That Thing Between Eli & Gwen

“He was treated in a very un-presidential manner, but lives,” I said and I could not stop myself from glancing down the length of her body.

Twenty-minutes…all we needed was a good…

“And…” She grabbed my chin and lifted my head back up to meet hers. “What did he say?”

“He cried out for his father like a bitch. I’m guessing he came here to prove to his father and the rest of the triad that he had balls…I took them away.”

“Everything in me says to kill him, Liam. To kill them all now before this escalates.” She said and crossed her arms over chest, pushing her breasts up, obviously to torture me. God. After all of these years, I was still addicted to her. “We have spent a long time slowly building a balance, Liam…we can never—”

“I know,” I said seriously. I kissed her forehead before resting mine on hers. “And if anything comes against us, we will do what we have always done.”

“Fight?”

“Win.”

TWO

“We still think of a powerful man as a born leader and a powerful woman as an anomaly.”

~ Margaret Atwood

MELODY

At eighteen I became the first ever female Boss of the Italian Mafia and to this day I can still remember, the shock, the horror, the disgust on their faces. How dare a woman try to lead them? It was not possible. It was not plausible and in their eyes, it was sin. I did not know my place. So one by one, they sent men after me, or brought men to replace me and one by one, I tore them down. I spared no one. No mercy. No fear. Just death. Not just to them, or the ones that sent them, but their families, their neighbors, and even their mailmen. I didn’t just kill them, I wiped them off of the face of the goddamn earth as a lesson to the next motherfucker who thought he could stand against me. It was lesson learned very quickly.

By twenty-four, I was married to the next Boss, the Ceann na Conairte, of the Irish Mob, Liam Alec Callahan. The Italians and the Irish were like water and oil. Our families had been at war with each other since their grumpy asses come off of the boat in the 1850s. To say our first meeting was anything but love at first sight would be an understand statement. I shot him. I’ve shot him a couple times in our marriage, to be honest. I’ve bruised ribs, broken fingers, and spit blood from my lips in my battles with him. He wa

s just like the rest of them. He saw my breasts and for some reason thought that meant I wasn’t capable. But he too learned.

Now at 33, I stand as the most powerful woman in the goddamn state.

“Ladies and Gentlemen, without further ado, please join me in welcoming my personal friend and our Governor, Melody Nicci Giovanni Callahan,” the Mayor spoke into the microphone. His body turned towards me as he and the rest of the guests clapped.

Liam rose as I did, kissing my check quickly before I moved to the podium in the center of the stage.

“I don’t have friends, Benjamin. You should remember that,” I whispered into the ear of the old man as he congratulated me, gripping tighter on his hand. He smiled for the cameras, but in his blue eyes, I saw a mixture of fear and hate, something I was not only used to, but proud off. Benjamin Weston, the fifty-seven-year-old, lanky, white-haired snake, who tried to move heaven and earth to make sure I didn’t get re-elected.

Standing behind the podium, I couldn’t get past the irony, our enemies, the police, were being fed by our own hands now. Meanwhile, Liam and I were the ones who drove them to the brick to begin with.

It seems they have learned their lesson as well.

“Five years ago,” I spoke into the microphone, “the people of this great state elected me as their governor in the hope that a better and safer state would be in their future. Today, with the help of community organizers, congressmen of both parties, the mayor’s office and staff, along with the Chicago Police Department, we are finally seeing that future. From the beginning, I understood the key to a better society has always been the safety of its people, this safety could only be brought about by the support of our brothers and sisters in uniform, who put their lives at risk every day, not only in Chicago but all across Illinois. This is why I passed the Roman Bill, which not only increased the pay for police officers, but all other civil servants. On top of that, we have provided better healthcare benefits for them and their families. In doing so, the number of civil servants has doubled in the last five years, but best of all, the crime rate across Illinois has dropped by sixty percent. It is a great honor that I welcome representatives from police forces all across the state here tonight in celebration. Thank you all for your service.”

Stepping back, I applauded along with everyone else before moving to take photos with Mayor Weston, his wife, and various police commissioners from across the state. Like always, Liam stood beside me, but I could tell he was couldn’t wait to leave.

“Your biggest fan is trying to get your attention” he whispered in my ear.

I didn’t understand. “Who?”

A small smile spread across his face as he nodded over to the family table and sure enough, there was my Ethan, dressed in a bow tie, and a Ralph Lauren satin lapel suit jacket. He smiled brightly at me, giving me thumbs up. I gave him a quick wink and faced back to the cameras as more people came up beside us.

“You brought him with you to see Tàiyáng?” I quietly questioned Liam through a smile.

“Yes,” he said sternly, giving my waist a soft squeeze, “and he did well. Better than—”

“You should have told me.”

“I just did.”