I couldn't let that happen. These men were powerful in their own right and wouldn't be happy if they thought a weak woman was going to take over. What I was about to do included more danger than many people face in a lifetime.
The room reeked of sweat, fear, and excitement. Someone was happy about this new arrangement and the only thing I knew for certain it wasn't me.
Some of the older men like Uncle Carlo had been a part of the organization for years. The other heads of the family were Leone Gallo, Vittorio Marino, and the much younger Stefano Brambilla.
Uncle Carlo kept a steadying hand on my shoulder as if he knew how difficult this was for me.
“Gentlemen, it seems that we have gathered at the perfect moment to discuss the crisis we’re faced with today and the solution has arrived.” He continued to stand near the chair at the head of the table.
“Our very own Cable Rook has returned. She’ll be running things for the foreseeable future as per her father’s instructions.”
Murmurs of descent began to flow up and down the table.
“Hmmm...” Uncle Carlo cleared his throat and the room began to quiet.
"This is not the time for us to be divided. Now, our fearless leader Owen Rook left specific instructions about who would lead us if he wasn't able to fulfill his duties." He raised a hand to keep them calm.
“Believe me, I would have a problem as well if he hadn’t provided such a welcome and trustworthy person to fill his shoes.”
There were still a few grumbles, but no outright threats were made as I took the head seat at the table.
I nodded to Carlo in thanks for his support.
“Thank you all for coming here. While I know that it wasn’t out of the goodness of your hearts or concern for my father, we’ll act like it was. At the moment, everything will continue to run the same as before until I’ve had a chance to look over the books and different operations.”
No one made a move so I continued.
“This has been something I’ve trained for and hope that you will give me a chance to prove that I’m worthy of your loyalty and trust. If, no when my father can return to his place as head of this organization, I will gladly step down, but until then things must continue to run as normal."
“Anything I need to know before I start doing inspections?”
Stefano raised his hand.
“There is a shipment that will need to be looked over before we can accept payment. Unless you’re too squeamish to check out the merchandise before we pay for it?” His smile implied that because I was a woman I wouldn’t be able to handle the dirty stuff.
"Well, Stefano. I have done a few inspections and your cock is just not up to par for the kind of work that it's been doing, but I'll leave that up to your next partner to decide if they can settle for such a small piece of merchandise."
The chuckles around the room made the comment worth it. In the shifter world, most of us had seen the others naked in some form due to shifting and not having clothes handy.
Stefano was a cruel bastard that didn’t want to take no for an answer. He was a California squirrel which made him cunning and dangerous. There was also the fact that his family was from the sunny state of valley girls and not from Italy where the true crime families came from.
He sent me a glare but acted like my insults weren't of any consequence in the scheme of things.
"Nelson will be accompanying you as he's had the most hands-on with this project. It's a connection through a friend of mine so I'll be there as well." He seemed to think I'd have sort of objection.
“Sounds like a plan. I’m curious what kind of merchandise you think is valuable enough to be inspected by the bosses of the organization.” I tilted my head and unconsciously started tapping my foot. Patience had never been my strong suit.
“It’s not something we discuss with everyone.”
“Are there any other things that need to be taken care of today?” I waited for more, but they were a quiet crowd.
“All right then. This has been fun, but my father is in the hospital and I have merchandise to inspect so we’ll adjourn this until tomorrow when I’ve been able to check over things.”
A few of the Caporegimes stayed to offer their congratulations while the lower soldiers left to continue their jobs.
When all but the top four Caporegimes and Nelson were the only ones in the room, it was time to get down to business.
“So you’re telling me that we have a shipment of otherworld people that you sell for parts?” My voice came out higher than planned. “Seriously? Do you know how dangerous and well evil that is?”
“Ha, I knew it. You are squeamish.” Stefano cackled in delight. “You can’t stomach doing what needs to be done.”
"No, there is a difference in being a big bad boss of an organization committed to illegal activities and sadistically torturing members of our kind." The hint of a smile tugged at my lips. Now that I knew where Stefano drew the line, keeping him in his place was going to be so much fun.
“When did we start dealing in Otherworlders?" I turned expecting Nelson to explain it to me but was startled when Carlo's voice answered instead.
“Three months ago, the O.O.D showed up and requested that we take a piece of the money from this to fund to other enterprises that they have a stake in.” He sounded very apologetic.
"I'm not saying we stop this very instance because I know how involved these types of deals are. Let's see what we've got and then I'll decide in a few days." I scanned the room, "There will be no raping or trying to make any of these people into your personal slaves. All sales will be discussed with me before taking place. Do I make myself clear?”
“Yes, Boss Rook. Completely.” Stefano agreed in a mocking voice. “Hands off the merchandise.”
The knife I kept tucked into the pocket of my pants, thudded on the table between his fingers.
“Like I said, ‘No, touching.’”
The stutter coming from his lips was so worth it.
