by J. J. McAvoy
“My dear, if you were not my daughter, I would fear you.” I could hear the smile in his voice over the phone.
“It’s because I am your daughter that you should fear me.” In his day, Orlando could make grown men cry and beg for a bullet. If Orlando got his hands on them, pain was guaranteed.
“You are one of the best who has ever been. But don’t count Liam Callahan out. It may surprise you, but he is just as, if not more, ruthless than you are.” He was right. Liam Callahan was a name many feared. He was known as the “Boogeyman of the East,” and I was the unknown “Wicked Witch of the West.”
“Ma’am.” Monte cleared his throat, holding my work phone.
“I will see you soon. Addio,”3 I said to my father before hanging up.
Monte placed the phone on Bluetooth.
“Make my motherfucking day,” I said, breaking the speed limit as I turned the corner.
“With pleasure, ma’am,” Fedel replied. “Ryan Ross, Amory Valero’s right-hand man, fucked up big and drove drunk. Guess who picked him up?”
“Fedel . . .” I said, my tone laced with anger. He knew better than to ever play guess-who with me.
“As luck would have it, Brooks was the one who pulled him over and brought him to us. He’s waiting in the room under the house, so drugged up he can’t see straight . . . but he’s still not talking.”
“Goodbye, Fedel,” I said as Monte ended the call.
“Motherfucking day made, ma’am?”
I just nodded, driving closer and closer to my future husband, my empire, and some new intel. “Yes, Monte, motherfucking day made.”
THREE
“Murder is born of love,
and love attains the greatest intensity in murder.”
~ Octave Mirbeau
LIAM
“Someone is just a tad bit presumptuous.” Declan snickered into phone. “She’s already packed, Liam.”
And sure enough, when my car pulled up to the Italian-styled mansion, I watched as some of Giovanni’s men placed suitcases, what I figured were Melody’s things, into a white suburban near the far side of the house. When they noticed us, they finished as fast they could and disappeared behind the tree sculptures that lined the back. They were all the size of Neal and I couldn’t help wonder how they would fit in with our people. This would be the biggest merger the mafia world had ever seen. The Irish and the Italian were like the English and the French—we had been fighting for generations.
“She is just like the rest of them,” I said into the Bluetooth. “In love with Daddy’s credit card. But from the looks of it, she is no worse than Coraline.”
“Or your mother,” Declan said as the cars came to a stop. He couldn’t deny his wife was a savage when it came to spending money. She held onto her plastic card with the Jaws of Life, and Declan, being the whipped bastard he was, couldn’t bring himself to stop her. It would have been great if she actually spent the money on herself or the family, but no, she had to sprinkle it throughout the whole city, drawing unneeded attention at times. Neal’s wife, Olivia, was the complete opposite. She would walk right past a starving child and buy herself another pair of shoes. I, just like the rest of them, would have to allow Melody to shop herself crazy as long as I got what I needed.
Hanging up, I tried to resist the urge to grin like a fool. Just from getting out of my Audi, I could feel the tides turn in my favor.
“Liam,” my father said, stepping in line beside me. “You take the lead on this. I’ll not interfere with whatever happens from this moment on. If you do this, you will have successfully cleared all obstacles in our way, and I will allow you to take my place as Ceann na Conairte. However, until that contract is signed, they are still the enemy. Should you fail, seek comfort in your mother, for you won’t find any in me.”
I wouldn’t fucking think of it, I thought bitterly. Outwardly, I nodded and put my business face on.
Declan and Neal mimicked my expression. We had talked about the different scenarios this could come down to and were prepared for them all. Neal had four of his snipers outside, and Declan had jammed all frequencies that were not our own. We also had a car positioned less than a block away with men just waiting for the chance to clip the Giovannis’ wings. They were the enemy until the contract declared otherwise. I was more than ready to get the papers signed and continue my blood ascension to Ceann na Conairte.
“Incoming,” Neal declared from my left, just as the doors to the mansion opened, revealing an older, jaded-looking man with a scar that ran from his forehead to his chin.
“Welcome, Callahans, to the Giovanni Villa. Mr. Giovanni is already waiting and told me to skip the formalities for the time being. I shall escort you to his office.” The older man bowed as though he had come out of Downton fucking Abbey. I knew Declan would have a laugh about that later, but for now, we were working.
I nodded, not wanting to waste time with formalities either. We all knew why we were here, and there was no need to bullshit. Usually, my father walked ahead of us, but since I was point man today, I followed the old man inside first. The house was beautiful, rich, and very fucking Italian with vintage ceramic tiles, one too many statues, and the overwhelming scent of roses. It felt more like a museum to ancient Rome than a home.
Finally, the old man stopped and didn’t bother to knock before opening a door for us. Stepping in, for the first time in my twenty-seven years I was shocked. It didn’t show on my face, but internally, I was shocked.
“If it isn’t my favorite Irish crime family,” Orlando said, coughing and in a wheelchair. The man known as “Iron Hands” was gone. The Giovanni study was filled with ancient scrolls, floor-to-ceiling walls of books, with the exception of one large window, and nineteenth-century handcrafted furniture. However, nothing in here was more priceless than the sight of this old crippled man.
