Page 46 of Secret Baby for the Mafia Boss

He turned up his nose. “How strong are you at defending your woman?” he pushed. “From where I stand, all the bodies you’re leaving me show that you can’t control people nearly as well as you think. You can’t make me call this off.”

I allowed my smile to grow and stretch until it was wicked and heinous—something to terrify him and let him see the evil beneath the surface. “The bodies show that I’ve protected her. I tried to avoid conflict where I could, but I’m done putting my wife at risk. You’re calling off the hit today.”

“Steaking a note into the woman was a twist,” he said, grimacing. “I had to put her down when I found her, and I didn’t even know her. That’s cruel even for you.”

I thought about the condition we’d left Nadia and didn’t feel an ounce of remorse about it.

“Nothing is too cruel when people are after my woman. You’re calling off the hit.”

He narrowed his eyes. “And if I don’t?”

I ran my tongue over my teeth as Lucchese cursed under his breath. He understood that I was not worth the trouble of crossing, which was why we’d gotten along over his years as the chairman. “I don’t deliver idle threats, Byrne. That’s one thing you should know about me. Are you sure you want to go down this road?”

He didn’t look fazed, and I knew immediately that he wouldn’t hold his position long. He didn’t have the resources or manpower to challenge me. All he had was his pride and the power he thought he held with his title. It wasn’t nearly enough.

“I’m taking care of a threat,” he said. “It’s not my problem if you married her. Take another whore when she’s gone.”

It was enough that I would have killed anyone else, but if he died at my hands, there was a chance the next person would be stronger than him. The next person in line for the title could have nothing to lose, which was far more dangerous. I had to play my cards right. Because keeping a weak man with a lot to lose in power was far more advantageous than a strong one with nothing to lose. Alex Byrne could be manipulated if I pulled the proper strings, which would keep Ciara safe.

But for that insult, he would still pay.

I pushed a contract across the table explaining what he would do. Call off the hit on Ciara and kill anyone who disobeyed that order. There were a few other nuances, but it took care of my problem, and if the contract were broken, his life would be forfeited. He scoffed as he saw it.

“I know your weaknesses, Alex. I know that you’re not strong enough to keep everything in order yet. Your predecessor was a bastard and an enemy, but he was formattable. I knew better than to challenge him. You’re not him.” I leaned back in my chair, taking in the rage in his expression. “You’re going to call off the hit for two reasons. The first reason is the implications you’ll face if you don’t. She is my wife, and it will mean war if we leave this room without a resolution. I don’t want a war, but I have all of my men on standby if that becomes necessary. You will die before leaving the street.”

“And the second reason?” he asked, scoffing at my genuine threat.

“The second reason,” I started with a smirk, “Is the explosives I have planted outside all your storage facilities. All seven of them.” I listed the addresses, and he grew progressively paler. “Walk out of this room without signing a contract, you’ll lose them all.”

“You’re bluffing,” he scoffed, shaking his head.

“Is that a chance you want to take?” I asked, grabbing the phone from the center of the room and pulling it off the receiver. He didn’t speak. I dialed a number, and when my man answered, his eyes widened.

“Wait.” I ended the call without giving the signal and looked at him. “I don’t want trouble, man.”

Lucchese chuckled from where he sat. “That might be the first wise thing I’ve heard you say since walking into this room.”

“Nobody touches my wife,” I told him. “I don’t care if she decides to burn down your house and kill your family. I will watch her burn the world and still kill anyone who says her name without the respect she deserves. Do you understand me?”

He made quick work of signing the contracts, and I watched as he made a handful of calls, spreading the word to call off the hit. He looked bitter as he did it, and a few of the people were hesitant to agree to what he insisted, but they all did.

“This is going to mean the end of me,” he finally said, scowling at me.

“You should value your life more than your power,” I told him. “I hope we don’t have to meet again.”

I meant every word as both he and Lucchese left the room. It took a few minutes before Damien rejoined us, heaving a sigh of relief. “I’m happy I didn’t have to kill the kid,” he admitted.

“Me too,” I said. “As long as he does as he agreed, we shouldn’t have to bring any more children into this mess.”

After today, one way or another, this would be over, and Ciara would be safe.

Chapter Twenty-Six

Ciara Gilroy

Viktor had done exactly as he’d promised, and he’d taken care of it all. It took about a week for the word to spread that there was no longer a bounty on my head, and for the first time in what felt like forever, I took Sean to Brighton Beach Park and watched him play with a few other kids without worrying about my safety.

Life had returned to a new normal I liked better than the old one I’d embraced.

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