Page 57 of Mafia Don's Secret Baby

“I accept.”

It was almost as if Karr had been waiting for me to say the words. He didn’t give me a warning before withdrawing a gun and charging.

He didn’t expect much of a fight. He didn’t seem to expect any fight at all, judging by the way he held the gun to my chest. I immediately turned my body out of range and pushed his hand away as he fired past me. I gripped his arm with both hands and slammed it over my knee until the gun clattered to the floor. I didn’t give him time to consider as I threw my entire weight into him and threw him off balance.

Karr wasn’t fast, and he certainly wasn’t an experienced fighter. But he had more strength than me. When he flung an arm back, I lost my balance.

He used the distraction to charge.

I side-stepped to avoid contact with his body, but he managed to collide with my shoulder and take us both to the ground. He landed partially atop me, using one hand to catch himself. I wrapped my legs around his waist to avoid colliding fully with the ground, releasing the moment we landed.

He had strength, but I knew what I was doing. I knew how to get out of a disadvantageous position. My brother had made sure of that.

I met Matteo’s furious gaze over his shoulder and gave a slight shake of my head before turning my full attention back to Karr.

I had to do this alone.

He wrapped both hands around my throat and squeezed. I sputtered. Panic flooded my chest, but I kept my mind on the maneuver Silas had taught me. I hooked a leg over his, and with all the strength I could muster, I pivoted my hips and sent him off balance. With one of my arms, I pushed him to send him flailing.

He loosened the grip on my throat, and I slammed my other arm down, fully breaking the contact as I flung myself to my feet.

I refrained from coughing more than once. Showing weakness would destroy my plans. It would ruin what I was attempting to do here.

Karr was slow as he brought himself to his feet. I had enough time to grab my serrated knife and lift it before he charged again.

I ducked beneath his hit, sending my fist into his groin.

When he hunched, I didn’t allow myself to hesitate.

If you’re ever in a situation where you need to fight, don’t hesitate. Your opponent won’t.

Silas’s voice rang through my mind, and I listened to his advice. I moved the blade to Karr’s throat and slid it across. I put substantial force into the motion, and his head moved back at an odd angle as blood spewed from him.

I didn’t look at his body or allow myself to consider what I had done.

“I am the boss of this territory. Does anyone else have any complaints?”

I felt Matteo come up behind me, and I fought the urge to lean back into him. I couldn’t look weak. Not in front of these people. I looked down at the blood on the knife clutched in my hand and found myself grinning even though I had expected to feel sick or to collapse in delayed horror at what I had done.

The men who had looked hesitant now appeared pleased by my show of power. They stared at me, and then their eyes turned from me to look at Matteo.

I wasn’t ignorant. I knew that they only accepted me because I had someone as powerful and brutal as Matteo backing me. In their eyes, we’d be working together, and they would be answering to him. Realistically, though, I didn’t care what it took to have them on my side. As long as we had the support we needed to fight the Russians and avenge my family, it would be enough for now.

“It’s going to be a long road, but we’re going to wipe the Petrovs from the map,” I said.

The conversations didn’t last long as my father’s three advisors introduced themselves to both me and Matteo. We were informed of the remaining numbers, and Jay handed me a stack of Manilla folders a foot high with all the information I’d need to continue my father’s business endeavors.

The jump drive, which he informed me was four times the length of the folders, rested atop the paper copies as Matteo and I were left alone in my father’s old office. Both Karr’s body and the body of the man Matteo had killed were removed, but their blood left dark splotches on the plush carpet.

“I wonder how many other bloodstains have been washed out of this rug,” I wondered aloud as Matteo leaned on Dad’s desk.

I hadn’t allowed myself to take in the space. Not as I prepared to meet the men I’d need to convince to follow me. Now, though, I remembered it acutely. I recalled seeing it full of angry men as a child. I recalled my father sitting behind the desk with a rigid posture as he looked down at a stack of paperwork as high as the one I had beside me.

“Tonight was only the first hurdle,” Matteo reminded me.

“I know.”

Matteo glanced at the desk behind him and pulled a box of tissues forward. He pulled a few of them out of the box and moved across the office toward me. He pulled them up between us and swiped one across my cheek, taking it away and revealing red.

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