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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 came 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 was 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 also proud of. 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.”
At that, I did turn to face him, however, he didn’t return my gaze. He just smiled for the cameras saying, “Smile, sweetheart, they’ll think we’re arguing.”
Looks like we were going to fight tonight.
I nodded to Mina, who was dressed in a long lavender and gray floral gown. She stood up and said, “Thank you very much, ladies and gentlemen, the Governor and our family truly hope you enjoy your evening.”
“Has the Governor—”
“Tonight is to the celebrate the united efforts of our men and woman in uniform, and nothing else. Thank you again.” She smiled and nodded back to me.
Peeling Liam’s hand off of me, much to his annoyance, I walked over to Ethan who stood in between Declan and Neal. He and Neal both laughed over something. The height difference between them was hilarious, but even more amusing was how much more mature Ethan tried to be in front of his uncles.
“Mio bel leoncino,” I called out to him, my hands outstretched.
“Mommm.” He groaned with a frown on his face at my nickname for him, but I walked over to give him a hug away.
“Don’t ‘mommm’ me,” I said cupping his cheeks and forcing him to look at me, “because I can think of something much more embarrassing.”
His green eyes widened. “Leoncino is good.”
“I thought so. Now what where you and your uncles laughing about?”
Ethan and Neal shared a look before both saying, “guy stuff.”
I felt my eyebrow rise at their alliance, then turned to see Declan putting his phone back into his lapel pocket.
“They were laughing at Ethan’s imitation of our guest earlier,” Declan confessed, causing Ethan’s mouth to drop open.
