Page 12 of Savage Grace

That was how much faith my brother had in my mathematical ability.

But The Family couldn’t afford to have any of my mistakes getting us looked at by the tax office, the government, or the police.

So, I let him do it. I didn’t care.

I got to order the stock, pick the merchandise, decorate the store, and chat with the customers. And that was enough for me.

With a huff, I tucked my hair behind my ears after hauling Margaret around, stood back, and put my hands on my hips while I admired my work. The new window display was fantastic, and it always felt like a fresh start when I renewed it.

The sun glinted off a distant panel of shiny metal, reflecting the bright rays directly in through the window. I shielded my eyes, scanning the street for the cause.

The chrome side mirrors of two motorcycles parked across the street flickered and caught my attention immediately. So did the two men who the bikes obviously belonged to.

One dude with a bushy, salt and pepper beard stood on the sidewalk, smoking his cigarette and chuckling at whatever the other guy had just said. The other one stayed leaning against his bike, with his cap turned backwards and his hands stuffed into the pockets of his unmarked leather vest.

The new laws that forbade outlaw MC members from wearing their club colours had made it so much harder to decipher who was a bikie and who was just a guy on a bike.

Usually, it was still pretty obvious.

The sleeveless black leather vest was usually enough to know that whoever these guys were, they were affiliated with someone. Whether or not they were Redliners, though, it was impossible to tell.

I swallowed, and my fingers itched to grab my phone from my pocket.

The one with the cigarette nodded, either at me or his buddy, before they both strolled off down the street.

I let out a breath and tried to shake the weird feeling off, heading back towards the counter where Larissa was leaning, scrolling on her phone.

Antoni’s paranoia was starting to rub off on me, and I didn’t like it. I leaned against the counter next to Larissa with a sigh, resting my head on her shoulder.

“What?” she mumbled mindlessly, not looking away from her phone.

“I’m not really sure.”

Larissa huffed out a laugh of understanding and nodded. People, especially my family, wondered why I remained friends with Larissa.

She was Ren’s little sister. Her father was the right-hand man of my father, when he was still alive. And being the youngest of the mob daughters, we were kind of just lumped together when we were kids.

Larissa was a little older than me, but we always ended up in the same rooms and at the same activities.

We threw tea parties while our fathers had bad guys in the basements below, doing god knows what to their enemies. We had sleepovers while our brothers trained and learned the ropes of running a crime syndicate.

To say that we were sheltered would be an understatement.

And I, at least, acknowledged that.

Larissa, however, was the epitome of a mob princess. Blissfully unaware, staunchly uninterested, and forcefully ignorant.

She didn’t know anything. She didn’t want to know anything. But she sure as hell knew how to enjoy the perks that came with the life.

I had always felt a little different, more like I was just a really good actress. Because, to my mother’s horror, I was a little curious about it all.

Not enough to want to go out and join the ranks and do whatever it was they did, but I still wanted toknow. And even though I could do no wrong in my father’s eyes, I did get scolded for eavesdropping regularly.

“Do you wanna go out tonight?” I asked.

It was her turn to sigh now, and she actually put down her phone. “It’s Monday.”

I shrugged. “So?”

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