A Bloody Kingdom

“Oh no.” Big Tony sighed, turning Giulio to face the mirror.

  “Poor kid,” Dino muttered as he shaved above my lip.

  I almost felt bad for him when Uncle Vinnie started his rant, “You don’t understand. What don’t you understand?”

  In the corner of my eye, I saw the kid shrug. “I don’t understand Italian.”

  “Then you’re a freak.” Uncle Vinnie rolled the newspaper up, pointing at him. Dino had to stop for a moment, he was trying so hard not laugh. “What do you mean you don’t understand Italian? Does a fish not understand how swim? Does a bird not understand how to fly? If you cannot understand your own people then you are a freak of nature. You will die out in the cold. You don’t understand Italian. Fine, I don’t understand English! Learn!”

  He didn’t stop there but switched to over to Italian, asking him if he knew where he was from and then beginning to complain about this generation.

  “Fedel!” he called out to me.

  “Sì?” I tilted my head to the side, allowing Dino to pat the sides of my neck.

  “Melody’s children, they understand our language, correct? Or do those Irish bastards got them wearing skirts already?”

  All of us laughed, even I did though I was pretty sure kilts were a Scottish thing.

  “No skirts yet sir, and the oldest, Ethan, understands, but is still struggling to speak back. He’ll get there, the boss is making sure of it.”

  He nodded to himself before glaring at the boy in disgust. “You don’t understand Italian. Huh. Marmocchio!”

  Poor kid, but I was sure he’d try learning it now.

  “Thank you, Dino,” I said to him, handing him the bill as I rose from the chair.

  “You leaving us already?” Big Tony questioned. “I didn’t even get my bottle of wine yet.”

  “Next time. I’ll see you all next week, and kid.” I put my hand on the head of the poor kid Vinnie had destroyed. “Try to learn a few words by then. Take your time; you won’t be a freak forever.”

  “Thanks,” he grumbled as I walked out, adjusting the collar of my jacket.

  “Fedel Morris,” he said my name like the devil claiming a soul. When I faced him, he stood shoulder to shoulder with me in a black suit and dark green tie. In his hands was an umbrella, the handle of which was a silver wolf.

  “Mayor Cortés,” I replied, scanning around the buildings in front of me.

  “Now, Fedel.” He stepped in front of me with a sly smile. “If I were going to kill you, I wouldn’t make the trip down here personally.”

  “So what does a the mayor of Chicago have to do with a nobody bodyguard?”

  “A nobody?” He frowned and looked truly confused. “How can you, the Callahan family’s right-hand man, be a nobody? Everyone on this street knows who you are. That, to me, means you’re a real important somebody.”

  “Mayor, I’m very busy at the—”

  “Right, right, of course, the dog must return to his master.” He nodded, placing the umbrella up to his shoulder. If he was expecting a reaction, he wouldn’t get one from me. “Come work for me, Fedel.”

  “Come again?” My eyes widened. Of all the things I’d figured he’d say, that was not on the list.

  “I’m offering you a job. Change is coming to this city, and when it does I’d like you to be working at my side. Whatever you’re being paid—”

  “You think I decided to dedicate my life to one family because of the pay?”

  “Of course not. If you had I wouldn’t be here personally to give you this opportunity.” The smug, arrogant little bitch was starting to piss me off.

  “Let me use this opportunity to let you know that you will lose this fight. I’ve seen men much stronger and much more ruthless try to stand in front of Melody Nicci Giovanni Callahan; none of them are alive to tell the tale. She wins. She always wins. The world, the sun, the moon revolve around her. And if you’ve been stalking her, then you should know this. So my answer is no, I don’t work for dead men.” Walking around him, I made a move to walk to my car farther up the road, but instead pulled out my phone and dialed. It took less than ten seconds for another car to come around the corner.

  “Tell me, Fedel,” he called out. When I moved to get in, he turned back, his face emotionless and impossible to read. “Why does everyone call Melody by her full name? It’s a mouthful, don’t you think? Melody Nicci Giovanni Callahan.”

