by Smith, T. L
We break apart, and I look over his shoulder to see Cassandra and Rock standing there. I tell them goodbye and try to break free of Stefanos, though he won’t release me.
“Where are you going dressed like that, Princess?” he asks, looking me up and down.
“Roberto invited us over to his restaurant for dinner; I declined your invite and accepted mine,” I say, smiling up at him. He looks over his shoulder, tells Cassandra to grab her bag and pulls me outside to the car.
Cassandra and Rock hop into the back of the car, and Stefanos takes off smiling. I turn around to look at Cassandra and see her eyes are already on me. She is a very beautiful woman; I can see why Stefanos loves and protects her so much. She has an innocent heart and a contagious smile. I smile back at her and turn around to face the front; Stefanos grabs hold of my thigh and keeps his hand there the whole car ride.
We have been sitting at the restaurant, enjoying Roberto’s company now for half an hour; he really is quite a charming man to be around. I also never knew he knew Cassandra; I guess that’s why Stefanos brought her. Roberto obviously is a ladies’ man and likes to smooth-talk all the women; it’s quite entertaining to watch. He kissed all our hands when we arrived and warned the boys he may have to steal us; Cassandra blushed and I laughed at him.
“Pretty Cassandra, have you, by any chance, found yourself a lucky man yet?” Roberto asks, looking up at her. I watch as Rock shoots his head up and looks at her, waiting for her answer.
“No, Roberto; not yet,” she says, blushing again. I reach over and give her hand a squeeze; she looks up at me, smiles and squeezes my hand back. Stefanos looks between us and smiles a warm smile.
“Well, you know, I have a few sons.”
“Roberto,” Stefanos warns him.
“Easy, Stefanos, only playing,” he says, laughing at himself. I excuse myself to go to the ladies’ room and Cassandra follows me.
I finish in the stall and walk out to see Cassandra sitting on the bathroom bench. I wash my hands and look up at her to see her watching me.
“You know, I have never seen him so crazy over someone like this before. Actually, I have never met any of his flings before.” I nod my head at her because I have nothing to say, and she continues.
“He said to me once that love is for the weak, and it can only tear us down, but I believe you bring him up. He is different when he is with you. I thought he was possessive with me because.... Well, anyway, I can tell he loves you, Eliza; I hope you give him a chance.”
“I am giving him a chance, Cassandra; it’s just up to him not to fuck it up,” I tell her, standing in front of her.
“You know, I really like Matt; I just don’t know how to tell Stefanos,” she says, putting her head down.
“Does Rock feel the same way about you?” She looks me in the eyes and gives me a questionable look.
“Matt, Rock, whatever one you choose to call him.” She laughs at me and smiles.
“I think he does. He hasn’t said it in so many words, but I believe he likes me. When he holds me, it’s like he is trying to consume me.”
“Just tell him, and if he has a problem with it, tell me and, I’ll give him another black eye.”
“You know, Stefanos is not with you just because of who you are; statuses don’t bother him, and they never have.” I nod my head because I could tell that from the beginning. He has never wanted power; he isn’t hungry for it like some.
We make our way back out toward the boys and see them all laughing and drinking. I take a seat next to Stefanos, and he leans in to kiss my neck. I turn around and kiss him on the lips, and we get lost in each other. “Exquisite,” he murmurs on my lips just as we break apart; he pulls away and places his hand on my thigh.
“So, tell me, Krinos: has the old man found a lady yet?” I shake my head because I don’t know; my father doesn’t like to bring many women around me. He has in the past, not long after he and my mother broke up, though that didn’t last long. I still believe he loves my mother.
My mother left him because she didn’t want his lifestyle; she didn’t want to leave the house and feel as though she was being watched and need a bodyguard with her. So, when she left, my father told her to take me with her; he wanted me to grow uninvolved in this world. Little did he know back then that I cherished the ground he walked on, and I would do anything to be like him.
My mother has moved on; she is remarried and currently travelling the world. I’m pretty sure she loves my father as much as he loves her, but their worlds weren’t right for each other. The man she is currently married to is a nice man; boring but nice; he is a lawyer and chased after my mother as soon as he saw her.
