Dangerous Beauty: Part Three: This is War

by Hardin, Michelle

  Even though their relationship was at time pugnacious, Carter had found that keeping in touch with Silas was good for her for three reasons. Business, protection, and self-awareness. Self-awareness, because Carter had to face that she had many characteristics that came from her biological father. She had become addicted to studying him, learning from him. He was fascinating and original, wise and brutally honest. A true genius; not because of academics like her, but because he had an interesting view of the world. Silas had an open mind, an exciting take on everything, religion, politics, and just life in general. When Carter learned about him, she learned about herself, and even though she argued with him sometimes … she liked talking to him.

  On the business and protection side of things, Silas was more involved in Carter’s life than her mother and father were. It was incredible. Despite the issue with the now dead Shadow Walker and the betraying Steele army a year and a half ago, the main individuals of the Steele family were still together and stronger than ever. Carter couldn’t explain because she didn’t really understand who they all were in the first place, but the Steele family was a family of factions. The men that aligned with Shadow Walker that night were from the poorest faction of the Steele family, the people Silas used to do the—for lack of better words—grunt work. The higher, wealthier, and more prominent factions of Silas Steele’s family were still intact, still hidden, and still more powerful than ever.

  They operated very deep within the criminal world, and her mother had been right when she’d said that they were ghosts because they were. Yes, Nathan had found some of them in Germany when she had been taken, but according to Silas, they had barely scratched the surface. One would never really find the more dangerous members of the Steele family because they blended in with society too well to be found.

  This proved to be a good thing for Carter, especially since she was Silas’s daughter. She was now not only one of the most feared and respected women active in the criminal underworld, but she was also one of the most protected.

  Carter was now a Unione Corse Mafia boss, and she had been for over a year now. Due to some serious health issues, her mother had had to step away from her hectic lifestyle. Carter had been five months pregnant when she had first taken over for her mother, and Silas had made it his number one priority to keep Carter safe at all times. Because of this extra protection, she was able to transition into leadership effortlessly despite being pregnant with her third son.

  She, Nathan, and the twins had gone house hunting a week after she had taken over, and moved to France for five months. Carter had told Nathan that it wasn’t necessary, that she’d just fly back and forth, but Nathan had insisted. He’d said that he wanted to support her just as she always supported him, and had he not come to France with her, Carter would have never be able to do all she’d done in France in just five months.

  She had worked her ass off night and day to create an entire new system of operations in her mother’s empire. Her main goal in doing it was to limit the amount of times a year that she had to fly to France for business. Because of the help she’d received from Silas, Nathan, and her father, Carter was able to work magic. She’d managed to establish her role as new leader to her massive amount of family members, solidify her family’s seat in the Unione Corse secret society, restructure the way things were being run, put together a team of very talented and interesting individuals that she took with her everywhere she went, set up a main headquarters for her empire in New York City, and give birth to her and Nathan’s healthy seven pound, nine ounce baby boy, Josef Nathaniel Salerno.

  “Carterina …”

  She lifted her eyes from the marble table where she had been staring in thought. “Yes,” she answered, looking around at the others sitting with her at the long conference table situated in the middle of her warehouse. Carter sat at the head of the table with the five individuals she always kept at her side next to her; three on one side of the table, and the other two on the other.

  “Carterina, shall we continue the meeting?” Davina asked, nodding to the five men at the end of the table waiting for Carter to continue. Davina was a woman of many accents, and today she sounded American. She leaned in closer to Carter and whispered, “You’re not talking. Where are you?”

  Carter smiled at her right hand, the stunning Davina Delevingne. The dark beauty is what they called her, and it wasn’t because she had smooth, dark brown skin either. It was because of her heart. The dark beauty with a black heart. Ms. Delevingne was a ruthless murderer with a couple of Ivy League degrees hanging on the walls of her New York penthouse apartment … Oh yes, she also came from an entire family of contract killers.

  Yes, an entire family, and yes, they were all blood related.

  It was truly amazing how much potential was overlooked in the criminal underworld. During Carter’s five months in France she’d made it priority to search for the unknown talent of the underworld, the untapped potential. She’d wanted true leaders; educated, ambitious, and deadly. Silas had been a huge asset in this search.

  Turned out the underworld was packed with untapped potential, and when Carter said potential she meant great potential. Individuals that were born into the underworld, as well as individuals that were pulled into it unwillingly and were never truly able to get out. Carter had given Silas her criteria and set him loose. Her list had been simple; she needed five healthy, skilled, educated, ambitious, loyal, and deadly women. She had already had her first one in training with her father, and she’d only needed four more.

  When she had told them that she only wanted women her father, Nathan, and Silas had all given her hilarious looks of confusion, but Carter never flinched. There were enough men headlining the underworld. It past time for women to make themselves heard. Plus, Carter was sick of being surrounded by men all hours of the fucking day. She hadn’t been looking for girlfriends; she was looking for warriors, and she’d gotten them.

  Davina Delevingne, Iman Niaria, Katya Laroche, Catsianna Kuznetsova, and the former Mrs. Bonaducci, Isabella Silviara.