  “When you earn a name, people respect it no matter how long it is.” I shut the door. Only when he was far enough away did I start the engine with the key. Nothing happened.

  “You thought it was rigged?” asked Frankie, the driver who was only twenty-two and had just started to work under me after being a drug runner on the streets. “I keep saying you’re too paranoid. What happened to those stone instincts—”

  BOOM.

  My head whipped back to see my car now in black flames.

  “Holy fucking shit! Did that really just happen? Shit! Holy shit!” Frankie screamed, about to jump out of his skin.

  Emilio, you son of a bitch.

  “Shut up and drive. It’s not the first car bomb in Chicago and it won’t be the last.” Taking out my phone, I stopped the recording, sending the file over to Melody, as always.

  I didn’t go shave or get a haircut at Big Tony’s barbershop just for the hell of it. I sat in place of the boss, as her ears. Everything that was ever said, she heard it straight from them through me, because she knew she’d never be able to sit with them in the same way.

  I wasn’t the dog…I was the fly on the wall, and I didn’t mind.

  NINETEEN

  “The lion cannot protect himself from traps, and the fox cannot defend himself from wolves. One must, therefore, be a fox to recognize traps, and a lion to frighten wolves.”

  ~ Niccolò Machiavelli

  LIAM

  I do not like malls, or boutiques, or grocery stores; in all honesty, restaurants, church, and our charity were the only places you could really ever find me spending time with other “citizens.” If I ever needed to go shop for any reason, I called ahead and made sure they were closed to all other customers. My suits were tailor-made and the tailor came to my house. The rest of my clothes Melody had gotten for me, and I knew she also did not frequent malls. I supposed it was the product of being raised rich or maybe just our own ego. Either way, it was how we were…why did it matter? Because I was hunting, and like all hunters, I needed to understand my prey in order to trap it.

  “And this is the necklace he ordered correct?” she asked, lifting the yellow-green heart-shaped diamond double halo pendant up to her face.

  “Yes, this is the custom necklace Mr. Callahan ordered. He picked out the diamond himself,” the seller replied, moving to take it back from her. However, she pulled back, a wicked grin spreading across her face. She wore a casual fitted white dress and her black hair, which was always up in all the pictures I had seen of her, was now down and in loose waves.

  “Whatever the price, I’ll double it.” She had already moved to place it around her neck.

  “And I’ll just double my bid on top of that.” I finally stepped into the front of The Ocean Mile Jewelry store, popping the jelly beans I had in my hands into my mouth. Her black eyes widened as she stared at me before turning back her to guards. “Gentlemen, the lady no longer needs your assistance. You are free to take your leave.”

  Not only did her guards leave, but the jeweler did as well, locking up behind the counter before rushing back behind me and into the back room.

  “Just so you know, my wife prefers pear cut diamonds; she’d never be caught dead with hearts around her neck.” I leaned on the showcase, popping another jelly bean in my mouth. “But you don’t really care, you just want to upstage her in any way you can, and since Emilio won’t let you shoot at her again, you think a diamond necklace will work in annoying her, Liling? Pity, my wife assumed you were smarter. I, on the other hand, was positive you were just a wannabe mafia princess.”
/>
  Her nose flared at me and within a second she lifted a gun, pointing it right into my face. “You honestly think I wouldn’t have a weapon? Pity, I thought you were smarter than that. Emilio, on the other hand, thinks you are useless.”

  I glanced down at the gun still in my face. “You gonna point that thing in my face all day or are you going to shoot?”

  “You don’t think I would?” She pulled the trigger and, of course, nothing happened.

  “You truly are an epic idiot aren’t you?” I stared at her in pure awe before laughing. “Jesus, no wonder Ju-long didn’t want to step down, both his children are imbeciles—”

  “You son of a bitch!” She charged at me, but before she could do anything but make animal noises with her mouth, I smacked her arm away and grabbed a fistful of her hair before slamming her head right through the glass case. I didn’t really hear her screams as I dragged her face along the glass edges, cutting into her porcelain skin before throwing her on the floor, my shoes on top of her chest.

