Wild Heir (Fated Royals 4)

His voice had grown thick and dangerous and it made me fucking crazy. The red haze of rage took over and before I knew it, I’d hit him right in the face.

His nose exploded in a spray of blood. And then all hell broke loose.

All at once, Petre’s hired thugs stepped in, restraining me from beating the ever-loving shit out of him.

“Get him out of here!” Petre screamed, clutching his face as blood poured from his nostrils.

I landed one more decent punch, leveling the biggest of his guards. Two others restrained me as I fought their grip. For a second that felt like an eternity, I hovered there, with fury coursing through my veins.

If I wanted to try to kill him, now might be the time.

But it was a gamble that had too great a risk; if I lost, if his men took me down, then there would be nobody between Valeria and my brother. And for the first time in my entire goddamned life, I decided not to take that bet.

So, I shoved the guards off of me and stepped back, seething. I needed to think this through, and I needed to get the fuck away from my brother in order to do it.

“First off, brother, you can throw me out of your own house all you want, if you had one. But this is our father’s house. And second, if you have a problem with me, I’ll fight you anytime you like. Just name the place. You and me, none of this chickenshit letting your hired muscle take care of things.”

I stormed out of his sight and straight to my father’s study.

“Can we make this quick?” I barked, watching him shuffle papers behind a carved walnut desk bigger than a small boat.

My father raised an eyebrow at me, and I felt the heat rise to my face.

“Sorry, father. It’s Petre, he—”

He waved a hand, nodding in understanding.

“I know there’s no love lost between the pair of you, but he has his uses. Particularly, his unfailing willingness to do anything it takes to bring further fortune to this family.”

“I’m loyal to you, father. Make no mistake…”

He gave me a tight smile. “I know. And I appreciate it. Petre has always been different. And, I don’t think he ever forgave you after the accident.” His voice trailed off.

I nodded, a twinge of my own guilt still left over all these years later.

“Not completely an accident.” I added and my father raised a hand to cut me off.

“Boys will be boys. You were the better fighter, but I know you never meant to harm him. Ivan was there, he told the honest story of what happened. You were in your right to do what you did.”

“I’m not sure dislocating your brother’s knee is ever called for.”

“That wasn’t your intent. I also don’t believe trying to kick your brother in the back of the head is called for. He didn’t count on you being so fast. If he’d succeeded, his boot connecting with the back of your skull, maybe things would have been worse son. As it stands, you defended yourself, with a bit more gumption than maybe you intended, but nevertheless…”

It was my turn to wave him off and we both ended that trip down memory lane without another word. Petre’s limp was an ever-present reminder to him, making him hate me all the more.

When he started again, there was a familiar twinkle in his eyes. “I also know that in the brains and brawn stakes you take after me.” I rolled my eyes when he turned to look into the fireplace, admiring his complete lack of modesty. “That’s why I asked you here. I want you to reconsider my offer.”

“No,” I said firmly, shaking my head when he turned my way. “No, father, I will not return to the family business. That’s all behind me. I’m legitimate, I’ve made my own way in the world and I no longer have any sleepless nights about the things we’ve done or the things we may be forced to do to hold onto power. You said that you know Petre’s strengths, and that’s one of his. He has no conscience.”

My father laughed.

“He is a cold-hearted bastard, for sure. He can be your right hand, believe me it’s useful to have one. But what he can never be is the boss of an enterprise like this. Particularly with the plans I have.”

I turned away.

“I don’t want to hear anymore. The less I know about the family’s lawless dealings, the better.”

“Not lawless, son. Well, there are levels of lawlessness, this is true. That’s what it takes. But I want to move away from some of our old ways. The direction the laws of this land are heading, the profit is less and less. Our best men get arrested weekly these days, they serve sentences that mean they will never be of any use to us again. It’s getting harder and harder to buy our usual leniency. It’s unsustainable. I want you to help me to change things. It won’t happen overnight, but with you by my side I can—”