Page 5

Chapter 5

Vito

Mrs. and Mr. Fallen—or Edna and Peter, as the woman named Eden had coldly called them—turn into a mess. Edna is a blubbering heap against her husband, while Peter looks like he's seen a ghost—one who tried to stab him through the heart with a stake. Babbo glowers at me like it's all my fault.

Which I guess, in a way, it is. In trying to eliminate a potential threat to my father and Massimo, I had drawn attention to the woman. But I don't feel guilty, not when their safety could've been at stake.

However, I can't get myself away from the emotionally wrought shitfest fast enough.

I leave the graveyard, but Eden is nowhere to be seen.

I head straight to Gilly's, order a bourbon from my preferred and reserved-only-for-me stock, and sit at my regular table—in the far corner with my back against the wall to view the whole bar. For hours, I try to block out the angry hazel eyes that keep flashing in my head as I sit, observing Aiken's post-funeral celebration.

I also try to ignore the fact that my cock responds as I remember those angry hazel eyes. And that, how the memory of physically touching Eden, of how her skin felt on mine, makes my cock harden like steel. Which is my current predicament.

Sipping my bourbon in my corner of the bar, I try to get my cock to deflate.

A roar of laughter from a group of Triads and Fire Clan soldiers across the bar pulls me from the thoughts of Eden and my hard cock. The bar is packed with criminals coming to pay tribute to the man who had dedicated his life to honoring the purpose and traditions of this place.

Drinks flow and food is abundant. Gus and the staff wouldn't allow a caterer to provide the food; instead, they prepared and served all of Aiken's favorites.

The time is coming, though, to reveal Aiken's successor because his lawyer arrived ten minutes ago. I watch Ambrose, Gilly's head of security, make his rounds, giving everyone the heads up they need to finish their drinks and be on their way. The only ones who will stay are the Chamber heads and their executives.

A shadow darkens my table as Massimo walks up. He, our father, and Zio Marco were circulating the room, doing the obligatory mingling and thanking people for coming. I smirk at him while he shrugs off his suit jacket. He still looks immaculate and powerful in his pin-striped vest over his black shirt and somber tie.

"Done with the ass-kissing so soon, brother?"

He grunts as he sits and lifts his tumbler filled with vodka to my bourbon. " Saluti. "

"Cheers, Mass."

He settles back in the chair. "Daniele got back to me about Fenton Fallen."

Daniele works closely with Crispin and is our bloodhound—digging and finding information are her specialties. I told Massimo about the grave Eden had been at, and he set Daniele on it. She's good at finding intel, but based on the speed of her success, I'd say the information hadn't been too hard to access.

Massimo continues, "Fenton was Aiken's sister. She died nine years ago and was twelve years old."

Aiken, who had been Gilly's owner-operator for the past fifteen years, had lost a young sister, and no one knew.

I shake my head and recall the encounter at the graveyard. Eden had said Aiken had disowned his parents years ago.

Was Fenton's death the reason for Aiken disowning his parents? And how did no one notice the guy had suffered such profound losses?

Because of the boundaries between Gilly's owner-operator and us.

Massimo interlinks his hands over his stomach and rests his ankle on his opposite knee. "Aiken had another sister—"

"Don't tell me," I lean back, eyeing him, "named Eden. Hazel eyes, brunette, looked curvy as sin from under her long coat, about five-eight."

Massimo smirks at my attention to detail. Although the encounter may have been short, I had drank in every detail of her.

The downside to remembering Eden is that my dick is hardening again.

I ignore the stiffness straining against my pants, hidden by the suit jacket I kept on for that purpose. "From what her parents said, Eden has been MIA for years."

"Nine years, to be exact—shortly after Fenton's death," Massimo says, sipping his vodka. "Eden was fifteen when she ran away."

I do the math. Eden would be twenty-four now, and I know Aiken was thirty-six. "Twelve years… That's quite an age gap between Aiken and his sisters." Massimo nods, and I ask, "Did Daniele say how Fenton died?"

"Hit by a car while walking home from school. Hit at high speed; didn't have a chance."

"Fuck. Poor kid." I rub my forehead. "They catch the driver?"

"Hit and run." Massimo's dark brows pull together.

"Fucking coward," I growl. "Did Daniele find out why Eden ran?"

"No." He's smirking at me again. "You're awfully interested in the woman."

