Dangerous Beauty: Part Four: Beautifully Broken (55 page)

“You are,” she nodded. “And for the life of me, I don’t really understand why you’re putting in so much work on this … peace deal.” She said the words ‘peace deal’ as if they left a foul taste on her tongue as she looked away from him, her demeanor unimpressed. “It’s a waste of time if you ask me.”

Kyle shook his head, confused by her words. “So what do you suggest then. War?”

She snapped back. “God, no,” she groaned. “That would just fuck everything up.” Releasing the strollers handle, she gave a light wave of her hand. “I didn’t say not going to war was a bad idea. I agree with you that there should be a peace deal; I just disagree with the way you’ve gone about it.” She shook her head. “You’ve done it all wrong,
mon coeur
.”

Wrong?
Scusami …

Slightly offended and taken aback by her criticism, Kyle blinked. “Well,” he cleared his throat. “It’s nice to know what you think of me.”

“Kyle, stop that. You know that’s not what I meant. ”

“You know what,” Kyle brought up a hand, cutting the woman off. “Regardless of how unimpressed you are with my approach to this deal,
evil step-mother
; I am doing my best.”

“Oh please, boy,” she waved off his words. “Do not insult yourself by calling this your best—”

“Jesus Christ, woman,” Kyle chuckled humorlessly. He was pretty sure he was more offended then he’d ever been in his life. “You really don’t give a single fuck about my feelings ,do you?”

“Of course,” she softened, her eyes genuine. “Of course I do, bébé. More than anything.” She gave a slight nod of her head. “This is why I am honest with you. Because I care, because I love you, and because I believe in you more than anyone else on this earth,
mon amour
.”

“Well … you could have fooled me,” Kyle muttered.

“I only seek to help, dear. I promise.”

Frowning slightly as she released a long breath, she motioned Kyle forward with her free hand. “Come to me, my Ky-ky.”

Kyle could never disobey her when she called him that. Not even when he was upset with her.

Rolling his eyes, Kyle took a reluctant step forward.

“Now give me your hand.”

He did as she asked, then he looked into her eyes just as she began to speak to him.

“Sweetheart, for the life of me, I can’t imagine why you never come to me. I understand you going to your father because you sit in the seat he once occupied but, Kyle, dear, I was born into this world, shaped in it, traveled to its deepest depths and seen things that even you have yet to discover, and then became the most powerful woman the criminal underworld has ever seen. Do you understand me, son?”

When Kyle didn’t respond, she sighed.

“Your father cannot help you the way I can, Ky-ky.” She pointed to herself. “I made them,” she smiled, nodding her head when Kyle chuckled softly at her arrogance. “I did,” she said softly. “Both your father and Angelo. I gave them the knowledge, as well as the money they needed to start this organization. Every move they made to ensure the success of S.O. was made by my words. Alexis Stone. My father,” she squeezed his hand gently, “
your grandfather
; his influence, and his methods breathed life into these walls. And as you move forward in your career, as you continue to explore what this world has to offer, you will find countless organizations to which ours, the Stone influence, has given life to.  And because of this, sweetheart, you possess an infinite amount of power in the underworld. You are a descendent of Alexis Stone, an heir to his resurrected empire. The most powerful men and women in the underworld will seek you out just to host you in their homes and have a chance to align with you. They will treat you like royalty and protect you with their lives just to protect the legacy of your grandfather. This is the type of power that you possess, my love. A power that knows
no
limits. And I know …” Her words died off as she lowered her eyes for a moment before lifting them back to his. “I know that you were in the dark for a long time. And I know that the last thing you want to do is use the …” she cleared her throat, “… is use the name afforded to you because of your biological mother’s lineage …”

“That’s not true,” Kyle interrupted her quickly, shaking his head. “That’s not true at all.” And he was being honest, too. He had absolutely no problem accepting nor using any advantage that came with being a descendent of Alexis Stone; he could give a fuck about Abrielle. “If there is something within the Stone name that can aid me in this deal, then I’m very much willing to use it. Honestly.”

At his words, her eyes brightened as her lips curved into a smile. “So smart,” she murmured, looking down at his hand. Turning his hand upwards, she gazed at his palm as she ran her thumb over his skin, applying light pressure with the motion.

It was very relaxing, the way she touched him. As if the motion of her thumb relieved every bit of tension in his body; Kyle’s eyes nearly fluttered closed; he felt so relaxed.

“I’m proud” she said softly. “So proud of the man you’ve become. Even though I have no right to be.”

A faint smile appeared on Kyle’s lips, even as tension continued to exit his body.

“I’m proud of your father, too,” she continued, “for raising you to be strong. To be a leader; a good one. And an exceptional consigliere for the Salerno Organization. But he has not the experience to teach you how to wield the kind of power that you have, Kyle.” Ceasing the calming motion of her thumb on his palm, she finally looked back up at him. “You limit yourself,” she began. “Hold yourself back because you think you are restricted from certain tactics because of some fictitious set of rules, and you are not. You are being tested by these men, and because you have yet to rise to the occasion, you have given them the illusion that they are your equal when nothing,” she shook her head, “could be further from the truth. You are in control of all of this, dear.” She gave his hand another light squeeze. “You have to stop limiting yourself, following direction, and stressing over this, Kyle. You can relax, perhaps have some fun with this.”

“But how can I do that?” Kyle asked, a frown of genuine inquiry falling over his face. “If it is true what you say. If I am so powerful then why has this deal been a struggle for me since it began.”

Since the moment he’d made it up in his mind to broach the subject of making peace, Kyle had been met with opposition. Blatant, exasperating defiance; so much so that he had actually wanted to give up on the whole fucking thing once or twice and just go to war.

