Precious Legacy (The Notorious Legacy #1)

Chapter 40

FORTY

I climb the steps two at a time. Coming home to my girl is all I’ve thought about, and when she answered my call with that sultry—albeit drunk—voice, my cock was instantly hard. That’s the effect she has on me. So when Haldon, Varo and I called it a night after planning our next steps with the Russians, I raced over here.

There’s a crack of light coming from underneath the door, and I smirk to myself. Twisting the key into the lock, I push the door open. Only I don’t get very far before I see a body on top of Alanis, hands wrapped around her throat as she reaches for the gun to her side.

It’s pure instinct that has me drawing mine, and I don’t hesitate to aim, pulling the trigger a split second later.

Bang.

The gunshot shatters the silence before the body drops on top of Alanis. Fear curdles in my stomach as I rush towards her, checking that there’s nobody else in here. I don’t know what the fuck I just walked into, but I’m glad I got here when I did. I shove the guy off, letting his body drop to the floor with a thud. Blood pools out of his head, and that’s when I recognize who I’m looking at.

Lani’s covered in blood, and she’s staring blankly at the ceiling.

“Lani?” I shout, but it’s like talking to a dead body. Panic and fear collide as I call out to her again, stroking her face, but I get no response.

She’s breathing, though— thank fuck —which is more than I can say for Prescott.

What the fuck is he even doing here?

My instincts kick in as I give Alanis a critical once-over. Her lip is split, and beneath the blood smattered all over her face, I can see the bruises forming along her cheek and eye. Her neck adorns a large red mark that I’m pretty sure is going to turn purple, but it’s the fact she’s not moving at all that worries me.

“Come on, baby,” I soothe. Avoiding the blood pouring from the bullet wound in Prescott’s head, I scoop Lani up, holding her to my chest as I carry her to the bathroom. She’s shaking against me now, but at least she’s moving. That’s what shock does to a person; it takes a hold of you, like an anchor dragging you below the surface. She’s no longer in fight-or-flight mode; her subconscious is preserving her as best it can while she fights to come to.

“Breathe,” I tell her softly as I place her in the tub.

I need to make sure she’s okay. I need to get her to take a deep breath, because the eerie calmness is too much. This isn’t Alanis at all. She’s a match in the darkness, not a withered thread. She’s the spark that ignites and never dies, but right now, I’m looking at a lost soul.

Her usual bright green eyes are dull and empty, void of all emotion as she sits motionless under the cascade of water. All I want is for her to look at me, to say something, but it’s like she’s not even here.

“Breathe,” I plead again, begging her to snap out of this.

It’s like the world stops as I hear a raspy breath escape her lungs. Her eyes suddenly find mine as she blinks through the bloody water, and it’s like her soul has finally returned to her body.

I push away the wet strands from her face, swiping at the droplets that turn into pink whorls circling the drain and rubbing her back until the shivers subside.

“Are you real?” It’s a whisper, but it’s enough for me to let out a breath of relief and smile.

“I’m real, baby.” I can’t explain the relief I feel when she presses her forehead to mine and sighs. She’s back with me, safe and alive.

Stepping into the tub, I pull her onto my lap and wrap my arms around her shivering body.

She clutches at my chest like a lifeline. I’ve never seen Alanis like this before. We’ve grown up together, and she’s always been a force to be reckoned with, a defiant beauty with rough edges and sharp claws. But right now, she resembles a kitten; a scared little thing.

It feels like hours that we sit under the tumbling water, silence enveloping us. I don’t push her to talk until she’s ready. I think she needs that because she hasn’t let go of me yet, and even though she’s showing no emotion, I know she’s just sifting through her own thoughts. While she clings to my shirt, I grab a cloth from the shelf above me and start cleaning the blood from her face. Every now and then she lets out a sigh, but her expression is still unreadable.

By the time the water has gone cold, we’re both drenched, but at least we’re clean. I step out of the tub first to grab a towel from the rail and coax Lani out with the promise that everything will be okay. It will be. It has to be. But even I know it’s a long tunnel before the light starts to show.

Her vacant stare remains as she lets me undress her, something that’s a challenge in itself. When she’s dry and in warm clothes, I perch her on the end of the bed and start filling an overnight bag. My pulse is racing, thoughts blending and blurring. It’s not the first time I’ve killed someone—and it won’t be the last—but I sense it’s the first time Alanis has had to deal with something like this. I need to do damage control, but I don’t even know where to start with her. I just know I need to get Lani out of here. The only place I can think of to take her right now is to her mom and dad’s. It’s the one place I know she’ll be safe until I can get a cleanup crew here.

“Presh?” I whisper, crouching down in front of her.

Her gaze slowly moves to mine, like it pains her to do so.