  Twenty-seven-year-old Davina Delevingne had been the first, and she and Carter had clicked immediately. In the beginning, Davina had only thought Carter needed a contract killer on staff, but when Carter had explained to her that she was looking for strong women to fill positions of leadership within her empire, Davina had pretty much lunged at the chance to be in her inner circle. Like Carter, Davina was born in to the underworld. She knew the improbability of women being active in such positions of high authority, and like Carter she was seeking to change that. Her drive, ambition, education, and exceptional combat skills had earned her the position right under Carter’s. Basically, Davina Delevingne was Carter’s underboss, and she was a damn good one too.

  “I’m here, Davina,” Carter said softly. She cast her gaze to the opposite end of the table, locking eyes with one of the five men. Frédéric Rinieri, the head of the Rinieri family in France, who were also Unione Corse. He and the other heads of his family had traveled all the way from France for this meeting today. Carter was anticipating hearing their proposal. “I apologize for my silence, Frédéric. I can’t seem to keep my mind from wandering today …”

  “Pas de problème. I do not mind your silence none, Carterina.” A devilishly handsome smile appeared on his face, lighting up his bright green eyes. “My colleagues and I can surely think of worse than spending the day sitting in the presence of beautiful women …”

  “Surely. I agree,” one the other heads added.

  The men chuckled softly.

  Carter and Davina’s eyes met at the same time as she crossed her eyes at the man’s words. Carter suppressed a laugh and turned back to Frédéric. “You no longer have to charm us, Frédéric. You have the meeting you’ve been after.”

  He placed his hand to his heart. “I tell only truth, dear Carterina. I’ve been looking forward to this meeting with you all week. You are a hard woman to get in touch with.”

  “You ar
e aware that she is married, right?” the well-educated, and brutally honest Iman Niaria asked softly. “Your flirting is as pointless as it is frustrating. This is not fucking happy hour at a night club—”

  “Although I for one wouldn’t mind a drink right about now,” Catsianna “the flirt” Kuznetsova giggled. She was the dark caramel-skinned seductress of the crew. She was very smart, and her kiss could kill … literally. Carter fucking loved her. “Go easy on the poor man, Iman.” she pouted playfully. “He called us pretty. It was sweet.”

  Katya rolled her eyes. “Your past is showing, Catsianna,” she smirked. “You may want to tone it down, dove.” Katya blinked at the glare Catsianna shot her and crossed her long legs while smoothing down the front of her pencil skirt. Katya, in Carter’s opinion, was by far the most fascinating of the women. She was a genius in the subject of science, a wiz in money and business, and she had an interesting obsession with making bombs … Yes, actual bombs.

  “All right, ladies,” Carter quieted them, then motioned to Frédéric. “Why don’t you begin by telling us your idea, Frédéric? Silas tells me it’s positively devious …” Another benefit of having Silas in her life, Carter was always two steps ahead of every-fucking-one. Silas had intelligence everywhere in the underworld, which meant the man knew everything that happened before it even happened. That was why he had hated Nathan so much to the point of trying to assassinate him—something they had since moved past—Nathan had been able to surprise him too often, and Silas didn’t do surprises. In fact, he hated them.

  “Of course,” Frédéric said. He cleared his throat then began. “It is the Moreau …”

  Carter nodded. “Dominique Moreau’s family.”

  Another Unione Corse family. It was was led by a man that was considered a legend in the criminal underworld.

  Frédéric gave her a nod. “To make long story short, I want them out.”

  Carter’s brow arched. “Really …”

  “The Moreaus have had it out for me and what belongs to me for the past ten years. I have proof of betrayal and sabotage.”

  Gasping, she placed her hand to her chest. “Sabotage. How so, Frédéric?”

  “They’ve crippled my business. Last week alone I noticed some buyers of mine talking to Moreau.”

  “Are you certain that it’s not just you? Perhaps your products and services are lacking.”

  “Moreau has made sure of that, believe me.” He leaned forward on the table. “I have a theory.”

  “Please share.”

  “I think Moreau has become power hungry. He has no interest in the unity of Unione Corse anymore. Dominique and his clan are trying to take over. They don’t just want to take out my clan. They want yours, Guiles, all of us.”

  Sighing, Carter shook her head. “You still have given me no proof of this.”

  “Is my word not enough, Carterina? What do I gain from lying?”

  “Power, money, associates, and territory,” she said honestly. “Moreau is a very powerful family. Not to mention that there were rumors that your father had an issue with the Moreau clan before he died.”

  “And now I understand why,” he yelled as if trying to get through her. “Dominique Moreau is a callous man.”

  “Dominique is a legend,” Carter said matter-of-factly. “He was a part of the French connection for God’s sake. The others will fight for him. They’ll go against you.”

  “Not if I have you and your army. I will not need anyone else. Your mother built a very strong empire. We can start a new secret society. One that is not run by this faux legend.” He stood from his seat and called over one of his men. After he whispered something to him, the man jogged over to the front door and walked outside.

  Frowning in confusion, Carter glanced over at one of her men lining the walls of the warehouse and motioned for him to follow.

  Soon the man returned, but his hands weren’t empty. He carried not one, but three very large paintings. “Does he need help?” Carter asked, noticing the man struggling a bit.