“I’ll need to make a stop at my father’s house and then we can go to the meet.”
“Sure thing, Boss.” Nelson nodded and followed behind me so that no one tried to come at me from behind.
Not that I trusted him, but at the moment there wasn't anyone else to watch my back for me.
The ride in the limo was spent in silence. There wasn't anything else that needed to be said. I had probably scared him just a little bit when I’d taken charge earlier which was exactly what I’d been hoping to achieve.
My father’s butler, Watts opened the door with a smile.
“Welcome home, Ms. Cable. Is there anything that I can get for you?”
“Have Nelson bring my luggage up to my room once he’s unloaded it. I won’t be back until late this evening. How have you been Watts?”
“Very well until today, Ms. Cable. My thoughts are with you and your father during this hard time.” He gave a half bow, before hurrying out to help Nelson with the few bags I’d brought with me.
Skipping going to the room I’d had for years in this huge mansion, I went straight for the library where I had a private stash of weapons.
The door latched behind me and I didn’t bother with locking it because Watts wouldn’t hurt me or let Nelson near me.
A mahogany desk set on the side of the room was the logical place for weapons, but I'd hidden mine in a much different place. The bookcase along the wall swung open to reveal my personal cache.
Guns, swords, knives, and a few extras were all in the exact place as I'd left them.
Normally, I only carried a couple of well-placed knives, but today I was going to need to be fully stocked. Probably for most of my future now. The days of being only a college student without any real worries were over. It was time I took on the responsibilities that came with my name.
The gun holster went over my shoulder and I slipped my preferred 9mm Colt 1911 into place. A small canister of pepper spray hooked onto my wrist as part of a char
m bracelet that I’d had special made just for me.
There was supposed to be protection for me because I would have bodyguards. It wasn't certain that they hadn't been paid to kill me instead.
Doors slammed and brought my attention back to where I was standing…with my hidden weapons open for anyone that entered the room.
A press of the button and the bookcase swung back into place.
I moved toward the door and carefully stuck my head out to make sure the hall was clear before walking toward the large entryway.
"Yes, she's here, but you won't be able to see her until tomorrow. There's a work event that she needs to take care of." Watts' voice rose, but there wasn't any anger behind his words.
Trevor gave Watts a knowing grin. “Well, I’ll just have to make myself at home until she’s available to see me.”
With a small squeal, I grabbed him from the side and swung him around.
“Hey, Glasses what’s up?” I gently set him down again.
“Watts here was just telling me that you have a pressing engagement this evening.” He shoved his glasses back into place without realizing that he’d done so.
“Yeah, I wish I could have you come with me, but this is one of those things where the less you know the better.” I frowned as I said the same words my father had spoken over and over again through the years.
“No worries, Cable. I’ll be around. I just wanted to make sure that you were okay since your dad was in the hospital.” His eyes flicked over my shoulder and I knew without turning that Nelson was back.
“Ready to leave?” He didn’t even bother to acknowledge Trevor as he walked past him toward the door.
“I’ll be right there.” I waited for him to be out of earshot before I gave Trevor another hug. “This being tough thing is for the birds. Breakfast in the morning?”
“Yeah, if you can tear yourself away from your guardian.” He scoffed.
“Oh, don’t worry. I’ve already had one talk with Nelson and I’m sure that we’ll have another one in the next few days.”
I gave his cheek a quick peck. “Later baby.”
Trevor was one of the few people that I could trust and I was going to have to lean on him more than I wanted to because the organization needed both of us.
He wasn’t going to like the fact that he’d have to get involved. We’d both been hoping to avoid taking our place in the organization until a little later in life. There wasn’t any way to stop the natural order of things now though.
3
The limo pulled up at the strangest place possible…the truck stop right off of the highway.
"They'll be here in a few minutes," Nelson announced glancing between Stefano and I nervously.
“Where do we store the merchandise when we’ve agreed upon the price until they’re shipped out?” I couldn’t believe that I’d been able to ask that question in a calm tone.
“There is a kennel out on the edge of town run by one of our kind that feeds and cares for the merchandise until we can sell them." Stefano's words were so manner of fact as if it were normal for people to sell other people.
A shiver ran down my spine as I realized that other shifters were held prisoner until we could make a profit on them.
“Anything else I need to know before I make this deal? Is the price already agreed upon?”
Suspicion darkened Stefano’s gaze, but he answered my question.
“The details have been worked out. Mostly, you’re here to make sure they know the consequences of making a mistake or trying to sneak something by the Boss.”
“Yeah, and what’s your cut?” I might have only been the boss for one day, but I knew that Stefano wouldn’t make a personal appearance without there being some sort of kickback for him.
He frowned, “I get to pick out the top three for personal use.”
“Unless you have a contract that states that, it will no longer be happening. You’ll get paid the normal fee as do all the others for the finder’s fee.” With the flick of a wrist, I held one of my concealed knives to his throat.
