“Where are you going now?” Raff asked.
“To deal with a little problem.” Though my tone was light, I could tell by Raff’s thinning lips that he understood what problem I was talking about.
I moved around the chair and eyed the men in the room. Each one stared back, but only two were blatantly displeased with my presence.Displeased for now, at least, I considered thoughtfully.By the time I’m through, though, I’m sure they’ll all be more than simply displeased.
“What happened out there today?” I demanded. No one responded. Heads moved down. Eyes sought the floor. Not a single one of them opened their fucking mouths. It would seem I wasn’t being forceful enough. I moved towards the center of the room and slowly turned in a circle. “Perhaps I wasn’t loud enough,” I stated, raising my voice. “I believe I askedwhat the fuck. Happened. Today?”
“We were ambushed by an attacker on a bike,” one of them finally answered. His tone was sharp and monotone.
“Ambushed,” I repeated, approaching the speaker and stepping closer. His head lifted and his eyes met something behind me. He refused to look directly into my face. Smart man. He assumed if he did, I’d finally lose my temper. He was right. Iwas very close to it already. “Tell me something,” I said. “Would you ever be ambushed like that or let your charge get so far away from you if it had been Raffaello Price, himself?”
The tension in the room racketed up another notch. “Of course not, sir,” the man in front of me replied.
“Of course not,” I repeated the man’s words, nodding. “Then that means today was more than just an ambush.” My tone lowered. The rising tide of my anger moved through me. Calmly, I turned from the man and scanned the room.
“Today was the day that you almost let the next Mistress of the Price Empire die.” Several of them stiffened at my words, and even though they were far better trained than to move, I could sense the unease that swept through them.
“Evangeline Price—your charge,” I reminded them, “nearly died today because of your incompetence.” The more I spoke, the deeper my words came out. I strode down the line of men, feeling my blood twist and turn in my veins. As if it was alive, curdling beneath my flesh at the very idea of something that we owned being taken from us against our will.
Never.I thought harshly. I stopped before the head guard and before he could say anything, my arm snapped out, my hand wrapping around his throat. Raff watched with a keen gaze, not saying a word.
“It won’t happen again,” the man wheezed in my grip. I squeezed tighter, feeling my rage bubble upward.
“No,” I agreed. “It certainly won’t.”
With my free hand, I reached beneath my jacket and withdrew my gun, flicking off the safety before I settled the barrel beneath his chin. The guard’s eyes widened and his nostrils flared as he realized how serious I was.
“As of right now, Evangeline Price is more precious to you than your own fucking family, do you understand?” My words were clear. Succinct.
The guard in my grip nodded sharply, his breath disappearing as I tightened my grip. I spun my gaze down the line and the rest nodded as well.
“Evangeline Price is more than your charge,” I continued. “She’s your future queen.” I released the man in my grip and turned slowly to meet the other guard’s gaze. The man bowed his head, coughing and wheezing for breath.
“She is going to be mywife,” I murmured, moving with silent steps away from the guard. “And she will carry the next Price Heir.”
Raff watched me, his eyes cool and dissatisfied. Even now, I could tell he wanted to step. His fists clenched at his sides. After so many years of being in charge, it was hard for him to let me take control, but it was better now since I would soon be the head of the house. It was already rare enough for a mafia head to retire in a way that didn’t end at the wrong end of a bullet. He knew that as well as I did. It was why he was letting go—he had to or this would never work.
As it stood, his men all stared at him as if waiting for him to speak up. Smart of him, though, he never did. Instead, Raff merely folded his arms across his chest and waited. He watched. Observing me. I wasn’t so naïve to think it was out of support—no, this too, was a test. To see if I was worthy to rule.
“It wasyourjob to protect her, and you failed,” I said to the line of men. “If something like this ever happens again, it will be your lives on the line.”
The guard standing slightly behind Raff eyed me with a narrowed look. I arched a brow his way. “Something to say?” I challenged him.
Finally, Raff spoke. “Giuseppe?”
The guard circled to the side of the desk, squaring off with me as his eyes darkened. “Yes, if you will allow it, Mr. Price.”
Raff waved his hand toward the two of us. Giuseppe faced off with me, glaring. “You are not yet the head of the Price Family,” he snapped. “You have no power to command us.”
I tilted my head to the side, my finger flicking against the gun in my grip. It would be so damn easy to just put a bullet in him and prove mypower. In this world, it was ‘might makes right,’ and I had it in spades. I waited, though, curious to see if anyone else would step forward.
“Is that how you all feel?” I demanded.
No one said a word. Good, I thought. Smart men. All save for this one.
Returning my attention to Giuseppe, I stepped forward until we were chest to chest. He was a shorter man but stocky—barrel-chested and gruff. His dark beard covered most of his lower face, but it didn’t completely hide the disdain in his expression.
“An American such as yourself wouldn’t understand this world,” he snapped, growling. “You may think you have some ability—however, Master Raffaello has not yet stepped down. Until he does, you haven’t earned our loyalty.”
