“Again!” Zahra's voice echoes off the walls of the boxing ring as I watch her take calculated steps toward her opponent. The combination of jabs and kicks she sends flying are as impressive as they are lethal. I wince as I watch her land a solid punch right in the gut of a man towering over her. What she may lack in height, she makes up for in speed and stamina. Her opponent staggers back for a moment, then manages to land a punch that sends her head flying back.
A rush of blood fills my chest as I watch her land on the mat, stopping her fall with her hands. Her head lifts for a moment, locking eyes with me, as she spits blood out of her mouth like it's nothing. She’s on her feet a blink after that, and I watch as she grapples her opponent’s arm, wraps her legs, followed by her entire body around it, and drags him down to the mat. Try as he might, he can’t break free of her grip, and the next thing I know, she’s whipped out a knife and has it hovering over his neck. If this had been a real fight, I have no doubts she would have slit his throat. Instead, she leans back and finally releases him. She’s magnificent.
How her trainer still manages to find something to critique is beyond me. “Make sure to keep your left arm up at all times. The only reason why I was able to land a punch was because you dropped it for a second.”
Zahra gives him a quick nod before turning her attention back to me. The trainer gets the message, grabbing his equipmentand leaving. Azula steps in a moment after, her nose scrunching together as she enters the gym. “You couldn’t have picked somewhere to meet that didn’t smell like sweat and rotten eggs, Z?”
“This was the only time that worked with my schedule, and I wasn’t about to miss a session with Malcom. Especially not after what’s transpired recently.” She shrugs, grabbing her water bottle and chugging.
Her aura of nonchalance is exactly what you would expect from a boss, and the exact opposite of what I had displayed last night. She was born for this role. That much is more than clear. Anyone who questioned her qualifications or ability as a boss was an idiot.
“Shall we begin?” Zahra eyes Aidan and me before nodding toward a bench that I take a seat on. “Azula informed me that you’re both updated on the evidence, or lack thereof, we found from the man who tried to kill us.”
I nod.
“Cyrus is continuing to run facial recognition software with local surveillance footage, and will update us on any progress he’s made. Until then, we continue business as normal.” Zahra tosses her water bottle on the ground, opting to sit on the edge of the boxing rink. “Our first outing together confirmed our loyalty to each other…but it didn’t quite demonstrate our strength. We’ll need to remedy that.”
My eyebrows furrow together. “You’re concerned about ourappearance and not the fact that someone tried to kill us?”
Azula rolls her eyes and clicks her tongue. As if being in the same room together is an insult to her intelligence. I feel Aidan stiffen next to me at the clear disrespect. To Zahra’s credit, she does give Azula a small glare, who looks down ever so slightly at the reprimand.
“I’m concerned aboutboththings, Mr. McAlister, and howthey influence each other. Someone attempting to murder us in broad daylight indicates we’re being underestimated. They don’t view us as a real threat. And that is a huge problem, because the second you’re not seen as a threat…”
“You’re a target that ends up dead,” I summarize.
“Precisely.” She glances at Aidan to see if he has any additional protests. He doesn’t.
“So what are you proposing? Another lunch?” Returning to the same restaurant would be risky given the clear lack of security and ease of our enemies entering without notice, but it would also be a clear way of demonstrating how unfazed we are. Or really how unphased Zahra is. I, on the other hand, am more than fine never eating at The Black Rose again. Their filet mignon was superb; I’d given them that. But nothing worth dying over.
“I was thinking more like dinner. With December around the corner, it's the perfect time to revive my father’s charity banquet. We’ll invite all the made men as my father did in the past, allies and enemies alike, as well as all the state and local politicians.” Zahra’s attention is aimed at Azula now, who’s typing away at her phone, likely already sending out invitations. A second later, my phone dings, and a save-the-date has landed in my inbox.
Naser’s charity gala was an annual spectacle he’d hosted for decades. In many ways, it was another way he and my father had demonstrated their power. Hosting an event where mafia leaders, politicians, and their families were all in attendance, acting civilized would seem impossible to anyone who hadn’t had the pleasure of being in the same room with Naser. But his charm, grace, and underlying threatening presence was unmatched. No one wanted to push him far enough and face his wrath.
The respect and fear he elicited from others was somethingto aspire to. Something I have no doubts Zahra would easily achieve, and surpass, in her lifetime. “Having everyone who wants you dead in the same room is a bold choice.”
“One we can hopefully use to our advantage. I’ll contact my staff to ensure additional security precautions are implemented at my father’s— atmymanor.” Zahra’s matter-of-fact tone is in stark contrast to the slight shake of her hands as she clenches her hands into fists at her side.
Watching her briefly change from a cold-hearted mob boss to a child who had just lost her beloved father is difficult. It feels like looking in a mirror. The pit in my stomach returns full force. There’s nothing I could do to erase the pain of losing our fathers, but at the very least, I could be there for her. I could confide my own pain and be a source of refuge for her. There were very few people in the world who fully understood the mix of anxiety, thrill, sorrow, and distrust that comes with being a boss. To be responsible for so many people’s lives and well-being, all while yours was constantly being threatened. To never be able to go to sleep fully at peace because you know you could wake up with a barrel pointing at your head or a knife to your throat. If you’re lucky enough to wake up at all.
Despite all the lies, backstabbing, and treachery that happened in our line of work, our fathers had still managed to find each other. Two men who were as honest as they could be and were fiercely loyal to those they loved. Though Zahra and I barely know each other, I want her to know that I intend to uphold the same level of loyalty to her as my father did to Naser. How I could get her to trust me was a different story.
Zahra is clearly incredibly intelligent, likely the smartest person in every room she walks into, which means her walls are not only up but likely made of steel and nearly impenetrable. Words alone would not be sufficient to gain her true support. Her true allyship. She would honor any establisheddeals between our two mobs out of loyalty and respect for her father, but I didn’t want her to work with me because of duty. I want her to work with me because she knows she can trust me.
“So I finally get to party at Naser’s Northshore Mansion? Nice,” Aidan cuts through the silence, but the lighthearted comment lands with no one.
“Actually, I was thinking about the Manor in Maine. It’s more spacious, and hasn’t really been open to strangers before,” Zahra says.
The pit in my stomach turns into a sinkhole, and my throat tightens as a rush of guilt and shame fills me.I can’t go back to that place. Every single inch of it will serve as a memory of my failure.
“Is that a problem, Declan?” Zahra’s deep brown eyes bore into me as if she can read my mind.
I try to force words out of my mouth but all that comes out is a choking noise. To her credit, she doesn’t look at me with pity or disgust. Zahra just stands there, patiently, as I take a moment to compose myself. Aidan clears his throat, getting ready to speak for me, but I raise a hand to stop him. I didn’t need a mouthpiece. Maybe my openness and slight moment of vulnerability would show Zahra that she could confide in me. Or maybe she would just view me as a weak man unfit for my role.No. She won’t.I barely knew this woman, yet something in me felt like she would understand me. That she wouldn’t judge me for grieving because she likely knew exactly what was going on inside my head right now.
“I was in the Maine Manor, picking up a shipment, when I got a call that our fathers were targeted,” I manage to spit out before my throat constricts again and my heart pounds so hard I swear it's about to fall out of my chest.
“You were in Maine?” Zahra’s voice has a sharp edge thatmakes me flinch. My mind finishes the rest of her question,‘You were in Maine while our fathers were bleeding out?’
“I drove down as fast as I could to help. We got them into your medical wing immediately but…the damage had already been done.”