“My father may have indulged your tastes for torturing women. Hell, he may have even encouraged it, but I’m not about to put any creature into your care. I’ll also be watching your activities and if I think for one minute that you’re doing anything that will affect the Rook Organization or our bottom line, well let’s just say that you’ll fetch a nice price on the market.”
If looks could kill, Stefano would have slashed my throat right then and there. He knew that to do anything to me would trigger the other Caporegimes coming for him.
I released him as three semis pulled into the lot that had the logo from the main supplier of shifter product. We'd been doing business with them for years without any problems.
“Let’s go make a deal.”
The drivers parked as two other vehicles pulled up and took up defensive positions around the trucks to protect the cargo.
To my surprise, Haven a coyote shifter from Texas was in charge of the operation.
Unsure if he was working undercover, I didn’t acknowledge that I knew him.
“Show me what you’ve got.” I jumped lithely into the back of the large truck as the scents of otherworlders hit me.
“Very well.” Haven waved his flashlight into the dark before flipping on a switch that illuminated the cages attached to the walls.
I strolled casually through the path and tried not to make eye contact with anyone in the cage.
“How many are in this trailer?”
“About 30 in each. A few of them are on the smaller side so there’s a hundred of them in total.”
Surprisingly, Stefano and Nelson stayed on the ground not bringing themselves close to the merchandise.
Not that I blamed them, these poor creatures had been in cages for a while and the smells coming from them didn't lend to being human.
“Good job. Do you know where they’re to be delivered?” I questioned as one of the cages caught my eye.
“Yes, ma’am.” Haven nodded and moved to turn off the light.
“Wait, I want to pick out three of these to be my new bodyguards.”
The shock on Stefan's face was worth it.
“You can’t do that.” He sputtered.
“Oh, I totally can. These recovered members will be a lot more loyal to the person that rescues them than they will be to the ones who were about to sell them to the highest bidder. Don’t you think?”
I turned back to Haven.
“I want the fairy in the small cage. The tiger in the back and I believe I saw a raccoon?” At his nod, I smiled. “I’ll take him or her as well.”
"Make sure that they are delivered to my home tonight after they've been showered. If they go missing, I'll have your head." I delivered that last part without changing my tone.
“Uh, yes ma’am.” Haven motioned to a few of the men standing to the side as they hurried to collect the ones that I’d mention.
Stefano climbed back into the limo without a word and gave me the silent treatment.
It felt good to be in charge. Maybe if I couldn’t teach these animals new tricks at least they’d learn to respect me.
The limo dropped Stefano off at his apartment/penthouse downtown before heading to my home.
Nelson tapped on the glass.
“The hospital first Jeeves,” He spoke in a condescending tone as if the driver should have read his mind.
The driver frowned but didn't respond. Instead, he switched lanes toward the hospital.
To be honest, I’d forgotten that my father being in the hospital was the reason that Stefano was probably plotting my death.
It was after visiting hours, but due to the number of donations my father made to the hospital every year, no one stopped us from going to his room.
The donations were to keep the gunshot wounds and fast healing shifters from being reported to the police. I hadn't given it any thought, but maybe another check was to make sure they kep
t trying to save my father's life.
My father was laying still on the bed almost lifeless as if this was the last of his life cycle.
"No change?" I stopped the nurse from coming from his room.
She shook her head, "No, miss. He's doing well considering he had surgery, but we won't know anything until he wakes up."
“Thank you.” The view from the window into his room was as close as I wanted to get right now.
Some people said that you are supposed to talk to those who are unconscious, but I wasn’t really in the mood for it at the moment. He was the one who’d allowed there to be buying and selling of otherworlders and that wasn't something I was going to be able to forgive soon.
“Tell the staff, I’ll return tomorrow. If his condition changes they are to call immediately.”
Nelson nodded and went to speak to the nurses at the station only a few meters away.
The sigh of relief that left me would have been a sign of weakness even though he was my father. I couldn’t have any chinks in my armor or it would give my enemies a chance to take me down.
His enemies were now mine. It couldn’t be helped and came with the territory.
“Everything is taken care of. Let’s get you home. You have a busy day tomorrow.” The sympathy in his voice made me glance at him warily.
"Look, he's been a father figure to me for a long time. My dad wasn't worth anything and my mom left me with a crime boss so what does that say about her?" He shrugged as if it didn't matter, but maybe there was more to him than I'd originally thought.
Kids could be really cruel and it could have been just been his way of acting out to torture me at every opportunity.
I gave him a small smile as a peace offering. If he was going to be nice, I’d take it while it lasted.
“Dinner and a chance to look over his things to see where we stood would be wonderful.”
Chaos had invaded the normally peaceful residence when we arrived.
“You can’t bring those filthy things in here.” Watts was trying to explain to Haven that the three pieces of merchandise I’d ordered delivered weren’t allowed in the house.
Supernatural Syndicate: A Limited Edition Collection of Magical Mafia Stories Page 49
