Page 59 of Dirty Little Saint

“Dad.” I stand aside and motion for him to enter.

Riot glares at him. “Mr. Thorn. Something to drink?”

Pisces looks us over with that smug grin on his face that I’ve been accustomed to seeing my whole life. “I’ll take a scotch. Two ice cubes.”

He skirts ahead of us like this is his house, making us follow him into the sitting room. I swear, no matter how old we get, he still treats us like we’re fucking children.

Once all three of us have a drink in our hands, I start in. “You’ve been keeping some secrets and—”

“Cut the dramatics, Atlas. Why did you summon me here in the middle of the night? You interrupted one of my favorite meals.” He narrows his eyes at me.

I feel my cheeks heat. He’s the only man who continues to disrespect me. “What the fuck are you eating at midnight? Shouldn’t an old man like you be in bed at this hour?”

Pisces purses his lips. “I was in bed. Eating pussy.”

Fucking hell. Guaranteed, it wasn’t my mother’s.

Riot glares at me again. “Thanks for the overshare, Mr. Thorn. We called you here because we have something that belongs to you. And we just wanted to return it.”

He chuckles and arches an eyebrow, clearly amused with us, like we’re back in grade school, learning how to make poison for the first time. “You two were always so precocious. All right, I’ll bite. What did you little shits steal from me this time?”

He thinks this is a game.

All my life, I’ve watched him steal and manipulate. He’s the best con man I’ve ever known. When I was a kid, I used to take things from him just so I could turn around and sell him back his own shit. It started small at first; a couple of watches, some family heirlooms, and the like.

As I got older, I got smarter. I stole bigger things like his Alfa Romero sports car. I even managed to take over one of his country houses. Had the locks changed and everything. Instead of being angry, he was always impressed and played along with my shenanigans. He’d pay me top dollar for whatever I stole. It was never about the money for either of us. It was about winning.

And this time, he lost.

I shake my head. “Follow us.”

He sighs before knocking back the rest of his scotch. “Make this quick, boys. I have an early meeting tomorrow.”

We don’t take the direct path down. No. Instead, we lead him in circles, disorienting him so he’s distracted. The last thing I want is for him to learn his way around here. These are our sacred spaces.

“Can we hurry this up? I don’t need a tour of underneath your house,” he grumbles.

“Right this way, Mr. Thorn,” Riot snickers back.

He reluctantly follows us into the cavern, freezing when he takes in the sight. “What the fuck?”

I stalk over to Barnaby’s lifeless body. His chains rattle as I give him a good shake. “Looks like you lost one of your dolls.”

Pisces’s face pales, but he lifts his chin in defiance. “I have no idea what you’re talking about, boy. What is the meaning of this?”

Riot cocks his head to the side, his eyes murderous as he glares daggers into my father. “This is what happens when you fuck with what belongs to us.” He takes another step closer to him. “When you plant spies in our backyard and think we won’t fucking sniff them out.”

“How dare you speak to me that way, Riot. I should call Holden right now and tell him how disrespectful his son is being.” Pisces loosens his tie as beads of sweat form on his brow.

My laugh echoes through the cavern. “You’re getting sloppy, old man. And the only one being disrespectful is you. Maureen Blackwell is ours. Stay away from her.”

Pisces’s blue-green eyes flicker with rage. “You stabbed a young man to death over some fucking pussy? For fuck’s sake, Atlas. I thought I taught you better than that.”

Riot clenches his fists at his sides, using all his strength to not deck my father in the mouth. “Oh, we didn’t stab him to death. She did. Now, why don’t you tell us what you want with her.”

Pisces’s gaze travels the length of Barnaby’s body as he stalks toward him. “Excellent knife work…” He sighs. “Maureen is leverage. This childish feud between the Graves and the Blackwells has to end. Penny Blackwell owns most of the land in Ever Graves, and she refuses to do business with anyone who sided with the Graves family. I’ll never understand why my brother, Gemini, ever did.”

I’m fucking shaking. “And you thought kidnapping Maureen for this pervert to play with was going to earn you points with her grandmother? For fuck’s sake.”

---