Page 20 of Bound For You

“Well, to be fair, Al, I think your first job is to go get tested, then preferably kill your mistress. Seems she’s been going through your phone when you’re passed out, and getting our businesses’ account details. Three million of our money has been transferred to an offshore account. I’ve just spent an hour getting it all back. And if you’re thinking of going after Phoebe Pie, don’t bother, she’s already gone.” I pass the paperwork about Candy over, keeping the other information in the envelope. Al looks through it and goes pale. He sighs and puts his head in his hands.

Damian sighs. “I can do it, if you can’t, brother.”

Al snorts, shaking his head. “I’ll do it; this is my fault.” Then he suddenly stands, and I swallow my chuckle; he’s just realized what I said about Phoebe.

“What do you mean she’s gone? Gone where, and how the fuck would you know?”

I sigh as he growls at me like a damn dog. “Sit down, Al. I have a story to tell you all.”

He sits reluctantly, and I lean my elbows on my knees, linking my hands together with the envelope dangling betweenthem. “You all know that I’ve been close with Phoebe for years, right?”

They all nod while Sofia has made herself comfortable on the biggest armchair in the room, drinking her fruit smoothie. I smirk at her, while Damian and Al look at me intently.

I continue, knowing Al struggles with how close I was to Phoebe, not realizing we’re related. At one point, he actually accused me of having feelings for her.

“Well, when she left, it devastated me, and when I found out why….” I shake my head and look at Al. “Just like with Damian when he hurt Sofia, I did not kill you because you’re my family, and I love you like a brother. You both hurt two women who mean the world to me, who I would die for, but Phoebe…. I struggled not to hurt you, Al, because she’s not just like a little sister to me, she’s actually my blood, brother.” Damian stands up in shock, Sofia’s mouth drops open, smoothie dripping down her chin, making me chuckle at her.

I continue, taking a deep breath; I hate admitting this part, “Juan Garcia is my biological father.”

“Why the fuck didn’t you tell us? We are your family!” Damian snaps, pain in his voice, while Al shakes his head. I sigh, knowing I’ve hurt them, but they have to understand, I didn’t want to admit it even to myself.

“I’ve known all my life, Damian; my mother never kept it from me. Your parents and in-laws know, too. I am the rightful heir to the Spanish Mafia, but I don’t fucking want it; he didn’twant me!” I still feel the pain of rejection. I take a deep breath. “He didn’t want me, so I didn’t want him. My mother told me about Selene and Phoebe, how they don’t know they are related to Juan, and that their father doesn’t know.

“When I was fourteen, my mother thought it would be good to get to know my cousins. I was dead set against it, I didn’t want to know, we were all supposed to go to the shooting rangetogether, then to the club, but I didn’t want to go and meet some spoil princesses.”

Damian sits back down as Al leans forward, giving me his whole attention. “I was only half right. They introduced me as a family friend. Selene was eight at the time, already a complete bitch; she would shove Phoebe and pull her hair, and cry when she didn’t get her own way. She even refused to go anywhere near me. But Phoebe….” I smile, remembering how amazing she was and how I was suddenly very protective of her. “She walked right up to me and grabbed a hold of my hand. She was only five, and looked adorable with her hair in pigtails. She asked me if I like chocolate pie, hence her nickname.” I chuckle, then look at them both. “We were inseparable after that. Selene didn’t like that I had all her sister’s attention, so after a couple of months, her mother stopped bringing her and only brought Phoebe.”

Alexandr cuts in, “Did she know then? That you were related?”

I shake my head. “Not until she came back from Greece at sixteen. When she left, we spoke every day on the phone for six years, and I’d fly out to see her a couple of times while you all thought it was a family vacation. Juan knew we were close, and I don’t know why, but he decided to tell her that I was her cousin the day she was boarding the plane back home. He also made sure to explain how no one knows.” I let out a small laugh, still in the memories. “She confronted me, asked me if it was true, and when I told her yes, she slapped me!”

Sofia snorts.

“Fucking slaps me across the face, threatening me that if I ever lied to her again, then she would disown me. Then she hugged me tight and told me she was glad I was her blood.” I smile.

“I get why you didn’t tell us, brother, but I wish you had. We could have supported you, but it was your decision. How didyou come across this information on Candy?” Damian questions, and I smile, handing him the rest of the paperwork in the envelope. Al looks over and his eyebrows shoot up.

“It’s the same way I got this information. Phoebe,” I state, continuing. “There are three men, but she didn’t know two of their names. She knew Grigoriy, though. The other two are Boris and Leonid, those are the three who didn’t like you taking over. Grigoriy is the front runner for finding the kids in group homes, and the other two, picks them up, then takes them to the meeting point for the Mexican cartel or the Romanians to transport.”

Al looks at me with rage in his eyes and asks, “How did you get this off Phoebe?”

I sigh again. “I knew she’d be staying at Juan’s mansion in Boston, so I went to talk to her. Well, first, I had to scold her for answering the without a weapon in her hand; I could have been a serial-killer.”

Sofia chuckles. “Youarea serial killer, Serg.”

I laugh out loud. “That’s what she said,” I say, making Sofia smile.

I continue, “Anyway, I knew I’d be the one person she would give the information to; she doesn’t like to lie to me, even if she kept quiet about what she’d been learning over the years. I’ve assured her that we’d sort them out.”

Damian nods. “You’re fucking right, we will.”

Al looks back at me. “What about Juan, how does he fit into this with you?”

I grunt. I fucking hate talking about him. “He wants to have a meeting with me, but I don’t want anything to do with him. Phoebs has told me how his wife Valerie got pissed with him for keeping me a secret for twenty-nine years. Apparently, he wanted nothing to do with me because he was afraid his wife would leave him. Now I’m his only heir and she knows about me,and he suddenly wants contact. She blames him for keeping her child away from her, even though am not biologically hers. She doesn’t see it that way, though. But like I told Phoebe, I’m not ready.” Al nods and gets up, I stand too, and I give him a bro hug.

“We’ll help you through it, whatever you decide,” he whispers, and I nod, then he turns to walk out.

“Where the fuck you going?” Damian questions.

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