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Some nod. Others look confused.
“I run this family.” My words have an air of finality. “Anyone that has a problem with that can leave now.”
A couple of men turn and leave. I fully expected this. Men don’t follow the orders of women in our world.
“The rest of you,” I say, waiting until they focus their attention on me once more. “You will be taken care of. Things are going to change. I will not run this family the way my uncle did. The Hernandez name needs to be restored to its former glory. But heed my fucking words. If you betray me I will kill you. Things will not be easier because I am a woman.”
A murmur of discontent goes through the gathering. Tommy, the little mouse that has caused so many problems in all our households, steps forward.
“You’ve got a set of balls, lady,” he says, full of bravado and stupidity. “You can’t lead anything … except to lead men around by their dicks with your cunt. I could kill you now and not one of these men would do a damn thing to stop me.”
Some of the men gathered chuckle, and I know this is the moment to drive my point home.
My hand waves to stop Diego from moving forward. Yes, I hired him to keep me alive but Tommy isn’t a threat to me or anyone else. Stepping up to him I hold his gaze waiting for him to do something.
“I am Willow Hernandez Gallo. You don’t know what I am capable of.”
My hand shoots out, the blade of my father’s knife slicing across his throat. I found it in his office and slipped it into my pocket not knowing that I would need it. Tommy’s hand goes to his throat where his life force is spilling out. He falls to his knees, gurgling, before I kick him in his chest and send him sprawling. Moments later, vacant eyes stare at the clear azure sky above us.
“Anyone else have something to say?” I ask calmly.
When no one speaks up or steps forward I turn to the man that greeted us at the door earlier. “What is your name?”
“Silas. Silas deMarco.”
“And what did you do for my uncle?”
“Nothing. I was a foot soldier,” he says. “But your father used me as a cleaner. A fixer.”
A demented smile spreads across my face before I can stop it.
“Perfect. Wrap Tommy up and send him to Raphael Gallo. Add a note saying his mouse problem has been taken care of.”
I walk away, cleaning the blade of the knife on my sweatshirt before handing it to Diego.
“So, you will lead by fear?” he asks once we are out of earshot of the other men.
“Respect, loyalty, fear, I don’t care. They will remember me.”
Chapter Nine
A Monster Within
Rafe
I stand outside the Hernandez house where my wife has installed herself, my arms crossed as I lean back against my Lotus. The same car I drove her home from our wedding, not that such things seem to matter to her right now.
Willow has been playing with power, and as much as I know she wants to make a stand of her independence and for her brother, her fucking-with-me-or-fuck-off attitude will get her killed. And I can’t have that, because a body already occupies the space in my trunk, and I don’t have room for another.
I sigh and slide my hand across my face. That’s not true. I love her. I also want to kill her. Just a little bit. Spank her, fuck her … I never did get the chance to make love to her with the hellraising that’s happened in my own house.
Willow is making me fight a war on an extra front I don’t need right now, and I have no fucking idea what to do about her. So, I do what any lovelorn bastard does. I stand out the front of her home and stalk her. I mean, call her, not … you get the idea. I flip my phone over and press the green button. The call goes straight to her voicemail. I smile darkly. You want to play with me, Willow? You might not like the answer I give you.
So, I call her. Again and again and again.
Finally, a door rattles up above and she storms to the uncovered balcony of the top floor. Her hair hangs wild about her, the raven-black strands whipping in the wind as she glares at me through slitted eyes. Righteous anger curls off her in waves. That oh-so-fuckable mouth of hers is a red slash on a pale landscape as she leans far too forward over the banister and yells at me.
“Go away, Rafe!”
