Page 33 of Heartless Sinner

Brahm is the eldest cousin. Older than me by two years. I was always going to take the lead because my father is the eldest Delarosa brother.

I always felt that Brahm was a leader, the same as me. But life changed him.

“No.” His voice holds regret—possibly the softest emotion I’ve seen in him since he came back from the dead. “My answer is no, so don’t ask me to be your underboss.”

I lean back against the soft leather, studying Brahm's face for some sign of wavering.

My cousin has always been harder to read than ancient Greek, but lately, he's been a fucking cipher. “Why? This would be perfect.”

He hunches forward, the Manhattan skyline glittering behind him in the sunlight. “It’s not perfect, Micah. I’m the wrong person for the job because I don’t want any part of it. Not like I used to. My focus is on other things. You need someone who can give you a hundred percent.”

The crystal tumbler feels cold against my palm, and I set it down. "I understand where your focus lies, but that doesn’t make you any less suitable.”

“I’m heading back to Boston as soon as I can.”

“Boston?” I clench my jaw.

“That’s where it started and where it has to end.”

Boston is where it all happened—the attack that killed his mother, sister, and grandmother on his mother’s side. It should have killed him, too.

They were in Boston for business while his father was in Italy. Masked men ambushed them while they slept. They tortured and slaughtered them, then set their manor on fire. No one was ever held accountable, and there was no trace to follow.

That happened a little over a year ago, but Brahm has only been back with us for the last six months. He was badly injured and kept himself hidden while he healed and tried to find out who killed his family.

The Delarosas have always been part of the Creed, but his side of the family have ties to the Enclave, a secret society no one wants to fuck with.

Brahm’s father, Mario, is the only Delarosa to join them, and it will stay that way.

That’s why my father is fine with threatening to give Mario the company, but he would never do that with the leadership of the family.

He doesn’t want the Enclave getting their hands on our ties to Sicily and European assets. More importantly, he doesn’t want us to be under their control.

I don’t know why, but I believe they had something to do with the attack on Brahm’s family. He’s never told me that, but I’m sure he believes it, too.

“I’m checking things out,” Brahm explains further, resting his hand on his knee. “Once I have a clear lead, I’m gone, and this time, I don’t think I’ll be coming back.”

A fucking suicide mission. “So, you came back from the dead to get yourself killed.”

“Obviously, that won’t be my intention, but I accept it could come to that. I will find out who killed my family, and they won’t get away with what they did.”

“Let me help you.”

“We’ll talk about that when the time comes. Right now, I’m telling you my plans so you can make other arrangements. Lorenzo would make a good underboss. So would Antonio.” It doesn’t escape that he doesn’t recommend his father or Gio.

“They’re not you. Please think about it. Can you at least do that?”

He sighs, and his eyes drops briefly to the carpet beneath our feet. When he looks back at me, I think I see the opening I was looking for. “I’ll think about it. But that’s all I can do right now.”

“I accept that.” I give him a curt nod. “It’s better than being told no.”

“I guess. In other news, what’s your take on the hacking situation? Did you speak to your father about it?”

“I did. Obviously, he’s not happy. Especially if one of our own is screwing us over.”

“It has to be one of our own. The hacker’s trail is too smooth, like they were told exactly what to look for. At this point, I’m not ruling anybody out.”

“Not even your father?” I raise my brows.

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