“I already answered this question, sweetheart.”

Kyle’s frown deepened, even as his head shook back and forth.

“They only have what you have given them, my son,” she explained softly. “And you have given them the illusion that they have the upper hand. Now,” she chuckled softly, “it is up to you to fix this mess that you’ve made.”

“But how?”

“Simple,” she shrugged. Releasing his hand, Anastacia brought her hand up and pressed it against his heart. “You must show them your strength, Ky-ky. You’ve already begun by reclaiming territory that is rightfully Salerno, now you must finish the job. Show them who they’re up against, and use every single weapon afforded to you to do so.”

Every single weapon? “What do you mean, like …” Kyle frowned. “A gun?”

“No,” she laughed softly. “No, my dear son, I do not mean a gun.” She gave his chest a light pat. “Although, a gun is a convenient weapon to have on hand …”

Kyle nodded, agreeing with her.

“I was referring to our family, baby” she smiled, then bought her hand up to gently caress his cheek. “A beautiful, big family of individuals blessed with various talents. You are not alone, Kyle, and you don’t have to do this by yourself. Use them.”

Use them …

“Use all of them,” she nodded. “They are your allies. Allow them to be exactly who they are, do not hold them back. This is how you show your strength, as well as the strength of your most loyal allies. And once you’ve done that, then you will have ripped away this illusion of equal playing fields, and you can show them just how much they need this peace deal in place …”

“Then what?” Kyle asked, mentally taking note of every word coming out of her mouth.

It was gold, every bit of advice she was giving him. The type of guidance that had the potential to take his career to a level in which he’d never thought he had the ability to reach. He could feel it in his blood, surging through his veins, the excitement, the power. He desperately wanted to be the man that she was describing. He desperately wanted this limitless power she spoke of. The type of power that he’d seen so many men possess, but never thought that he himself could ever have.

He wanted it. And he wanted her to teach him how to get it.

But of course … Kyle’s luck.

In response to his question, Anastacia only shrugged, looking up at him with a wicked smile in her eyes. “That, I cannot tell you, Kyle.”

What? No!
Fuck
. He’d been so close. So damn close to finally having everything he needed. She couldn’t stop now!

“You need to figure out what you will do after that on your own.”

“But that’s not fair,” Kyle argued. “No!” He took a step toward the woman in effort to keep his words just between the two of them and away from the ears of both of their security men standing around them. “You can’t just get me all into your plan, then leave me hanging, Ana.”

Anastacia let out a short chuckle. “Silly,” she lightly tapped his arm with her hand. “I’m not leaving you ‘hanging’. And this,” she shook her head, “is not a plan.” She shrugged. “It’s the truth, baby.”

“But you didn’t …” Kyle frowned deeply, shaking his head back and forth. “You didn’t tell me what to do. How am I supposed to fix this deal?”

For a long moment, she said nothing. She just looked at him, her mouth closed tight and her expression unreadable. Kyle stood, too, waiting for the woman to cave. To give into his pleas and give him the answers he need, but … once again, of course.

“You have to figure it out on your own.”

Groaning in an immense amount of frustration, Kyle stepped back and turned away from his step-mother.

“Don’t be upset, my Ky-ky.” He felt her hand gently rub his back. “You don’t need me to hold your hand through it; you already have the tools to do what you need to do.”

“You know what?” Kyle turned back around to face the woman. “You and pop get me with that ‘you’ll know what to do’ parental bullshit. It doesn’t work for me. I need you to tell me what to do!” What the fuck was so hard about that? Just tell him what to do. Step by step; he wasn’t asking for much … at least not in his opinion he wasn’t. “All I want is a little guidance here.”

“The guidance that you have received from both myself and your father is more than enough Kyle. The last thing you want is for either of us to hold your hand through this.”

Bullshit. He’d take them holding his hand through this over failing any day.

“Kyle.” She laughed softly, looking up at him as if she read his mind once again. “You’re fine, baby. Your father and I are old school. You may benefit from our guidance, but we know nothing of the way you young people run things around here these days.”

Kyle rolled his eyes.

“Stop that,” she chided.

He turned away from her again. All of that advice—all of that beautiful advice—and he still felt as if he were fucked.

“Hey Kyle!”

A deep voice called from behind him, and Kyle nearly flinched, then breathed a sigh of relief when he realized it wasn’t Nathan.

It was Mickey.

The man made his way over to them, a slight smile in his eyes as he shrugged his leather jacket over his shoulders.

“You’re back,” he grinned.

He greeted Anastacia first, gently placing a kiss to her cheek and giving her his normal ‘
hey stepmother’
before invading the sleeping Cami’s personal space to attack her with kisses.

“Sweet, Camiella,” he whispered, running his hand over her hair.

After visiting Cami, he’d made his way over to the front of the stroller to take a look at little Natalia.

“Jesus,” he chuckled. “What’d you guys do? Take the kids out with tranq darts?”

“It’s naptime,” Anastacia replied. “They take their naps no matter where we are.”

“I see that,” Mickey nodded as he came over to Kyle and gave him a light pat on his back. “How’s it going, brother,” he smiled, then reaching over, he ran his hand over Josef’s blond curls. “Everything alright?”

Brows furrowing slightly, Kyle nodded and answered, “Yes. Why do you ask?”

Mickey never greeted him like that. It was usually more of a sharp slap on the back and a
‘Yo’
, or a
‘You good?’
…
Shit
. Did he know? Kyle stared into his brother’s eyes, unable to tell. Perhaps he was just being paranoid.

“No reason,” Mickey answered him. “Word around the soldiers is
‘consigliere is tense today’
.”

Tightening his jaw, Kyle’s frown deepened. “What soldier?”