Page 14 of Blood & Heartache

Chapter 6

Liu picked me up off the floor and set me back on my bed like I hadn’t just tried to slit his throat. The guys had watched in silence, and even though they all now stood at the foot of my bed ready to leap into action if needed, I appreciated they hadn’t stepped in. That was a moment Liu and I had to get past if I was going to trust him with anything.

“All right, so you mentioned these things have to happen sooner rather than later. Has there been any grumblings that I need to be aware of?” I asked and smiled at Braxton who offered me my coffee.

This time I didn’t take any chances and took a large gulp, letting it burn down my throat, reminding me I was alive and well. Sometimes I felt like every time I was reminded my father was dead, I was trapped in a nightmare. Things like pain told me that wasn’t the case, and this was all really happening.

“Master Caprioni started having fewer and fewer Family meetings in the manor and moved them to the company office. There were a few who didn’t like he was forcing them to conduct less-than-legal business in such a public place. The pushback hadn’t been strong at first, but it’s grown over time, and there are a few names I think you should keep an eye on,” Liu shared as he pulled out a tablet from his jacket. “I’ll email them to you now along with any relevant information to get you up to date on their grievances.”

“This fucker’s going to make us all look bad, isn’t he,” Jace muttered under his breath. I don’t know if he realized he wasn’t being as quiet as he thought or did it on purpose.

Liu glanced over at him and sighed. “That’s not my intention. All of you have worked as a team to support the underboss in her efforts. I did all of it myself for Master Caprioni, which has made me quite adept at gathering information I believe will be needed along the way. It saves time and effort later on. Most of this information I’d been collecting for when the time came, and he needed it. Trust me when I say there will be things I won’t be able to help with.”

“You make an incredibly valid point, Liu,” Atticus agreed. “Everything has changed now that Astin is the boss or will be officially soon enough. This means how we were doing things previously will have to shift since we need to cover responsibilities for both positions.”

Dread ran through me like I’d been doused with a bucket of cold water. “I don’t have to appoint someone to be my underboss right away, do I? Daddy picked me and protected that placement until I was of age to take it over, but I won’t be able to do that.”

All eyes trained on Liu, the only one who could answer that question. He didn’t answer right away but instead continued to make notes, and once that thought was finished, he closed the cover and met my gaze. “I’ve started to look into that matter. The main issue is there has never been a female boss who’s unmarried and has no children. If you were a man, they would press you to find a wife, get married, and produce an heir. While waiting for that to happen, you would be given a grace period of a year before the advising members of the Family would start pressing about a stand-in. Typically, it would be a nephew, brother, or trusted friend who would understand that once you had an heir of your own, they would step aside.”

“What about one of my uncles or at least Mathis since he’s blood-related,” I suggested. “This would at least give me someone to put into place because I’m certainly not getting married just to pop out a child. Things are changing in this Family, and I won’t be forced into something just because it’s how things have always been done.”

It was bad enough that I had to sequester my uncles, only allowing them to be at the visitation. With being the only legitimate child and underboss, the risk of someone attacking and wiping out the rest of the family was a large concern. That being the case, Mathis had to remain in protective custody in an undisclosed location yesterday in case I was killed. Even though Jamison was my half-brother, he was a bastard son to the Family and the last choice in leadership. They wanted pure blood, and now that I know I’m also a Raffa, that added a whole other level of respect I didn’t know I had going for me.

“As I said, I’m looking into the matter, Mistress,” Liu offered. “The moment I have a firm understanding of what can be done, you’ll be the first to know.”

Sensing that was the best I’d get out of him at this point, I let it go—for now. Sipping at my coffee, I mulled over what needed to be dealt with next. I didn’t want to address the members of the Family or reach out to the motherland until I had that answer, which left us dealing with the major problem I’d been forced to leave alone until the funeral was over. Well, boys and girls, that time had come, and I wanted my revenge.

“Tell me about Harvey,” I ordered, letting my gaze drift over my lieutenants. “Don’t you fucking dare hold anything back either, or I’ll show you what it’s like to be on the other side of my blade.”

