Page 90 of Vicious Addictions

“It means that English isn’t the only language spoken in the world, and the heir to the Firm should brush up on her foreign language skills if she wants to rule one day,” I tease, masking the true meaning behind my words.

“You’re no fun.” She rolls her eyes at me before settling her head back to its previous position:always close to my heart. “Okay, so Marcello is second in line and the brother you feel more protective of.”

“That’s not true,” I correct, while my fingers continue to play with the strands of her raven hair. “I’m protective of all of them. I am their big brother, after all. Though not all of them need or even want my protection.”

“You’re talking about Stella now, aren’t you?” She giggles again like she always does when I talk about my sister. “I like her.”

“Of course you do. She’s just as stubbornly independent as you are,” I continue to tease. “She’s going to love you too.”

“You really think so?” she asks, sounding unsure.

“I know she will. You’re everything she aspires to be one day. Fierce and fearless. A true born leader.”

Mina melts into me as if my words of praise mean everything to her.

What I don’t tell her is that Mina has the possibility to lead one of the most powerful syndicates in the world, while my baby sister won’t even be able to put her foot in the door of the Outfit. Yes, my father has made many changes to the organization when he took control, but a woman enforcer like Stella wants to be one day? That’s a dream that will never materialize.

“Okay, who do we have next…ah yes, the twins,” I continue on. “Luciano and Enzo.”

“The troublemakers,” she adds with a giggle.

“And then some,” I chuckle. “If they get in as much trouble when they’re teenagers as they do at ten, I fear my parents have their hands full.”

“I like the fact that twins run in your family.”

“You do?”

“Hmm,” she hums, not wanting to give me more detail on why that is.

But I can take a guess.

Mina loves her own set of twins. Remus and Rolo are not only her cousins but her best friends.

She couldn’t imagine her life without them—even if one is a full-blown psychopath and the other a ticking time bomb of a sociopath. I’ve worked alongside them long enough to know that neither is playing with a full deck. Rolo wears his madness like a badge of honor, reckless and unpredictable, while Remus buries his bloodlust beneath a cool, calculated exterior.

I wouldn’t trust them as far as I could throw them. But trusting them with Mina’s safety? That’s an entirely different story. Because, like me, they wouldn’t just kill for her—they’d burn this world to the ground with their bare hands if even a single hair on her head was out of place. And that’s a feeling I know all too well.

“And that leaves Annamaria, right? The baby of the family?” Mina says, pulling me out of my reverie yet again.

“That’s right.” I nod pensively.

“How old is she now?”

“Eight.”

“Wow. That means the last time you saw her she was—”

“Four. Annamaria was only four years old when I moved here.”

Sensing she hit a nerve, she shifts from her position to straddle me instead, her long hair covering her naked breasts.

“That makes you sad, doesn’t it? That you missed out on watching her grow up?”

“It does,” I admit. “Unlike the rest of my siblings, I’m a complete stranger to her. I’m just a face on a screen to her. Nothing else.”

“I’m sure that’s not true,” Mina tries to console. “You’d be amazed at how much a child can still remember from her formative years.”

I shake my head sullenly.

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