“Yet she is?”
“Of course.”
“Then how can marriage not be at the top alongside her?”
For a moment, I remained silent. He would never understand the complicated relationship Tatum and I had. We weren’t put together like the rest of the “normal” world. Nothing about us was normal or uncomplicated. We fucked, and we fucked hard. And whenever we were together, we were like two monsters playing in the dark, pushing the limits—ourlimits. And after today, I had something special planned for her. Something that had the potential to push her too far. But I had to do it. I had to see if she trusted me. And what I had planned, she would only survive if I had all her trust.
“Okay, maybe this is a topic for another day.” Uncle Gino’s voice penetrated my thoughts, and the way he was smiling at me made me think he knew something I didn’t. Something neither Tatum nor I knew.Observant motherfucker.
“Do you have anything else on your mind, Uncle?”
He frowned. “I trust that you know what you’re doing when it comes to her.”
“What do you mean?”
“You’re trying to harden her, trying to change her.”
I took a sip of my drink. “It’s the only way.”
“It’s going to have serious consequences, Castello.”
“I’m aware of that, Uncle.”
“Are you? By hardening Tatum, by making her hungry for revenge, you are steering this situation to only one outcome.”
I remained silent.
“In the end, you will have to choose. Tatum or the only brother you have left. You cannot have both.”
“It seems you underestimate me, Uncle.”
The corners of his mouth turned up. “On the contrary, Castello, I think it’s only fools who would underestimate you.”
I stepped closer. “Then you will know that I have already thought about each and every consequence that would follow my actions. I already know where this path I have placed Tatum on is leading, and I am very well prepared for where it’s leading me. Besides—” I shrugged, “—our world is too small for me and my brother. In the end, only one of us will survive…and rule.”
Uncle Gino nodded, almost like a proud teacher to his student. “Good. As long as you know where your path is leading you, all is well.” He placed his hand on my shoulder. “You have my support, Castello. You always will.”
“Thank you, Uncle.”
He stepped back. “Vico will try again. He did not succeed in intercepting our business with our Mexican supplier. But he is too arrogant to see that he would be better off giving up this foolish vendetta against us. One of my informants told me Vico may have found himself a new supplier.”
My body tensed. “Who?”
“I am not sure who. All I know is that it’s a Russian contact.”
“Fuck!” I cursed. “How did he manage that?”
“I have no idea. But I suspect we have two months at the most before Vico starts to become serious competition and a great threat to our business. That’sifhe manages to secure business with this Russian supplier.”
I rubbed my chin as I walked deep in thought to the edge of the deck. Uncle Gino was right. Vico was too stubborn, too arrogant to ever give up. He would not rest until he had destroyed me, until everyone accepted him as the new Boss. I glanced at Tatum. It was also only a matter of time before Vico made his next move. After all, his end game was to destroy me by killing Tatum. I knew that because if I were Vico, that would have been my plan. The best way to get to the beast was to take away something it couldn’t go without, its addiction. And in my case, it was Tatum. I’d long accepted that. Which was why I knew this would all end with me driving a knife through Vico’s heart. It pained me. No matter what he did in the past, he remained my brother, my blood. But somewhere between plotting my revenge against the Linscotts and saving Tatum’s life, she had become more to me than my own blood.
Uncle Gino stepped in next to me, but I kept my gaze on the horizon.
“I know what I have to do, Uncle. And for her, I would do it gladly.”
“Then you need to get it done as soon as possible. The longer we wait, the bigger Vico’s threat becomes, and the more at risk Tatum becomes.”
I too turned to face him. “I’m a patient man, Uncle. But that’s one thing my little brother is not. I won’t have to go looking for an end to all of this. Vico will bring it to me.”