Page 20 of Devious Kingpin
“They look to be in deep discussion,” Ivy said, rolling her eyes. “All the DiLustros.”
I followed Ivy’s gaze and found all four of them—Dante, Basilio, Emory, and Priest—discussing something, their faces serious and their heads close together. Well, except for Emory. She looked like a little kid playing with the big boys. I still couldn’t get over the fact she ran the Las Vegas crime world for the Syndicate. The girl was barely five foot four, yet I knew her looks were deceiving. She was just as lethal as her brother and cousins.
“They’re probably up to no good,” I noted. “None of the DiLustros are ever up to any good. Especially Dante.”
Then as if he heard me mention his name, his gaze drifted over the large room and makeshift dance floor and caught mine. His eyes sparked and burned as if igniting a fire. They slid down my body and goose bumps rose over my skin.
It was exactly for this reason I couldn’t bear to be around this man. I fucking hated this damn reaction my body had to him. No matter how hard I tried to steel my response to him, it always failed.
“God, I can’t stand him,” I murmured.
“Then stop staring at him,” Wynter deadpanned. “I swear, this game of cat and mouse is getting old.”
“Not if I’m the cat,” I said, amused, turning my back to Dante. Yet, it did nothing to ease the burn of his stare. He might as well have been right in front of me.
I noted my father approaching with Davina, both of them smiling softly.
“You look beautiful, Juliette.” He pulled me into a tight hug. “Your mom would be so proud. You’re the spitting image of her.”
It was only since I learned of my birth parents that he dropped comments like this. I appreciated it, but it was also a reminder to myself. That I’d make those responsible pay. My body count kept growing, but I wasn’t finished yet. It started with Brandon Dole. After him, I’d moved on to Sam Dallas, the second boy who did nothing. Travis fucking Xander was untouchable—hiding behind his parents’ walls—so I’d moved on to my parents’ killers. I didn’t have all their names. Only six. Killian had put four into early graves. I had done the same with two, unbeknownst to him.
Four more were left, and they would pay for their sins. Sofia Volkov included. But she’d get hers, I would make sure of it.
What goes around comes around, and all that.
Liam had hidden us from the world. Juliette Ava Cullen was my birth name, and he’d changed it to Juliette Brennan. He couldn’t bear to erase all traces of me. But I’d be damned if I stayed silent. They’d learn you never fucked with a Cullen.
“Thanks, Dad.”
I still loved Liam. He raised me and he was a good dad. I sighed happily as I soaked up his strength and love.
“You know, your mom gave your dad a hard time too,” he said casually. “Althoughtheysettled their differences a lot sooner.” His insinuation didn’t escape me, but I chose to ignore it.
“You’re a lot like her,” Killian added, showing up out of nowhere.
Guilt pierced through my chest because what little I knew about her, I was nothing like her. She never killed. She never tortured. And she certainly wouldn’t have enjoyed either one. In the deepest corner of myself, I actually liked making these men pay for what they’d done—to me, to my parents, to our family.
“Except you’re wilder,” Dad said. “You must have taken after Aiden in that regard.”
Pulling away from Dad, I gave Killian a playful scowl. “Let’s not ruin the night.”
He shook his head, but thankfully he let it go. I turned to my big brother and wrapped my arms around his waist.
“Where have you been hiding, stranger?” I scolded him softly.
The whole fiasco with Branka Russo didn’t seem to affect him, but for some reason he seemed to be around even less. Shortly after Alessio’s wedding to Autumn, my brother and Branka’s wedding took place. Much to everyone’s shock, she was kidnapped as she made her way down the aisle to marry Killian. Long story short, she’d loved her kidnapper way before she ever liked my brother and had never stopped.
“I’ve been in New York,” Killian said, pushing a strand of hair from my forehead. “It’s you who’s been distant. And hiding. What trouble have you been up to?”
My stomach dropped like lead, fearing that maybe he had found out about my extracurricular activities. But he wouldn’t be smiling the way he was if he did. He’d tear me a new one.
“Moi?” I asked brightly, batting my lashes innocently. “My life is boooring.”
Killian quietly observed me, probably seeing more than I wanted him to.
“I’d dare say, your life is more exciting than mine,” Ivy remarked, cutting in. “Try living with my family and you’ll love boring.”
Edward Murphy, the head of the Murphy Irish mafia, and his brothers were anything but boring. And I’d stake my life that living with them wasn’t boring either. They probably sheltered Ivy and that alone drove her nuts.
