Read Online Empire (Eagle Elite Book 7) by Rachel van Dyken - Free Book Online Page B

hated that he was right.
    Because the morning came.
    And I still felt angry and confused.
    My mornings used to be filled with laughter and teasing. Instead, we all sat around the small coffee table and waited in silence as the clock on the wall ticked off the minutes.
    I was almost afraid to move.
    Afraid to breathe.
    Dante wasn’t there.
    And I was worried.
    Worried that we were in trouble — or that we owed money to someone. After tossing and turning all night, that was the only conclusion I could come up with. We owed money to some very bad people, and they needed us to pay them back.
    It finally made sense.
    How the flower shop and bar were able to stay open through the economic downturn.
    Why, even though we were never busy, we never struggled to pay bills.
    Dante’s bloodied hands! The whispers about his fighting.
    I felt so stupid.
    So naive that I hadn’t seen it before.
    And, if I was being totally honest, I felt a bit betrayed that my uncles hadn’t confided in me about their financial struggles but put my own brother in some sort of underground fighting gang. Guilt gnawed at my chest. There were so many things I’d asked for in the past few years that I never really needed.
    Things that I couldn’t sell now.
    I’d already done a Google search for extra jobs, but everything available was, basically, either dangerous like a bike courier or they wanted more experience than I had.
    One thing was for sure.
    I wasn’t going to college — probably ever.
    The screen door opened and then slammed shut. Footsteps echoed across the worn hardwood floor, and then Dante, Sergio, and the older man — Frank, was it? — all appeared from down the hall.
    They shuffled into the kitchen where I sat at the table.
    My heart sank even further.
    We were going to get killed in front of the pancakes.
    I just knew it.
    Because everyone’s expressions were grim, as if a death just happened in the family, only I knew it was probably going to be mine.
    “Please!” I shot to my feet. “Please don’t kill us!”
    Frank and Sergio shared a look while Dante closed his eyes as if he was in pain.
    “Whatever we owe!” I kept talking, the words tumbling over each other as they spilled out. “I have some money in savings, and I’m sure we can figure out a payment plan or something. Just please don’t kill us.” I was bordering on hysterics as big hot tears rolled down my cheeks.
    Sergio slowly made his way over to me and grabbed my hand. “Nobody’s going to die.”
    “Yet,” Frank muttered.
    My knees buckled and I sat back down while Sergio spat out a curse under his breath. “Was that really necessary?”
    Frank shrugged.
    Dante rushed to my side. “Are you okay?”
    “No!” I jerked away from him. “I’m not okay! Just tell me what’s going on! And what we owe, and how to fix it!”
    “That’s going to be difficult.” Dante stood to his full height then backed away. “We don’t owe any money… What we owe is more…” A pained expression formed on his features. “…personal.”
    “What do you mean?” I searched the faces of my uncles, but every time I tried to get them to make eye contact they looked away.
    I felt like I had no one.
    And yet, there was Sergio, right by my side.
    “Show her,” Gio barked.
    Frank stepped forward and pulled out a black folder.
    It had my name on it.
    But I’d never broken any laws.
    I didn’t even jaywalk.
    So, a folder with my name, it had to be a bad sign right? A really bad sign.
    With trembling hands I opened it.
    The first page was a birth certificate, with my exact birthdate and my full name, but the last name I didn’t recognize. It wasn’t Grecco, it was Nicolasi.
    “Valentina Joyce Nicolasi,” I whispered. “But my last name…” I didn’t finish because my picture was on the next page. It had to have been taken a year ago, because I was wearing the coat I’d gotten for Christmas. What. The. Hell?
    What followed were pictures of me as a child. I recognized