4
Brielle
“Happy baby shower, sis.” Lorenzo hands Dani a card and kisses her temple.
My sister-in-law Dani is due next month with a precious little girl. When I suggested planning a shower, wanting to celebrate her pregnancy, she and Matteo insisted they had everything they needed, but that didn’t stop me from renting out Pasquale’s—their favorite Italian restaurant—to throw them a luncheon anyway.
Dani is one of the sweetest women I’ve ever met, and she and my brother deserve to be doted on before the baby comes. They’ve been through so much this past year, and a little celebrating is good for the soul. Since they didn’t need anything for the baby, I told everyone to get them something creative.
Dani opens the card from her brother, and it’s for a day at the spa. A card from my mom and her husband—who are out of town on vacation, living their best lives—is for baby-and-me classes.
As my other sister-in-law, Peyton, gushes about how much she loves the classes, I keep a smile on my face even though I feel out of place. Not only is Peyton a mother to my three nephews—Damien, five, and twins, Justin and Adam, nine months old—but she and my brother Dominick are happily in love. And now that Dani and Matteo are together with a baby on the way, they’ll have marriage and babies to bond over. Meanwhile, all I have is a dead boyfriend, a womb that once carried a baby that was ripped out of me, and an ex who couldn’t satisfy me in the bedroom.
My thoughts go back to last night, but I quickly push them to the side, refusing to think about the one man who not only gave me the control I’d craved, but satisfied me in a way that was life-altering.
I force myself into the present when Peyton and Dominick give Dani and Matteo a voucher for a weekend away with babysitting duty included.
“Trust me, after the baby comes, you’re going to need it,” Peyton says with a laugh, and my heart cracks because they have what I want and fear I’ll never have.
When Peyton turns her attention on me, I shake myself out of my thoughts and pull the envelope out of my purse.
“Here’s my gift,” I say to Dani and Matteo. “It’s not as creative.” I side-eye Peyton, who sticks her tongue out at me playfully.
“What is this?” Dani asks once she opens it and is reading it.
“It’s your baby’s first investment. I took out stock, and once she’s born, I’ll transfer it into her name. I want her to have something of her own so she never feels like she’s dependent on anyone,” I choke out and then clear my throat, trying not to let my emotions get the better of me. “And every year, for her birthday and holidays, I’m going to add to it.”
“Bri,” Dani says in awe, “this is so thoughtful. Thank you.”
“Yeah,” Peyton agrees. “You just got the twins a stroller.”
I laugh. “I actually got them each one as well.” I go back to my purse and pull out the other three envelopes I was going to give to Peyton and Dominick later. “One for each of the twins and one for Damien. I know their parents are rich, but …” I shrug.
I want my niece and nephews to always have some sort of independence, unlike I had, growing up. It wasn’t until I moved to Russia and went to work for my dedushka that I experienced any type of real independence.
At his gas company, Gazcom, I started as a junior accountant and worked my way up to becoming the CFO, earning myself a damn good paycheck. When he decided to sell the company, he offered it to me, but I knew I wouldn’t live in Russia forever and that while I was good with numbers, it wasn’t my passion. A year later, he passed away, and six months after that, my babushka joined him in heaven.
I was shocked to learn that besides a small sum they’d put aside for my brothers, they’d left everything else to me, including the home I’d lived in with them for over four years.
I considered staying in Russia, but when Dominick came to get me, I agreed to come back to Harbor Point, having missed my family.
When Dani pulls me into a hug and thanks me, my eyes and nose sting with emotion, and I shake my head, needing to move on to something less emotional, like dessert.
“Okay, enough of that,” I tell her. “I think it’s time for some—”
My words are cut off as the last person I expected to see walks through the front door of Pasquale’s. He’s dressed in a gray business suit, looking as sharp as he did last night. His brown hair is messy, and he hasn’t shaved his face.
My heart thumps in my chest as I remember the way his stubble left bumps along the insides of my thighs when he ate me out.
And then his golden-brown eyes lock with mine, and I suck in a harsh breath.
Did he follow me here?
Before I can find out, the guards are on him.
“Sorry, the restaurant is closed,” Ian, one of my brother’s guards, says.