  “You’re a disappointment,” I spoke down to her. “But you’ve also explained so much. All of this, all the planning, you really have no idea what is going on, you are just a mindless puppet who is jealous of my wife. All I had to do is let it slip to a few people that I was getting my wife a necklace and here you come crawling like a rat to a cage. You try to dress like her, change your hair, your walk, your makeup—all to be a woman you can never be. How sad is your fucking life? Did your father not love you enough, is that it?”

  “He—”

  I took out my gun and shot her in the wrist. “AHH!”

  “On second thought, I really don’t give a fuck about your daddy issues. Hell, I don’t give a fuck about any of your issues.” As I pressed my foot harder into her chest, she gasped out. “I’m sorry, did that hurt?” I questioned, firing again into her other arm. “You’re going to have to forgive me, it’s been a rough few weeks.”

  “Melody couldn’t fight me so she sent you—AH URGH!” She screamed out when I simply moved my hand back and shot into her legs. When I took my foot off her chest, she rolled onto her side, curling into a ball when I crouched next to her.

  “You shot my wife.” I sneered, the anger I had been trying to hold back bubbling to the surface. “That right there is the difference between you two. My wife would have killed you with her own bare hands. However, I believe that is a waste of time for the governor, don’t you?”

  “Emilio—”

  BANG.

  “Ur—”

  “It was a yes or no question, Liling. Who the fuck do you think you are to shoot my wife? The mother of my children, the head of the Italian mob—”

  “For now!” She spat at me.

  “As you know, this gun is loaded,” I stated, pressing the gun to her skull. “If you don’t answer my questions, I will unload in your skull.”

  “Fuck you! FUCK YOU! You’re going to kill me anyway—”

  “Liling, you will find out there are worse things than dying, just like your brother did…I promise you.”

  MELODY

  The moment I stepped through the doors, all I heard was applause; it came from the security team, the staff on the ground, and even a few guests on a tour of the state building.

  “Welcome back, Governor!”

  “We missed you, Governor!”

  Mina stepped up right beside me as we walked and I waved politely as we made our way back to my office—the office I hadn’t returned to in almost a month now. My doctor and Liam were still telling me to take it easy, but I couldn’t wait any longer. I had too much to do, mostly figuring out who the fuck had voted Mayor Cortés into office and why.

  “Welcome back, ma’am.” Bruce, my secretary, stood up from his desk, a cup of coffee already in his hands.

  “Thank you, Bruce, but no coffee—”

  “It’s herbal tea, it’s the best for the heart.” He nodded to me and I took it but didn’t drink. “You have about thirty calls from various other mayors and officials. I had the fruit baskets and gifts sent to the car since I know you hate your office being cluttered. No one but the cleaning crew has gone in there since you…er, left. If anything is out of place let me know and…” He sighed. “I’m just glad you are back; this place was like a graveyard.” He leaned in closer. “We even had a few people trying to jump ship and buddy up to some people. I have their names highlighted.” He handed me a piece of paper as if to let them all know he was snitching on their asses proudly.

  “As always, good work, Bruce.” I nodded to him, taking the list and walking back into my office.

  Just like he’d said, nothing was out of place as I walked across the blue carpet, moving behind my Bubinga desk and sitting back into the chair.

  “Missed it?” Mina asked, taking a seat across from me.

  “It’s just a chair.”

  She tilted her head, a smile on her lips. “This is just a chair.” She pointed to her seat before pointing back to mine. “That is a throne. You sit there, you control this state.”

  “When are they coming?” I changed the subject even though she was right and I loved the fucking chair.

  Beep.

  “Ma’am.” Bruce said over the phone. “We have the city council members here. They say they have a meeting, but I have nothing on the books.”

  “Let them through,” I replied. Mina rose from the chair and walked around the desk to stand beside me.

  One by one, twelve members of the city council all stepped inside my office, none of them looking happy to be there. It was like children having to come to the principal’s office after getting caught cheating.

