Page 31 of What’s Left of Us (What Left #3)

“You’re sure being here is a good idea?”

Xeno shoots me a grin over his shoulder as we step into the house. He asked if I had a little bit of time today after I told him we’re planning to go back home soon. A couple days… a week at most. Being here is tearing us apart, and Jo’s nightmares are severely messing with her.

When she calls out for Alastair in her sleep… I don’t know how to help her. There’s nothing I can do to remedy it when my heart hurts too. At least in Colorado we’re away from the toxicity of Citrus Grove and all the bad memories.

“Massimo’s not coming to the house,” Xeno says with certainty, leading me through the doors to the kitchen. Mama isn’t in here, which strikes me as odd, and I follow my brother through the house to Papa’s office.

I hate everything about this room. When my papa needed to share his frustrations with me, we came in here. I don’t come into the office unless I absolutely have to, and seeing Xeno here without Massimo feels strange.

“I heard Papa called you,” he says, and that call feels like a lifetime ago.

He was complaining, trying to get under my skin, and that was before Alastair died.

Massimo’s words slide off my skin now because they mean nothing, and I’ve simply ignored all of his calls since.

“He’s hurt that his firstborn won’t return to the family business. ”

“How disappointing for him,” I grumble.

Xeno smirks, moving around the desk to sit in our father’s seat. My brows lift and his smirk widens. “Things are changing down here, Vinny.”

“Good or bad?”

He chuckles. “Good, I think. Massimo burned a lot of bridges getting where he is. He’s made enemies. He taught Mama to alienate herself from everyone in town, and now no one wants to be her ally.”

“For?”

Xeno doesn’t reply right away, looking around the room.

I don’t think he has any intent of filling me in, and I try not to be offended by that.

After all, I’m leaving Florida soon. Jo will always be my priority, and although it made things difficult with my brothers and sister for years, most of my siblings understand my decision. Echo seems to be the exception.

“I spoke with Viggo,” he tells me, surprising me with the sudden switch. My youngest brother was very small last time I saw him, but now he’s an adult I haven’t seen in person yet. “He’s going to come back home with Lorenzo.”

My brows shoot up. “To this hell hole?”

“No,” Xeno says quickly, dragging his fingers across his scars on his cheek. “Not to Citrus Grove. This is Massimo’s home base. He built the house on the blood of his enemies.”

Frowning, I lean against the wall. Glancing at the shelves around the room, I realize there’s a thin layer of dust. My parents always had cleaners to take care of that, so I can’t imagine what would make them stop that service. “What’s going on, Xeno?”

“I told you things are changing,” Xeno replies, staring out the window opposite him.

He texted me asking to come to the house, but I didn’t expect this.

If anything, I thought Massimo would be here to raise hell.

“Papa’s time as the Capo is coming to an end.

I know you haven’t kept up with things down here, and I don’t blame you, brother.

You have plenty going on back home. I’ve heard your club is successful in Denver. ”

The frown deepens. “What do you know of my club?”

Xeno chuckles. “Relax, Vinny. Anyone I know wouldn’t pass your requirements to join. Your tech guy is good at cyber security I hear.”

“You’ve heard a lot,” I tell him.

“I like to know who I’m working with,” he agrees. “Don’t worry, none of my associates would apply for your club. They wouldn’t pass the background check, so you don’t have to worry about the militia taking an interest in Sins and Secrets.”

I straighten. “What the hell are you doing with the militia?”

He gives me a bored look, sitting forward in the chair.

“Things are changing down here, Vinny. Like I said. Massmio’s going to burn the family legacy to the ground, and then where would we be?

Echo couldn’t finish college, and our brothers wouldn’t have something to come home to without the family. ”

Shaking my head, I step closer to him. “Xeno, this doesn’t have to be the focus of your life. If Massimo is destroying the family, you can always find a way to dissolve it. Surely-”

“I don’t want to dissolve it,” Xeno interrupts, sounding confused.

“I want to expand on it. Just because Massimo’s time as Capo is coming to a close doesn’t mean I’m handing the legacy off to someone else.

We’ve played nice over the years with most of our allies, and the time has come to build anew.

I’ve already got allies of my own in place if something tragic were to happen to Massimo. ”

“This life is violent,” I tell him, softening my gaze.

Just because Massimo trained me how to be something I’m not doesn’t mean I’ve forgotten what it was like to follow him to meetings, standing in the background and watching the violence.

“Altering his footsteps won’t change the path you’re following.

Ending Massimo’s rule over the family early will lead to more violence. You don’t have to follow the legacy.”

When I got to spend time with Jo freshman year, she showed me a softer side of myself. I hadn’t had a reason to really speak to her up to that point despite living in the same town. We were partnered up for science, and it changed my future once I got to really know her.

