Page 88 of Bred
NO ACCIDENT
MAGGIE ALABASTER & JO BRADLEY
CHAPTER ONE
LUCAS
Ipulledmyphoneout of my pocket and frowned at the screen. "Fuck."
Whenever my oldest brother, Reuben, called me, it usually meant he wanted something. Correction, italwaysmeant he wanted something.
As the more-or-less dutiful third youngest son of the Brantley family, Reuben often wanted me to do some kind of dirty deed, dirt cheap. I should probably ignore the call, but he would keep trying, and if he couldn't get me, he’d send a car for me. No one ignored Reuben Brantley.
I hit the green button on the screen and put the phone to my ear. "Yo." Reuben hated to be greeted that way, but I couldn't resist. If he wanted something badly enough, he would have to suck it up.
"Lucas." His voice came down the line, as gruff and grumpy as always. "I have a job for you."
"One of these days, you're going to call me up for a chat," I said lightly. As if that would ever happen. "Maybe you should say hello and ask me how my day is going."
Or better yet, call my twin brothers. Whatever it was, they would be more than happy to do it. Murder, extortion, threats, kidnapping; you name it, Hunter and Parker would do it for Reuben. The youngest in our family of seven, we didn't refer to them as the evil twins for nothing. They loved the nickname. Pair of sick fucks.
Reuben was silent for a moment. Finally, he said, "We're having some trouble with the Fiorelli family."
What was new? It was always someone. We had a lot of rivals. The Bells, the DiMarcos and, more recently, the Fiorellis. Everyone wanted a chunk of the organised crime pie.
"The twins said something about Dante Fiorelli stirring up trouble," I said. "What does that have to do with me?"
Reuben grunted. "Word is they'd like to wipe out anyone with the last name Brantley."
"Okay, that's definitely a problem," I said ironically. They could try. They wouldn't succeed. Although, I prefer they didn't try. I liked not having to sleep with one eye open.
"So far, their influence hasn't stretched much past the West Australian border. I'd like to keep it that way. However…" Reuben paused.
Okay, here it came.
"However?" I prompted.
"One of Fiorelli's daughters is currently living in Sydney," Reuben said. "Her name is Amity. I want you to get close to her."
I grimaced. "And by close, you mean?"
"Whatever it takes," he said. "Keep her from getting involved in her family's shit, if you can. If necessary, we can use her as leverage later."
I sighed. "This is really more the twins’—"
"The twins are busy," Reuben interrupted.
I tried again, “You know, Zeke might better suited—”
“Zeke is on tour with Wolf Venom, and he never does what he’s told,” Reuben growled. "I'm sure you can find some charm deep down. Seduce her, marry her, knock her up, I don't care, just make sure she's on our side."
"Fine, I—" I stopped mid-sentence. "I'm talking to a dial tone." Typical Reuben. He liked to drop a bomb and then scatter. If he wanted me to charm this woman, I would. From what I gathered, she was my age and pretty cute. This wouldn't be too much of a chore.
Unless I fell for her.
CHAPTER TWO
AMITY
