Which, at times, isn’t always a good thing.
3
Ares
As soon as the sky darkens from a deep, fiery orange to a haunting, sinful black, I step out of the house and into the courtyard in front of our home. The Lancaster mansion sits on a hill that overlooks the town of Tynewood as if we’re royalty watching over our subjects.
Slipping into the driver’s seat of my Maserati, I turn the engine, and soon, I’m flying down the drive toward the gates of our estate. The night time has always been calming for me, but there are times when memories take over, and I would rather be basking in the sunshine.
Turning on the stereo, I turn up the volume, hoping to get lost in the music. A deep, heavy bass vibrates around me, reminding me that I have places to be and people to see. My phone rings in a shrill tone over the music, and I have to cut it before tapping the green button.
“Dad,” I answer, wondering when he’ll be leaving again. I prefer it when he’s not in town. His job has him traveling to various cities and countries, and I wonder if it keeps his mind off mom’s death.
“Ares, I have a job for you. Complete it, and I’ll gift you something you’ve wanted for a very long time. But I need you to do this without starting a fucking war,” he grits out. “Am I understood?”
“Yes, father.”
“I need you to look into him. My office is open to you if you need it. If you can get all the information with a background check, perhaps I’ll start giving you more responsibility. This is a time-sensitive task.”
For my father to ask this of me means that he trusts me. I spent my teenage years trying to prove myself to the man. Since I was sixteen, I wanted him to trust me, to see me as a man, not a child. I always wished one day, I could be just like him—powerful and respected. And now that he’s given me the go-ahead to walk into the office he deems as sacred, I can’t help but smile.
“Who is he?” I ask as I turn toward the forest and step on the gas.
“Milton’s partner, there’s been news from D.C.” My father’s tone sounds wary as if he’s hiding something. The name Milton makes me want to kill. The asshole murdered my mother, and he needs to pay. Rage fuels me as I spin into the parking lot and hit the brakes.
“What news?”
“I’m waiting on confirmation, but Milton is presumed dead.” There’s a hint of something in that same concealing tone, and I wonder if my father decided to take away the one thing, he promised me. Ice fills my veins at my father’s revelation. My white-knuckle grip on the steering wheel tightens. He was meant to be mine. I wanted to take his life, slowly and painfully. I wanted to watch the asshole beg for mercy, and when he did, I would’ve sliced him limb from limb.
“What do you mean presumed dead? He was mine to finish.”
“I’ll be back home in the morning, we’ll talk then,” my father’s hasty response makes me even more wary as to what he’s hiding. If there’s one thing I’ve learned about Abner Lancaster, it’s that he’s a master of hiding shit from his family.
“I’m at the lake house,” I tell him. “I’ll be home before you are, but I’ll do a remote login from here.”
“Thank you, son. And remember, whatever happens, you’ll get your vengeance.” He hangs up before I can respond. It’s been far too long, and I’ve been patient. Only because he told me I had to wait. Generally, I don’t obey the old man, but this time, I knew I had to. It’s my ticket into the Sovereign. My ‘in’ to get that crown.
Shoving open my car door, I step out of the vehicle, before pulling in a lung full of the clean air. And even though it’s beautiful, with the thick forest and silver lake, there’s a dark history that’s hidden within the walls of the university, and the town itself.
A rumbling engine alerts me that either Etienne or Tarian has arrived. Seconds later, a silver BMW SUV pulls up beside me. In the passenger seat is my biggest mistake and the driver is the asshole I call brother.
Don’t get me wrong, I love Philipe, but, at times, his choices can be questionable, case in point, the fact that he has Kelli in his car. She offers me a finger wiggling wave before my brother opens her door. Used to being treated like a princess, she’s been a pain in my ass since I threw her out after a few nights of debauchery.
“Hey, Ares,” she grins as if it’s going to get her on my dick again. Not a chance in hell.