Total pages in book: 81
Estimated words: 79462 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 397(@200wpm)___ 318(@250wpm)___ 265(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 79462 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 397(@200wpm)___ 318(@250wpm)___ 265(@300wpm)
I should’ve been the one gagging up my life on the floor of some shit Italian restaurant, not him.
Adler raps his ring finger against the railing. “I know you’re still hurting over it, but if you don’t do this then the fighting keeps going. If that happens, we lose more friends, more family. You really want that?”
“You know I don’t.”
“Then marry the girl.”
“Fuck her. And fuck the whole Grady Clan.” I take deep breaths. The salty air smells like seaweed mixed with the rotting kelp stench of the bay.
Two years of killing. Two years of fighting, of blood in the streets. For over ten before that, I ran the European division of our family without any problems at all. I kept confrontation to a minimum. Fighting is bad for business. We were profitable, raking in money from rich Russians, wealthy French diplomats, loaded English bankers, all while successfully building a shadow empire.
I was confident. The continent was poised at my feet. Ready to prostrate itself.
At least until we expanded into Ireland and the Grady Clan decided they’d had enough.
War doesn’t make money. Every smart businessman knows it. Only the gun makers and the generals want war—everyone else is better off cutting deals instead of killing each other. I tried to avoid an outright conflict, but the Gradys felt like it was either push me from their turf or lose their way of life.
Two brutal, ugly years. So much was lost, and for what? I’m still where I was at the start of it, still managing my Irish properties, while the Gradys lick their wounds and offer this joke of a peace agreement.
I’m expected to sacrifice myself to make sure it holds.
Even though they started this fucking miserable fight.
“I don’t blame you for being angry.” Adler’s voice is calm. He’s always so damn calm, it drives me crazy sometimes. “If I were in your position, I’d be pissed too. But if you marry the Grady girl, we’ll bind our two families together forever. Think about the opportunities. The Gradys have international connections we’ve only ever dreamed about. Picture the markets we could penetrate. Scotland, Finland, the Netherlands, deeper into Italy and Poland. This could be good for everyone if we find a way to set aside the bloodshed.”
I know he’s right. That’s the worst part of all this. If I were in Adler’s position, I would’ve made the exact same decision. War’s bad for business, and ending the war’s a smart move.
Only that end involves shackling me to some strange girl I don’t know and I’ve never seen before, the daughter of the man I helped murder, a member of the family I hate the most in this world.
“They killed my best friend.” It’s childish and petty to keep coming back to that, but Jackson bled out in my arms, and I’m supposed to forgive them for it.
I’m not the kind of man to forget a brother.
“I know.” Adler puts a hand on my shoulder. “But this is what we do. It’s what the family asks of us. You know what my life is like. Everything I do is for the family. Every waking hour is devoted to family business, even when I’d rather be doing a thousand different things. Go ahead, ask Casey, I’m sure she’d love to complain about how much time I spend at the office. Sometimes I feel like my children are growing up without a father, and that kills me the most.”
“You’re a good dad and you know it.”
“Maybe. That’s not my point. I’m trying to say I’m sorry it has to be this way.”
“Yeah, I know you are, but that doesn’t change anything, does it?”
“No, it doesn’t.” He drops his hand away. “Take some time to think about it. I won’t force you to do anything you don’t want to do. If you’re really against marrying the girl, maybe there’s some other deal we can strike.”
I grunt at him as he turns to leave. Anger rises again, rage at myself for being so weak, fury at the Grady Clan for putting me in this position. For murdering my best friend.
But other people come to mind. Other friends overseas, my soldiers, my employees, their family and friends. I think of my nieces and nephews, and imagine them growing up in a world where the Costa family is constantly at war.
I don’t want that for any of them.
“I’ll do it.” I don’t look at Adler as I speak. I feel sick, and I don’t know what I’ll do if I see something in his expression that I don’t like, whether it’s really there or not. “You know I’m going to do it. If it means saving the lives of my soldiers, I’ll make it happen.”
A short pause. “I knew you would.” He doesn’t sound triumphant. Only sad.
“Only I’m going to keep wondering how much more you’re going to ask. How much more is the family going to take from us?” I turn to stare at my older brother. The Don of the Costa Family.