  Frédéric nodded. “You may have your men take them. They are yours.”

  “Mine?”

  He smiled. “My gift to you, in hopes that you and I will be working together side by side very soon.”

  “They are paintings.” Carter’s men laid the three large paintings in front of her.

  “From my gallery.” Laughing softly he snapped his fingers, and one of his men came forward with a knife and handed to him. “May I?” he asked, holding the knife in his hand.

  “Oui.” Carter nodded. Frédéric walked to her, and she stood from her seat. “What is that you have for me, Frédéric?”

  He smiled as he stood next to her, a bit closer than he needed to be, but Carter paid him no mind. She was too curious.

  “Touch it,” he instructed.

  She looked at him with smile. “You have a knife, and the only thing you say to me when I allow you to come near me with it is touch it.”

  He chuckled. “Will you please touch the painting, Ms. Stone?”

  “Mrs. Salerno,” she corrected. “I have my husband’s last name, Frédéric …”

  “Hmm. Oh yes,” he said, sounding annoyed, “the husband.”

  “The very big, and very scary Russian that would have your head for standing so close to what belongs to him.” Carter nodded when the man took a step back away from her. “Now tell me about this gift.” She placed her hand on the picture. “Hmm …” It definitely didn’t just feel like a picture.

  “Do you feel it?”

  “Feel it?” The only thing Carter felt was insulted, but she didn’t show it. And he was very close to feeling the sharp end of her knife. He was beginning to move closer to her again. “Let me see the knife.” When he handed it to her Carter positioned it at the edge of the painting. Slowly she cut the rim of the painting on all sides, set the knife aside, and then lifted the upper layer of the thick paper. “Money … you’ve given me money.”

  The five wonderful women on her team found this amusing. Carter, on the other hand, didn’t find it funny.

  “Why would you give me money?” she asked.

  “I don’t like to call it money, Carterina. I call it encouragement.”

  “Encouragement?”

  “This will encourage you to align with me in the coming war.”

  Okay, now Carter was amused. The coming war? The man had to have been out of his mind. They were fucking Unione Corse. Did he actually think that the families were going to break down the wall of a secret society that went back generations for this dumbass?

  Carter shook her head and pressed the layer of paper covering the money back down. “Isabella …”

  Isabella Silviara, the former Isabella Bonaducci. Carter loved her more than words could express. So much so, that the soon to be twenty-one year old currently lived in the guest house on the estate that Gabriel had previously occupied. Once a young woman so broken and weak. She had chased Carter down after the dinner party from hell in tears, but now … she was a far cry from the quiet, abused young woman. Now, she was Spook Steele’s star student, far more talented than Carter ever was. Isabella was Carter’s silent angel of death. She had only just begun her career and was already extremely well-known within the criminal community … which explained the sudden fear that swept through the room when Carter said her name.

  “Isabella, love. Will you go stand at the other end of the table please?” Isabella rose from her seat and walked across the warehouse to do as instructed. “There will be no war, Frédéric.” Deciding to linger no more, Carter took her seat. She had a full day ahead of her before she could go home to cook for the family dinner tonight. The sooner this meeting was over, the better … “Unione Corse is what it is because of those that have come before us. To go after a family of prominence like Moreau is suicide.” As she spoke, her men drew their guns and killed every guard that had arrived with Frédéric Rinieri. The expressions on Frédéric and his fellow leader’s faces brought
a smile to Carter’s face. “Thank you,” she said to her army. “I was hoping to get them all out of the way quickly. You all can go outside and wait for us now. We’ll be out in ten minutes.” Without questioning her, the men exited the warehouse, leaving Carter and her team of five alone with the five leaders of the Rinieri clan.

  “What is this? What have you done?” Frédéric backed away from the table.

  “I’ve done nothing. It is you that has managed to anger the wrong people.”

  “This isn’t right! I got information about you from a reliable source. He told me that you were also displeased with the hierarchy of the secret society.”

  Carter chuckled. “My biological father is not a reliable source. He did not tell you that I was displeased with the hierarchy of the secret society. He told you that I was displeased with a high ranking family. You only assumed that he was talking about Moreau …”

  “You fucking cunt!” he shouted. “Do you think I’ll allow you to get away with what you’ve done? Do you have any idea who I am?”

  Carter couldn’t care less about the names he had called her. Honestly, the past three years of her life had forced her to grow up, and calm down. That temper issue she’d once had was pretty much a non-issue most of the time. And being called names like child, cunt, and bitch, didn’t bother her anymore. She had been called worse. She couldn’t go full-on killer every time it happened. That would just be exhausting.

  Carter looked at him with cold, emotionless eyes. “You are no longer a man of great power, Frédéric, so I advise you to lower your tone. You have sought to penetrate the wall of the secret society and now you have been cast out. The families have already voted. You are now an outsider.”

  “So they send a child to get rid of me?” he shouted. “They send a girl and her girlfriends to wipe out a family that has aided in the development of Unione Corse for decades!”

  “We put straws in a cup, and unfortunately I drew the short one. So yes, it will be I and my girlfriends that cut the heads off a few snakes today.”