Page 10 of Vengeful Union

My tears fallthick and fast. “I can’t,” I tell him honestly. He’s been away from the house for the past six months, always working, trying to help Dad rebuild his image. I hate that everyone I was close to, vanished, and I was left alone. “I’m bringing him down, Drake. With or without your help.”

He doesn’t even hesitate.“Whatever you want, I’m here. You’ve been a part of my life since you were born, Dest. I’m not going to let anything happen to you.”

I inhalea shaky breath as relief washes through me. I’m not alone. Drake’s here.

“I needto know everything about his dealings. I need the ins and outs of his operation.”

A slow smileforms on his lips. “Now, Destiny, what do you have planned for the bastard?”

For the firsttime in six months, I laugh. “I found out that it was Mom who paid all the men’s wages, something I’m not sure anyone but Dad and I know.” He nods, letting me know he did too. “Since Mom left everything she had to me, I’m now paying them. Dad’s losing the Carter money quicker than a prostitute loses their panties. So, the time has come for someone else to head the Carter Syndicate.”

“Who?”he questions. “I know you well enough to know that you don’t mean yourself. Who do you have in mind to take over once we get rid of your father?”

“Levi.”

My cousin.A man who has a good head for business but also knows how to get dark and dirty if needed. Not to mention the money Mom used was Buchanan money, and Levi is a Buchanan.

Drake smirks.“Your uncle Conrad hates your father. He’d be onboard for this too.”

Ah,yes, Uncle Conrad. He was a part of the organization until my father got too big for his boots. He treated my uncle as though he was nothing more than a grunt. Now, my uncle and cousin have been working hard to build alliances as they run guns throughout the US.

“What doyou plan to do with your mom’s house and the money she left you?”

I take a steadying breath.I haven’t given it much thought. Thinking about being in that house brings back memories, all good, but then I think of her, and I see her lying on the ground, blood pouring from her body, her eyes vacant and lifeless. It hurts. She’s not here and it kills me. The house is on the outskirts of New York, hidden away in the trees. It’s been part of the Buchanan family for centuries, a house that isn’t tainted by my father and his wicked ways.

“She’s everywhere,”I tell him, my throat filled with emotion as tears spill from my eyes.

“She is.But, Destiny, you need to think of the good times; remember her smiling and happy. It’s the only way to get through it all.”

“How?”I ask, needing to know how he acts as though it doesn’t hurt. “I’m dying inside. The pain of her being gone is slowly killing me.”

His eyes well with tears.“You need to remember your mom during your happy times. It’s the only way to survive.”

I swipe away the tears.“When this is over, I’ll sell this place. Dad’s made sure that I could never be happy here. He killed her, Drake. There’s no way I can stay here. I’ll move and go to Mom’s.”

He smiles at me,happy with my decision. “Good. All she ever wanted for you, Dest, was to be happy.”

“I wantedthe same for her. Was she happy with you?”

His smile fades.“She was. She told me I was her peace in a chaotic world. She was mine too.”

“I’m sorry,”I whisper, though I’m grateful there’s someone else who will miss her. Someone else who saw the true depth of her beauty. “Why did Dad kill her? Everything seemed to be fine between them. Was everything I knew a lie?”

“Yes,”he answers instantly. “Your father married your mom for her money. He knew that being married to a Buchanan woman meant he’d be set for life. He never loved Jasmine; he used her. He never imagined that she’d find someone else. We’d been dating for years, secretly. But somehow he found out.” He stares down at his empty hands. “I should have protected her better. Protected the two of you better.”

“But he hadno idea it was you who Mom was seeing, did he?” If Dad did know, there’s no way Drake would be here now.

“No,he didn’t have proof that Jasmine was cheating—if you can call it that—but he had his suspicions, and those doubts are what drove him insane. He wanted to sell her, wanted to get rid of her without having her killed, but when he found out she took you, in his eyes, he had to kill her. If he didn’t, it would have made him weak in his men’s eyes.”

“I’ve been doingsome digging. I know about the Croatians and the shit he did, but I also know the truth about the Gallagher’s. He’s the reason Georgina died. He used her. Now he’s in bed with the Russians. Is he really trying to take down the Gallagher’s?”

Drake nods.“He did. He used her stupidity and thirst for revenge to do his dirty work. I think his end game is to take out the Gallagher’s. When the shit went down with the Russians, thanks to Georgina and her jealousy, the Bianchi’s and Gallagher’s dismissed your father as a nobody. They didn’t treat him with respect, and that made him look less than worthy to some of his men—”

“That’swhy some of the men left.”

“Yes.They didn’t see him as a true leader. None of that is the pressing issue, however. He’s currently working with someone. I’m not sure who because the meetings are closed and he goes alone. I’ve tried to follow him, but he loses me before I can get close. He’s never done this before, not even with the Russians.”

Fuck.Who could he be working with?

---