Page 53 of Precious Legacy
“I can’t make that promise.”
She pushes away from me, creating distance that feels like too much, too soon. “Thisis why I didn’t tell anyone.”
“Why?” I frown. “Because we care?”
“Because you’re looking at me like I’m some broken toy, Roman. I’m not broken, and you don ’t need to fix me. I just…” A stray tear escapes her rage filled eyes. “This is somethingIhave to domyway.”
“Why the NYPD?” I question. My tone comes out harsher than intended, enough to make Lani push away and glare at me.
“Because I’m not likeyou.I’m not like my dad, or my brother, or anyone who thinks violence is the goddamn answer!”
“Isn’t it, though?” I challenge, stepping towards her. The fear in her eyes gives me pause. “You’re a Bonanno. Violence is in your blood.”
My words make her shiver, her eyes rounding and lowering to the floor. “Didn’t you hear my dad? I’m not a Bonanno anymore.”
She doesn’t mean it, despite how resolute his words sounded. Her father just blew up in here and took her by surprise. She hasn’t had time to filter through her feelings, and they’re clearly merging into one another—because if there’s one thing I know about Alanis Bonanno, is that she loves her family more than anything.
“Who was it?” I grit out.
It feels like the room stands still as I stare at Alanis, and there’s no mistaking the fear in her eyes. My blood boils over and I clench my fists to prevent myself from doing something stupid. I swear, if it’s somebody we know, all hell is about to break loose. I’ll rip them limb from limb until they’re begging for fucking mercy.
“Forget it!” Alanis dismisses, spinning on her heel and heading towards the bedroom.
She should know better than to end a conversation when we’re not done, though. I march towards her, catching up in just a few strides. Grabbing for her hand, I twist her around and press her against the wall with my body. There’s no escaping the conversation now that I have my arms caging her in. There’s nowhere for her to go except to face me head on. Though she could definitely fight me on this, the exhaustion in her posture tells me she’s not going to.
“Who was it, Presh?” I repeat, pinning her with an agitated glare.
Her eyes flicker with another wave of fear before she looks up at me and exhales loudly. “I only recognized one of them. Ashton Greedy.”
Sweat rolls down my face and chest as I pound my fists into the punching bag. Rage controls my movements, something I try to avoid when I’m in the gym, but I’m imagining Ashton Greedy’s fucking face right now. I want to smash it into pieces, then stick it back together and start all over again until there’s nothing left. I want to pummel him into the ground until his bones turn to dust. But even that wouldn’t be enough for what he did to my girl. For what I allowed to happen by abandoning her.
I didn’t even consider her safety when I left. I was young and dumb, fueled by ambition and selfish as fuck. I knew Alanis didn’t want me to go, but I also thought she’d be waiting for me when I got back. The connection we share only comes around once in a lifetime. I figured I’d go away for a few years, establish myself in the business, and when I got back, we’d pick up right where we left off.How stupid I was.
I didn’t even realize how wrong I was until I returned and she didn’t fall back into my arms like I’d hoped. I figured I’d just put in a little extra effort to win her over, but now… well, I’m finally realizing how reckless I was in making those decisions all those years ago. Now, I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to truly fix what I’ve broken.
Alanis is one of a kind. One minute she’s vulnerable, and the next she’s passed out beside me, curled into my chest like she didn’t just have the morning from hell. Yesterday definitely took it out of her. Between her father’s visit and the truth behind her reason to join the Police Academy, she was exhausted.Which means I didn’t get any sleep after that because all I could think about was what it would feel like to have Ashton Greedy pleading for his life. How fucking glorious it would be reap revenge on the asshole who touched my girl.
I have one thing on my mind now—revenge. I’m going to make Greedy hurt in ways he’s never felt before. I’ve already contacted Cillian to get a location on the guy, which won’t be difficult because the man is a three-time UFC champion with the largest sponsorship in history. His face has been plastered around the city for years, and Alanis has had to see it every single time she stepped outside.
My blood ripples with disciplined fury.Jab, hook; I punch the bag until my knuckles ache, but it’s not enough. I need to get my hands on Greedy.
His disappearance will be noticed immediately, but that’s okay. I plan on making his last hours on earth memorable enough that the last thing he’ll remember is not to mess with The Five. He can take that parting gift to hell with him, waiting for me to meet him there for round two.
I understand why Alanis wants to take the moral high ground, but that’s not me. It’s not in my blood to stand by and let a piece of shit like Ashton get away with beating and raping a woman and leaving her for dead. It’s not in me to let justice play its card. I’m going to be the justice he deserves. I’ll be his judge, jury, and motherfucking executioner. There will be nothing left of him when I’m done.
Violent thoughts swirl around my head, scenarios of how I’m going to make him pay, how I’m going to ensure I’m the last thing he sees before he slinks to the underworld. She may want to bide her time and deal with her revenge in her own way—the right way, she called it—but I sure as shit am not letting it slide.
I’m so caught up in my need to cause pain that I barely register the presence of someone else until I’m knockedsideways, my baseball cap flying off my head as it snaps to the right. A fist slams into my jaw and makes me stumble, pain radiating through my mouth.
“You fucking knew?” Alvaro screams furiously, eyes dangerously dark and tone lethal.
Rubbing my jaw, I take a step back from the bag to create some distance between me and my best friend, raising my hands in surrender. I don’t want to get into a fight because I’ll probably wipe the floor with him, but that’s not to say I won’t do it if I need to. “Look, bro...”
“I’m not your fuckingbro!” he seethes. “You’re my fucking best friend and you kept this from me!” Varo advances, shoving me in the chest. He looks murderous with his twin’s eyes glaring daggers into me, and with the way his jaw ticks over, I’ll bet he’s preparing to throw down another hit.
“It was up to Alanis,” I tell him, though I don’t know why he’d be so pissed. He should be wanting to nail down the assholes who hurt his sister instead of coming at me.
“Oh, really,” he scoffs. “And you’re okay with this?”
