“Convenience store first, then.”
Elena and Lucian are both quiet as they follow along, and it isn’t until I park in front of Marcus’s house that Lucian panics.
“Alec,” he says, sounding anxious as he steps out of the car. “Maybe this isn’t a good idea after all.”
I smile at him, eggs in hand. “This guy is about to find out what happens when you mess with a Kennedy. Besides, you’ll feel better after this.”
I hand him an egg and he stares at it. “You aren’t mad?” he asks. “You’re not disappointed?”
I frown at him and wrap my arm around his shoulder, involuntarily sending a burst of fresh tears to his eyes. “Lucian, you’ve done nothing to be ashamed of. You’d never disappoint me. If anything, I’m the one that has disappointed you.”
He bursts into tears and my heart breaks when he swipes at his tears angrily, clearly hating that he can’t stay in control of his emotions today. As if I’d suddenly look down on him for being emotional after everything he’s been through today, when he’s usually so stoic.
“I know everything that’s going on is a lot, and I’d be just as upset. Hell, I’d be crying too.”
He nods and hugs me, and I hold him tightly. Elena looks at me with such relief in her eyes and I shake my head, sighing. How long has she been keeping his secret? How hard must it have been for her to keep quiet every time I questioned her about her relationship with my brother?
“Come on,” I murmur. Lucian nods and pulls himself together, straightening his clothes. He gasps when I reach back and throw one of the eggs with as much force as I can, and a burst of laughter escapes his lips when it cracks against Marcus’s window.
I hand him a couple of eggs of his own and lean back against my car as he throws them, his mood improving with every egg that smashes against the house, until at last, he’s laughing.
I glance at Elena, overwhelmed with guilt. The things I said to her… I’ve hurt her, and I did it knowingly. I’ve been ignoring her, avoiding her, and all the while, she’s been taking care of my family better than I have. I feel sick when I think back to the pain I saw in her eyes when I compared her to Jennifer, when I told her that even Jennifer was more loyal than she is. I sat there and watched her brother insult her, and I didn’t stand up for her. I let it happen because of my misguided anger.
I walk up to her, hesitating. Elena looks at me in a way that has my heart working overtime. There’s no anger in her eyes, no judgment, no vindication. Instead, she smiles at me reassuringly, knowingly. I raise my arm to wrap it around her and exhale in relief when she walks into my embrace. She has every right to be mad at me for being as harsh with her as I have been, when she so clearly didn’t do anything wrong. Instead, all I see in her eyes is relief. Her focus isn’t on being right, it’s on Lucian and his well-being. I lean in and press a kiss to her cheek, startling her.
“Thank you,” I whisper. “For taking care of him in my stead.”
She smiles at me, a look of understanding in her eyes. I’m so lost in my wife’s eyes that I don’t notice Marcus storming out of his house until Lucian tenses beside me.
I straighten and intercept him before he can reach either my wife or brother. The victorious look in his eyes irritates me, and I draw back my arm before punching him in the jaw as hard as I can. He stumbles backward and falls onto the floor, ass first. I shake my head and dust off my fist, irritated that I had to get it dirty in the first place.
Marcus bursts out laughing, the sound hysterical, and holds his phone up. “I’d be careful if I were you. Your brother has secrets. Secrets I can reveal with the touch of a button.”
I smile at him and nod. “Go ahead,” I tell him.
Marcus’s smile wavers, but then he grins widely. “Don’t think I won’t.”
I cross my arms over each other as he picks himself up off the floor. “How about you show me what you’ve got on him?”
Lucian walks up to me and places his hand on my arm. I can feel him trembling, and it sends fresh rage through my body. By the time I’m done with Marcus, no one will recognize him.
Marcus clicks on his phone, his smug smile slowly transforming into disbelief.
“It doesn’t work? Your phone is fried, huh? What a coincidence,” I say, my tone threatening.
Marcus laughs, the sound hysterical, crazy. “I have backups. I’m not stupid,” he says, just as three black cars pull up at the curb.
“Yeah. So do I,” I tell him.
Aiden and the rest of my security team step out of the cars, guns strapped to their waists. Standing there in their black suits, even I have to admit they look intimidating as hell.
“Boss,” Aiden says, and I tip my head towards Marcus’s front door.
“He says he’s got backups of something I want destroyed, so I guess we have no choice. Destroy every single thing in that house and bring me every single piece of electronics he owns—but smash it to pieces first.”
Marcus charges me, but my men have him restrained within seconds. I glance at Lucian and sigh. “That’s who you fell for? Seriously?”
He looks distraught, and I regret teasing him immediately. I wrap my arm around him and sigh. “Everything will be okay, kiddo,” I tell him. “But we need to work on your taste in men. Elena seems to have good taste. She can give you some pointers.”
Lucian laughs, and I breathe a sigh of relief.
“You have no idea what I’ve done to your brother,” Marcus yells. “I’ve had him suck my dick. I’ve stretched out his little ass. Had him yelling my name.”
Lucian wraps his arms around himself, his head down. His cheeks are red, and he looks humiliated beyond belief. I grab one of the remaining eggs and hand it to one of my men.
“Gag this asshole. I’m done hearing from him. Matter of fact, it seems like it might be best to never hear from him again.” I turn to my little brother and raise my brow. “Do you want me to make him disappear?”
Before Lucian can even answer me, police sirens sound from a distance. I glance at Marcus. He looks fucking stupid standing there with an egg in his mouth, but the victorious glint in his eyes is what pisses me off.
“This motherfucker managed to call the police before Elliot fried his shit.”
I sigh and pull out my phone, hating that I now have to ask for a favor. I manage to get the Director General of the Police on the line just as the police car parks in front of us. Two agents step out of the car, their guns drawn, their eyes on the men that are restraining Marcus.
“Afternoon, officers,” I say, nodding.
They point their guns at me, and I sigh. “Terrible idea,” I mutter. “Could you please tell me your name, rank, and station?”
Both of them blink, startled for just a second. They know as well as I do that they have to provide me with the information I asked for, and they do it grudgingly.
“Got all that?” I ask the Director General.
“Got it,” he repeats. “But you owe me, Alexander.”
I grit my teeth. “I know,” I say, ending the call.
I glance at Marcus with renewed hatred before turning back to the police officers in front of me.
“Now, I’m going to need you to let this man go,” one of them says, his voice calm, his gun aimed directly at me. I have to admire his temperament. We’ve got them outnumbered at least five to one, but it doesn’t faze him.
“I’m afraid I’ll be doing no such thing,” I tell him, feeling somewhat bad for him.
Lucian is clutching my sleeve while Elena’s hand trembles in mine. I hate that I put them in this situation. This isn’t something either of them should have to experience, and this is entirely on me. I’m the one that brought them here. I should’ve known to come alone.
“I regret to inform you,” I tell the officer, glancing at my watch, “that in less than a minute your receiver will inform you to stand back.”
He glances at the device strapped to his waist and laughs. When he looks back at me, it’s clear that he thinks he’s dealing with a psycho of some sort. He wouldn’t be entirely wrong.
He grabs his receiver and raises it to his lips to ask for backup, and I can’t even blame the guy. Unfortunately for him, his device crackles just as he’s about to speak. “Stand down. Leave the premises at once,” I can just about make out, recognizing the Director General’s voice. Both the officers look shocked and take a step back to request more information, their voices low, but eventually I see their shoulders sag.
They look at me, and the annoyance in their eyes is justified. I bet they became police officers because they wanted to make the world a better and safer place, only to come to the realization that none of it matters—this world is ruled by money. It always has been.