Page 98 of Stay Little Fighter

I nod slowly. “As the person who was meant to inherit everything, I think it was very much my business, but then again, it seems you never had any intention of ever giving me the throne.”

“You’re too weak to lead the Lombardi name.”

“No, you’re a control freak who never wanted to give up the power he lorded over everyone. But that power isn’t going to follow you into the afterlife.”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about, boy.”

“I’m not your boy. The only thing I am to you now is your fucking downfall.”

CHAPTER SIXTY

DAMON

NOW

The doors on the other side of the warehouse swing open before he can spit out whatever comeback came to his mind, and I turn in time to see Mikayla step into the open space.

She’s wearing a tight-fitting pantsuit with heels that defy gravity, but she glides forward like she’s not in the least bit surprised to find me standing here.

“If it isn’t my fiancé.”

“Ex-fiancé,” I amend.

Her eyes flare with annoyance as her team fans out behind her, surrounding the warehouse and therefore me. The number of guns trained on me right now should probably concern me, but there’s nothing I can do about it other than wait for backup to arrive.

Mikayla glances at my father, tipping her head to him. “I can have an officiant here in twenty minutes if you’re ready to tie our families together.”

“I wouldn’t bother,” I say. “There won’t be a Lombardi family to tie yourself to for much longer.”

“What is he talking about?”

“Chloe’s going through the files with Corbin now. We have foreign bank account statements, requests for hits, and a paper trail of documents alluding to the real reason behind your arranged marriage,” Kingston tells me. “The Vegas connection to the trafficking ring dates back decades, even before you boys were born and Salvatore wants a piece of the pie. According to this, he thought he could rise to the top of the operation so long as the families were connected by marriage.”

I suck in a breath, hoping they don’t notice the way my mask slips. Being a part of a crime family, you learn early on that good and bad aren’t as black and white as the world would have you believe. But there were always lines we wouldn’t cross, and I thought trafficking was one of them.

All those years I worked to take the throne, just for it to be sitting atop a pile of sins I knew nothing of.

Grasping for my composure, I take a breath and reply, “Looks like Neil had everything documented as an insurance policy. Text messages, bank statements, and your plans to rise to the top of a global trafficking ring by marrying your oldest son off for connections.”

His face falters ever so slightly before glancing at Mikayla as if she’ll be able to do anything to help him.

“And don’t worry, Mik. There’s plenty of incriminating evidence on your family as well.”

The color drains from her cheeks, and there’s a sense of triumph that I can’t shake. This feels too fucking good. All these years I’ve been forced to keep my mouth shut, to ignore the shitty things my father has been a part of while never being given the reason for anything, only the order.

But not anymore.

“You’re bluffing,” Salvatore growls, his finger tightening over the trigger of his gun.

I shrug. “Maybe I am. But are you willing to risk that?”

“The teams are surrounding the warehouse,” Kingston tells me. “You’re doing great, Damon. Just a little bit longer, and this is all over.”

Mikayla turns around to speak to one of her men in hushed whispers, allowing me to turn to my father.

As melodramatic as it may be, I have some shit I want to say to him before I put a bullet in his brain.

“I know you orchestrated Mom’s accident. I know you were the only one that hired someone to take her out because she was meeting with a divorce lawyer.”