Jo didn’t believe that absolute violence solved everything.

She said her mother taught her to know when and how to manipulate something to keep aggression down and dissolve a dangerous situation.

I thought it was a creative way to manipulate the situation back then, but now I wonder if Porscha was trying to impart some of her dark ways on her daughter. It didn’t end up working out that way.

“Violence and life go hand in hand,” Xeno says, and I instantly don’t agree with him.

“You didn’t want your birthright, Vinny, and I’ve never faulted you for that.

You wanted your future with Jo and that’s perfectly fine.

But I stepped in where you didn’t, and this is going to be my legacy now.

You don’t have to be happy for me, but you’ll respect that this is my choice. ”

“Your choice is to bring our brothers back here and have them back you when you move to become Capo?” I ask, shaking my head. “If you try to unseat Massimo, you’ll have to kill him.”

“I’m aware of what must be done,” Xeno says, his voice devoid of emotion. I’ve never heard him sound so cold. “And this is my decision to make now. It’s what's best for the family.”

“Really?” I ask him sarcastically, crossing my arms. “And Echo? What of her? You think her life will be easier with her older brother clawing his way to power?”

Xeno’s jaw tenses. “You do not have to be happy for me, but you will respect me.”

I scoff. “Respect? Be careful of the backs you break on your way to power, Xeno. You’ll end up with as many enemies to contend with as Massimo.”

Instead of looking offended, he chuckles. “Don’t worry brother, I’ll take my affairs away from Citrus Grove. Enough nightmares have happened here. I’ll be moving the family permanently downstate when Massimo is no longer in charge.”

Shaking my head, I look away from him. “You’ve gone mad. Is this because of that girl we saw?”

Xeno sighs, and somehow my younger brother manages to sound disappointed despite the plan he’s laid out for me.

“I don’t plan on killing as liberally as Papa does.

His methods have caused us enough grief.

More than a few people are our enemies now instead of allies.

I plan to fix the rifts, and that girl is part of the rift.

She knows I’m coming for her when it’s time to build new alliances. ”

“How exactly are you planning on doing that?” I ask with a scoff.

“Don’t worry about that part, Vinny,” he says, leaning back in the chair again. “It’s already underway.”

A creeping feeling slithers down my back, like Xeno’s already gone and done something he can’t come back from.

I study my brother, trying to decide if his method of bad puts him on par with Alastair.

They are both killers, cut from a different cloth.

Xeno kills for power and credibility, and Alastair killed for…

I don’t know why Alastair killed those women. He died before I could ask.

“Porscha’s made some enemies in prison,” Xeno goes on, and I focus on him again. “You think I don’t know what’s going on with her?”

“I’m sure you keep tabs,” I tell him dryly. “But since I’m leaving, and you’ve made it clear our problems aren’t of your concern, you should leave it be. Porscha is a mess you don’t want to deal with.”

Xeno frowns, tilting his head. “You don’t want her to disappear?”

“Do you mean kill her?” I ask.

“Disappearing doesn’t always mean death,” he says knowingly, and I straighten at his words. “You have to look at all the signs, brother, and find the truth yourself. If you want Porscha to no longer be a problem, you need only ask.”

I narrow my eyes. “Porscha is in a state prison. You might have contacts and power, Xeno, but even you can’t break the system. Right now, she’s suffering because she can’t be free. With the way things are going, I doubt she ever will be.”

He smirks. “Who said I couldn’t break the system, brother? I have friends in plenty of places, Vinny. Instead of turning my adversaries to enemies, I built alliances. When Massimo is no longer a problem, the family will be stronger for it.”

I let his words settle over me, thinking of everything he said. Xeno is purposefully not saying something, but I can’t see where all the vague clues lead to. “Why did you mention the militia of all things?”

He shrugs. “Our trade partners extend outside Florida, you know. I didn’t say any of it was legal. You can move a lot of things if you know how to do it.”

“Right,” I say slowly, thinking it over. My brother wouldn’t, and shouldn't, hint at anything he doesn’t mean.

“You’re going back to Colorado soon?” he continues. “By next week?”

“Yes,” I tell him, narrowing my eyes again.

He’s no longer watching me, leafing through the pages on the desk.

“Probably just a few days. Porscha’s case will continue without us needing to be here, and everything else about the CGS doesn’t involve us.

Sterling even mentioned that the case against her will probably drag on for years since she’s denying and dodging everything. ”

Xeno just nods. “Let me know when you book your flight home. I’ll be sure to send a gift ahead for your arrival.”

“What kind of gift?”

He smiles, and that viciousness from a few minutes ago is gone. “One you’re going to love.”