Chapter -2 “Kings”

<Unknown POV>

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Sitting in my office, I was trying to reach my contacts for help; I knew I couldn’t stand a chance against them, alone.

I called my alliance like a thousand times, but every time whether it was unavailable, switched off, or complete ‘no’ in answer. I should have known that nobody would dare to step against the Kings. 

I cried out with frustration and threw my phone into the wall facing me to let the useless gadget crash into pieces. Before I ambled to open my weapons vault. 

I knew what I thought before perpetrating a suicidal plan, but I wouldn’t go to beg for mercy either, no. Never. 

It stated as the first rule of the underworld: ‘shoot first or be ready to die.’ 

I’m Ryker Romano, a mafia boss from whom people feared, a dangerous killer, merciless monster until she came into the game.

I loaded my gun, ready to end what I started when my office doors burst open to show Liam, my right-hand man. He came rushing by my side, panting heavily. A combination of fear and worry was radiating through his once lethal features.

“Riker! Those bastards’ Kings kidnapped Roman.” Liam informed, causing me to tighten my grip on my gun barrel. My knuckles turned white. 

‘Kings’, another mafia gang, Evan King, was the leader of Kings. They were Italian’s biggest rivals ever since my dad started the business.

However, they weren’t much of a problem back then. We were always in power until it all changed some years back when she joined their gang. 

Nobody knew where she came from, her family, her weakness, her past background, nothing. She was a complete mystery herself, like a blank sheet of paper. With her in no time, Kings became more powerful than us Italians. 

But it all turned to hell when I planned and killed their gang leader, Evan King. Two days ago…

It was the biggest mistake on my account. After Evan’s death, she took over the gang. Which was unexpected.

I was proud to be called the most dangerous and lethal killer underworld ever had known, but not anymore. 

I was nowhere near her. She was the real evil, heartless, lethal, and merciless mafia world ever heard of. She was Rebel King.

Evil Mafia Queen, the whole underworld, goes drop-dead silent just by mere whispers of her name. Nobody had ever seen her though and left alive to share the tales. 

Within 6 hours, she came to power. My 8 liquor factories, 15 clubs, and two warehouses burned down to the ground overnight. Countless people in my gang were shot to death. She destroyed the Italian empire overnight as a token of revenge for Evan’s death.

Now she had my younger brother Roman, she found out about my weakness. 

And I knew what she wanted. She left me with no other choice.

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<Rebel POV>

By the time I finished working out, my skin was glittering with a thick layer of sweat, my breath was ragged. I glared at the punching bag resting on the floor in the unrecognized form. 

It became my daily midnight routine, torturing both the punching bag and myself. I couldn’t control this resentment, frustration, and thirst that kept crawling under my skin every living second.

It was dawn by now. I paced to leave the training room. A cold shower sounded like a better option to me.

By the time I crossed the threshold of the training room, somebody was already waiting for me there, holding a towel in one hand and a water bottle in the other hand.

Kyle, my right-hand man, was more like a best friend to me. The man was lethal, the beast in the ring. Scarcely a look from him. All it took to make the best fighters wet their pants in the ring. His inked triceps and imitating height were just an add-on to his profile.

He passed me a towel whilst steering his gaze behind me on the training room’s floor, where the punching bag rested dead. 

He shook his head and chuckled. Passing me a captivating arch-brow look, he asked in amusement, “What’s the score... 148 or 150?”

I rolled my eyes and retorted, “Lost counts.” 

He snickered. “You should stop this before our annual expenditure exceeds our annual collection.”

I threw a towel at his face, but it did nothing to quiet him. 

Irritated, I snatched the water bottle from his hand and walked past him, retreated to my room.

Indeed, I lost count of how many nights I had spent throwing punches until my knuckles burst out bleeding. I was trotting on the edge with continuous nightmares, sleepless nights, and my growing craving every night.

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I entered the underground cell with Kyle by my side. Others greeted me, heads bowed down in respect and mostly out of fear. Nobody dared to look me in my eyes, except if they had a death wish. 

I narrowed my gaze at the person bound to the chair. His once charming face was full of bruises now. Unrecognizable. 

Blood was dripping from several cuts over his body, and black rings around his eyes indicated my boys did a decent job. Now it was my turn.