I speak to her often; she is constantly sending me emails of her trip, asking me to come and visit her. When she arrives in the States, though, she doesn’t want me to meet up with her, as she knows this life and what it brings.
My father always asks about her and how she is. The day I told him she was getting married, I saw his face change, and it hurt me to see him crushed; it crushed me. I think he was always hoping she would come back to him once she had her space. But she never did.
“Not that I’m aware of, Roberto,” I say, coming back to the present.
“Well, he has to find someone; he can’t pine over your mother after all these years. It’s his time to be happy.” I nod my head in agreement, and we take our leave. We kiss Roberto goodbye, and just as we are about to leave, one of my father’s goons comes running in, covered in blood.
I stand there watching as he gasps, trying to catch his breath, and wait for him to talk. When he finally speaks, he talks so fast I can hardly comprehend what he is saying.
“Christian’s men shot at us when we were in the car going to meet them.”
“Whose blood is on you?” This comes from Rock. The goon looks to me and down to the floor then back up to Rock, and I want to cover my ears.
“It’s Boss’s.” I fly out the door; I don’t wait for anyone. As soon as I start the car, Stefanos and Rock jump in.
“Hospital, now!” Rock shouts from the back seat. I drive like a maniac to the hospital. I am weaving in and out of traffic, not caring for anybody else, and I hear them telling me to slow down. I don’t, though; I drive as fast as I can to get to him. I don’t know how bad it is, but it must be pretty bad if he is in the hospital and not at our doctor’s.
We arrive to the emergency area, and I jump out of the car while it’s still running. As soon as I walk in, I see some of my father’s men standing there. They see me and drop their heads. I walk over to the lady and ask for my father. She tells me he is in surgery and will be for at least another four hours; he was shot multiple times.
I walk backwards, collapse onto the seat and do nothing. I feel so hopeless I don’t know what to do. I look up and see Rock pacing the foyer; Stefanos is on his phone, calm and collected, and the other men have their heads in their hands.
I turn to them and ask how this happened; they don’t answer me at first until Rock comes to stand next me.
“It all happened so fast; we didn’t even see it coming. We pulled up to the club, and we got out then your father followed. There must have been a sniper on the roof. We were standing in front of him, and we didn’t get hit; we couldn’t work out where the bullets where coming from. Alberto’s men were standing there smiling, and not one of them had a gun in his hand; we just don’t know where it came from.”
I look up at Stefanos to see if he has anything to add, and he looks like he is trying to piece it all together, as well.
“It doesn’t make sense; he couldn’t have known about his son yet.” I nod my head in agreement and look to Rock; he is still pacing frantically.
We sit there for what seems hours before we get an update of his surgery. A young, female doctor comes out and tells us he is still not in the clear, but they are doing the best they can. I don’t even thank her and watch as she walks off.
We stay seated until I se
e a familiar figure walk through the hospital’s doors. She doesn’t even look around; she runs straight to the desk and asks for my father. The lady tells her where his family is seated, and that’s when she spots me.
“Eliza, honey, what happened? I got here as fast as I could.” I hug her when she wraps her arms around me, take in the comfort, and smell that is my mother. She is always so proper and put together not tonight, though. She looks like she has been crying; her makeup is all smudged and she looks run down.
“Mum, how did you know Father was in hospital?” I ask her out of curiosity.
“I’m your father’s next of kin, sweetie; they rang me as soon as he was brought in.” I nod my head to her, and we take a seat. She grabs my hand and holds onto it so tight my blood stops pumping to it.
Stefanos comes over, takes the seat beside me and says hello to my mother. She greets him back, and I realize they know each other; I’m too tired or just not bothered to ask how.
The doctor finally comes out after what seems hours of waiting and walks over to me.
“The surgery was successful, though we have placed your father in a coma. We are unsure of when to wake him, as his injuries where very extensive. He could lose motor function, but we won’t know that until he is awake.”
She tells us this and says when we can visit, and I listen to my mother cry. I hold her and try to comfort her, but I can do nothing to soothe her pain. Rock comes over and takes my mother from me to comfort her, and I fall into Stefanos’ arms.
