Page 21 of Mob Queen

The sound echoes through the room and the brothel. It’s loud, and unmistakable. “You’re forgiven.” I stand and hand G the gun. “Take care of this.” I look to Christian and add, “He’s done.”

G opens the door to the office and gestures for Dario. “Take Frank and Rome home, then return here.”

“Yes, sir,” Dario replies as he scans the room.

“Once this is cleaned up, talk with the girls and let them know we take their safety seriously,” I instruct G.

“Done,” he reassures me.

I turn to my brother. “You ready?”

Rome rubs at the back of his neck while actively avoiding Christian’s lifeless body. “Yeah,” he says, and his voice cracks.

“Let’s go.” I step aside to widen the distance between us, and Rome follows me out of the office.

“Frank,” G calls in a voice barely above a whisper. He looks to Rome’s retreating back and tilts his head to the side. “He’ll be okay. He’s just not used to this.” G flicks his eyes to my brother.

“I know,” I say with confidence. “He’s in the life now, G.”

“The two of you together will see this family soar higher than your old man could ever imagine.” He lifts his hand and sweeps it between Rome and myself. “You two can be unstoppable.”

I lean in close and whisper, “Better fucking believe it.” I clasp my hand on his shoulder and give G an appreciative squeeze. “See you in the morning.” I walk out to find Rome standing by the car with his hands shoved in his pockets. “Hey,” I say.

Rome startles. “Hey,” his voice is unusually high.

I slide into the back of the car, and wait until he’s in. Rome’s hands are tight in tight fists and his jaw is strained. “Are you okay?”

“You shot him.”

“I did,” I say with ease. “And I’d do it again. Two of the girls were attacked. One was beaten and the other was raped. His job is to look after the girls, not go out and be on a fucking break, or whatever the hell else he was doing. If I can’t trust him to do his job, then he’s useless to me.”

Rome opens his mouth several times to start saying something, but he settles on, “I get it.”

“This is the world we’re in.”

Rome clears his throat and lifts his chin to face me. “So I know where you stand, if one of the women is hurt what do you do?”

“Whoever hurt them pays with their life. And in Christian’s case, because he took his eyes off them, his penance was his life too.”

“You’re protective and psychotic.”

I narrow my eyes at Rome, before letting a laugh vibrate through me. “These girls have promised to work for me, and in exchange I promised to look after them. Protective – yes. Psychotic – you better fucking believe it. Especially if someone wrongs me, my family, or my workers.”

“You could’ve broken his hands, or hobbled him, Frank.”

“And what does that show everyone? It shows them that I have a tolerance for someone wronging me. This way, anyone who thinks they can fuck with me and get away with it, will know the price for being caught is fatal.”

Rome avoids my eyes, but finally nods. “If someone fucks with you, you end their life. That means others will take this as a warning.”

“Yes. They’ll know the consequences.”

The air is cold and thick and my brother taps his fingertips to his knee. “You’re the right person for this life.”

“You will be too.”

“I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to pull the trigger, Frank, but now I know I can watch you do it.”

I lean across and place my hand on Rome’s thigh, giving him a gentle, supportive squeeze. “You’ll be fine.” I move my hand and look out into the night sky. I need to change the trajectory of this conversation. “15 will find the shooter, and she’ll give me the information on who gave the orders.”

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