“You sure it’s worth the trouble?”
I pound the table with a closed fist. “I’m not willing to let him slink off into the night anymore. I’ve put up with him for twenty fucking years. That’s long enough. It’s time to get rid of this irritation.”
Phoenix stands up abruptly. “So be it. Let me lead the team. I’ll go out tonight and start the search.”
I consider that for a moment. “I don’t want you starting a job you can’t finish,” I say. “You’re due back in Los Angeles soon. You’re needed there.”
Phoenix’s jaw tightens. “I’d rather be here.”
I frown. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” he says—a little too fast.
“Phoenix…”
He sighs. “It’s easier here,” he admits. “In New York, I’m not the son of the great and powerful Artem Kovalyov. Here, I’m just… part of the team.”
I smile tenderly. It’s a rare moment of vulnerability from him. With the way he wears armor around his emotions all the time, it’s good to see that there’s still heart somewhere beneath. A don needs both to be successful.
I laugh. “Kid, even here, you’re Kian O’Sullivan’s nephew.”
“I’m not really your nephew,” he scoffs.
“Maybe not my blood nephew,” I concede. “But in every other way, you are. Our families have been allies for decades. And before that, my brother and your father were friends. Best friends. Still are.”
“You don’t have to lecture me on family history,” he says gruffly. Anyway, all I’m saying is that the pressure of my name doesn’t weigh me down here like it does at home.”
I stop short of the speech I’m about to give him. This is something he needs to work out on his own. Forcing certain truths on him will not make him anymore inclined to face them.
“Fine,” I say. “But you can be the one to let your father know that you’re staying longer.”
“He’ll accept it easier if it comes from you.”
I give him a pointed look. “Yes, but you’re the one who wants to stay. So you’ll be the one to tell him. No arguments.”
Phoenix sighs. “Fine.”
“Good man,” I say, standing up. “We can leave now.”
“We? I thought you said I was leading the team.”
I chuckle. “I did. You are. But I’m coming with you, of course.”
He does a good job of hiding his emotions, but I’ve known him his whole life. I can tell when he’s disappointed. “I’ve got it covered, you know,” he says calmly. “I don’t need a babysitter.”
The kid’s been walking with giants since the day he was born. I can understand what that’s like—to constantly live in someone else’s shadow. It’s the whole reason Cillian commanded me to oversee our business interests in New York. He saw the conflict coming before I did.
And not just the conflict with the Lombardis—but the conflict between us as brothers. We are both alphas. I was raised to lead. So was he. There could never be two dons for the same clan.
But split that clan across an ocean, and two dons become necessary. For two decades, this arrangement has worked out nicely for everyone.
Phoenix will find his own place in the world just like I did. But until then, the least I can do is give him space to be his own man.
I nod. “Alright then. I’ll let you get a head start. Keep me posted.”
“I will,” Phoenix replies, relief burning in his eyes as he turns towards the door.
When he’s gone, I walk to the bar in the corner of the room and pour myself a drink. I know I’ll find Drago Lombardi eventually. And when I do, I know exactly how that’s going to go.
But as for the other Lombardi, the one chained to the bed in my guestroom…?
I haven’t yet decided what to do with her.