trying to break the silence.

Wynter stiffened for a moment, then glared at all three of us.

“No, I didn’t sleep well. You kidnapped me,” she hissed. “I also had an unwelcome visitor in the middle of the night, gawking at me while I slept. For two nights in a row. It’s freaky,” she hissed, glaring at me. I couldn’t help it, she had a nightmare. “I want to go home.” Then she bestowed us all with a cold stare. “Now.”

“You don’t call the shots here, sweetheart,” Dante mused, which earned him a small growl by our guest. “But since you’re here, tell me how you won the poker game at my table last year. I’ve wondered about it for quite some time.”

“And I wondered for quite some time how it felt when Juliette kicked you in your balls,” Wynter snickered, then took a sip of her orange juice.

Emory stifled her laugh, earning herself a glare by our cousin.

“What?” Emory asked innocently. “You failed to mention that. I’d like to know how it felt too.”

“It fucking hurt like a bitch,” he grumbled.

“Why did she kick you in the balls?” Emory inquired curiously.

“Miss Flemming had a little heist operation going on,” Dante drawled. “We came to intercept her card counting and her cousin fucking distracted me, then kicked me in the balls.

Wynter shrugged. “Honestly, I’m offended,Dante,” she mocked him. “Calling our operation little.”

Amusement crossed Dante’s expression and he covered his mouth with his hand to hide it. It wasn’t every day that someone pulled one over on us.

Wynter’s breakfast was brought in at that moment, halting the conversation.

“Thank God,” she murmured, reaching for her carbs. I had never met a woman who could eat as much as Wynter. I finally understood why with her vigorous ice skating schedule.

“You don’t have to eat it all in one sitting,” Dante mocked her. Wynter just flipped him off and Emory’s laugh filled the room. I hadn’t heard my sister laugh so much in a very long time.

My eyes flickered to my sister, studying her. This would have been her if she had a normal life. She would have probably had friends like Wynter, getting into trouble and laughing. All the time. Instead, she was hardened. She hid it behind her petite frame, deceiving her enemies that she was weak. But she was no less ruthless than we were.

You had to be to survive our father.