Page 1 of Precious Legacy
ONE
Love doesn’t come easily when your family leads one of the notorious organized crime gangs of New York City. Life isn’t simple when you’re battling morals, jobs, and broken promises. There’s also a razor thin line between love and hate, and I tread so close to it that sometimes I struggle to discern the difference.
Ilovehating Roman Genovese. And Ihatethat once upon a time, I loved him. It’s funny what the young mind can perceive as love; how naïve we can be when we’re too immature to know any better. But I know now. It wasn’t love I felt—it was lust. Obscene lust that blinded me, and Roman took full advantage of that, like the manipulative bastard he is.
That’swhat fuels the burning sense of loathing in the pit of my stomach. Anger is the first emotion I feel when I think of him, chased by the desire to drive a knife through his stupidly pretty face.
I’d never do it. It’d cause a war between families, and I love my family, no matter what. The alliance we’ve all forged has done ridiculously well in this city.
My father makes up just one of the families of The Notorious Five, aka The Five. Axel Bonanno is the founder of the organization; the one everyone fears, respects, and bows to. He inherited the position from my great uncle, a man who betrayed his family just to gain a sliver of power over the city. It’s the reason my father built his legacy the way he did—not just for the Bonanno name, but for his brothers bound by loyalty: Colombo, Lucchese, Gambino, and Genovese. Together, they’re the five pillars that became the leading crime syndicate in New York City.
Tonight is my birthday, and we’ve all come together to celebrate. Though this party is more for my twin brother than me.
A while back, my father decided it was finally time to step down and let Alvaro take the reins, so he’s been preparing for retirement, making plans with my mom to spend more quality time together. Of course, Alvaro is more than capable, so it’s not like he’s got anything to prove. My dad thinks the sun pretty much shines out of every orifice when it comes to my twin. He can’t do anything wrong in his eyes, even when he fucks up.
Unfortunately, it’s a different story for me entirely. I’m not exactly the daughter of the year—or the past five years, for that matter—since I declared I didn’t want anything to do with the family business. Mom’s totally supportive, and so is my Aunt Lexie—they didn’t grow up in this life like I did, so they understand why I’d choose to walk away. Dad’s still on the fence about setting me free. Actually, he’s more on the other side of the fence, giving me the evil eye from afar. Even tonight, as my father stands across the room, seemingly in deep conversation with Uncle Noah, I know his attention is firmly on me. Too bad the intensity of his glare only encourages me to act out. Nothing I do is ever good enough, so defying him has become a talent I’ve honed.
My gaze bounces through the crowd, taking in the groups of friends and family clinking glasses and laughing over the music. Everyone’s here tonight; the Gambinos, Luccheses… even the O’Sullivans have made an appearance. Roman’s parents, the Genoveses are around here somewhere, and I’ve already seen Aunt Lexie—though I don’t want to revisit that memory because I’m almost certain I caught her and Uncle Trigger fucking in the bathroom—and the DJ is in the far corner, blaring the playlist Haldon Gambino curated for the party.
The beat travels through the room, the bass thumping through my chest. It’s no surprise that Haldon’s talent is in music, since Gambino Enterprises owns half the clubs in Hell’s Kitchen. Haldon has followed in his father’s footsteps completely—the looks, the lines, the leadership. The Five is slowly handing the mantle down to the next generation. They’re in line to take something from this—even me, before I made the decision to separate myself from the syndicate—but the biggest shoes to fill belong to my father.
I return my attention to my mortal enemy, Roman Genovese, as he makes his rounds through the crowded room. His tattooed hands clutch other people’s, shaking them with graceful conviction, feigning smiles I’m all too familiar with. His entire presence grabs the attention of everyone in the room, even me, and I hate it.
You might think that with our parents being best friends, their kids would follow in their footsteps.
Not. A. Chance.
We’re enemies. My hatred towards him is built on the plight of our past. Our history forged my emotions, and now every time I look at the jerk, I want to rip his tongue out and shove it up his ass. The only thing stopping me right now is the room full of people I’m standing in.
I can’t deny that the man is poised to go far in this world. He’s in line to take over for his father, too. Not in the immediate future, but judging by the way he holds himself, it won’t be too long before he’s commanding others to do his dirty work. And I can’t wait for the day. He’ll demolish everything in his wake, just like he did to me, and I’ll revel in that moment. Until then, I’ll just stick to the shadows, keep my distance, and pretend that I actually want to be here.
“If you keep glaring like that, he might combust,” my brother comments from beside me.
“I wish,” I mutter, grabbing an open champagne bottle from a passing waiter’s tray.
Alvaro chuckles, shaking his head. “Just make sure nobody else gets caught up in the fire.”
Rolling my eyes, I continue surveying Roman from afar. I haven’t seen him in a year, albeit briefly. He spends all his time in California now, and it’s evident from his sun-kissed glow that it’s not been strictly business. Bitterness swirls in my head as I try to ignore the other emotions he evokes in me.
Since The Five branched out to the West Coast, Roman’s been helping his father. The rest of The Five stayed here to run their outfit, which is probably a good thing. It means I don’t have to see the asshole as much.
“Are you ever going to tell me what happened between you two?” Alvaro asks, arching an inquisitive brow.
No. Not in a million years.
I could never admit that Roman Genovese, one of my brother’s best friends, stole my heart and then shattered it into a trillion, irreparable pieces. I could never tell him that his best friend’s actions resulted in one of the worst nights of my life. I refuse to talk about it, refuse to address that night—because the hatred spurs me on, drives me to never let my guard down foranyone, and pushes me to focus on the more meaningful things in my life.
There’s also the fact I don’t want to burst my brother’s bubble. Even though we’ve all grown up together, Haldon, Roman, and Alvaro have always been inseparable. But my brother is also super protective of me, and I him. If he knew the pain Roman caused me, there wouldn’t be a friendship between them anymore, that’s for sure. There’d be bloodied fists, black eyes, and maybe even a bullet wound. What Roman did is between me and him, and I plan to keep it that way.
“Shouldn’t you be mingling with your minions?” I retort, just loud enough for my twin to hear. I take a long pull off the champagne bottle, the bubbles fizzing down my throat as my eyes narrow on the tall blonde weaving through the throngs of people. His hair is brushed back, loose strands falling over his eyes and shining every time he passes beneath a strategically placed light. I remember all the times I used to run my fingers through those strands, tug on them while…fuck… I need to stop letting my thoughts run free.
“I came to check up on you,” my brother says sweetly, resting a hand on my arm.
“I’m fine,” I snap.
“Look, I know you don’t wanna tell me what happened, but you can’t continue to bottle that shit up.”
Swallowing another mouthful of the bubbly liquid, I slide my anger-filled gaze to my brother, my knuckles whitening as I grip the neck of the bottle. “Some things are better left in the past.”
