Dominic, I’m coming to realize, leads through respect. He listens and thinks through his response. You know when you’ve pissed him off and how you’d go about doing so. He’s reasonable. He leads with his mind, not his heart, which means he’s in control. Always.
Dominic Rein refuses to let emotions cloud his judgment, and for that simple fact, he’s more dangerous than Kane ever was.
“I haven’t found your scumbag wife,” I confess, unsure what else he could want from me.
Eyes pinned to mine over the rim of his glass, he sips slowly. “I know.”
Silence sits between us as he drinks slowly and I shift uncomfortably.
“Plannin’ on tellin’ me that you’re aiming for my head?”
Surely he’s not brutal enough to end me on Christmas day while my brother plays happy family with his daughters.
“No.”
I swallow, smart enough to be wary at the intensity of his stare. “Why am I here then?”
“Carmichael,” he says, placing his empty glass gently on his desk.
My fist clenches involuntarily. “He’s a dead man.”
“Correct,” he shocks me by saying. “It’s been taken care of. My Christmas present to you.”
I scowl, angered he took my revenge away from me.
He reads my reaction easily. “Rocco, one day you’ll realize that when retaliation is taken out in temper and impatience; it’s messy and more often than not incriminating.”
“Don’t patronize me,” I grit out.
“I’m not,” he responds calmly, unfazed by the animosity in my tone. “I’m being real and I’m being honest. Your anger will only get you into trouble. It will take more and more away from you until you are left with nothing.” He gestures toward the door, where Parker sits on the opposite side.
“You know, Rein, I had a dad once... he was a cunt. Not in the market for a replacement.”
His gaze drops in amusement, a tight smile at his lips. “Kane also let his anger overtake his common sense,” he insults. “He ended up losing his life because of it.”
I shoot my whiskey back, slamming the empty glass on his desk, pushing toward his with force. It meets its mark, the glasses clinking with the potent sound of disrespect.
“I don’t want that ending for you, Rocco,” he implores, moving forward to rest his elbows against his desk. “You can write a different story than Kane did. You have more up here.” He taps his temple. “And you recognize that you have more to live for.”
He lets that sink in, watching my animosity wash away in a tsunami of feelings I can’t even comprehend.
There are days when I’d tell you that I couldn’t give two shits whether I lived or died. I’m not afraid of death. If an asshole with a black hood and scythe wants to come for me, good on him. I’d welcome the journey into nothing.
Then there are the days when the thought of leaving Parker leaves me cold. Not for me. In the pit of my stomach, I know he could find happiness without me, if he’d let himself. Problem is, he wouldn’t. My younger brother has this misconceived notion that he needs me. Maybe once upon a time he did, but not anymore. The reality is that I won’t let myself fail him again. If he thinks he needs me here by his side, I’ll give him that. He’s lost enough.
“Have you found Sarah?” I shift the conversation without preamble.
“No,” he sighs.
“When you find her, I want in.”
He contemplates me, eyes set on my face in expectation. “The reason I invited you here,” he deliberates. “I want you to work for me, Rocco.”
“What?”
“It doesn’t take a genius to recognize that Parker isn’t built for this business. He enjoys running your nightclub. He’s rough, but not ruthless. And my girls would likely laugh in my face if I consider them as my succession plan.”
He’s not wrong. Camryn and Codi Rein want nothing to do with the business their father has built with his bare hands. It doesn’t take intelligence to realize that.
“And, what am I?”
“Cautious. Unafraid. Callous and ferocious as required. You’re willing to do the unspeakable.”
I bark out an unamused laugh. “Contrary to what this family believes, I’ve never killed anyone. Not by my own hand,” I add regretfully.
“Nor have I,” Dominic combats.
His declaration shocks me. I reasoned somewhere along the line, Dominic had gotten his hands dirtier than he cared to. It’s the way of the business. Or so I assumed.
“I didn’t want a hand in my father’s business, what makes you think I’d want anything to do with yours?”
Head tipped to the side, he considers me for a moment before speaking. “Because you never agreed with his ways. You didn’t want to succeed a man who brutalized you so badly.”
I hate that Kane’s wrath was and is so well known. I hate that people know he used me like a punching bag, that beating on his oldest son made him feel like a big fucking man.
Dominic is right. I didn’t want anything to do with Kane Shay and a business that was built on deceit and betrayal. Stepping into his shoes would have gifted me a one-way ticket down to Hell, effective immediately.
“I don’t deal in drugs.”
He tips his head to the side. “Again, nor do I.”
I exhale heavily. “I don’t appreciate personal matters being taken out of my hands.”
“I won’t let people in my circle put themselves in harm’s way unnecessarily.”
A rally in power-struggles. Demands and warnings thrown back and forth like simple words, only they’re drowned in threat.
I mirror his position, back pressed lazily against the chair I’m perched upon, legs splayed wide. “Access to the inner sanctum has been bestowed,” I muse sarcastically. “Just needed to threaten your daughter’s life.”
“Hiding your respect and appreciation through sarcasm won’t get you far in my world, Rocco,” he scolds. “I appreciate your honesty, your straightforwardness. Don’t be a fool to make yourself look tough.”
Being schooled by a crime boss isn’t at the top of my Christmas list. Frankly, it’s downright stupid. I don’t have an army at my back to wage war on Dominic Rein. Not that I’d care to. The man has done nothing but offer my brother and I safe harbor and forgiveness, which was far more than we warranted.
“What do you want from me?”
“Eventually, I’m going to need a second-in-charge, someone I trust to make decisions for and with me. Someone who isn’t afraid to dirty their hands or fight for my family legacy.”
I feel my eyebrows pull together, shock and confusion twisting my stomach into knots. “Our families were at war for years.”
“Were,” he emphasizes. “As far as I’m concerned, that war died along with your father. If you can see past his grievances to build something stronger, I can do the same.”
I scratch at the back of my neck, my mouth uncomfortably dry. “Why me?”
“Loyalty can’t be bought, Rocco. It’s either there, or it’s not. You’d do everything in your incredible power to protect your brother, which means you’d also do anything to protect my daughters. You have buy-in into this family, whether you wanted it or not. I don’t trust you because I know you, I trust you because of the loyalty you hold for Parker.”