2. Felik

FELIK

As soon as I saw my brother's name flash across my phone screen, I had to hold in a groan. He never called for a good reason. Usually, it was to bitch at me for not upholding my duties to my family or not living up to our father's legacy. Some bullshit like that.

Over the years, I'd let that roll right off my shoulders. These days… It got to me more and more. It was the same old song and dance. I wished, more than once, that he would just leave me the fuck alone.

But what he never did was give up quietly, so I bit the bullet and answered the call. "Hey, Vince. What's up?"

"What's up? You know, you're the only person who asks me that because everyone else in the family knows what the fuck is up. Because they're here, Felik. Working. For me. Which you should be doing."

I rolled my eyes and leaned back, pulling off my glasses so I could rub the bridge of my nose without them getting in the way. "Uh-huh." I liked how he said "for me" and not for the family. Our alpha father would pitch a fit if he heard that. But that man was dead, and Vince had taken over.

He exhaled loudly, dramatically, like he was already tired of this conversation. For the record, I was too. "Well, that changes now, baby brother. I have a bit of a…project that I need you to take on."

"What kind of project?" I sat forward, ready to turn him down if he expected me to go hunt down some cartel thugs or human traffickers. That wasn't my style. I wasn't raised in the family business like my half-brothers were. My omega father was a staff member for the Mennettis until he died when I was just a toddler. I learned just enough to be dangerous and just enough to know that it wasn't the life for me.

As soon as I was old enough to be shipped off to boarding school, I was whisked away and rarely saw my family. At least, that was how it had been until Vince, my oldest brother, took over last year and was suddenly trying to bring me back into the fold.

I'd made it clear that I wasn't interested in being one of his guards, and certainly not for the things he was obsessed with, like power and territory and money. I had just passed the bar exam and had resumes out to the most prestigious law firms in the country. I didn't expect to get a great job right away, but ultimately, I wanted to help men like my omega father.

Men who didn't have power or territory or money but still deserved to have their freedom, regardless of their class or status.

"Don't get your panties in a wad, Fee. It's easy. Actually, I'd do it myself if my face wasn't so recognizable."

"Well, spit it out already."

I could almost hear his grin as he finally said, "I need you to seduce an omega, get information out of him, and bring him to me."

"Why?"

"What do you care? You claim to have no interest in the business, so now is hardly the time to start questioning me. Just be glad I'm not making you do something that might get your manicured fingernails dirty." He'd always been a jerk, but now that he had the title of leader of our family to back it up, his ego was intolerable.

"I'll do it, but…" I couldn't exactly go into detail as to why I would likely fail miserably at the art of seduction, but I was very likely to fail miserably. "I'm not much of a player, Vince. I mean, is this guy even good-looking?"

"Who the fuck cares what he looks like? He's a warm hole for your knot. You don't need to worry about anything more than that. Just get him to like you and bring him home to meet the family. It's not that hard, Felik. For once, can you just put the family first and do what we ask of you?"

Fuck. I really had no good reason to say no, which meant I had to say yes or face Vince's wrath. Lately, he had been unhinged. "Fine, I'll do it. Who is this guy, anyway?"

"His name is Jeremiah Ferrini, and he's at Stanford. You'll need to sign up for some classes or get a job there or something so you can get in close with him."

"Sign up for classes at Stanford? It's not like the local community college. It's practically Ivy League. You think I can just show up there and take a class?" Never mind the fact that Vince wanted me to seduce a member of the Ferrini family. The most notorious crime family in our state, and the one that Vince so badly wanted to take down in order to take over their territory. From what I'd heard, his plan was dumb as fuck, but I wasn't going to tell him that.

"Really, you're gonna give up before you even start?" His disdain was evident even through the phone. "Can't you just figure shit out on your own, please? I don't have time to solve every problem for you, Fee. Just get close to him and don't let him know your last name. It's not that fucking hard."

"Whatever. I'll figure it out, but I'm gonna need some time. It's not an overnight thing."

"You've got till school's out in May. When he comes home from school, you need to make sure he comes here. Got it?"

Three months wasn't a long time to win the heart of a complete stranger, but it didn't seem impossible. From what I'd heard, omegas were usually pretty easy to seduce… at least for most alphas. I hadn't put much effort into dating or even hooking up, so it might take me that long just to work up the nerve to say hi. "Yeah, I got it."

"Good." He clicked his tongue and made some noise in the background. "Do you need any other information or can I consider you on the job?"

My jaw clenched, and I held back everything I really wanted to say. "Yeah, I'm on it. I know a professor there who should let me audit one of his classes. I'll make it work."

"Okay, then. That's what I like to hear."

"Hey, Vince." I cleared my throat, not sure I wanted the answer, but I had to ask it. "What do you plan to do with this guy once you meet him?"

Vince laughed as if I'd just told him a joke. "Use him as leverage. I want something his family has. Either they give it up in a nice little trade. Or we get rid of him. Either way, you'll finally prove your usefulness to this family. Don't disappoint me, Fee."

I didn't like the way his voice went all low and sinister there, but I was used to it. What I wasn't used to was participating in what would likely amount to kidnapping and accessory to murder. "I won't, Vince."

Before he could say anything else, I disconnected the call and sucked in a deep breath.

In two, three, four. Out two, three, four.

My breathing exercises usually calmed me down pretty quickly, but I had a feeling I wouldn't be able to take a full breath until this whole Jeremiah Ferrini thing was well behind me.