Total pages in book: 143
Estimated words: 131926 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 660(@200wpm)___ 528(@250wpm)___ 440(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 131926 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 660(@200wpm)___ 528(@250wpm)___ 440(@300wpm)
“No can do,” Carver says, standing and stepping up in front of Tobias, making King twitchy. “This isn’t a trial. Preston has admitted his guilt and he will be staying right where he is until I decide that I’m done with him. I have Elodie’s approval.”
All eyes fall to me and I nod. “Preston will remain in Dante’s cellar until we get the information we need out of him. He will not be released a minute sooner, and depending on what information is retrieved, Dante has my full approval to deal with him the way he sees fit.”
“That’s not how we do things,” Earnest spits.
“You know what?” I throw back at Earnest. “I’m hearing a lot of ‘that’s not how we do things’ lately, but screw it and screw you … all of you. You’re not the one who’s dodging bullets every fucking day. You’re not the one who’s getting drowned in her own fucking pool, and you’re sure as hell not the one who was nearly blown up on a fucking grand staircase tonight.”
I throw back a shot of vodka and go for another, but being on a roll, I keep the words flowing free, letting them have a piece of my mind. “I’m done playing by the rules of corrupt men who don’t give a shit about the value of life. King’s little sister was nearly trampled tonight. Harding’s fucking brother is dead along with thirty other people, and thousands of lives were put at risk. So fuck you, and fuck all the goddamn rules. We’re playing by mine now, and shit is about to change around here. If you don’t like it, there’s the fucking door,” I tell the room, throwing my hand out toward the entrance.
“Elodie,” Tobias warns.
“No.” I throw my hand up, cutting him off as another shot of vodka goes down. “Once things have settled down and the people responsible for this shit have been dealt with, then we can all sit down and discuss this, but not a second before. I want to be proud of Dynasty. This is all I have left of my family, and right now, it’s nothing but a pile of steaming horse shit thanks to all of you morons. You killed what was once something great, and I’m tired of standing up and being the face of a corrupt organization that its own people fear. How the hell are we supposed to ever put on another function without your wives and children being terrified of being blown up? I mean, fuck. This is ridiculous.”
“You have no right,” Dion Luca argues. “You’re just a kid. You don’t understand our traditions. You’re not about to come in here and shit all over what we’ve built.”
“YOU HAVEN’T BUILT SHIT,” I yell back at him. “You’ve destroyed it. What would my grandfather say if he was looking in on this now? I’m sure he didn’t intend for the seventeen families of Dynasty to constantly be at war. He wanted unity, because with unity comes strength.”
“She’s right,” Tobias says. “Gerald founded Dynasty to be a revolution. We were going to be powerful, but we’ve become petty. Brothers at war. We should be standing together like our fathers before us. We were once great.”
Matthew Montgomery scoffs. “That’ll never happen. It’s too far gone. I’d rather give my life than concede to this child.”
“Then get the fuck out,” I tell him. “I’m sure there are millions of families out there who would happily take your place and stand as proud and powerful members of Dynasty. So get on board, or you can go and hang out with Scardoni in the fucking cellar. I won’t stop until I can stand in front of the seventeen families of Dynasty and tell them that we are united as the great Gerald Ravenwood fully intended.”
“You can’t do that.”
I step up to him, raising my chin and narrowing my eyes. “Then challenge me,” I dare him, listening to the gasps of the men around me. “Take the leadership from me. Put it to vote.” Montgomery raises his brow and glances around the room, knowing damn well that the men around him aren’t going to vote him in, but he can’t resist trying. “In fact, I put it to everyone here, raise your hand if you would like leadership.”
One by one, every fucking hand in the room raises and I look around at the fifteen remaining heads of Dynasty. “Then let’s vote. Majority rules.”
“Are you sure you want to do this?” Cruz murmurs beside me.
I shrug my shoulders and swallow another shot of vodka. “What have I got to lose?”
“Everything,” he grunts.
I just smirk, way too confident.
Carver stands and looks directly to his right. “All in favor of appointing Earnest Brooks into leadership.”
Earnest raises his hand, and we wait a second until we confirm that no one else will vote for him.