Precious Legacy (The Notorious Legacy #1)

Chapter 20

TWENTY

A lanis is a mess. I’ve never seen her like this; so numb and filled with hurt that I don’t know what to do. Even her hatred for me was tolerable, but this is something else. Something I don’t think I can fix.

Sure, her dad is probably right, but their conversation could’ve gone a lot differently if he’d given her a chance to explain. Because she’s not just putting the families under the spotlight, she’s putting herself at risk, too.

Even if she changed her name, it’s not like her mom isn’t known around the city. I’ve always admired Alanis’ tenacity. She’s fucking smart, but I can’tdeny that this is fucking stupid.

Dropping a kiss onto her silky black hair, we sit in silence. She’s long since finished crying, her body relaxing against mine, though I can feel the tension in her muscles from the weight of what’s just happened.

Silently, Alanis tangles her fingers with mine, curling up in my lap as we sit on the kitchen floor. She releases a long breath before she peers up at me, and my heart breaks a little. Her eyes are red and puffy, her lips swollen. She still looks as beautiful as ever, but there’s something missing from her green-eyed gaze. The spark that was once there has dimmed, and I don’t like it.

I reach down, cupping her cheek. “Tell me why you want to join the police?”

“Does it matter?” she whispers.

“It does to you.”

She casts her eyes down to where our hands are tangled in her lap, her thumb stroking over mine. She inhales deeply, licking her lips, and I practically feel the tension ripple through her body. “Because I want justice,” she mutters. “And not the type of justice The Five hands out. Real justice.”

“Justice for what?”

She presses her lips together in a tight line, and I cup her cheek, staring into her eyes.

“Talk to me, Presh. What aren’t you telling me?”

She sucks in a breath as she averts her eyes, a sob racking her body. “I was… attacked.”

My blood turns to ice in my veins, then boils with the rage of a thousand suns. All the darkness I’ve managed to keep at bay rises to the surface as I struggle to process her words. My fist clenches and Alanis grimaces, yanking her hand away.

Though she isn’t looking at me, I can sense the pain she’s trying to let go of. “It was a long time ago,” she placates. “But like I said, I want justice for it, and I want to get it the right way. I have to.”

“When the fuck did this happen?” I growl, trying not to react to the sudden revelation.

“It doesn’t matter, Ro. It happened and I?—”

Gripping her chin, I tilt her head back so I can stare into those deep green orbs. “When?” I snarl.

She swallows heavily, averting her gaze. A tear slips free and rolls down her cheek. “The night you left.”

No. That can’t be right.

“I was upset, so I drank an entire bottle of whiskey and went out,” she admits, answering my unspoken question. “To The Ravenite. I was outside about to leave, deciding whether I should go back in and confront you, when…” she trails off as a sob chokes her words.

I pull her tighter to my body, as if she’s the only thing tethering me to the present. Because if I don’t stay grounded right now, I can’t be sure what I’ll do next.

“I was just standing there, still trying to understand why you’d choose this life over me. Why you would leave when you promised me you wouldn’t… you promised you’d never leave me.” She peers up at me, sadness and anger framing her eyes. “And then they dragged me into an all?—”

“They?”

She nods in response, swiping at the tears free falling down her face. “Three guys. They…”

“They what? What did they do?” I demand.

Fuck, from the look in her eyes, I already know. But I need to hear it. I need to feel every ounce of pain her admission will deliver.

Shaking her head, she tries to push away from me. I lock my arms around her because I refuse to let her walk away from this conversation. It’s the first time she’s been openly vulnerable with me, the first time we’ve had an honest conversation that hasn’t ended in hate fucking or angry insults. This is the first time I’ve seen Alanis hurting like this, and I want to be the one to stop it.

“They beat me until I couldn’t fight back. Then they… they…” she sobs again, and for the longest moment, I pause to let her get it out.

My blood continues to simmer with barely-contained rage while Alanis releases her pain in quiet sobs. My brain ticks over as I try to piece it all together, and then, boom , I realize the correlation between everything—Alanis hating me, the space she constantly puts between us, the fights she insists on creating. It’s because this is all my fault. If I hadn’t left, this never would’ve happened.

Swallowing past the lump in my throat, I wait for her tears to steady. “I’m so fucking sorry,” I whisper. “I’ll fucking kill them. I’ll make every single one of them wish they never even looked at you that night.” Though I know it’ll do nothing to erase what happened, it’ll be the redemption she needs.

Her gaze snaps to mine, full of guilt and wavering resentment. In that one look, I know exactly why she’s hated me all these years. I’d hate me, too. I definitely hate myself right now.

In the silence that sits between us, her eyes soften as they fill with more tears and I hate that she’s had to go through this alone.

“No,” she says sternly. “I don’t want you getting involved.”

“Alanis,” I sigh, rubbing a hand over my face.

“Roman, that’s the whole point, don’t you get it?! Of removing myself from the family business, of joining the police. Our way of life brought me nothing but pain, so I’m trying things another way. I’m going to get justice, and I’m going to be the one to take them down, the right way.”

Not that I played any direct part in what happened to her, but I have this feral urge to exact revenge, to make the fuckers who hurt her pay. I’m as much to blame for that night because by leaving, I did nothing to prevent it. I bailed on us because I valued my position within the family more than her feelings on the matter. I took her for granted, and I can’t even blame my naivety anymore. As much as I told myself it was the right thing for both of us, I knew exactly what I was doing when I closed that door. I was saying goodbye, knowing things would change between us after.

