I didn’t want to think about that time in my life. I wasn’t living, just merely surviving.
“When did you start recruiting your own men?” I asked.
He laid his head back against the headboard, his eyes on the ceiling. “A few years ago when I realized Romano had no real purpose for me. Tony was a complete fuck up, and his men weren’t truly loyal to him. They could be bought. I’d discovered that very quickly. When Romano would send me out on hits, or when I was tracking down Kevin, I would go to the prisons.”
I nodded. “Xander told me you gave him a second chance at life.”
“He was wrongfully accused. I looked into his case. The evidence didn’t add up, but someone was paying the judge,” he explained. “Xander wanted a new life, and I offered him one. Each of my men know I will kill them if they turn on me. If they run, I will hunt them down.” Col’s voice was firm, steady, but also cold. He could be so cold, but he could also be warm…when he wanted to be.
“So, none of your men are Romano’s?” Were any of the guys downstairs? Did they know about the rings?
He smiled, looking back at me. It was downright sinister. “I would approach them, yes. But if they turned, I would kill them right then. Loyalty was what I craved, not manpower.”
“Haley told me about the St. Louis attack, when she got taken.”
His smile slowly fell. “I didn’t order that attack. When those two spineless men showed up at my house, I knew something wasn’t right.”
“How many men does Romano have?”
“More than the US Marines,” he answered simply, turning his head to the window as lightening struck outside. At this point, I was sure my eyes were out of my skull.
“How many men do you have?”
My demon turned his head back to me. “Quite a few, baby.”
The underlying tone in his cold voice sent a different kind of shiver down my spine. My heartstrings tugged, and I just needed to remind him. “You are a good man, Col,” I whispered, touching his handsome face.
He chuckled and shook his head. “You only want to see the good in people, Karina.”
I shook my head and shifted on his lap. “That’s Gwen, not me. You forget where I come from,” I countered, pulling the sheet around my shoulders. He studied me for a moment, watching my movements.
“Are you cold?”
“No, I just feel weird sitting naked on top of you,” I laughed. He raised a brow.
“Karina, I would have you naked every second of every day if I could. Unfortunately, I don’t have the time or energy to kill every person who looks at you.”
I rolled my eyes, hoping that he was joking.The look on his face told me otherwise. Clearing my throat, I pressed on. “Are you sure he's dead?”
“I blew up a building with him in it.”
My jaw dropped. “You have bombs?”
His handsome face spread into another smile, this one warm and genuine. “Not at the moment, no. Explosives are messy and expensive. There was a gas leak in the restaurant kitchen, and I used that to my advantage.”
Uncertainty pooled in my stomach. Something about this seemed…too easy. This couldn’t be over, and the tightening in my ribs scared me.
Was the devil really dead?
Would the Mafia accept his death and Collin taking the throne?
“Col?” I asked as I bit my thumb nail.
“Yes?”
“How do you plan on convincing the rest of the underworld that you are the new boss?” I didn’t know the correct terms for all of this, but if I was going to be a part of his life now…
“The Dark King thought he was all powerful because people feared him. He would send men’s daughters into the rings just to prove a point. Marriage contracts, deals with children, all of it—”