His hairless face broke out into a smirk. “Sedric, you trained them well. They didn’t even flinch.”
“I am insulted you are just figuring this out now,” my father said and with just a sidelong glance I could tell what he was thinking. He was as shocked as we were. He just hid it well.
In the mafia world, Orlando “Iron Hands” Giovanni was the stuff of legends. The things he had done could not be said out loud without making many people sick, or causing them to piss themselves in fear. He was one of the very few men my father respected, and in some way, dreaded. They both had a healthy fear of each other, but the man in front of me now looked like he hadn’t been in the same room with “Iron Hands” for years.
This explained why he wanted this merger finalized, I thought.
“Please, have a seat. The contract is on the desk,” he said to us.
I knew my family wouldn’t make a move. Only the Ceann na Conairte was able to sit down with the enemy, so I unbuttoned my jacket as the rest of them flanked the sides of my chair.
“We’ve already read the contract. We simply wish to see your daughter sign it,” I told him. In fact, I had read it so many damn times, I knew it line by fucking line.
“Read it again, she has already signed,” he said through a barking cough.
Tempted to lose my cool, I glared at Declan, telling him with my eyes to read it. He could read just as fast as I could, and I did not want Orlando see me bend to his games. I would play nice for now, but I was not above beating a man in a wheelchair.
“Liam,” Declan snapped, handing me back the paper.
It took me a moment to read over the two lines that had been changed.
“You’re kidding.” I snickered, handing it up to Neal and my father. “You are asking that she basically babysit how I run my company?”
Orlando’s brown eyes narrowed. The fact that he no longer had eyebrows only made him look more ill.
“We prefer the term empire,” he stated.
“Of course you do.” Fucking Italians and their empires. “Orlando—and I will call you Orlando, not out of disrespect, but because I know that by th
e end of tonight I will have a ring on your daughter’s finger—your daughter will want for nothing. She will be able to buy the sun twice over if she wanted. She will be taken care of and treated like every other Callahan woman, which is like bloody royalty. In my care, your empire will be treated with the same care and reverence.”
Orlando leered before crossing his weak arms. “Pretty words, boy. And I will call you boy because even if you were royalty, you would still never be good enough for my daughter. I did not ask her to babysit you. Melody is smart and will be more than useful. I have no doubt that the empire will be just fine. As your brother saw when he hacked our records.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Declan stiffen beside me. No one ever knew he hacked into their files. It was then that I realized we had been set up. Orlando wanted us to see how much we would lose if we didn’t give in.
“Orlando—”
“Don’t try to sweet-talk me. I’m Italian, we wrote the book on it. So take the deal or walk away. That’s my only offer. And in case you hadn’t noticed, I don’t have time to waste.”
The old motherfucker cut me off.
I slid my left hand down and felt the brass knuckles in the pocket of my pants. I wanted bash his face in. The vein at the side of my neck pulsed thickly, as it always did when I became bloodthirsty. My vision began to cloud over with rage. I knew, without a doubt, my father was waiting to see what I would do. Whatever choice I made, he would back me up here and bitch at me at home. I would not let anyone show me up, much less an old-timer halfway to his grave already. Not here, not now, and not ever. The room was silent as I stood up, walked over to his stocked bar, and poured myself a glass of brandy. He wanted to play hardball? So could I.
“How much does she even know about the company, excuse me, I mean the empire, as you people call it?” I asked him as I poured.
“Enough.”
Leering, I turned back to him. “Enough? That’s all you can give me? Orlando, meet me halfway here. You and I both know she may be smart, but no father would ever allow his little princess to see the things we see, or do the things we do.”
“She’s a quick learner. Considering the women you’ve been with, is that not enough?” He had a point.
Turning to my brother, I drank some more before leaning on Orlando’s desk. It would be mine soon enough.
“Neal, dear brother, what do you think?” I asked, taking Orlando’s the pen and point it at him.
“As long as she fulfills her other duties, why not? Anything she doesn’t know, you can teach her. It may help bind you both together.” I almost wanted to applaud him. I laughed at the thought.
Sometimes, Neal was just so wise.
“And Declan, dear cousin, what do you think about this rude, last-minute shift in the contract?”
Declan grinned. “Worse comes to worse, you have to waste five minutes explaining things to her. Plus, I kind of like the idea. Maybe if the women knew how hard it was to make a few million, they wouldn’t spend it so quickly.”
We all laughed and turned to Orlando who smirked at me with those damn chapped lips of his. I wasn’t sure if it was because he agreed or because all the cancer drugs were messing with his brain. Orlando Giovanni was harder to read than most.
“Well then, Orlando, I do believe I’ll be marrying your daughter,” I said with no emotion in my voice. Declan handed me the contract again.
Before the pen touched the paper, I stared at the meticulous script that spelled out Melody Nicci Giovanni.
I wanted to see her first, but I signed anyway. My father had always told me to pick my battles so that I could have energy to survive the war. There was too much riding on this for me to refuse just because I would have to get an okay from a little princess. Besides we were married, I would keep her too busy to care.
