Broken Kingdom (Corium University Trilogy 3)

I believe him, but now I’m worried what that cost will be, and if I lose Quinton in the process, I know I won’t survive.

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2

QUINTON

I wait until Aspen falls back to sleep before I find my father in his office. Uncle Damon, Roman, and Ren are here as well, ready to talk about what happened and what we’re going to do.

“Quinton, sit down,” my father orders, and I’m too tired to fight him on it. I take the seat across from his desk.

“We have to find him before he goes back to Corium. I can’t kill him there.”

“Quinton, I know you want revenge, but you can’t just kill Matteo—”

“I can, and I will!”

“It’s not a smart move. His entire family is going to come after us.”

“I don’t care. Let them come.”

“You let your anger cloud your judgment.” A part of me knows he’s right, but an even bigger part doesn’t give a shit. I don’t care if I start a war. Matteo will die.

“Why did you have everyone come then? Just so they can watch you tell me no?”

“If you calm down and listen for a moment, I will tell you.”

“Fine, I’m listening.”

“You can’t just openly kill Matteo. His family will retaliate, and a lot of our people won’t like defending us when they find out why we killed him.”

“So, what? We make it look like an accident?”

My father shakes his head. “The Valentines are assholes, but they are not stupid. They would still come after us.”

“Then what?” I ask impatiently.

“I have something to hold above Dick Valentine’s head. Something so bad that he might be willing to give us his son in return.” That piques my interest.

“Now we’re talking.”

“That’s why they’re here.” Dad nods past me. “Roman and Ren are coming with us. Damon is going to stay here while we are gone. Luke is going to meet us on the way and shadow us as we go in.”

“Okay.” I’m glad to have Luke as backup. Not only is he one of the best hitmen I know, but he is also Ren’s uncle and one of our closest friends. “Can we leave now?”

“We’re ready when you are.” Roman moves beside me, his hand landing on my shoulder. “Let’s go kill the fucker.”

“Looking forward to it.”

My father gets up from his desk and walks to his wall-to-wall bookshelf. He uses the small pin pad on the side to open a hidden cabinet behind the shelves. An array of guns, knives, ammunition, and other fun little toys come into view. Pulling out a drawer on the bottom, my father grabs some bulletproof vests and hands me one.

“If everything goes as planned, we won’t need any of this, but you can never be too prepared. Put this under your clothes and pick some holsters and at least two guns,” he orders, and for once, I gladly follow his command.

Roman, Ren, and my father do the same. After we are all armed to the teeth, my father closes his small armory, and we head downstairs.

The drive to the Valentines’ estate goes by in a blur since my mind is already conjuring up all the different ways I’m going to kill Matteo. Right now, that’s the only thing keeping me sane. I just hope my father doesn’t expect me to walk away if blackmailing Valentine Senior doesn’t work.

“We’re here,” Dad announces as he pulls into the long driveway leading to a lavish house. “Remember, let me do the talking.” He doesn’t say my name, but everyone in the car knows he’s addressing me.

“I can’t make any promises.”

I exit the car as soon as we stop. Everyone else follows closely. I wait until we are piled up at the door before I ring the doorbell.

A moment later, the heavy wooden door opens, and a young woman in a maid’s outfit that looks two sizes too small on her appears. “Hello,” she greets so quietly I almost miss it. “C-Can I help y-you?”

“We’re here to see Dick.”

“Okay…” She nods her head and opens the door further. The skirt is so short, she might as well wear nothing, and the blouse is so tight, the buttons look like they are about to pop open. Hesitantly, she steps away and waves us in. “Please wait here. I’ll let Master know you’re here.”

“Did she just say master?” Ren questions when she is out of earshot.

“Apparently, Matteo’s whole family consists of weirdos,” Roman says.

“You have no idea,” my father agrees, making me wonder what dirt he has on Valentine.

My eyes snap up when Dick enters the room a moment later. He has the same build and facial structure as Matteo, but his hair is thinning, and his stomach is bulging out like he’s had one too many beers.

“Xander, old friend. I didn’t expect a visit from you and… your son.” He addresses us first, ignoring Ren and Roman, which is funny since Roman is well over six feet tall and built like a brick house. Someone not taking notice of him seems ridiculous.