I’m about to tell them that Kane is here for me—because why else would he be here?—when he says, “Actually, I’m here for the baby shower.”
He holds up a small wrapped package and smirks, and I stumble back in confusion because how the hell does he know about the baby shower? I definitely didn’t mention it last night.
“And you are?” Dominick asks, taking the lead, like he always does.
“Kane Morgan.” He attempts to step around the guards, but they stop him.
He sighs as if they’re nothing more than a nuisance, and then he shocks the hell out of me when he adds, “I believe you all are responsible for killing the majority of my family.”
“Fuck,” Lorenzo hisses. “I knew I recognized the name.” He steps toward Kane. “You’re Kane Morgan, owner of Morgan Enterprises.”
“The one and only.” Kane grins, but it’s not the same grin he gave me last night. It’s cold and calculated.
“And what the fuck do you think you’re doing here?” Matteo asks, joining the conversation. “You thought you’d come in here and what? Take us out in the middle of a restaurant that’s under our protection with our guards standing right here?”
Kane laughs, and my heart plummets because this man—the one I thought was different, the one I opened up to last night—is clearly a threat to my family.
“That’s not the kind of revenge I’m interested in,” Kane says to Matteo. “The best kind of revenge is success.” He unbuttons and opens his suit jacket. “Feel free to check me. I’m not armed.” He tosses the gift to Matteo, who catches it and drops it onto the table behind him. “For my niece or nephew.” He glances at Dani. “Congrats, by the way. It’s a shame my brother isn’t here to watch his child grow up.”
His words cause a shiver to race down my spine because only family knows that their baby isn’t biologically Matteo’s. She was conceived when Dani’s husband kidnapped and raped her, but the moment Matteo found out she was pregnant, he accepted the baby as his own. They told us the truth, not wanting there to be secrets in our family, but nobody else knows.
Except Kane. He knows, which means he’s been stalking my family.
“Don’t fucking talk to my wife,” Matteo sneers. “That baby is ours. End of story.”
Kane raises his arms in a silent I’m not a threat sort of way, and the guards pat him down. Once they’ve confirmed he’s not carrying any kind of weapon, they nod toward my brothers to let them know he’s clean.
“So many deaths over women.” Kane shakes his head. “All I want is to save my father’s legacy.”
“Your father?” Dominick steps toward him. “You mean the man who kept you hidden?”
“You mean the man who kept his cards close to his chest,” Kane replies. “Who left me his entire empire.”
As I try to connect the dots, Lorenzo says, “The third party who bought Rothschild International,” but I have no idea what he’s talking about since my brothers don’t keep me in the loop regarding their business dealings.
When I returned home, my relationship with my brothers was a bit shaky because I had spent years thinking they knew Anthony had raped me and Andrey had forced me to have an abortion, only to learn that they had been kept in the dark.
I was pissed at Dominick for forcing me to come home, but I also understood that I had been hiding from Harbor Point, not wanting to face my past.
I thought Dominick would ask me to join the family business, especially since Peyton did, but he never broached the subject. And since I let my pride get the better of me, I never brought it up to him, in fear of him turning me away. Which is honestly for the best because I don’t have the desire to work for Antonov Enterprises—I think, deep down, I just wanted the option to do so.
“Joseph was grooming me to work alongside him. Only he died before I could officially do so,” Kane says, forcing me to snap out of my thoughts … because what in the Jerry Springer? Joseph, Anthony’s father, who was also Enrique’s father, is Kane’s father as well?
“He knew Anthony was a loose cannon,” Kane continues. “His only hope was the marriage he arranged with your family …” His eyes go to mine, and bile rises in my throat as I realize, last night, he knew who I was. “And Enrique was too emotional,” he adds. “He never would’ve cut it in the business world.”
“You don’t seem too torn up about your brother’s death,” Dominick notes.
“He chose to make it personal,” Kane says, his gaze bouncing from me to Dani. “I loved my brother, but I warned him to keep it strictly business. He chose to avenge our father’s death his way, and he got what was coming to him. He was a grown man who knew the risks.”
Business.
That’s all I was to Kane last night.
Business.
That’s why he’d sought me out.
Let me take control.
It was part of his revenge.
