Page 84 of His Queen

"I am worried about your safety. I don't want you to end up like your father. We will have to make sure that you are protected at all times until the men accept you are the Don now."

"Aldo. Please don't treat me like I can't handle this. I am strong. And I can protect myself. But you are right. There will be issues and the men will have a problem with the way things are done. Which is why I need to know that you will support me. You were by my father's side and the men will accept you and your position. I would like you to stay by my side as well."

"What about Vladimir?"

"He will be at my side as equals. I need to know I can depend on you."

"Of course, I will. You are the Don now. But you will have to give them time."

"I will. But I can't wait forever. I can't afford to be weak."

"No. You can't."

"The men are gathering. Are you ready, my queen?" Vlad says, as he walks into the room.

"Yes," I say as he bends to kiss me.

I look over at Aldo. "You should join us. If we are going to convince them of the right path, then we are going to need your support. There will be no more forced marriages, no more selling people, and we will all learn to work and live peacefully. This is the best path for everyone. The old rules need to come back into play. This is nothing new Aldo. It's the way things were for nearly fifty years before my father got greedy. It's the way they should have stayed."

"I can't agree more. We need to show the men that they can trust you and that we are strong. The only way to do that is to stand together."

"And we will lead them," I say, standing tall.

I can feel my confidence and my strength building. Everything will be fine. We just need to weed out the bad apples that only want to spread descent.

"Together, we will be a force to be reckoned with. We will bring order and peace."

"That we will."

"Let's go," Vlad says, and he holds his hand out for me.

I take his hand and walk down the hall with my head held high. The Bratva enforcers are on one side and the Mobs soldiers on the other as we enter the large meeting room. We sit down at the head of the table with the two sides flanking us. Vlad sits beside me to my left, Demetrius and his higher ups beside him. Aldo is to my right with the underboss and the capo beside him.

"Thank you for coming. Now we have a lot of work to do. But first, I need to make a few things clear. I am the Don now and you will fall in line. We are uniting with the Bratva and they will be an asset. It's time for a change and it will take time, but it's necessary."

"What do you mean we are uniting with the Bratva?" the Underboss asks looking at Demetrius with a sneer

"A union by marriage. I am marrying Vladimir. They saved me when you all tucked tail and ran or just plain didn't care. None of that will fly anymore. Vlad and I are getting married by choice." I look down at the love of my life and he smirks back up at me. "It just so happens that it works out well for both sides."

"We don't need the Bratva," the capo spits.

"It's not a choice you get to make. I'm not asking, I am telling you. We have a treaty with the Bratva. Either way, the mob will fall in line."

"The men won't stand for this. A woman can't lead the families."

"What? You think a woman can't be just as brutal and unforgiving as a man?" I lean over the table, placing my hands down as I lean on it and sneer at him. "I assure you I can be worse."

"You wouldn't dare."

"Try me. You think my father's death was unfortunate? Wait until you see what I will do."

"You would kill us all?"

"Yes. And it would be easy. So, I suggest you watch your mouth. We will have peace. You can either fall in line and help us or die. It's really your choice. You can't stand against us. The Bratva are our allies and will come to my aid if needed."

Demetrius just nods and the rest of his men follow his lead.

"We have a lot of work to do. The women are being rescued now. Once that is done, we will work on righting the wrongs my father set in motion."

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