  “Please sit—”

  “They can stand.” I cut Mina off. “At least, until someone explains to me how a nobody from nowhere suddenly became the mayor of the largest city in Illinois overnight. It seems impossible. In fact, I can see no way this could have happened unless you all are hiding something. I know you, Steven, have been gunning for the job yourself. And you Diane, you even planned to support him. The rest of you all swore to me that you would never cast that vote unless I approved. So is this your way of telling me you no longer stand behind me? If so, I’m hurt, but you’re going to hurt much, much more. ”

  “The son of a bitch is blackmailing us.” Steven sighed.

  “No shit, but with what?” I snapped.

  “The Duncan case.” One of them spoke up and I had to close my eyes and inhale deeply, my nails digging into the arm of the chair.

  “And how does a nobody know about a case that should no longer exist because your lives depended on making it go away!” Idiots! Fucking IDIOTS!

  “We don’t—”

  “She’s in a meeting!” Bruce yelled when the door opened and like the devil himself, Emilio pain-in-my-fucking-ass Cortés walked in with a large smile on his face.

  “Am I late? I figured since I was most likely going to be the topic of discussion on your first day back, Governor, why not come over in person?” He walked right up to my desk, sat in one of the chairs across from me, and kicked his feet up. Reaching in his pocket, he pulled out a stick of gum. “Now, where were we?”

  “Bruce, it’s fine.” I nodded to the door, my eyes on the snakeskin shoes he had on my desk. “We were on the Duncan case.”

  He gave a long whistle before speaking.

  “Oh man, you all fucked up on that one. Burying toxic waste near homes will definitely get the people riled up. And you, Governor, knowing about it and covering it up? It might not have happened under you, but still, come on, aren’t you supposed to be better than that? Isn’t that why the people of this city elected you into that pretty chair—I’m sorry, throne.” He winked at Mina…so apparently my office was also fucking bugged. “If you run for president, I’m sure it will come up and be all kinds of bad press.”

  “You all may leave,” I said to the city council, and they didn’t need to be told twice. All of them rushed to leave as quickly as possible. “Mina, you too.” br />
  “Mel—”

  “Go.”

  “I’ll be right outside,” she said, grabbing a file off my desk before walking off. It was only when the door shut softly that I stood up and pushed his feet off my desk. “It’s Bubinga wood.”

  “What the fuck is that?” He made a face and I didn’t understand at all.

  “Who are you, Emilio, and what the fuck do you want with me? You won’t say anything about the Duncan case because you used it as leverage for the privilege of being worth a damn.”

  “That’s where you are wrong. I don’t really give a fuck about being mayor anyway.” He shrugged, blowing a bubble with his gum before rising from his seat and moving to my window. “Who wants to be the mayor of this goddamn city anyway? It’s been trying to ruin itself for decades, then some doe-eyed idealistic comes along thinking he or she can clean the streets they’ve had a hand in making dirty to begin with—”

  “Do you have a SparkNotes version of your speech? It may come as a shock to you but I actually have work to do,” I replied.

  Turning back, he smiled like he was truly happy; maybe he was insane. “This is why everyone loves you, right? Your witty one-liners, your tough girl act. What was it like hearing that someone shot at your kids? I mean, you all were raised with silver spoons in your mouths; it must have been shocking to realize you weren’t invincible.”

  “First, I’m a woman, not a girl. Second, it is not an act, and third, I don’t feed my children with silver spoons. Silver is for second place; they use gold.” My eyes narrowed on him.

  He nodded to himself and for the first time since he had walked in, his stance and posture were upright and serious, his eyes sharp and his voice deeper as he said, “I hope they kept the spoons then because when I’m through with you, they are going to need something to live on.”

  “Are you threatening me in my office right now?” I asked when he came closer to me. He didn’t stop until he was far too close to my face for comfort and my self-control…any closer and I would kill him.

  “I’m saying I hope we have good, indecent, and bloody fight, Melody. Don’t hold back, because I won’t, and I play dirty as hell. You have so much to lose now: a husband, three children, nieces and nephews, your reputation…the list keeps going and going. I’m going to have fun. God and I are the only ones who know what I have in store for you.”