“And what makes you think we won’t kill you the same way we killed the rest of your family?” Matteo says.
“I haven’t done anything to you.” Kane shrugs, not taking the threat to his life seriously—even though we both know my brother would shoot him point-blank in the head without thought. “And from what I’ve observed, you both are honorable men.”
Honorable … what a fucking joke. My brothers and Lorenzo might be honorable, but Kane is nothing but a deceitful asshole who played with my emotions last night.
“Get to the point,” Matteo demands, obviously losing his patience. “What do you want?”
“I want what my father was owed,” Kane says easily. “Our families made an agreement years ago, and I’m here to collect. A third of the business and”—his eyes go straight to me—“her.”
Oh my God.
My heart starts to race as I wrap my head around Kane’s words.
He wants to marry me.
The way Anthony was supposed to marry me.
This can’t be happening again.
Thankfully, before my panic attack hits, Dominick says, “My sister isn’t a chess piece to play with. Besides”—he grins—“you really want the woman your brother was obsessed with?”
“Anthony wanted her,” Kane says, his gaze not leaving mine, “but—let’s be honest—he never had her.”
He smirks, no doubt remembering that he had me last night, and I sneer his way, which only makes his smirk strengthen.
“Our father’s biggest mistake was thinking with his dick, the same way Anthony and Enrique did.”
“I never wanted him,” I hiss. “The same way I’ll never want you. You’re barking up the wrong tree.”
Kane laughs—and not just a small laugh, but a full-blown belly laugh. “We’ll see about that.”
He slides his tongue across the seam of his lips, and I glare, hating that I was stupid enough to be with him. Nothing I say will change that he was already buried in my pussy, and he knows it.
“How about this?” Kane says, moving his focus from me to my brothers. “You guys think on it, and while you’re doing so, keep in mind that I’ve already gotten the approval for my Section 8 housing project that will conveniently be built adjacent to your waterfront project, thanks to the newly appointed city official and a certain video that involves him snorting powder off a prostitute’s ass.”
“What a fucking cliché,” Dominick mutters dryly, trying to appear unaffected when I know he’s pissed.
The South Harbor Point waterfront expansion is his baby. He’s already dished out millions of dollars and spent thousands of hours on it.
“You want to talk about cliché?” Kane scoffs. “When you guys were fighting with my idiot brothers, I bought out twenty acres of waterfront property right out from under your noses. I honestly thought it would be harder than that.” He shakes his head and tsks. “But it was like taking candy from a baby. And you know why?” He pauses for dramatic effect. “Because you are no different from my father and brothers. You’re so busy thinking with your hearts and dicks that you can’t make proper business decisions.”
“Jesus fuck,” Lorenzo bites out. “You not only resuscitated a dying company, but you got enough funds to purchase all that property—and for what? Revenge?” He whistles softly. “A for fucking effort, man.”
I glance around, unsure what’s going to happen now that Kane has thrown down the gauntlet when Matteo pulls out his gun and points it directly at Kane’s head.
Dani and Peyton gasp while Dominick and Lorenzo step toward Matteo to show a united front. And I stand frozen in my spot as memories of my father killing my boyfriend flash before my eyes.
“Please don’t do this,” I beg as my father’s men grab Owen’s arms and twist them behind his back. “Please, Dad, I love him.”
My eyes meet my father’s, and it’s in this moment that I realize my mistake. I was trying to appeal to his emotions, but how do you do that when he doesn’t even have a heart?
I should’ve promised to leave him alone, but it’s too late to take my words back because at my father’s demand, one of his men pulls out his gun and, before I can stop him, shoots Owen between the eyes.
“Stop it!” I scream, caught somewhere between the past and present. “No more bloodshed,” I plead. “Please. I’ll … I’ll marry him.”
“Bri, no,” Dominick says.
“Yes,” I hiss. “I can’t keep doing this. Owen, Anthony, Enrique, Lorenzo and Dani’s parents …” My baby, I think, but don’t voice. “So much fucking blood on everyone’s hands. You guys were supposed to be making this place safer. You have three babies,” I say to Dominick. “A baby on the way,” I tell Matteo. “It’s not worth it. He’s not worth it.” I nod toward Kane but keep my eyes on my brothers. “This is never going to stop. The waterfront expansion is your dream, and I’m not going to be the reason you don’t get it.”
