Page 6 of Vengeful King

The door beeps again. This time it’s Aiden, blue-eyed and watchful. His tattoos are poking out everywhere, sleeves rolled up to his elbows. He nods at me, a jerk of the chin, and makes a beeline for the fridge.

Finn comes in last, itchy, almost keyed up. I don’t think he’s been drinking, but something must be making him nervous. Maybe it’s just the withdrawal hitting.

He’s the youngest, but he can outdrink everyone else. It’s not a good thing.

At least everyone is here. My brothers don’t usually make me wait, and since Finn is somewhat clean, he hasn’t been causing trouble like he used to. Not quite, at least. But we’ll see.

I let them settle before I start. We’re family, after all, and despite that, we don’t have much time to relax together. It’s always about the family business. With Connor and Aiden recently married, they’ve been more preoccupied than usual.

I listen to them chatter for a few minutes and drink my water. It’s good to see things like this, calm and peaceful rather than on the verge of imploding because of some convoluted plot by another member of the Assembly.

But it’s only a matter of time.

I set my glass down; the clink draws attention. It’s time to start. I circle around the couches before I sit, thinking. There’s a lot to talk about.

“So. Let’s take stock,” I say. “There have been a few developments that need our attention.”

They settle in. I start like I always do, following up on things that have happened recently. It’s all simple, paperwork, really. Things that don’t really matter much. But we’ve gained a lot of power in Boston in the last few months.

To begin with, both marriages have basically helped us consolidate with other families in the Assembly. Aiden married Rose, and she brought her father’s family with her. Connor married Willow, and she brought her dead husband’s organization with her. Two territories at once, joined to us in the strongest way possible. Perfect.

But power brings attention, and it breeds hatred. I know we have targets on our backs. It’s my job to watch out for the threats and take them down before they try to take us.

When I finish, Connor nods. “Sounds like it’s all good news. I guess we can stop talking about selling Finn off to pay the bills.”

“And who would take him?” Aiden asks. “It’s not like he cleans. I feel sorry for whoever he marries.”

“Very funny,” Finn says, waving a hand at them. “At least I could please my woman if I had one.”

Connor laughs. “Spoken like a man who’s never had a woman.”

I don’t mind their jokes in the middle of business. It’s good hearing them like this; there was a time when we were all at our worst. All falling apart.

The deaths of our parents were hard. But we managed to make it through, and it seems like the worst of it is over.

I hope.

“If you're done talking about women, I have business today,” I say.

They settle, turning to me, curious. When I say business, it’s with a capitalB.It’s big. I know I have their attention now.

“Well, all right. Don’t leave us hanging,” Aiden says, amused. “What is it?”

“We have an offer on the table. It’s from a family here in Boston—powerful, but not part of the Assembly.”

“What kind of power are we talking about?” Connor asks, squinting.

“Old money. A legitimate family, if it weren’t for the fact that they have their hands in some dirty pies.”

“It’s always the pie,” Finn says, shaking his head. “What do they want?”

“A business arrangement. The father is offering his daughter in marriage.”

There it is. It’s in the open and this time, I have no distractions. No way to turn from this.

I don’t run. But in this case, I certainly fucking feel like it.

It’s been a long time since something has made me dislike my work. My life. But the idea of marrying a woman I barely even know, of having her in my house every day and night, makes tension spread through my muscles. Still, I won’t shrink away from doing my duty for my family.

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