All Chapters of Becoming The Mafia Queen: Chapter 81 - Chapter 90

DON VITOThe air was warm and heavy with the smell of the lemon trees that lined the porch. I had always liked this hour, when the sun was sliding down and the shadows were long, but even that small pleasure couldn't keep the fatigue from settling in my bones.The phone call had been pleasant enough, if you could call a man groveling pleasant. Governor Ruthford was a politician like all the rest, good at smiling and making promises, but bad at delivering. He wanted my support for his campaign, and he knew the price. Men like him always think they can strike a deal without getting their hands dirty, but that's the trouble with these modern types. They don't understand that real power is not in handshakes and speeches. It's in the fear a man feels when he realizes you own his next breath.I set the phone down on the small table beside me, leaned back in my chair, and let the silence settle in. The world had gone soft. You could see it in the eyes of the young men who thought they could

SOFIAEven after I’d gotten as far away from the precinct, I still couldn’t stop going over my conversation with Agent Valdez and Detective Grey. I didn’t know if I’d made the right, but there was no going back it. So I just kept driving, the hum of the engine and the faint music on the radio filling the empty space in my head. For once, I felt like I could breathe. There was no need to pretend when I was by myself. I could be myself, and actually think about what I’d been doing for the past few weeks. It had been five months now, and yet it still felt like yesterday when I walked onto that bridge with a pocket full of pills and a head filled with nothing but a desire to end it all. I’d already given up then, and I was ready for my world to drown with me. And then I met Adrian, and life had never been the same ever since then. From the moment I met Adrian, my life took a very specific turn. I wasn’t just a normal girl anymore. I was out for revenge, and nothing could give me that sa

ADRIANThe warehouse sat at the edge of Stamford like an ugly scar, with its walls stained with the dirt of decades. It was midnight, and a cold wind was blowing in from the east. The chill crept down my spine, and as I stood there, my teeth began to chatter. But I wrapped my coat tighter around me, refusing to show any sign of weakness in front of my men. I stepped out of the car and the cold air cut through me even sharper than before. Pain flared in my ribs as I stretched, so deep and searing, and for a moment I wondered if I'd made a mistake coming out here in person. But the thought burned out just as quickly. I had to be here, because sending my men without me would have made me look weak. And weakness was something Don Vito would smell from miles away.Rafe came up beside me with his rifle in hand, his gaze sharp and steady. He didn't need to say anything, because I knew what he was thinking. He was ready, but he'd rather I wasn't out here bleeding out in the middle of a fight

SOFIAI didn't even bother knocking when I walked up to Adrian’s room. My entire body was aching from training, since Melissa and Ariana had run me into the ground until I could barely stand. But the moment I heard his voice coming through the door and I heard how sharp and cold it sounded, I forgot all about how sore I was.I slowly pushed the door open, and there he was, pacing back and forth like a caged animal. He had his phone pressed to his ear, with his shirt half buttoned with the sleeves rolled up, and his jaw clenched so tight I could see the muscle ticking from across the room."For the millionth time," he barked, "I don't give a damn if you're tired. Double the men if you have to and lock down their borders. If Vito breathes wrong, I want it reported. And if any of those idiots let something slip past again, I'll feed their corpses to the pigs"I'd heard enough.My anger flared before my brain could catch up, because all I could think about was how he had promised me (and

MARCOI've always hated weakness. It stinks worse than blood. You can smell it before a man even opens his mouth, and you can hear it in the stutter in his breath. You can even see it in the way his eyes twitch instead of staying fixed on one thing. And right now, kneeling in front of me were two weak bastards who thought they could slip into DeLuca's group and come crawling back when they got caught.The room was quiet except for their terrified breathing. My men stood back against the walls, waiting and watching because they all knew what was coming. I didn't need an audience, but sometimes an example is worth more than a thousand speeches.I grabbed the first one whose name was Carlo by his collar and slammed him against the concrete wall. His head hit hard, blood trickling down his temple while he cried out like a fucking child."You thought you could run to Adrian?" I snarled, my fists already tightening. "You thought you could spit on everything I've given you and beg to be his