I ordered the boys to leave, and they followed forthwith. Kyle was the last one to leave. He locked the door behind him. However, not before flashing me a smirk. Fucker knew well what was about to come. They all knew.

I shifted forward to grab the man by the cheeks, digging my fingers deep in his black and blue bruised flesh, gracefully. He hissed in pain through gritted teeth and kept staring into my eyes. His eyes were filled with rage and hatred. Good.

“Mafia Boss.” I spat out bitterly. What a piece of dirt.

“Just..... leave him.....you got what you want.” He snarled.

I ignored his pleas and walked upright to the end of the room. There was a table filled with touring devices, or what we used to call ‘toys’.

I picked up my favorite one. A blade made of Damascus steel. I smirked when ran a finger at its sharp tip. 

“This is perfect for today’s occasion.”

I sat back in the chair placed in the middle of the room, facing him. Before grabbing a last hell torture ingredient, a small glass bottle filled with amber color liquid.

“Just let him go, goddammit! I did what you asked me to do.” He said, almost shouting. His eyes were on the gifts I bought him. 

“I will,” I smirked and stabbed his right hand in the armrest of the wooden chair with a blade, reaping an ear-piercing scream.

“Bitch!”

Moving forward, my face was mere inches away from him. I whispered in a low, chilled tone, “I dare you to say another word.” He gulped audibly. Satisfied with the reaction, I ripped the knife from his hand. 

He sealed his lips tightly to suppress his screams. Impressive, so much to pride for?

The corner of my lips turned up as I whispered my next words to him “... or I would love to gift wrap your bones to Hades’s door.” I moved slightly to watch his reaction. His eyes widened, and he swallowed hard, yet tried to mask it.

He opened his mouth to say something, then closed it and stared at me in complete horror, anticipating my next step.

An evil smirk appeared on my face when I started to peel off the skin of his arm with my favorite knife. It worked like butter.

He bit down on his lower lip, ruined my plan to listen to him scream, and begged me to stop, but couldn’t control the tears that leaked like a river. 

This man had a powerful spirit, ruling the entire underworld alone for years. Nevertheless, one bad move and here he was. A prey of evil mafia queen, that’s what they named me, and my inner devil was more than eager to clarify them. There’s more to it than that.

Once done, I sat back in my seat to admire my artwork. Giving an approving nod, I picked the last item to finish my masterpiece. 

I poured acidic content on his arms where I peeled off the skin. And there it came. He started screaming like a bitch in heat.

I laughed like an evil while watching him struggle to break free from holds like a fish caught in the net and sobbing.

 “....p... please... please” I gave a thought to his pleas, before cutting off his ropes. He immediately jumped to his shaky legs and turned to face me. 

“Thanks...f.. for forgiving me,” He muttered in a shaky voice. I found it comical how easily he believed I could spare him. I almost felt bad for breaking his hope. Almost.

“Who said I am done with you?” I said dryly. My face remained emotionless while removing the special gloves I was wearing. He was quite smart to understand the meaning behind my words and sprinted off towards the door without wasting time. 

In the next second, his body fled to the far end of the room by a powerful gust of wind. A loud thud sound echoed.

Air was knocked out of his lungs. Lay on the floor, he struggled to breathe like fish out of water. 

I walked to him and bent down to clasp his chin, forcing him to look me in the eye.

“Let me give you your death present first,” I whispered sweetly. I smiled down at him and wrapped a hand around his thick neck.

His body started dancing like a leaf in the storm when a high lightning bolt passed through his body. He stared at me with big eyes whilst making all the horrible noises. I relished him after a minute, not wanting to finish my prey just yet.

He knocked down like a dead body but continued to form those horrible sounds.

I grinned when he asked in a barely hearable voice, “W-who... are... y-you?” He tried to push himself away from me. Huh, like he could. Such a useless act.

I smirked devilishly and stared into his eyes while acknowledging that last wish whilst I jumped back to my feet. 

“For you... Death.” I whirled toward the door before striking the last glance at my prey. Satisfied with his pitiful state, I waved my hand in the air to wrap up. 

Out of thin air, his body was engulfed by furious red flames, and the underground cell filled with ear-piercing screams and a rotten smell.

I swiveled on my heels before whispering the complete answer to his questions under my breath, “And for the world… gifted.”

I left the room and passed other gang members in the hallway. They watched at me in pure horror before bowing their heads down in front of me.