They needed to know the time to baby me was now over. Daddy was in the ground with Mother, and it was time to get to work. No longer would I stand by and let that fucking shit stain of flesh continue living and breathing while I had any say in the matter. Snatching up the muffin I claimed previously, I peeled off the paper with my knife, cut the pastry into perfect bite-size pieces, then speared one chunk with the tip of the knife and ate it.

“If you want us to focus, you really should stop tempting us by doing things like that,” Luca commented. “It’s rather distracting.”

A grin tugged at my lips, but I refused to smile when I was trying to be threatening. “Thank you for the feedback, and I’ll try harder next time. Just know you’re the one to blame if my threats become far more impactful.”

“If you two are done flirting, then I have things to share,” Ryker cut in, crossing his arms and glaring at Luca, who just shrugged and waved his hand for Ryker to continue. “You’d instructed us to drop off Cherry, the stripper who was passing messages. I have men keeping an eye on things to see what kind of reaction Harvey had to the example we left on his doorstep. The first ones to see her were some of his girls and a few customers who then called for help. A bunch of Harvey’s goons removed her and brought her to one of his warehouses near the trainyard. That’s when the man himself made an appearance.”

Forgoing the knife, I stuffed pieces of the muffin in my mouth to keep from interrupting and asking a million questions before he’d finished explaining. Knowing Ryker as I do, he needed to tell things his way, or he’d take even longer to get to the information I wanted. He was systematic, and that’s what made him so damn good at his job as head of security. There were just some moments I wished he didn’t need to give all the details.

“Harvey arrived with his normal group of three men… two bodyguards and his assistant. The man was pissed, throwing things, yelling, and demanding answers for how she ended up on his club’s steps with no one noticing. I’d have had them stick around longer, but then things went down at the bar, and I pulled all personnel back to the manor. Some of my contacts shared with me that when Harvey learned about Colmazio’s death, he wasn’t at all surprised. What I’m unsure of is if he connected the dots to Cherry and us,” Ryker finished speaking.

None of that was all that helpful, but it was good to know I’d gotten under his skin by dropping off a snake at his door. If that pissed him off, then I planned to do it often until he lost his shit and made a mistake. The plan I was going to make wouldn’t end with Harvey having a quick and easy death. No, I was going to take a lesson from his playbook and sneak into every corner of his world until he was surrounded, only to figure it out too late.

“I want eyes on Harvey at all times until I know how many times he shits, who he fucks, and what brand of dressing he likes on his lunch salad. He played the long game sneaking his way into our house, but I’m not willing to wait that long. When I know every aspect of his life, then I’ll know where to slip the knife to make him bleed out slowly, watching everything he worked for disappear. There is no detail too small or fact that can’t be used against him. The Caprioni Family might have been keeping tabs on him before, but this is war,” I announced. My voice sounded cold and ruthless even to my own ears.

The guys all murmured and nodded their agreement to my orders, but I wanted to make one thing clear. “Only the best and trusted members of your teams are to be involved. If you don’t trust them with your life or mine, then they’re out. Liu and I will work on the meeting with the members of the Family because I plan to purge each and every slimy fuck who betrayed my father and this Family. Daddy was sick, and some things were mismanaged, allowing trouble to slip through the cracks. It’s a new dawn, a new day, and a new queen sitting on the throne. I don’t give second chances to those who betray the Family.”

“Understood, Mistress,” Liu answered, nodding his head in a slight bow. “By your leave, I have information to gather and matters to set in motion to make this happen.”

“Go,” I said with a wave of my hand. “The rest of you go as well. I don’t care if you work in my living room or your own offices, but you can’t stand here. There is the day-to-day to deal with on top of the other pressing matters, and I’ll not allow anyone to criticize my work ethic.”

Liu and Atticus needed no further instruction and left without another word, but my other five lieutenants didn’t seem as eager.

“Something on your mind?” I asked with a heavy sigh.

“I want Luca to tell us what the trigger phrase is,” Ryker stated. “It’s not safe for him to be the only one who knows it. What if you have another nightmare or episode, and he’s not available? You’re the boss, but it’s our job to make sure you keep that title for as long as you want to have it. This is important, Astin.”

“You all feel this way?” I questioned, but it was mostly directed at Gunner.