Total pages in book: 63
Estimated words: 58691 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 293(@200wpm)___ 235(@250wpm)___ 196(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 58691 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 293(@200wpm)___ 235(@250wpm)___ 196(@300wpm)
“I want some men at our door for the night,” my mother tells the driver who stands by the front door, glancing over my shoulder I watch him give a curt nod. He’s more than just a wheel man, he’s a trained killer. Just because we haven’t practiced our legacy in thuggery, doesn’t mean we don’t keep our men close by in case we need them. I have cousins that work underneath me, waiting for me to give an order. Practically begging for something to do, but I won’t do it. I won’t allow one deal to slip by my palms until my father returns home. I don’t deserve this position, it doesn’t matter how much my family tries to groom me for the position. I don’t want it. It’s not mine.
Opening the door to my room the color of lavender and white greet me in dim lighting. I slip out of my dress, letting it pool around my feet and walk along the room naked until coming into the bathroom, the mirror above the sink reminding me of who I am.
A Bravado.
I can wear a sweet dress, put on lipstick, and put on diamonds, but deep inside my chocolate-colored eyes, I can see who I’m meant to be. A monster.
Not taking my eyes off the mirror, I turn the shower on hot and watch the steam roll about the room. I may have the blood of a gangster, the power men wish they had at my fingertips, but sometimes… I wish I could just run away from it all.
Maybe, just maybe, I’m not cut out for the life of mafia.
Kieran
Sitting in the driver’s seat of Romeo’s car, my hand under my chin, I stare out the window. We smell of smoke, and my knuckles ache from hitting Harold in the face. It doesn’t matter how many times I punch someone, I swear my knuckles will never get used to the bone against bone.
He wasn’t supposed to be there. When Romeo and I broke inside the salon to trash it, Harold got stupid and grabbed a gun from under the register. There was a struggle, candles were knocked over onto a pile of towels, and a fire started. The motherfucker is lucky to be alive. I could have left him in that salon, but I dragged him out by his fucking hair and kicked his ass in the street, reminding him death will be his next reminder for payment. I twist the BVLGARI watch on my wrist so the gold bezel is face up.
“Did you see that bitch?” Romeo asks. I don’t immediately reply causing him to take his eyes off the road to gauge my reaction. I find it comical when he gets excited like this, it’s unlike him.
He’s talking about Leona Bravado. My sworn enemy. Ours actually. I haven’t seen her in many years, not since the disappearance of her father, she was just a kid then. She’s grown. A woman. A fucking vixen if I ever saw one. People talk, I’ve been told Leona is a princess, spoiled, and nothing to worry about. But seeing her tonight, I’d say that girl has more courage and guts then some of the men that work for us. The way she bolted from the car and told me to step down, the look on her face when she stared at me. She wasn’t afraid, she wasn’t alarmed the least bit.
“She didn’t even act scared. What if she says something?” Romeo continues, panic lacing his voice.
“She won’t,” I mumble against my hand, still looking out the window calmly. She was barefoot, which I find attractive for some reason. Gives her a down-to-earth vibe that I’m not used to.
“How do you know?” Romeo breaks into my train of thought, again.
I finally look over to him and drop my hand to the armrest.
“Because, she knows the rules of Omerta.”
Romeo looks back at me, as much as he can without wrecking the fucking car. Every family in the mafia follows a code called Omerta. It’s born into our blood and stabbed into our heart. We do not talk to authorities or anyone outside our circle. Our lips sealed no matter if it’s in our defense or against another. You talk, you die. I guarantee her father, uncles, and cousins preached this to her. In our lives it’s like teaching a child to look both ways before crossing the road. It’s basic survival. She won’t say anything.
“Exactly, she’s not some little girl, she might—”
“She’s a problem.” I know, I interrupt him, finishing his sentence. Leona is different than any Top Boss. I’ve never in my life heard of an empire handed to female but her father did just that before he disappeared. He gave it all to her. A woman with power might be the only thing that terrifies me.