The Mafia Contract Series

When Alessandro fills me in on what happened, I feel my blood boiling and it takes every ounce of restraint I have left in me to stop myself from heading to Winter and dragging her by my side. She was hurt, and it was because I gave her freedom with no protection and allowed somebody to get close to her.

Alessandro is watching my reaction and I know he is wondering what happens next. It’s a madness we share. A hunger for violence, for retribution and for dishing out our own form of personal justice.

I keep my thoughts locked in my mad world for most of the time, but when it concerns my twin, it unleashes the monster within, and I know he is interested to see that side of me.

I almost can’t breathe. It surrounds me like a poisonous gas, seeping into my bloodstream and corrupting my soul. Winter was hurt. Just one blow is enough to send me feral and even though I know my sister can handle herself, she shouldn’t have to. Eden has overstepped the mark and it won’t be pretty for her and so I say in a low voice, “Bring Winter to the house after class. We need to lay down the law.”

I almost think Alessandro feeds off my anger because his eyes flash with excitement that is unusual. We don’t get excited. Nothing challenges us here, and we are biding our time until we can unleash our anger on an unsuspecting world.

Even Miss English can’t distract me today and the fact I ignore her all lesson annoys her a little and as the bell rings she says sharply, “Angelo, a word.”

The fact I stand and walk past her desk is one big ‘go fuck yourself’ and as I reach the hallway, my friends fall into step behind and beside me. Yes, we are closing ranks and they didn’t need to be told. It’s a sixth sense we have and now the mood has shifted because Winter was hurt.

Alessandro breaks away and heads in the opposite direction to bring my sister to me. I know better than to go myself because she wouldn’t come if I carried her kicking and screaming. She won’t be able to refuse Alessandro because that guy never takes no for an answer and his brute strength will be all it takes to carry her across campus against her will. I know Winter can fight, hell I taught her myself but only Ivan can match Alessandro in strength, which entertains us when we watch them practice on one another in the boxing ring we set up in one of the many empty rooms in our house.

We have named our house, The Edge of the Abyss, and it certainly feels like that. A holding cell ready to release the demons of Hell into the world.

Ready to kill, maim and corrupt at the command of our fathers.

Every single one of us has our future mapped out already, and yet we have a different one in mind. Bonds and loyalties are formed at college, and I doubt any of our fathers saw this one coming. We may all come from different families on the outside world, but we belong to a stronger more united one now and when we leave the gates of Rockwell Academy, we do it as one solid unit that will be bound by more than just who created us.

“What’s your plan?”

Malik falls into step beside me, and I say darkly, “We need to send a message and show people not to mess with my sister. I should have known this would happen and if I’m mad at anyone, it’s myself.”

“Do you think she’ll be happy about that?”

“No.” He laughs softly beside me, and I grin, the twisted one of a fucked-up mind and say darkly, “Clear out the top floor and make it fit for a princess.

It’s about time Winter fell into line.”

“She’s moving in.” He sounds surprised, but he shouldn’t. It was always going to happen because I can’t operate knowing she is so close yet out of my sight. All the time she was at Glendale, I could breathe. Nobody knew us there. She had anonymity and was locked up in a girl’s school, safe for now.

Then my bastard father ruined everything and sent her here, the place where grudges run deep, and people’s dreams of revenge are acted on. I have many enemies here, hell we all do and that’s because we treat these people like dogs. They hate us yet crave the madness that surrounds us, and Winter is now involved in that.

Just picturing her caught up in a fight makes my blood boil. She could have been hurt–badly hurt, and she remains my only focus. The fact Eden messed up Claudia’s face is no concern of mine. One night of pleasure has earned her a semester of trouble, and I couldn’t give a fuck about that. She liked it enough when she wrapped her willing legs around me and pulled me in deep. She loved the consecutive orgasms I gave her and the night of pure pleasure. She wasn’t complaining when she woke in my arms and I did it all over again, and even when I brought her pancakes and fed her myself, she didn’t regret a thing.

To her credit, she walked away with her head held high, with none of the insecurities many have in the cold light of day. She even thanked me and for a moment I almost considered inviting her back that night, but our rule is there for a reason. No attachments and no baggage, except now I have one big problem, and that’s keeping Winter safe.

We reach the house and as we head inside, I throw my bag on the couch and head straight to the kitchen and chug down a cold beer. Throwing one to each of my friends, we sit at the island and Malik sighs heavily. “We’ll need to clean this place up. It’s disgusting, the cleaners aren’t due for two more days.”

“Fuck that.” Ivan growls, “Get someone in, I’m no maid.”

For a moment we laugh because the thought of the huge, tattooed beast wielding a mop is an amusing one and Flynn grins. “I don’t know. I quite fancy myself with a feather duster.”

“Fucking pussy.”

Ivan shoots him a taunting smile and Flynn shrugs. “Then again, I could tear its head off and stick the pole up your ass. Would you like that, big boy?

I heard you like a bit of kink.”

“Fuck, Flynn, are you looking to meet your maker or something?” I shake my head as Ivan growls and Flynn just flips him the bird and a grin.

Malik, ever practical, says with interest, “How will it work and what happens when we party?”

“That’s why she has the top floor. She can stay up there and keep out of it. There’s a key to the door at the foot of the stairs. We lock her in.”

“Man, she’s gonna be pissed at you.” Flynn shakes his head and I shrug.

“Couldn’t give a fuck. Winter knows how these things operate. She will probably prefer it, knowing no horny fucker will be crashing her private space, which reminds me.”

I throw them all a dark stare in turn. “Keep away from my sister. She’s out of bounds.”

Malik growls, “That goes without saying. You forget we know how this works.”

“Just checking.” I grab another beer and Ivan stands. “I’ve got a fight tonight; do you need me to stay?”

“No, go and play.”

He nods. “I fucking need this. All this school shit is starting to mess with my mind.”

As he heads off, I watch him go and feel a surge of pity for my angry friend. Of all of us, he finds education the hardest. He struggles academically yet has the most brilliant mind I know. Raised in Russia, he was brought here to live with the Bratva when his father was executed along with his mother.

Ivan was taken as payment for their debts and molded into a killing machine.

He cut up his first corpse, aged nine, and killed his first victim, aged seven.

He has trained as an assassin of the most volatile kind and only boxing keeps his mind straight. He is the one that concerns me the most because without us to control and guide him, he’s unstable and likely to explode.

We control Ivan to a point, but if he doesn’t find an outlet for his anger, I’m not sure we can stop him from blowing Rockwell Academy to the moon.