“Fuck the expansion,” Dominick barks. “You’re more important.” He steps toward me. “I’m not letting you marry that asshole.”
“Fuck him,” Matteo agrees, then glances at Kane. “I’ll kill you in your sleep, and then it will all be over.”
“Except I left everything to my mom,” Kane notes, throwing yet another curveball.
“Your mom is dead,” Dominick points out.
“Wrong.” Kane chuckles. “You guys were so focused on getting my brother that you didn’t dig deep enough.” He glances at Lorenzo. “Your dad tried to kill her when he took out my dad, but thankfully, I was close by, visiting from college, and found her in time. No one, not even Enrique, knew that she’d survived. I wasn’t about to risk her life, especially since Enrique had lost his shit after our father died, so I faked her death and hid her away to keep her safe.”
“Holy shit,” Lorenzo breathes. “I remember this now. My dad said when he showed up to kill Joseph, there was a prostitute there, but …”
“She’s not a fucking prostitute!” Kane barks. “She was a woman in love with a man who was forced to be with someone else.”
“And yet you’re going to force our sister to marry you,” Matteo points out.
“He did what he did for the success of his business, and I don’t fault him for that,” Kane says. “The only way to ensure that our families are unified is through marriage and producing an heir. That’s why our fathers made that deal, and that’s what we’re going to do.” His eyes bounce between each of us. “My father lived and breathed and died for this city, and I want it back for him.”
“Why would you want to be part of a family who doesn’t want you?” Peyton asks.
“Because while I’m powerful on my own, the power of the three families is stronger, and I want to honor what my father wanted, even in his death. Matteo and Daniella already secured the alliance between the Antonovs and Russos, so that just leaves us.” Kane looks at me. “I don’t just want marriage. I also want a baby.”
I suck in a harsh breath, trying like hell not to cry.
He wants a baby … with me.
All my hopes of finding a man who will love me are thrown out the window.
Of creating a baby out of love …
Rather than stopping the vicious cycle, like my brothers did, we’ll be continuing it.
“Bri, you don’t have to do this,” Matteo mutters. “We’ll figure out another way.”
“I can’t let you do that,” I murmur. “He’s covered his bases, and if I don’t marry him, you’ll not only lose the waterfront expansion, but there’ll be bloodshed.”
And I can’t have more blood on my hands.
“I’ll marry you,” I tell him.
He nods. “You have a month, during which time I’ll publicly court you and then we’ll announce our engagement and plan the wedding.”
“Bri …” Matteo sighs. “I thought you wanted to marry for love. And what about Theodore?”
“She broke up with him yesterday,” Kane says with a smirk that I want to smack off his face.
“How the fuck do you know that?” Matteo barks.
“Stop.” I rest my hand on Matteo’s arm, not wanting to explain that I slept with Kane last night. “I broke up with Theo last night. I got to experience love once, and I knew Theo wasn’t the one for me. Besides, I’m starting to think that maybe we’re only destined to fall in love once in our lifetime.”
“Bri …” Dani begins, but I shake my head.
“I want to do this for you guys … for our family.” I glance at Dominick. “Make sure Kevin double-checks the contract. I’ll be pissed if I do this and that asshole still finds a way to fuck you and your waterfront expansion over.” Kevin is the attorney my brothers have on retainer.
“ ‘That asshole’ isn’t going to fuck anyone over,” Kane says. “As soon as the marriage is official and you guys include Morgan Enterprises as an equal investor in the waterfront project, I’ll sign the twenty acres over to the project.”
“And what if I can’t have a baby?” I ask.
“You can,” Kane says confidently. “I had your records pulled. You’re healthy and able to conceive.” He grins. “I look forward to making a baby with you.”
“I think I just threw up in my mouth,” I mumble.
Kane chuckles and steps back. “I’ll let you guys get back to it.” He looks at Dominick. “I’ll be in touch.”
We watch him walk out the door, and once he’s gone, I release a harsh breath.
“I think it’s time for cake,” I say, trying to lighten the mood, only there’s no use because the afternoon has been ruined, and thanks to Kane, so has my entire future.
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