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I caught sight of myself in the mirror and there was a tightness in my chest that hadn’t been there before. I tilted my head sideways, considering. Could I really run the Kingsley Crime Family and all its assets and interests? Was I good enough? Was I strong enough?
Eli stepped out of the bathroom, wearing nothing but a white towel wrapped around his waist. He quietly eased behind me and slid his arm over my tits and my waist. He kissed my neck and then propped his head on my shoulder, watching me in the mirror.
We stood in complete silence for a few moments, each lost in our own thoughts. The quiet moments were never awkward with us. With Eli it was okay to be quiet, especially when the world outside was always so noisy. He grabbed a brush from the dresser and brushed my hair back.
Done with my own reflection, I focused on his. His strong jaw and muscular build he got from his father. His soft gray eyes and dimple on his right cheek were from his mother. His eyes met mine as he wrapped his arms around me and pulled me close. I felt his nose in the crook of my neck.
Freshly showered he smelled like… Eli. Like the woods behind the houses where we grew up after it rained. He smelled like home, comforting and warm and familiar. I took a moment to bask in it.
Eli pulled his nose out of my neck and the sudden movement brought me back to reality. When his eyes met mine again, he winked.
“Tell me I can do this.”
“You have any doubt?” he smirked, arching an eyebrow, tightening his grip around me, giving me his strength. “You can do this. If you don’t believe it just yet, then believe me. You got this, Little Red. I have no doubt. And I’m here if you need me. Always.” He wrapped his arms around me, pulling me in for a hug, giving me his strength, and then softly kissed the back of my head before going back into the bathroom.
I let out a deep breath as I fished my top out of the cornucopia of blankets on the bed. After rooting around for my shoes and checking to make sure I had everything I came with, I slowly opened the door and stepped out into the hallway, closing it softly behind me.
The house was in complete disarray. I wasn’t sure what had happened but as I headed down the hall toward the stairs, it was clear that it was something serious.
Pictures on the wall were tilted, a pile of clothes were at the top of the stairs, glass was strewn all over the floor. As I moved through the hallway and continued down the stairs, there was a pool of coagulated blood at bottom on the first floor. Thank goodness, it was small enough to step over. There wasn’t a boy lying around, so I pushed the thought from my mind and headed toward the door. Honestly, it wasn’t my house, so it wasn’t my business.
No one stood by the door. The Gold soldiers and capos were either sleeping or handling other business. Either way, it was time to go. I didn’t need to get the Kingsley family mixed up in whatever happened.
As quietly as I could, I opened the door, stepped outside, and inhaled. The cool and crisp morning air was refreshing, cleared my head. The house had smelled of stale beer and cum. And while I may have contributed to it a few times over the past couple of weeks, I didn’t want to live in it.
“Had enough partying for one night?” Kent asked, leaning against his Bently. He pushed off the hood when he saw her and opened the passenger door. “Get in.”
I stopped staring at him. “What are you doing here and how did you find me?”
He shrugged. “I know things. We’ll talk about it on the way.” He looked around as I slid into his car and closed my door. From the look in his eyes, something must have gone down last night. He was in the driver’s seat and backed out a moment later. Within seconds, we were on our way to the Kingsley mansion. “Addie, I know you’re now my boss, but I’m going to talk to you like a friend and you’re going to listen.”
My head snapped up. “Watch it, Kent.”
He looked over at me and narrowed his eyes. “Addie, this time, you’re going to listen. As the new head of the Kingsley Family, you can’t be seen mixed up in the business of the other families any more. You have to be smart. If the Castles or the Skys saw you here last night—”
“What happened?”
He let out a deep breath. “Don’t worry about it. But the point is, you can’t go off alone anymore. You have to take some of the boys with you.” He glanced over at me, a crease between his eyes. “Your life is no longer your own.”
“That’s bullshit!” I stared out the window. “I will still do what I want, with whom I want, and where I want.”
He let out a deep breath, shaking his head. “That kind of attitude will get you killed. I’ll assign you some boys as your bodyguards—”
“I’ll take care of it.”
We rode in silence the rest of the way home. But he was right. As the new Don of the Kingsley Family, my life was no longer my own. I had to be smart and bring the party to me.
A few minutes later, Kent pulled down the long drive of the Kingsley mansion. I sat there for a moment, thinking. “Kent, thanks for coming for me. I appreciate it.”
He chuckled, running his fingers through his dark brown hair. “Hell, if you hadn’t come out when you did, I was going to come in after you. So in a way, you did me a favor.”
I laughed, my eyes wide. “Are you serious?”
His eyes met mine, smiling. “Absolutely.” He let out a deep breath as he looked out the window and then nodded toward the stairs. “Your father sent me.”
“Figures.”
Kent’s head snapped up. “But I would have come anyway, if I would have known.”