I'm not interested in her; my cock is. But it's nothing that fucking her once wouldn't cure.

"Just trying to figure out the dynamics of Aiken's life." Sighing, I scratch at the stumble lining my jaw. "But I guess it doesn't much matter now, being that he's dead and in the ground."

With that somber reminder, we sit silently, sipping our drinks while the bar clears, leaving only the Chamber representatives, the lawyer, and Gus.

Gilly's security team and the other security teams of the Chamber heads are stationed outside. Our father claps his hands to get everyone's attention, and Massimo and I get up to join him and Marco.

The lawyer is a leggy woman in a skirt suit standing close to the hallway that leads to the storage room, bathrooms, and Aiken's office. She eyes everyone in the room. She either has no idea she's in the room with the city's most powerful and ruthless elite, or she has some brass balls and doesn't show her nerves. I'm not sure how to read Ms. Cunningham.

Gus is the only staff member here since he's acting as the proxy operator until the successor is in place. He stands to the lawyer's left, glances at me, and dips his chin before taking in the crowd gathered.

Besides the lawyer, Pix is the only female, since the criminal world's inner circles tend not to have a representative workforce. She flashes me a grin and a wink, then hops up on the barstool between Ash and Bane.

My father slips his hand into his suit jacket pocket, and I know what he's reaching for—his talisman: the bullet he keeps on a leather strap. It's the first bullet he was shot with, and he keeps it to remind him about the preciousness of life.

He clears his throat and turns to the group. "Thank you for coming tonight."

"We had a choice, Tommaso?" Lixin grins, and the group chuckles.

Babbo smiles, then continues, turning more serious. "We all can agree that Aiken was a force when it came to Gilly's. He possessed the skills to run this conflict-free, neutral space. He was calm and level-headed but fiery when he needed to be, strong-willed and courageous. He was a true broker of peace. He believed in Gilly's intent and the sanctity of its purpose, and he lived that every day here.

"As such, when choosing his successor, he would've carefully considered his choice so his legacy and that of Gilly's continues unhindered."

My father coughs and pauses to take a sip of his red wine. "I strongly believe that when Aiken was choosing his successor, these skills, traits, and attributes would've been factored into his decision. I think we'd all agree that Aiken never made any decision without thoughtful consideration, analyzing it for the pitfalls and risks, and that whatever decision he made was sound. And whoever his successor is, we can have confidence in that choice."

Not that it matters, because the Chamber—or anyone else—has no say or influence over this. They get what they get.

"Ms. Cunningham." My father nods to the lawyer. "Over to you."

The lawyer sets what looks to be a custom-made wooden box on the table. There are slots for five keys. A thick, clear epoxy seal runs along the edge where the box will open. My father, Lixin, Amazu, Dom, and Ash step forward to the table, each taking out their key.

"Now would be a perfect time for that box to have a bomb," I mutter. Massimo kicks me, and I rub my shin. "Ow, you grumpy motherfucker."

The Chamber heads examine the box and confirm that neither it nor its seal has been tampered with.

According to Massimo, when news of Aiken's death became public, the CEO of the most prestigious and protected bank in the city called the lawyer, telling her Aiken had left him strict instructions in the event of his death. He told Ms. Cunningham there was a safe deposit box at the bank for her and where Aiken had hidden the key for it in her office. The lawyer could only access the contents of the safe deposit box when she was heading over to Gilly's after his funeral service. I'm assuming the custom-made wooden box was what Aiken had stored at the bank.

None of this surprises me because Aiken was a meticulous planner. Succession planning and protecting his successor selection to avoid any possible tampering were critical.

"Gentlemen, your keys, please." Cunningham gestures to the sealed box.

One by one, the Chamber heads insert their key and unlock their locks. Dom is the last one, and once the lock barrel has clicked, the lawyer lifts the lid, but it is difficult as she has to pry apart the thick seal. The box on the outside looks like interlinking wood; however, on the inside, it's lined with what I suspect is bullet- and blast-proof steel. Likely the same material that surrounds Aiken's office and makes it an impenetrable fortress.

The lawyer pulls out a sealed, legal-sized envelope. She offers it to each Chamber head for them to verify that the seal is still intact, then she slits the seal and pulls out the documentation.

"Do we listen to Aiken giving away all his worldly possessions away?" Amazu deadpans. "If so, I need another drink."

