Page 42 of Vicious Little Games

“Fine, I'll figure out some way to have an outside judge make the decision for each challenge. Whoever wins the most over the summer wins, no debate, no argument. Agreed?” he asks looking right at my mother.

“Agreed, if that's okay with Cass and Cole.”

“Sounds good to me,” Cass agrees.

“Yeah, I'm fine with it too.”

“Then it's settled,” my mom replies. “Now, Cass could you and Cole give me and your father a moment alone?”

We both easily agree, not wanting to be in the middle of the fight they’re about to have.

My mom hands Cass the bag of pregnancy tests, and then as soon as we get out in the hallway and shut the office door, the yelling begins.

“Fuck,” I mutter.

“Don't worry, Vanessa can take care of herself,” Cass says as we retreat.

“I was more concerned about Dante getting his eyes clawed out.”

I watch as Cass’s lips nearly lift in a grin.

“Is it messed up to let them fight like this over us?” I ask her.

“If you want to stop it you could just bow out.”

“Me? You bow out.”

“You’re a nice guy, which means you don’t have what it takes to be a gangster,” Cass informs me.

“Oh, but you do have what it takes because you’re a raging bitch?”

“You're not even a part of this family!” she says when she starts up the stairs.

“Fuck you.” That’s one of the more vicious things she’s ever said to me.

She pauses with her hand on the rail to look back at me. “That's not...I didn’t just mean that you’re not my father’s blood. I also meant that you're never around. You’ll be going back to New York in the fall.”

“I know all that. But New York isn’t forever. I only have one more year before I’ll get my degree. And trust me, I’m well aware that Dante only thinks I'll be a good leader because I’m Yuri Petrov's grandson.”

“That's not something I would brag about. Yuri was a piece of shit who deserved to die slowly at my father’s hands.”

“I know that. I'm not proud to be related to him. I'm just pointing out that Dante believes his men would prefer to follow me over him, and definitely over you.”

“You're a dick.”

I wink at her. “You love my dick.”

Before she can respond to that, there's a sound of a loud crash coming from the office.

“Should we see if they are okay?” I ask. But before either of us move, more sounds filter down the hallway that has me following Cass up the stairs.

“I think they're already having make-up sex,” Cass mutters as she climbs.

“That was fast.”

Cass snorts. “Not as fast as you, but yeah.”

“Jesus. You're never going to let me live down that one little time, are you?” I ask, then give her ass that she’s swaying in front of my face a slap.

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