Page 5 of One for the Money

“Perfection,” I cheered. “Bear, can you take him to the ring, please? I need to change real quick.”

Darting past them, I headed for the gym where the locker rooms were located. I always kept a few spare sets of workout gear waiting for me. You never knew when you might need to get in a quick workout. Tossing my clothes on the floor, I pulled on a pair of black biker shorts and a bright red sports bra that made my tits look amazing. It had taken me time to find one that would strap down the girls without having to double up. Gotta love when your mother hands down her impressive rack to you. Thank fuck, I got the ass, so I wasn’t top-heavy—this way, it balanced shit out.

I glanced at the hand wraps and decided against it. Today, I needed to raw dog this fight to clear my head and remind me why I chose to live this life on my terms. Go where you want, fuck who you like, eat dessert first, and never allow someone to take your independence away from you. My hands balled into fists as that statement had me thinking about my father. He’s the reason I am who I am and the first man to ever betray me.

That’s right, my father, Armond Zuccaro, the head of the Zuccaro Family. He had me training right beside my brothers until one day, he yanked the rug out from under me. Suddenly, I was forced to wear dresses, learn how to be a lady, what fork to use at the dinner table, and how to serve my future husband. Yeah, fuck that shit. I was never going to be a mafia wife watching my so-called husband cheat on me from day one and tell me I couldn’t be involved in men’s business. So, the first chance I got, I left and never turned back.

It hadn’t taken me long to find my place and fight for the respect I deserved. Now, I intended to keep it no matter what it took or how much blood was spilled. The Wolf wasn’t something you could tame, so my suggestion—leave it the fuck alone.

Padding barefoot out of the locker room, I headed for the cage. This was built specifically for me to play with my prey. If we used a regular boxing ring, they’d run, but now they can’t when they’re locked in with little ol’ me. Bear opened the gate then shut it behind me, locking it before stepping down to watch, arms crossed and a frown on his face. I’d learned a long time ago that Bear wasn’t mad or upset with me for fighting these shitheads. No, he was pissed he didn’t get to join in, but if he did, the whole thing would be over in one hit. Where I enjoyed the cat-and-mouse part of all this, Bear saw no point in wasting time.

“All right, sticky fingers, let’s see what you’ve got,” I taunted, gesturing for him to come at me.

Sticky Fingers took a deep breath and shifted into a fighting stance.

Would you look at that?

This is going to be fun, after all.

The sight of Von’s grin told me she was fully invested in this fight. In a way, that was good for her victim—instead of just toying with him, she’d put in the effort. If the man managed to have talent, forcing her to use her skills, all the better. Whenever my lethal goddess felt uncertain about something or emotions she refused to face, the more volatile she became.

I knew better than to push her, but it was the first time sober I’d ever heard Von admit what I already knew. To keep my woman happy, I let her believe I didn’t know or that I stuck around because of a debt to repay. If only Von knew the level of obsession I had toward her. Fuck, if I were ever going to let her find out, then I’d be forced to do something drastic because she’d try to run.

Problem was… Evonnia Marisa Zuccaro was mine.

Von was right when she said her plans got turned against her. There weren’t many things I gave a fuck about, but my dark angel sent to save my life was at the top of the list. One day, when it was right, I’d help her understand, but for now, I would leave things as they were. Finally, my Wolf was getting the recognition she’d always deserved. I found it slightly interesting that it took another woman who’d clawed her way to the top to be the one to see Von’s potential.

Astin Caprioni-Raffa had charged Von with an important mission. Gian Accardi, the leader of the first of the five families, had two sons hidden away. A failsafe, if you will, to keep his family line intact and rise to avenge his death. It was our job to find those two bastards, kill them, and finish off the Accardis for good. Then, there was the matter of Serena, Gian’s second wife, who managed to slip through our fingers at the bloody showdown. Personally, I found her to be the bigger challenge to deal with. She might not be Accardi by blood, but Serena held sway with some powerful people in the neighboring country of Trian.

The Trian government already had it out for Von after her visit to the underground prison. See, my mistress of chaos had rubbed them the wrong way as she left a bloody trail behind her when she left the prison. Trianians were known for their intolerance of those who broke the rules. Anyone who broke the law, no matter what law it was, got sent to prison. There was no hearing, no lawyers, just judgment and being locked away for life. So you can imagine how someone like Von would be seen as a blight on their perfect world.

