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“We want our lives back, Milo. I need my children around me before I die.”

“And Emil?”

“He’s been here since last month. He hasn’t decided yet if he’ll stay.”

I clamped my eyes shut and gritted my teeth to hold in the profanities that threatened to escape.

“Mom, you know the reason I split everyone up,” I said slowly. “It was to protect all of you. The last time—”

“The last time we lost Hans. I was scared to lose any more of my children, but this is no way to live, Milo. Your brother and sister agree.”

“You don’t understand, Mother. If anything should happen, I could lose my entire family at once.”

“But it’s like you’ve already lost us. We don’t see you anymore. You don’t call. I have to reach out.”

“I don’t want anyone to find you through me.”

“We can take care of ourselves. We’re not helpless.”

“You have no idea what these people are capable of.”

“Don’t underestimate your family. I know exactly what your father was involved in when I married him.”

“Then why did you marry him?”

“I was young and in love. Your father was a good man to us. He took care of us when he was alive.”

“If he was such a good man, he should never have gotten you involved in the first place.”

Her sharp inhale was loud over the phone. “Some things we’ll never see eye to eye, but I hope you can do this. For us. For Katarina. She’s engaged, and we’re having an engagement party for her. I’ll send you the details. You can choose what to do with it, but we would all love to see you. I love you, Milo.”

“I love you too, Mom. Don’t forget to get rid of the phone.”

She hung up, and I sat there staring at the phone in my hand. Talking to my mother always left me with mixed emotions. Relief she was in a safe location but also the yearning to hug her and my siblings again. Years ago, I’d lived in terror of her being attacked, and after my brother Hans became a casualty in this road to hell my father had put us on, I’d done what was necessary to keep everyone safe. I would never apologize for doing that, but I missed my family too.

It’d been years since I’d seen my mother. I’d seen Katarina a few times but always from afar.

My phone vibrated, and I checked the message from Liam.

Are you coming over to Kit’s? I’m bringing pizza.

I typed ‘yes’, then erased the letters. Kit’s time wasn’t mine to manipulate. I already had a meeting set up with him for tomorrow when we would go through the road codes before I took him out for a practical driving lesson. Until I got a chance to sort through what these new feelings were when I was around him, I’d better keep our contact to a minimum. Keep everything professional between us. I’d wanted to rearrange Leclerc’s face when I’d seen him with Kit. My jealousy hadn’t been uncharacteristic. When it came to my dates, I’d always kept up my persona of possessive boyfriend. Others expected it of me, but until two nights ago, that was all it was—a persona.

It’d felt too real with Kit.

Sorry, can’t make it. I have a few things I need to take care of. He doesn’t need us hanging around him all the time.

I sent the message, then pocketed my phone and returned to make my green shake. When it was done, I poured the liquid into a jug and placed it in the fridge to chill. I had some free minutes to spare, so I went to my office, which took a retinal scan, my fingerprints, and a passcode to open the door. The office acted as a library as well, with three shelves of books against the wall. My literature of choice included everything from fiction to nonfiction, classics and smut. A well-read man understood the world from different perspectives. My father had taught me that.

On the surface, my computer seemed ordinary with my legitimate business accounts. It wasn’t until I entered the password for my encrypted files that the darker side of my business came into view. Pinelli had paid me in one of my offshore accounts, which meant Saint Lamonte had found a way to cough up the money he owed my boss. Good for him. Another visit from me wouldn’t have ended so pleasantly.

I sent off some money to one of my finance guys who would then distribute it equally to my siblings’ accounts, even though they had jobs. What else was I going to do with the millions I earned every month? I took precautions in how the money was routed so it couldn’t be traced back to me.

When I was done with all my financial matters, I rang Pinelli’s number.

“Sullivan,” he answered the call. “Another job well done, my friend. We didn’t get to talk in detail about how you got my money out of the fist of that tightwad.”

“You never need to know the details, Luigi.”


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