Page 8 of The Broken Queen
Chapter 4
Kingston
My brother had finally started speaking to me again regularly.
Even if it took him beating my ass, and me giving up Presley, it was worth it. Gio was my best friend, and while I did love Presley, I knew she would be happy with Gio, but I would never survive without him. He was essential in every way, so I had to do whatever it took to ensure he got Presley back.
“Why exactly are you pulling Henry and the men into this meeting?” my brother asked while we skirted the side of the house where Henry lived. He maintained a residence off the books in town. It was a shitty setup he shared with a few of his men, but for the time being, it worked for him.
I checked how many cars were out front, made sure I didn’t see any police cars or anything out of the ordinary, and then explained myself. “I just have a gut feeling that Dad was lying about Markos being dead.”
Gio’s light eyes searched the street before glancing in my direction. “Why would Dad lie about that?”
We scaled the wooden porch steps. “To keep us out of it.Knowing Dad, he doesn’t want us to pull El Peligro back into something. I can’t prove it, but I need to know for sure if he’s alive.”
If Markos wasn’t dead, then we’d need to begin pulling layers back on all the various members who made up the Addesso family. Nine months; Presley should have been married by now, although she had come back home those few months ago, and I had never learned why.
The white door opened, revealing a member of El Peligro, holding an assault rifle. He greeted us with a nod before moving to the side. My brother and I entered, passing through the living room, around a few members who were counting product they’d just made a deal for. Henry knew the details, but as long as the money was coming in, we didn’t care to look too closely at all of it. The less we knew, the better.
Henry had lighter skin than either my brother or I, but his eyes were dark brown, just like his hair. He had on a boxy white T-shirt that did nothing to cover up the myriad of tattoos that covered his hands, arms, and neck. His dark hair was pulled back into a small bun at the base of his neck, and his mouth spread into a smile as he saw us.
“Heyyyyy. Boss one and boss two!” He held his hand out for Gio to grasp and clap him on the back. My brother just watched his outstretched hand until Henry lowered it.
“Right. I assume you’re here for a reason.”
I pulled out a map and let it plop on his kitchen table, over a few plates and cups. “You’d assume correctly.”
“Shit, boss. Let me grab my fucking chicken nuggets first.” Henry complained while digging for his plate underneath the map. We caught him up on our concerns while he ate, and once he finished, we stood around his table.
“This is his home?” Gio asked, pointing at a point on the map.
I nodded while using a red marker to circle it. “Yeah, we’re headed back to New York.”
A few other men joined us in the room, but I had no clue whothey were. Henry ran recruiting and vetting all the members and we trusted him to know who should be in the room and who shouldn’t. We allowed this, mostly because we just didn’t give enough of a shit, but also because Henry did.
One of the men set a tablet in front of us which had pictures of the inside of the mansion we were looking into.
I glanced at the images of the various rooms on the screen in front of me. “Where are the weak spots along the perimeter?”
If Markos were dead, then his estate should be easy to breach.
“The posterior portion of the house, however...” Henry used the marker to draw a line around the front part of the property. “That’s also fairly obvious…so it’s possible that it’s a diversion tactic. We would be safer taking a page out of your old man’s book and just go through the front doors.”
I caught Gio’s expression before looking over at Henry. Dad gave us a little bit of a background on how he knew Markos, but I didn’t realize he’d actually gone to war with him. It was never a good look to reveal that you didn’t know as much as your men, so I’d keep the fact that I had no idea what he was talking about to myself.
“We’ll have two parties set up––use both entrances. Make sure the men are armed and wearing vests.”
Henry barked out a few commands to the men, and they dispersed, leaving Gio standing near me with his hands clenched at his sides.
He spoke quietly, “Dad never told us any of this shit.”
I shook my head, unsure of what to say in response. There were a lot of our parents’ lives they hadn’t shared, and while I typically would be angry, I was too hurt over the idea of my parents leaving. Dad had mentioned that we didn’t know what we’d gotten ourselves into by reviving El Peligro, and I was inclined to believe him. Better to just leave him to his secrets and allow him to have peace.
This was our problem now.
Gio sighed while pulling his phone out. He’d started doing thatmore than he used to and I wondered if it had anything to do with Presley and hoping she’d reach out. I knew she wouldn’t.
We’d broken her, and I was the one who held the hammer, smashing away at all the goodness and love that was once inside her. If she waited a year to reach out the first time, there was no way she’d consider responding now.
