18. Vinnie

18

VINNIE

I slam the door to my grandfather’s office. “You fucking son of a bitch.”

He clears his throat from behind his desk. “Good morning to you too, Vincent.”

“ Your move, Cobra? You had a man killed and placed in Raven Bellamy’s bed. His throat slit. With a message. For me .”

He folds his hands neatly in front of him. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

I cross the office and pound my fists against the wood of his desk. “That’s a crock, and we both know it. It’s probably all over the news.”

“If it happened at the Bellamys’ home? No, it’s not all over the news.” He strokes his chin. “They kept their son’s incarceration quiet eight years ago. It was only on local news, and that was only because a cop was killed. The killer’s name was rarely mentioned.”

“This time it’s not a cop. It’s an attorney. An attorney from here in Austin. So I’m sure you’ve heard the news.”

He looks up at me, his face wholly noncommittal. “And what makes you think I’m involved?”

I roll my eyes. “You really think you’re smart, don’t you? You really think that you’re so big and powerful that no one will ever challenge you. You left a note, Grandpa. You know damned well you left a note. That note was for me.”

“Because it said ‘Cobra?’”

“Yep. And we both know that the only person who ever called me Cobra was Diego Vega, who’s dead. And the only other person who heard him say that was you .”

“And your own father,” Grandfather says.

“Yeah.” I stare at him from across the desk. “And I bet it was really easy for him to get out of prison and arrange a hit on a lawyer at the Bellamys’ house.”

He lets out a choking laugh. “You can’t blame me for trying.”

“Were you going to try to get Raven? Except that she wasn’t there?”

He crosses his arms. “Why would you ask me that?”

“Because the lawyer, Brick Latham, was going to the Bellamys’ home to see Raven.”

“And you think he was just in the wrong place at the wrong time,” Grandfather says. A statement, not a question.

“I don’t know.” I slink down in the chair behind me. “I don’t know how your warped mind works, which is a good thing from where I’m standing. Either the hit was for Raven, or there’s some reason you hit this Brick Latham. Did he do something to piss off the family?”

“As far as I know, Mr. Latham was an upstanding attorney at a law firm whose biggest client is Austin Bellamy and the Bellamy Ranch.”

“Yeah. And he just happened to be helping Raven Bellamy with a nonprofit organization she wants to start. And he just happened to have a date with her Friday night.”

He smirks. “I’m thinking he’s regretting that choice about now.”

“He can’t regret anything, Grandfather. The dead have no regrets.”

He widens his eyes and claps his hands. “Vincent, that was profound. I like it. I can see it engraved on a plaque somewhere in this office. The dead have no regrets .”

Anger crawls up the back of my neck. “You need to leave her alone. You need to leave the Bellamy family alone. Savannah’s a member of that family now, Grandfather. And if you have any speck of love left for your only granddaughter, leave them the fuck alone.”

He shakes his head. “This isn’t about them, Vincent. It never was.”

“No. I understand that.” I pound a fist against my chest. “It’s about me . It’s my move. What if my move is to take you out, Grandfather?”

“You’re not armed.”

“No one gets into this office armed. Do you think I need anything other than my own two hands to squeeze the life out of you, old man?” I raise a fist.

He doesn’t so much as flinch. “I can have three goons in here in the next second if you even attempt to try.”

I don’t doubt his words. Still, the other day, I grabbed him by his collar and pulled him toward me, threatening him, and he didn’t call his goons.

Which means he doesn’t consider me a threat.

He should reconsider that stance.

“So go ahead and try, Vincent,” he goads me.

“Stay the hell away from the Bellamys and I won’t have to.”

He cocks his head. “You expect me to stay away from them, yet you don’t. The lovely Ms. Bellamy showed up at your mother’s house last night.”

“She did.” I don’t bother to lie. He’s obviously having me watched. “But she came of her own accord.”

“You didn’t make her leave.”

“No, I didn’t.” I stand up again. “I’m not a fucking asshole. She had dinner with Mom and me. And Mom loved her, by the way.”

He scoffs. “Your mother is useless.”

“My mother is your only child, old man.”

He doesn’t reply.

Why should he? We both know she is.

We both know he was disgusted that his wife could only give him one child, and a girl at that.

“My mother is still my mother,” I say. “And you will treat her with respect.”

“Whether I deem her worthy of my respect depends on you, Vincent.”

“Why would your respect for my mother have anything to do with me?” I ask. “She’s your child, damn it. She gave you three grandchildren. That alone should make her worthy of your respect.”

He shrugs. “We’ll see, Vincent. We’ll see.”

“Fine. Hate my mother. Hate the whole fucking world for all I care. Just stay away from the Bellamys.”

He raises an eyebrow. “If you stay away from them, so will I.”

He wants me to say it. He wants me to stay away from Raven. I’ll try like hell, but I can’t control what she does. That woman does whatever the hell she wants. I wish I could be annoyed by her stubbornness, but I actually find it a pretty attractive trait.

I narrow my gaze at my grandfather. “So that’s the deal? You leave them alone if I do?”

“That’s the deal.”

“I don’t buy it, pops. Savannah is a Bellamy now. And I’m not staying away from my sister.”

He frowns. “Then don’t expect the Bellamys to get a free pass. Savannah made her choice. Now you need to make yours, Vincent.”

Chills skitter over my flesh.

I’m used to my grandfather making demands of me. I’m used to his serpentine horror. I’m used to him ordering me around, and I’m used to him not trusting me.

Has he truly turned his back on Savannah?

And what about his daughter? And her husband, my father?

“I want my sister in my life,” I say.

“Do you? Does your mother?”

I hesitate to speak on that. While I know my mother loves Savannah, she blames her for me being in the position that I’m in.

My grandfather continues, “Caroline made her choice. She chose to love your father. Your father chose to love her. But love is an illusion, Vincent. All it does is make you weak.”

I decide to play his own game here.

“Did your love for Serena make you weak?”

His forehead twitches. “Weaker than anything else. And I paid for it. But Serena paid for it more than you can even imagine.”

“Oh, I can imagine.”

“Can you?” He throws his hands onto his desk and leans forward. “Because what I did to you after you turned eighteen was nothing compared to what they did to Serena. Hell, what my own father and his goons did to me was nothing in comparison either.”

“Well, she’s dead now,” I say, “and like I said. The dead have no regrets.”

His face darkens. “I never said she was dead.”

I stop my jaw from dropping. “You’re telling me Serena is still alive?”

“I’m telling you that you will never know one way or the other.”

Though my grandfather refuses to look away, I see a hair of regret in his eyes. He played his hand too soon. If Serena is alive—my grandfather still has a weakness.

A weakness I can exploit.

But I’m not the same man he is.

I will never exploit an elderly woman—one who’s probably been through torturous hell—just to bring down my grandfather.

But that doesn’t mean I can’t make him think I will.

So I meet his gaze—stare him down—until he finally looks away.

He hasn’t claimed responsibility for the attorney’s death at the Bellamy house, but I know damned well he’s guilty.

Now is the chance to bring up something else I need help with.

I take a seat, never removing my gaze from the bastard who sired my mother.

“So grandfather,” I say, “about Belinda McAllister…”