I just didn’t realize how much.

“Roman,” she warns, pushing out of my lap. I hate the distance she creates, but her anger is turning venomous. “Stay out of this.”

“I can’t,” I admit, my chest constricting painfully.

She huffs loudly, her fists clenching. She darts her eyes away from me, closing them and inhaling deeply. The silence is deafening. All the questions and thoughts whip around my head in a whirlwind, crashing into my abated anger.

“Why did you leave like that?” she suddenly rasps, vulnerability underscoring her loaded question. We both know that the answer is far more complex than we both want to acknowledge. After everything that’s happened this morning, I’m not sure she can handle the answer, but the way she pleads with her eyes is agonizing.

“I thought if I did it, I could protect you,” I admit with a sigh.

“Family comes first,” Alanis mutters, nodding woefully and sniffing as she glances down at her hands. Those are the words we’ve always lived by. Every single one of us knows that our legacy is built on our names, and we each take our roles within the families seriously. But our families built the empire together . Without each other, it would crumble, and when I look at Alanis, that’s exactly how I feel inside.

“ We’re family,” I remind her, taking her hands and linking our pinky fingers like we used to do as kids. “ You’re my family. You’ve always been mine, Presh.”

The fight in her finally wavers and she droops against my chest. I wrap my arms around her, guilt and regret swarming me as I inhale her scent. Her perfume still lingers, but it’s mixed with my aftershave on the shirt she’s stolen from me. We stay like that for a moment, letting the silence lull us into a peaceful state. We’re finally getting to a place where we’re not at each other’s throats. As much as I enjoy the push and pull, this is progress. We’re being honest with each other without the snarky comebacks. We’re getting closer without the need to push one another away.

“Who else knows?” I ask as she rests her head on my chest. I comb my fingers through her hair, inhaling the scent of her coconut shampoo.

“Just Haven.”

I bite back the urge to scold her about not telling her brother—or her parents for that matter—remembering what she said earlier.

“You can’t tell them,” she pleads quietly. “Promise me you won’t do anything.”

“Alanis, I?—”

“Promise me!” she barks, lifting her head to scowl at me.

“I can’t make that promise.”

She pushes away from me, creating distance that feels like too much, too soon. “ This is 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 something I have to do my way.”

“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 like you. 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.”

S weat 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 knocked sideways, 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 fucking bro !” 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?”

“I only found out yesterday!” I say, trying to reason with him.

Varo stalks forward and I counter backwards until I have nowhere to go. The ring is behind me, and as soon as I hit the ropes, he slams a piece of paper against my chest. “Then how come I found this in your room?”

Huh?

Frowning, I catch the piece of paper with a frown, peeling it open. My eyes land on the familiar words, the ones I’ve practically memorized since I discovered Alanis’ secret. It might sound stupid, but relief floods through me as I look back at Varo and smile.

“I’m sorry, bro. I am.” I hand the paper back to him. “I thought I could convince her not to go through with it.”

“Well, it didn’t work,” he snaps.

“Clearly,” I laugh, rubbing the sore spot on my jaw. “Nice hook by the way.”

“Fuck you!” He backs away to take a seat on the bench. Tension ripples over his shoulders through his suit. He’s got so much going on that I know this is the last thing he needs, but I’m just as pissed about the situation. Though clearly we’re angry about two very different things.

Dropping onto the bench with him, I start unwrapping my hands. A sharp chill from the AC coats my sweat-slickened skin and I suppress the shiver that coaxes to the surface. “You spoke to your dad?”

“Yeah,” he grunts. “He told me this morning. He didn’t mention you, though. Guess he didn’t have to.” He waves his sister’s acceptance letter in the air. “Found this when I was coming to tell you.”

“She has her reasons,” I state, ignoring the fact he went rummaging through my shit in the first place. “Trust me. I’m not happy about it either.”

Varo’s brows furrow as he tries to understand the message behind my words, but I can’t give him more than that. It’s not my story to tell.

“Talk to Alanis,” I urge.

“I don’t want to right now.”

“But you will speak to her?” Arching a brow, I reach for my water bottle on the floor. “She needs you, Vee. Give her a chance to explain.”

“Explain what?” he grumbles, running his hand through his hair. When he looks at me again, I can tell he’s more angry at me than his sister. I suppose that’s something. Not that I’d rather his anger was directed at his sister, but the guy can really pack a punch.

“Trust me,” I reply, standing up from the bench. “She has her reasons, and she needs someone on her side.”

“She has you on her side,” Varo huffs, folding his arms. The look he sends me is more to confirm he’s right than anything else. I wish I could say yes, but with what I have planned, the last thing Alanis is going to believe is that I’m on her side.

“Maybe it’s not enough,” I shrug, stuffing my wraps into my gym bag.

He shoves me with his shoulder as he stands. It’s gentler than before, but I still feel the irritation rolling off him. Just like his sister, it’s hard to get him to calm down once he lets his rage take over. He’s usually less ruffled, though, but with Milo in the picture, Alvaro’s got a short fuse these days.

“Whatever is going on, I don’t want any more secrets,” he warns me, poking my chest with his finger.

“Alright!” I yield. “I suppose I’d better tell you...”

Varo quirks a brow, leveling me with a dubious glare.

“You need to work on your form.”

He lunges forward, wrapping his arm around my neck and pulling me into a headlock. While I might have the agility, he’s definitely got more strength on his side. He lets out a laugh as he drags his knuckles over my scalp, burning my skin with the friction. “I’ll fucking show you form!”