Greyson rubbed his temples. Shit had gotten real since Joanna was pregnant. I could tell by the sagging look in his eyes that he was barely firing on all cylinders.
"My father wants David to take over the damn mob, did you know that?" he said. "He is planning on pushing me out. Killing me. Maybe."
"I thought he banned him." I furrowed my brow. It seemed impossible that his father would do something like that. Greyson was groomed to be the next in line.
"He didn't kill him. He intentionally gave him inroads. And I found out yesterday that they had been in contact. He wants me out of the picture." He had a point. His father would've had anyone else killed. He would've made sure that a man like him couldn't cause problems again.
And it sounded like he was actively looking for that very thing.
Damn, what Kat said was true. He didn't care about them at all.
"And-"
"And I think it's time I take care of this problem once and for all."
"How?" I asked.
"It's simple. We do nothing."
"What?" That didn't make any sense.
"Let Kathryn do all the work. It's simple, really. We'll protect her from taking any kind of consequences. She's young. She's a woman. No one would suspect her anyway. And her anger at my father is very real. She wants him gone, you said?"
I nodded. I didn't tell him why, but I didn't really have to. Their father had been an ass*ole
to them all.
"Let her work with the FBI if she wants. But on one condition." He grinned and downed the rest of his bourbon.
"What?" I asked.
"Immunity for us. I don't even want to be implicated." He was serious. "They both need to go, Janson. And we don't have to do anything to make it happen. I always thought there would be a big coup. Maybe that we started, maybe started by someone else, but this would make it so much easier." He was f*ck
ing serious!
"This is too damn dangerous, Greyson. And if she gets outed as a snitch?" I asked.
"Our entire purpose is to take over from our parents. And I know that you want to make your father suffer." I did. I wanted that so bad, and he knew it. Greyson was the only person I'd told the entire truth to. And he promised me revenge. Perhaps that day had come. "She's smarter than that. She won't testify. She wouldn't put her name out there like that. And you'll ensure it." He pointed at me. "Your job is to protect my baby sister. Even from herself."
If only he knew how dedicated to that I was, he might have different opinions. I was walking a dangerous line.
It always came back to me.
Kathryn
Janson took the card with the number on it when he left, but what he didn't know was that I'd already copied it into the new phone he gave me. I'd done it the moment Michael gave it to me. It was too important not to.
That number could put my father away forever. That number would get the revenge I longed for. The one that he deserved.
My nightmares would finally end.
Would Janson be surprised if I called? Memories of last night floated into my head. The denial of sight to intensify the senses, the feelings of pleasure mixed with pain. The spanking.
Would he take away the touch that he'd given me? Or would it be more serious? Men in the mob had died for less, and my father made it very clear that he would have anyone in his family killed for being a witness to my uncle's murder.
I'd heard the words come out of his mouth. He didn't give a shit about me.
I had to decide if it was worth the risk. I hesitated as I stared at that number in my phone. If I did this, there would be no turning back. I might lose everything. I might lose Janson.
I wanted him more than anything. Except punishment for my father.
I pressed that number and waited.
Ringing.
My adrenaline spiked. Each ring screamed at me to hang up.
What the f*ck
was I doing? I was crazy. This wasn't some high school defiance level shit. This was so much more serious.
It might just end in my own death.
"Hello?" the voice on the other line answered. It was a deep voice. Male. And it was more terrifying than anything I'd ever heard before in my entire life.
I didn't speak.
"Hello?" he said again. I knew if I didn't say something he was going to hang up on me.
"Hi. Michael said you might want to talk to me," I said. I was so scared, the shaky quality of my voice immediately gave me away.
They were not lying when they said I had no poker face. I couldn't even fake it over the phone.
This was not going to go well.
I wasn't even going to give my name, not even if he asked.
"Yes, but not on the phone. We'll have to meet, in person." He was to the point.
Shit. That meant going alone. That was even more dangerous.
"Where?" I asked. I was terrified. This shit was serious.
"There is an Italian bakery in Little Italy. Maria's. Meet me there. I'll be the one with the orange pocket square." His voice did nothing to reassure me.
Italian. It was the one place my father would never set foot inside. He respected the Italians who ran their part of the city, but he wanted nothing to do with them. There were strong boundaries.