The Boss found his daughter the next morning clinging on to one of the broken wings of the plane. The plane was torched beyond recognition, and the body of Mrs. Giovanni was never recovered.

Melody was alive, but suffered from hypothermia, and developed extreme Achluophobia, which she still has not recovered from. With therapy, it might lessen with time.

COVER-UP: PLANE CRASH DUE TO ENGINE FAILURE.

“Fuck.” I sighed running my hands through my hair. “Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Mother of fucking fuck.”

My mind was so messed up. I couldn’t think straight, all I could see was a younger version of my fiancée, clinging to a wing in the middle of the fucking Atlantic Ocean.

In the dark. Just how I fucking left her. “Fuck.”

My father was right. I truly needed to grovel, but even that wouldn’t change things. It wouldn’t be enough. Nothing would be enough, and I had nothing left to give.

I had no idea I was even moving until I found myself standing outside my bedroom, dreading the thought of going in. My bedroom was my sanctuary, and now, it was going to be place of my death. But, I needed to man up and deal with the consequences of my actions.

Inside, she stood at the foot of my bed, dressed in gray with a gun and a knife strapped to her thigh. She seemed to be taking it all in, from the dark reds and gold of my bed and walls, to the wooden floors, large windows, lion-skin rug, piano in the corner, and flat screen plastered on the wall. She turned around slowly, and I really wished I could hear her thoughts. It wasn’t a woman friendly room. However it was wasn’t meant to be.

“We had a machine onboard recording their conversations. It’s now somewhere in the ocean. A team and I will be getting it back,” she told me as she tried to leave the room, but I grabbed hold of her arm first.

“I can go,” I said as she glared up at me. “I should go because it’s my fault. I’m sorry. For everything, I . . .”

“Look who finally did a background check. If you want to come, I can’t stop you.” She ripped her arm from my grasp. “You are everything I thought you would be—a child in a grown man’s body. You’re brash and wild, and you don’t seem to get the gravity of our situation. You don’t impress me, Liam Callahan. So get that poor little girl out of your head, because I am not her.”

Closing the small space between us, I glared down into her brown eyes, wanting to rip them from her oval-shaped face.

“I am brash? I am wild? So says the woman who blasted her way into a private meeting nearly killing her future in-laws. You do not know me, Giovanni. Do not be fooled by my wit or charm. It has taken all my strength not to kill you.”

“What wit? What charm? You’re nothing but talk, and I do not need to know you, Callahan. I just need to marry you.” With that she held her head high and left.

I would not bow down. She would not bow down.

The gravity of our situation was starting to eat away at me. I needed this to work. The Irish needed this to fucking work. But how the hell was I going to handle a lifetime of her—a hot-blooded Italian Boss?

Step one, accept she was a damn boss.

Step two, hide all the knives, guns, and maybe the pillows, too.

NINE

“One murder makes a villain,

millions a hero.

Numbers sanctify, my good fellow.”

~ Monsieur Verdoux

MELODY

There was something about Liam Callahan. He was immature, rowdy, and impatient. Those were just the kinder things I could think of, and yet I knew he smelled like cinnamon, spices, and apples. I had taken the time to reflect on his scent, even enjoyed it. Ugh. On top of that, I enjoyed how he looked up close. The way he flexed his muscles out of habit and cracked his knuckles when he was tense. I had noticed that in just two days. I had a whole arsenal of men under my control and many were attractive in some way, shape, or form, and yet there was something about Liam Callahan.

When he stepped out of his room, he was dressed in dark pants paired with a black and green vest with the letter C on the breast. He looked surprised to see me, as if he wasn’t sure why I was here. On his arms were bruises and marks from our fight. The idiot should have treated them, but instead, he had to be a man’s man and leave them.

“Took you long enough, Callahan. Did you need to fix your hair?”

He glared at me before smirking. “It’s called sex hair for a reason. That’s the only way I fix it. You done being a bitch?”

Fedel came down the hall, before I could respond.

“Ma’am, the helicopter is ready. Monte is fine, and we are ready to aid,” he said, waiting for orders.

“I already contacted Monte, and he’ll tell you what to do.” His eyes widened, knowing what I meant. He just lost his title as right-hand man, the fucker. “Next time, Fedel, when I tell you to fall on your sword, do it without hesitation. You waste my time and insult my intelligence with a statement like, ‘we’re outnumbered.’ That is all.”

He nodded and left quickly, leaving Mr. Sex Hair and me alone. Liam stared at Fedel’s with narrowed eyes then turning his glower on me.

I cut in before he could speak again. “The helicopter is lifting us to Delaware. The flight is an hour. From there, we are taking a speedboat north. The GPS is picking up the signal fifteen clicks from shore. However, the Valero are already aware of your stunt and will most likely have men in the water trying to recoup any lost drugs.” Stepping forward, I made sure he understood I was not playing. “First, you see what I’m doing, telling you every detail of this? Yeah, that is what you should have done. Second, this is my operation now. My men. So if you fuck up, I will slit your throat and then fill you with bull—”

His eyes lit up like fire before he grabbed me and threw me against the wall. “Every moment you waste roaring at me, is a moment against us, Captain Bitch-a-Lot. As smart as your plan is, it would be better to have snipers in the air. Something I thought of before I even stepped out here.”

I just grinned. Even with his arm on my neck, he thought he was so fucking smart. “You are so right. Which is why I already have Neal and Antonio locked, loaded, and waiting. Anything else you assume I didn’t think of? When will you get that while you’ve been number two for daddy, I’ve been number one?”

He said nothing, just glared.

“You should release me, Captain Dipshit or lose your arm. Your choice.”

I didn’t wait, I broke free. I was tiny compared to him, so all I needed to do was drop down and roll out of his grip. He had so much to learn, and this was his time to do it.

Due to the fact that I had shot up Sedric’s house, the party they had thrown in my honor had ended and everyone departed.

Outside were four motorcycles, two of which were taken by Declan and Monte. The other two for Liam and me—mine white, and his green and black. He looked at me as if I was a china doll, and all I could do was roll my eyes before jumping on my bike and taking off as soon as one of their people opened the gate. Only a second had gone by before I saw him skyrocket past me, almost cutting me off, the sour brat, so I sped up beside him. We raced through the backstreets of Chicago, the lights from the buildings up above us all blending together in a single streak. No matter how much gas I gave while weaving in and out of traffic and intersections, he was always winning. I could only get in front of him for a second before he would shoot past me out of nowhere. It was as if he was toying with me.