Capturing her cheek, I stroke my thumb gently over the lump forming on her skin. I should definitely get some ice on that, but first…

“We need to go.”

With an almost imperceptible nod, she takes my hand and lets me guide her out of the bedroom and down the hallway. She stops short when we reach the living room, her hand tightening in mine. My heart lurches when my eyes land on hers. She stares down at Prescott, his lifeless body sprawled across the hardwood flooring.

I still need answers as to why the asshole was here in the first place. I thought I’d made it clear to him the last time we met that we’re not to be messed with. Obviously, I didn’t do a good enough job.

“You don’t need to see this,” I huff, sliding my arms underneath her legs and back and swooping her up to my chest.

It’s not an easy feat getting down a flight of stairs with a bag and a body, but I make it work. I walk us to the car, careful to place her in without hurting her—not that she’d make a sound even if I did. This blanket of indifference isn’t like Alanis at all, and it’s starting to worry me. I have to push those thoughts aside though and focus on getting her out of here so I can deal with the rest of this fucked up mess.

The drive feels longer than it actually is, probably because the silence that fills the car is morbid and macabre. Lani hasn’t uttered a single word to me, even when I told her where I was taking her. She just sat and stared out the window.

I called Axel on the way to alert him to what happened, and I can’t say I’m surprised by the unruptured calmness he responded with. He’s already waiting in the doorway when I step out of the car, still dressed in slacks and a shirt at three in the morning. It’s almost predictable that even after all this time, he can’t fall out of old habits. We all do it—the late nights, running ourselves into the ground. We wouldn’t have the success we do if we slept like normal people.

Axel has his hands in his pockets, leaning against the door as he watches me round the car to the passenger side.

I go to pick her up, but she shakes her head. It’s the first time she’s shown any kind of response, and as much as I don’t want to, I let her go. She walks up the steps, each movement slow and precise. When she finally reaches the top, Axel wraps her in his arms. A silent exchange flows between them, and when his eyes meet mine, he gives me a nod of acknowledgment.

Cassidy appears behind them, wrapped in a robe. Clearly, she’s been asleep; she doesn’t look her usual put-together self. Her arms open as Axel guides Lani into them, then she turns around and leads her up the staircase.

“We need to talk,” he says once Lani is out of earshot.

“Agreed.”

Stepping back into the house, I follow Axel into his office, heat crawling up the back of my neck because I can’t read him at all. Much like Alanis, he’s mastered the art of silent anger, letting it simmer just below the surface.

Stepping into his office is like going back in time. I’ve been inside this room a lot, especially as a kid when Varo and I would get into trouble. Our fathers were always meeting here, reprimanding us when we really fucked up. It’s mainly how I ended up having to leave the city, to help my father. It was time to grow up, and fuck , did I.

“Sit,” Axel commands with the power of a king. He gestures to the seat in front of his desk as he takes his own.

Ignoring the prickle of nerves, I lean back in the leather chair and clear my throat. He’s already aware that there’s a dead man in his daughter’s apartment, his blood staining the wooden floor. He had to be the first person I called, considering everything. He’s probably got men there now clearing the scene, but I’m presuming he hasn’t called me in here for that.

He clasps his hands together, glaring at me in the low light from his desk lamp. He exudes all the authority of a man who owns the city, and let’s be honest, he does. He created this empire, not his father or grandfather. Axel Bonanno knew what he was doing when he approached the families of New York. Building a cohesive syndicate meant he had more loyalty; more men at his disposal. More power.

That’s why, at this very moment, I feel like I’ve failed him. I consider all the men of The Five to be family. My best friends are more like brothers, Haven is like a sister, and Alanis…well, she’s the one I’ve always felt drawn to. A primal urge to protect.

Once again, I’ve let her down.

“This was not your fault,” Axel reassures me with all the softness of a blade.

I look back at him. It doesn’t even surprise me that he’s able to read my mind. “I should have been there.”

He shakes his head, chuckling incredulously as he leans back in his chair. “You and I both know you can’t be there all the time. Alanis wouldn’t allow it, either.”

He’s right. Out of everything I know, Alanis would be pissed if I treated her like some delicate flower. But I can’t help thinking how if I had, then maybe tonight wouldn’t have happened.

“I should have killed him when I had the chance,” I grumble, running my hand through my hair. It’s still damp from the shower, where I focused all my attention on cleaning Lani up.

“Why didn’t you?” he questions, one brow arched.

“Lani.” I don’t need to say much more than that. Axel understands the situation between his daughter and the NYPD. He knows about Prescott’s involvement with the raid and working for the Russians. What I can’t work out is why the hell he was so focused on getting to Lani.

A smile curves Axel’s lips, so subtle I’d miss it if I blinked. “That girl will be the death of me,” he mutters, just loud enough for me to hear it.

