Page 26 of Brandishing Betrayals

The woman knocked on the closed door and waited. It was a moment before a gruff male voice said, “Come in.”

“I’ve got it from here, darling,” I murmured to the girl.

She jumped, startled and nodded, before she walked away quickly.

I took a deep breath and pushed open the office door, finding the room exactly as I expected. Dark wood covering the walls, a deep red carpet on the floor, and in the center of room, seated behind a massive mahogany desk, sat my cousin Leonardo Seratelli.

Dressed in a sharp three-piece suit that probably cost more than what I paid monthly on my condo; Leonardo Seratelli looked every bit the mafia Don he was. Tall and broad shouldered, with tanned olive skin and black hair that was fucking coiffed back away from his handsome as fuck face, but he had the same fucking blue eyes that I had.

All and all, Leonardo was a formidable man, even if he looked like a damn pretty boy. Not that I had much room to talk, I just covered myself in leather and blood, and didn’t front with a suit.

“Cousin,” I greeted as I walked in the office and shut the door behind me.

Leo looked up from the cell phone in his hand and narrowed his gaze on me. “Not sure you still hold that title, Nico.” Leo’s deep voice was as commanding and every bit authoritative as the rest of him, cutting me to the bone, with one simple sentence.

“Alright, I deserved that,” I admitted.

It might have been ten years since we saw each other, but clearly the animosity was still there. “What do you want, Nicolai?”

“Full name, damn,” I joked, cracking a smile.

Leo stared at me with a hard gaze, his bright blue eyes icy. He rose slowly to his feet and buttoned his suit jacket closed. “I haven’t seen you since you turned your back on the family ten years ago and you want to waste my time with jokes?”

I swallowed thickly. “No, of course not.”

“Then hurry up and speak, Nicolai.” Leo’s slightly accented voice grew thicker with the pronunciation of my full name, rolling off the tongue and sounding almost musical. The bastard always sounded so damn sophisticated.

God, it grated on my nerves. But I was here for the club, so I needed to get over whatever insecurities my cousin made me feel by just standing there. “Look, I’m sorry, alright? I walked out ten years ago and I’m sorry.”

Leo narrowed his eyes. “You’re fucking ‘sorry’?” He leaned forward, placing both hands on the desk in front of him. “Ineededyou, and you fucking turned your back on me.” His voice was a low menacing growl that I was sure put the fear of God into Leo’s adversaries, but it had the opposite effect on me.

No.

Instead, it ripped out my soul to hear my cousin’s utter contempt. I had done that, put that divide between us. We had once been the best of friends growing up, but life had dragged us separate ways, and in the end we fell apart.

“You’re right,” I admitted.

Leo’s eyes narrowed again, like he couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “Why are you here, Nicolai?”

“Can I not just want to see family?” I asked sagely, knowing I was toeing the line.

“Then why haven’t you seen your mother in six months?” Leo shot back. He straightened and shook his head. “I don’t have time for your bullshit, Nicolai. Get out of my sight.” He dismissed me with a wave of his hand.

“Leo—shit—I’m sorry, ok? I’m sorry I walked out. I’m sorry I left when you needed me. I’ve recently discovered just how badly I fucked up back then.”

Leo hit me with a hard stare and for a moment I thought I was staring at my Uncle Augustino—Leo’s father—a man I hadn’t seen I’d been arrested and framed by Hillcrest. Augustino had come to visit me in county after someone had tipped him off that I had been picked up.

Augustino had basically said that I was on my own—not that I had expected the family to get involved anyways. There wasn’t any love lost between me and my uncle. We had said our words several times over the years, but my arrest had been a deciding point for Augustino.

I was no longer welcome within the family, the family would honor the coke deal with the Psychos, but contact would remain between leadership, and I was not welcomed.

I had agreed.

While I had been in jail, though, Maya had left us and my Uncle Augustino had been murdered. It had been a tumultuous time. While I had only been locked up for less than twenty-fourhours, it had been the most monumental twenty-four hours of my life.

“I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you when Augustino died,” I said. I ran a hand through my blond hair and sighed, looking down at my scuffed boots. I wondered how the fuck I was going to right this wrong with my family.

“What do you want, Nico?” Leo sounded tired.

---