Page 99 of Vicious Vows

Odin looks down at me, smirking. “And what would you do, my little Mafia Princess, to remind him of that?”

“I’d start with a finger or two.” I pause. “Wait. How much product has he taken?”

“A quarter of a million.”

“Shit. I’m changing my answer. He needs to lose a hand for that.”

“My thoughts exactly.” He eyes me. “Want to come with me?”

“To handle business?”

“Yes.”

My lips part. My entire life, I’ve been surrounded by the Mafia. Each and every person I’ve been around was a part of the Family. I knew what Grandmama and others did, though they didn’t outright speak about it in front of me. But I’ve never been offered the chance to see a Mafia Don in action. My thoughts shift to Weselton. Well, that’s not true. Odin was being a Don when he made me kill his soldier. This is different, though. This man has truly done something wrong and needs to be punished.

I answer, “Yes, I want to come with you.”

His eyes are bright, and he squeezes my shoulder. “Good girl.”

He lets the driver know we’re going straight to a warehouse in Queens. Queens is one of the boroughs that Odin rules over. Grandmama didn’t want just one person to take over when she stepped down, so she split her territory into three parts.

I ask, “Why do you think Grandmama picked three people to take over for her instead of one?”

“I’m sure Elsa saw how Midas made it work in Chicago when he stepped down.”

Well, I know that’s true. Grandmama spoke in length with the former ruler of Chicago before she handed over the city to Odin, Malik Jafar, and Kieran Van der Zee.

“I feel like a move like that could be risky. What if you decided she was a threat? Or, what if she changed her mind?” I shake my head. “I don’t know. I would have done things differently, I think.”

“Oh?”

“I would have left it to someone close to me. Someone I could trust.”

“That’s the thing with this world, baby girl. You can’t trust anyone.”

His words send a chill through me, which is odd, right? Like, he’s not talking specifically about our situation. I shift closer to him, and he kisses the top of my head, making me feel better.

We finally arrive at a warehouse near Jamaica Bay. Odin climbs out first, offering me his hand. I take it and, together, we walk inside. Several of Odin’s men are there, and one of his brothers. I cringe. The same brother who saw us kissing at the wedding.

Heimdall calls out, “I wasn’t aware it was bring-your-daughter-to-work day.”

Odin snorts. “Fuck off, Heimdall, before I tell your wife where you were last night.”

Heimdall glares but says nothing more, making me think Odin is telling the truth. We come to a stop in the middle of the room, where a man is standing on the tips of his toes, suspended by his arms. One push will send this man spinning, which is likely the purpose.

The man’s eyes widen, and he tries to speak, which only comes out muffled because of the gag shoved between his lips. Odin reaches out, pulling it free.

“Have something to say, Kai?”

“Sir, there’s been some kind of mistake! I didn’t take anything from you, I swear.”

“So you’re saying my own brothers are lying to me about seeing you snorting my product?”

Kai’s gaze darts from Odin to Heimdall and then back to Odin.

“I, uh, it was just once! I swear!”

“Now you’re saying you did do it?” Odin tilts his head. “Just the one time?”

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