“Me too,” I grumble. “But none of this makes sense. Why did Prescott go after Lani?” The only thing I can assume is that it was to get to The Five, but would he be that stupid?”

“I’ve been doing some digging… well, Lucchese has.” He pulls open his desk drawer and hands over a manila file. It’s too damn early in the morning to be reading shit, but I know whatever is in here is important. “Prescott’s motivations might differ from what you thought.”

Peeling open the file, I look down at the information on the first page. “Aidan Daniels?”

Axel nods once. “He was the D.A. who tried to frame me for murdering the Mayor a while back. Obviously it didn’t stick.”

“Obviously,” I comment, flicking over to the next page. A handful of photographs drop to the floor and I pick them up one by one, briefly scanning the contents of each image. There’s nothing much to see besides white plastic once sealed with tape, a body beside it that has been cut up and disintegrated by god knows what.

“Long story short, Daniels went after Cassie to try to get to me.”

My eyes shoot back to his, and I can already guess what he’s about to say.

“So I killed him.”

“So, Daniels is his…”

“Brother. Sort of. My guess is he took it personally and built a vendetta against me. The Russians would have been the perfect alibi for him.”

“So he wasn’t really working for them?” My head spins with this new information; details we never thought to look into. I guess I’ve still got a lot to learn, and I’m not too proud to admit that.

“No, I think he was. But I don’t think it was for reasons other than that.” He points at the file in my hands.

“This is a hell of a coincidence,” I mutter.

It’s starting to make sense. Prescott could’ve effectively wiped The Five and the Russians out if we hadn’t found this information out. Hell, I would be making patchwork quilts out of their fucking skins if it weren’t for Axel telling me I needed to think rationally. The drive to his place was enough to calm me, and I’m glad I listened.

A war could’ve started tonight if I hadn’t.

Pressing the file closed, I rest it on Axel’s desk and stand. Now that I can think a little clearer, all I want to do is to crawl into bed with Lani and put tonight behind us.

“You need to make sure she sees this training program through,” Axel insists as I amble towards the door.

My brows furrow as I turn.

“If Prescott knew who she was, others do as well. I can see how bad she wants to be a Police Officer and I respect her determination, but she can’t do it alone.” He leans forward on his elbows, pressing his fingertips together. “She’s going to be looking out for her brother, you too.”

I already know what he’s going to say before he says it. “You know you don’t even need to ask,” I say, the same thought clearly on both our minds. I’d protect her with my life and Axel Bonanno doesn’t even need convincing of that.

“I know,” he smirks. “But I gotta enforce some authority here.” He lets out a gentle laugh as I leave his office to head upstairs.

I realize just like downstairs that nothing’s really changed. The walls are still deep mahogany panels lining the lower half of the walls, an olive green painted above, separated by white, wooden borders. I follow the panel on my left to Lani’s room, stopping outside for a brief moment when I see the crack of light below the door.

Gathering my thoughts, I push through slowly to find her curled up on her bed. Her eyes are closed, but I know she’s awake. I don’t make a sound as I strip off my damp clothes and slide in beside her. Her warm body immediately melts into mine and I relish in the feeling. This is what I’ve been wanting all night, and I’ve finally got it.

“Is he…dead?” she whispers against my neck, her fingers curling around me.

My hand strokes a path down her spine. “Yeah, baby.”

Pulling away, she peers back at me.

I frown, pausing my ministrations to look down at her. Her gaze locks with mine and it’s like seeing her for the first time. Her lips curl into a delicate smile. Even though her eyes are soft, I can see the fire beneath them; the angry little minx that she is.

“Good,” she sighs, nuzzling back into me. “I’m sorry,” she croaks.

“For what?”

“For not listening to you,” she shrugs. “For thinking I could do this alone. For blaming you when I was attacked, even though it wasn’t your fault.”

Sadness laces her words, stabbing me through the chest. My brows scrunch together as my hold around her waist tightens. I want to tell her that apologizing isn’t an option. She had every right to blame me for what happened because I blame myself just as much. If I wasn’t a fucking coward and just explained everything, she wouldn’t have gotten wasted that night and wound up at the club. She wouldn’t have been attacked.

“You have every right to blame me, Presh. I was an asshole, thinking I could walk away from?—”

She presses a finger to my lips, effectively silencing me. “It doesn’t matter anymore. I’m just glad you were there tonight.”

“I told you, Presh.” I lift her chin with one finger and run my nose along hers. “Nobody touches you. No one. I’d kill every single fucker that ever thought they could touch you, anyone who dares to look at you.”

“That’ll be a lot of people, Ro.” She laughs, and it’s the lightest thing I’ve heard all night despite the gravelly sound.

“Believe it, Presh. I’d burn the fucking world down for you, and I can guarantee that not a single flame will lick your skin.”