“I know where he is, Princess,” he whispers in my ear. I look around to see whom we have here and realize all my father’s men haven’t left; they have just moved to the back of the room.
“Let’s go.” I wave my arm to the goons, and they all stand. Rock goes to come with me, and I stop him.
“I need you here with my mother, Rock.” He looks conflicted between wanting to hurt someone and wanting to protect; he knows what I am saying and reluctantly agrees to stay.
I give my mother a kiss and walk out the door, checking I have my gun in my purse.
We drive for an hour, and no one speaks a word. We arrive at Roberto’s’, and I’m confused; I look to Stefanos for an explanation.
“We need power,” he says, simple as that. We get out and walk to the door; Roberto is already there.
“Come. I told you, Krinos, you can have all the firepower you like.” We follow him to the back of his restaurant and head down to the basement. It’s full of food and cooking ingredients, and I’m confused. I look to Stefanos and he smiles an evil smile when Roberto stops and opens the cooler doors.
I’m floored by what I see; it’s huge and there are so many guns, ammunition, everything you could think of back here. Roberto waves his arm for us to enter.
“Pick what you please, lovely.” I nod my head and enter, picking up the first gun that catches my eye; it’s a shotgun. I have fired one of these before, and they are quite powerful. I retreat back out the door once I have my ammunition and thank Roberto. He leans in, kisses me on both cheeks and tells me he is a phone call away if I need him. I wait for all the men to grab a weapon, and we take off toward our cars.
We arrive at a dingy warehouse, and we can hear music pumping from the outside. I look around to see if anyone is outside, and I can’t spot anyone. I get out of the car, place my knife in my garter and gun in hand. Stefanos comes around to stand in front of me and looks me in the eyes.
“I will be by your side through thick and thin, Princess. I fucking love you, remember that.” he leans in and kisses my mouth, pulling away once the other cars turn up. I can’t even contemplate that he just told me he loves me, and I didn’t say it back. I hope I don’t regret that decision later.
We walk to the front doors with Stefanos and myself center and kick the doors open. I walk in with my heels clicking on the cement and find another doorway with a bodyguard. He looks up at us and Stefanos raises his gun, shooting him before he is able to say anything.
One of my father’s men opens the door and walks in first; I hear shots fired, and we follow close behind. I look up and notice he has shot the stereo system, so everyone in here has gone silent. I also notice none of them have weapons on them.
I push my way to the front and look around; I can’t see him anywhere.
“Where is Alberto?” I yell out; no one answers me, so I fire at the roof. Someone squeaks out that he isn’t here, and it doesn’t make sense. I look back to Stefanos for him to figure this shit because my head hurts.
“What’s this party for?” Stefanos yells out.
“The boss is dead!” someone yells out. I whip my head back to the crowd and look for that voice. I see him step out front and walk toward me. I recognize him from my house; he was talking to my father. He gave me the creeps then, and he still does now.
“Krinos, what a lovely surprise; shouldn’t you be organizing daddy-dearest’s funeral?” He smiles at me and continues to speak.
“Alberto wasn’t happy with you, so he had me shoot down your father.” I look up at him and watch his smile fall when I raise my gun.
“You silly man, you don’t fuck with me or my family,” I say, and then shoot him in the head. I turn to see everyone looking at us in shock, and I deliver my message.
“You tell Alberto if he is a good boy, I’ll be kind enough to send his son back to him in pieces,” I say then head back out to leave. Once we are in the car, I breathe a sigh of relief. Stefanos leans over and kisses me on the cheek.
*******
My father is sick, dying-sick. He didn’t want me in this business; that’s why my mother raised me. I chose this business, because it has been in our family for generations. If I were born a boy, I wouldn’t have had a choice, but because I was a girl, and my father’s Krinos, he wanted me protected. I grew up learning to fight and was constantly in fights. I was always the odd person out, but I finally feel now that I fit in; I have a man who loves me and would do anything for me. He completes me and doesn’t want me for the power that I will one-day hold. A war is coming, and I will be prepared for it. I will kill anyone who threatens or hurts my family and my people. No one will take that away from me. I will make my father proud.
And I will be the boss.
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