“Fuck,” Von swore.

Instantly, I was charging forward, ready to rip the metal door off its hinges. The bastard had managed to clip my woman’s cheek. My gaze zeroed in on the slight reddening of her skin high on her cheekbone, making my blood boil. Baring my teeth, I snarled, unable to keep my rage silent. This drew the man’s attention for a split second, allowing Von to slam her fist right in the fucker’s eye.

There was a low grunt as the man stumbled backward from Von, but that was the worst thing he could have done. You never show weakness to a wolf—they will latch onto that like a shark in the water. Watching Von’s supple body move as she advanced on her prey was beauty in motion. This asshole had pissed her off and cut his life expectancy down by half. No longer was this about fun and games—it was time to prove to all the onlookers that that had been a lucky shot.

Whenever Von entered the ring with someone, it drew out all her men. It was like moths to a flame, desperate to see their leader in action. The people in our world were all cockroaches, just trying to survive another day and take whatever riches they could get. One thing a cockroach always knew was where to find their golden ticket so they could hitch a ride to glory. However, nothing in the criminal world was ever given for free—there was always a cost to doing business. For Von, that cost was always having eyes on her, sniffing for a weakness they could exploit. Too bad for them, I would let them live long enough to find something to use against her.

Not that Von knew I regularly cleaned house, taking out all the deadweight so we could bring in fresh blood. On occasion, there were men who remained loyal, who saw what I did and found their place in her empire. Those men I allowed to live, and many had become her conductors, but each of them knew if I even sniffed a hint of their loyalties changing, they’d be six feet under, chopped up into pieces so small no one could identify them.

“Time’s up, Sneaky. You were fun, but now I’m bored,” Von announced as she ran for the chain-link fencing that created the ring.

Jumping as high as she could, Von then kicked out, shoving off the fence and slamming right into her opponent. The thief crashed onto the mats, sprawled out on his back, stunned by the blow. Popping up, then brushing her indigo and violet-colored hair out of her face, Von’s eyes shimmered with excitement. Taking her time, she walked around the body to stop, squatting at the man’s head.

“You gave me a good workout and made me laugh, so here’s your reward,” Von shared, grasping the man’s face with both hands. In a single motion that showed the ease of practice, my dark goddess snapped the thief’s neck.

Standing, Von rolled her shoulders back and shook out her arms and legs before taking a deep breath. While Von didn’t hide her feral nature, she didn’t let her inner beast off-leash either. So after fights like this, it took her a moment before she’d be safe for others to interact with her. Personally, I loved it when the wolf rode her. Just the mere thought of her like that had me so fucking hard—the feel of her nails clawing against my skin as I held her down by her throat and fucked her into the mattress.

A memory of last night, a dark room filled with the sounds of wild lust as we took what we wanted from each other. It was in those moments that she was honest with me. There was no denying the trust she gave to me, the way her eyes gazed into mine as I brought her to the brink of passing out, only to give back the breath of life I knew belonged to me.

Von and I shared a soul, and it’s why she’ll never be able to fully resist me. She’d managed to keep me at arm’s length for a long time, but no one can deny something that’s always meant to be a part of them. Yeah, I knew she fucked other men and, on a rare occasion, a woman. Although I think she was testing to see if they’d end up dead or missing the next morning like the men did. Occasionally, I wasn’t able to dispose of her quick fucks—she’d gotten better about hiding them from me. Yet she hadn’t quite figured out I could smell them on her when she slipped out of the bathroom, coat check, or even from behind a building. I’m not sure if she started to warn them about me or if she figured out I wouldn’t leave her to chase them down. None of them were worth leaving her unprotected, no matter how badly I wanted to watch the life drain from their eyes. My goddess would always be my top priority.

“Bear, earth to Bear,” Von called in a sing-song voice. “Are you gonna let me out?”

Snapping back into the here and now, I took the keys from the hook and unlocked the gate. Von brushed past me, and I have no doubt she could feel how fucking turned-on I was. Unfortunately for me, this fight had done what she wanted and given her back her cloak of emotionlessness. With a frustrated snort, I flung the gate closed so it slammed into place.

“If you’re gonna be that cranky, go find one of the gunnie-bunnies to ride your carrot,” Von called over her shoulder.