“You aren’t going to seek counsel from your father?” Orlando asked as I signed away my soul.
“His bride, his choice,” my father said, speaking for the first time, and with just as much emotion as I had. None.
“My choice it is,” I repeated, handing the sickly man, my future father-in-law, the papers. We shook hands, and I tried to force myself not to snap his in half. “I would like to see whom I have chosen.”
“But of course,” he said, ringing a bell that echoed throughout the room. Finishing the last of his horrible brandy, I waited.
When the door opened, I felt my cock try to detach itself. The girl who walked in was an ugly duckling with thick and messy dark brown hair, dark glasses, and goddamn braces.
Fuck it all to the seven levels of hell! my mind screamed.
“Just think, underground heroin fields. When would you like that plastic surgeon’s number?” Neal murmured beside me. I could hear the laughter being held back in his voice. He cared about those damn underground heroin fields so much, you would think he did fucking heroin himself.
“Ms. Bianchi, where is my daughter?” Orlando asked, and my blood pressure dropped while my cock rose in hope. I could have sworn I heard the old man snicker.
“Closest fucking call of your life,” Declan uttered, as we waited for the ugly duckling’s reply. The timid girl glanced at us, but did not answer. Instead, she kept her eyes glued to the floor. If she didn’t speak up soon, I would twist her ugly little head off.
“It’s fine, Adriana. The man before you is Melody’s fiancé. You may speak freely,” Orlando told her while I was losing my goddamn patience.
Bowing at us first, she rose and gave me her full attention, standing with so much pride it almost distracted from her appearance . . . almost.
“Good morning, sir. The Boss is in a meeting in the basement,” she said, making us all freeze. Everyone in our world knew that fucking word.
“Is this some sort of joke?”
“Who do you think has been running things while I die, gentlemen?” He snickered, before turning away from us. “If you don’t believe me, you are free to go to the basement. But be forewarned, you won’t meet a woman who needs to be taught anything. Benvenuti nella famiglia,4 Callahans.”
Flaming, I turned back to my father who was still staring at the sick man in the chair.
“Did you know this?” I glared at him, only to have him glare right back. Most days, I knew my place under my father, but the tides were shifting. I was rising, and I needed to know if he had held information from me.
“No, Liam, I was not aware. It seems to have been a well-kept secret, but does explain the recent growth of the Giovanni Empire,” he replied, seeming somewhat baffled by the thought of it as well.
“No fucking way a girl has been behind all this,” Neal said like a child.
“Take us to her then,” I commanded the girl, and she nodded. I would see this Melody and find out if she was truly the Boss they had dared to call her.
“Sedric, may I share words with you for a moment?”
My father nodded, no longer caring what I chose to do.
One last time I turned to Orlando, who didn’t even bother looking back as we left. It must have been a grim day for him. He would lose a company and a daughter. I didn’t pity him, though—he’d be dead soon enough.
The ugly duckling didn’t speak, or even bother breathing, until we reached the end of the hall that was guarded by two of Giovanni’s men. From the corner of my eye, I saw both Declan and Neal slowly reach for their guns. In Declan’s left hand, his cellphone was ready to call in more guns if this was a trick. But my instincts and common sense told me that Orlando really was dying and he wanted to marry off his daughter first. What I didn’t know was what to believe about said daughter.
“Sir.” The men glanced at me before opening the door, only to reveal an elevator with Fedel Morris inside. He was the bastard son of Gino Morris, one of the fucking mutts who had the balls to break into our safe house and kill fifteen of our men sixteen years ago. It was the reason my father pushed for this goddamn contract.
“This is as far as I can go, sir. It was
a pleasure to be of service,” Adriana said to us, giving me a short bow again before stepping back.
“Mr. Callahan,” the mutt said with forced respect, making space for us in the elevator.
The moment we were all inside, Neal took a step next to him, clearly itching for an excuse to pull the trigger. He knew Neal was there but did not say a word or even flinch when Declan reloaded loudly.
All any of us could hear when we stepped out of the elevator was a man gasping for air as water splashed around him. We were a level up from where they were waterboarding the man. The basement was just one giant gym with a boxing ring in the corner. They had cleared everything on the ground floor to make room for their prisoner. As I stepped up to the rail, a few eyes fell on me. The men gave me a short nod as if they understood the shift happening within their company. Each one of them looked just as deadly as our men, and they all stood silently, allowing the man’s underwater screams to echo around the space.
“Enough,” a gentle voice called out, and each man stood straighter when the most beautiful woman I had ever seen stepped forward. Even from where I stood, I could tell she was perfection. From her wavy, black hair, flawless olive skin, and deep brown eyes, to her perfect hourglass figure. The knee-length white dress she wore hugged each one of her toned curves and, God, her tight ass—fuck. Her lips demanded to be kissed, and my cock demanded I have my way with her right then and there.
“Melody Nicci Giovanni, head of the Giovanni family and the Boss,” Fedel informed us.
Neal stepped up to see the goddess below.
“Holy shitcock, motherfucking damn,” he said, his mouth dropping open.
“Neal,” I said, without emotion. The last thing I wanted the Italians to believe was that we were impressed.