Ruthless Princess (Mafia Royals 1)

The bosses, all except the one that would protect me, my father, were all standing in the kitchen.

Intimidating, but in a way that made me so angry I wanted to fight, because how dare they ask us to fix something, how dare they ask and ask and ask and then get mad when we do what’s best to protect the Family?

Rage filled my veins.

It pulsed in my ears as my blood roared to life.

And it must have shown because Nixon took a step back and then shared a look with the Capo.

Uncle Tex smirked. “Finally grow a hair on your tiny dick, or are you just gonna throw a tantrum?”

I didn’t answer. I lunged and punched, landing one across his jaw.

He went sailing to the ground, probably because he didn’t expect me to hit him. Immediately Nixon and Chase restrained me while Tex got back on his feet.

Blood spurted from Tex’s lip, and then he threw his head back and laughed. “Ah shit, I wish your dad was here to see you now. Hey, anyone get a video of that?”

Seriously?

My chest heaved.

“No?” Tex asked the room and then approached me. We were both tall, but he still had more muscle than me despite the fact that I punished my body for hours on a daily basis in the gym. “Well that’s unfortunate, maybe we should just FaceTime?”

Chase held me tight against him while Nixon’s hands dug into my biceps muscle. Great, was he going to just rip the muscle from my body? Was that a thing?

Ash, Breaker, Izzy, and Claire were a few feet away, most likely waiting for me to say something.

And Serena.

She was behind me.

I could feel the shock in her system as nobody said anything.

“Speak.” Tex shrugged and leaned against the kitchen counter. “Because there better be a good reason that we just enrolled twelve suspected De Lange orphans into Eagle Elite.”

I shrugged away from Chase and Nixon and stood my ground. “You guys did this, not us.”

Tex’s eyes widened as he shared a look with all the bosses. Andrei was in the corner watching me with amusement, and the rest of the bosses sat around the table like they were waiting for my execution. Dante Alfero was the only one who seemed tense like he wanted to be anywhere but here. Then again, he was young like Andrei, in his late thirties and was one of the guys that offered to burn down Eagle Elite when he went there.

If anyone understood why I did what I did, it would be Andrei and Dante, but they remained silent.

And my dad wasn’t here, so I explained the best way I could by repeating myself. “You guys did this; you guys had the hit on the De Lange Family. I hate to break it to you, but as parents, you’re full of shit. You teach us to honor blood, that blood’s everything, and yet, you’re asking me, a twenty-one-year-old college student to go around and murder innocent people just because you’re afraid of what could happen if I don’t.”

“Can I kill him now?” Chase asked in a calm voice.

I rolled my eyes. “You know I’m right. The fact that they were next door scared everyone shitless, so you wanted them executed, but instead, I invited them into the only place where we can watch them. If they make any bad moves, I’ll be the first to pull the trigger, but until then, I’m doing what you guys didn’t. I’m doing what you’ve taught us since we could walk. I’m protecting my blood.” A hush went over the room. “De Lange blood.”

Tex squeezed his eyes shut, then opened them. “You realize that we cut the De Lange Family from the Cosa Nostra. They ceased to exist.”

I smirked. “And yet they fucking do. He’s married to one.” I jerked my chin toward Chase on my right. “You guys make justifications if it’s something you want, but when it comes to kids that grew up with no parents because this guy fucking killed them all?” Again, I pointed to Chase.

He flipped me off.

Whatever, I was used to it. For a senator, he looked anything but calm and reserved. Nope, he looked like he was seconds away from ripping my head from my body.

Fantastic. “We have the chance to start over, that’s all I’m saying. Don’t ask us to repeat you’re own shitty history. You asked us to step up as the new Elect at Eagle Elite, so let us fucking do our jobs and stop questioning us when it doesn’t go the way you planned it. We’re adults now. We’re made men.” I sighed. “And women. So trust us, and leave us the hell alone.”

Tex was silent for a few minutes, and then he smirked. “You get that, Nixon?”

“I think Phoenix shed a tear.” Nixon grinned.