Cunningham scans the first page and shakes her head. "I have his personal will at my office; this is specific for Gilly's."

She clears her throat, her eyes move over the five Chamber leaders before returning to read the first page. "I, Aiken Drake Fallen, being of sound body and mind, leave the proprietorship and operation of Gilly's Inc., including all the inventory, the building, the land it sits on, as well as the entire city block, including the sidewalks, to my successor…" Her forehead pinches. "Ed." She looks up. "It just says Ed."

I curse myself and my ignorant idiocy. Gus and I never considered Ed to be Aiken's successor. Because the successor would be named in his will, therefore there'd be no reason for Aiken to direct me to call them.

So why had he called me with his dying breath, telling me to call Ed?

None of this was making sense.

Dom frowns. "There's got to be more."

"Just a minute…" Cunningham turns to the next page. "This is just the deed to the land…"

The Chamber heads turn to me knowing that Aiken told me to call Ed. But to them, Ed is a phantom. They didn't know the little information Gus and I had discovered.

A tingle of apprehension runs down my spine as I'll likely have to admit to keeping details from the Chamber.

"Who the fuck is this Ed?" Ash demands.

"It must give a last name," Lixin, the pompous prick, snarks and reaches for the papers, but the lawyer jerks them out of reach.

"Just give me a second." Her eyes flick over the paper as she quickly scans the legal documents, the lines furrowed deeply on her forehead. "There's… Wait…"

Before she can finish, the door from the hallway that leads to the storage room, bathrooms, and Aiken's office opens.

Guns whip out and raise, including my own, as I move like a bullet to stand in front of my father. Aiken's office was sealed shut when we arrived; no one had gone in or out. Ambrose's team had cleared the storage room and bathrooms when they cleaned out the bar. No one had been back there.

Granted, I hadn't checked Aiken's office when I arrived, feeling no need to, and I wasn't supposed to know the code to get in. Gus looks as shocked as me that someone has come from that area.

Inside the doorway is an unarmed individual with their hands raised. My jaw basically hits the floor.

Hazel eyes, a sharp, angled jawline, and full lips. Her brunette hair with the barest of waves skates over her shoulders. Her coat is off, and she wears a black T-shirt that stretches over a pair of tits made to bring a grown man to his knees. Dark pants over her curvy hips to show her tantalizing hourglass figure. A pair of flat black boots.

Eden.

She scans the room and all the dangerous people aiming guns at her. Yet she is calm and level-headed, a courageous and strong-willed set to her chin, and her eyes have a fiery glint. She's holding a piece of paper. "Hello."

When she says that word, loudly now in that husky voice, I jerk. It's the voice from the phone.

Is that why she had spoken in such hushed tones at the graveyard?

My mind scrambles, thinking back to our encounter. When I had spoken to her and the way her eyes had flared, the startled look on her face…

That was recognition. She realized I was the caller, looking for Ed, and had told her that Aiken was dead.

She isn't looking at me, though, which makes possessive anger surge inside me.

Which I stomp down instantly, questioning my fucking sanity.

"I'm Eden Dallas Fallen. Aiken, my brother, always called me Ed." She slowly lowers her hand and holds the paper to the lawyer.

A surge of relief hits me that Aiken is her brother, not her former lover. At least now, the jealous monster that had been birthed in me could lay its head down.

The lawyer takes Eden's paper, reads it, and then flips through Aiken's legal documents. She looks up at the Chamber heads. "Aiken included Ed's full name at the end of the documents: Eden Dallas Fallen, his firstborn sister."

Those hazel eyes finally meet mine. My gun is still directed at her. Calm, level-headed, fiery, strong-willed, and courageous. Yes, Aiken chose his successor wisely.

As I drink her in—she's gorgeous, her decadent body made for sinning, and she's fearlessly standing in a room full of the most dangerous people in the city with loaded weapons pointing at her—my cock is the hardest it's maybe ever been. And I'm having a hard time controlling the lust clawing through me.

But reality is sinking in.

The woman from the graveyard is Eden, and my cock responded instantly and intensely to her.

Eden is Ed.

Ed is Gilly's new owner-operator.

Which means Eden is now neutral-territory. Untouchable. Forbidden.

Unfortunately, my cock never got the memo.

Just like with the apple in the Garden of Eden, I'm dying to take a bite… dying to sin.

And I know I'm righteously fucked.