Chapter 1

1

K arrington

Six Years Later

She was just as beautiful as I remembered. Time had aged her beautifully. Her face was rounder, body fuller, hair longer. It didn’t matter how many times I scolded myself for staring at Luna Ray, I couldn’t help it. The only ties we had were her connections to some of my friends as their business coach. Even with that, we never saw each other. Tonight was the first time I’d seen Luna Ray in six years… and she was here with her husband.

Using that term to describe any man other than me felt foreign.

It made bile rise in my chest and throat.

It had taken all the strength I had not to approach their table. I loved her too much to cause a scene. To make her have to explain to her husband who I was. How I should have been in his place across from her. How I should have been the father of their son. Instead, I tried to focus my attention on my father even though Luna Ray’s presence was haunting me with each minute that passed.

“Are you coming to Mass tomorrow?” Pops asked. Though he and Ma were practicing Catholics, and the only Black ones I knew, I attended a nondenominational church when I felt led to. My relationship with God had become a personal thing within the walls of my home after attempts of joining churches soured because of members finding out who my family was.

“Yeah, I can.” I agreed before taking a sip of my dessert wine. Usually I didn’t drink the sweet stuff, but he wanted coffee with dessert, so I indulged.

“Have you given any more thought to our last conversation?”

My head shook as I rolled my tongue over my cheek. My mind took me back to last weekend, when we sat in this same restaurant, same table, and Pops shared a truth with me that changed everything.

“I have, but my answer hasn’t changed.”

His head shook slowly as he wiped invisible crumbs from the corners of his mouth. “I get why you feel the way you do, Son—”

“Do you?” I seethed, sitting up in my seat. I took great pride in remaining calm and logical, but when it came to my family and those I loved, my emotions would try to take over. Luna Ray had been at the top of that list for the last six years. “Because you were able to marry the woman you loved. I wasn’t. She’s actually sitting over there with her husband right now.”

Pops looked in their direction, eyes widening at the sight before him.

“Look…” He swallowed hard and tore his eyes away from them. “I won’t apologize for sticking to tradition, but I will apologize that you were hurt over things ending with Lulu. I knew who my wife was going to be, so I didn’t allow myself to fall for anyone else. I waited for her, and I don’t regret it at all. Maybe if you would have done the same thing, the breakup wouldn’t have been so hard on you.”

All I did was stare at him. I respected him too much to respond the way I wanted to. Truth was, he was right. I knew from the age of ten two things: I would be groomed to take over the family business, and my wife would be chosen for me. Before Luna Ray, I was careful to keep my emotions out of my relationships. Only one other woman had access to my heart, but I ended things before I fell in love with her. But Luna Ray? She was the one I was willing to risk it all for—in that moment of truth at least.

Three days after we broke up, I was forced to admit that I wouldn’t have chosen her and the normal life I thought we could have. It would have been too dangerous and too heartbreaking for me to have forced us both to say goodbye to our families for something as fickle as romantic love. I tried to convince myself I could be just as happy with another woman, and eventually my wife, but six years had passed, and no one had topped Luna Ray yet.

That truth was the reason I couldn’t wait to take my father’s place. A lot of things would change within the Lowe Mafia, and arranged marriages was at the top of my motherfucking list. Pops knew that, and though he understood where I was coming from, he’d been trying to urge me away from taking on such a huge risk.

“If you try to make the changes you plan to make, you’re going to be a walking target,” he continued, softening his tone. “I know you’re my enforcer and protector, but it would kill me if I retired and was unable to protect you. You’re my son, and I love you, Karrington. I urge you to reconsider. The power you will have as the boss… it can change a lot of things… but this…”

His head shook as he sat back in his seat.

My heart dropped and mouth dried. I didn’t need to look in the direction of her table to know she was coming to ours. In fact, I didn’t want to look at her. I didn’t want my eyes to betray me by watering or showing her the love that I still felt for her. Still, I slowly turned my head to look at her.

Absolutely beautiful. The hippy frame, honey brown skin, slanted eyes, pouty lips—absolutely beautiful . Clutching her purse in front of her, Luna Ray looked from my father to me. Her head dipped as she smiled softly.

“Hi.” The sound of her voice made my dick throb and heart skip a beat. She smelled good… like honey and apples. “The waitress told me you paid our bill. You didn’t have to do that, but I wanted to thank you.”

“Wow, Lulu. It’s good to see you.” Pops stood and gave her a hug, because all I could do was sit there and stare at her.

“You too, Mr. Lowe. How’s Mrs. Lowe?”

“Well, thank you. You should come to Mass tomorrow and see her. She still talks about you.”

Luna Ray bashfully pulled her hair behind her ear as her eyes flitted over to me. “I uh… I don’t know about that, Mr. Lowe. But tell her I think about you both often, and I’m happy to hear she’s well.”

“Will do.”

“Well…” She nibbled her bottom lip as she stared at me. “Thanks again.”

Her turning to walk away pulled me out of my trance. I hopped from my seat and gripped her wrist, using it to gently bring her back into my personal space. I saw the moment her chest caved from the breath she held.

“Luna Ray,” I breathed out, voice low and weaker than it had been in six years.

Fluttering eyes stared up at me. “I-I should go, Kare,” was what she said, but her hand covered mine.

“I miss you.”

Her eyes squeezed shut and lips trembled as they formed a smile. “I miss you too,” she almost whispered. “That’s why I have to go.”

“Do you?” Pushing her hair off her shoulder, I lowered myself to her ear. I inhaled her sweet scent, and my free hand wrapped around her waist when she shivered. “I want you to know I’ll be the boss of all bosses soon, and my first order of business will be dismantling the structure of arranged marriages. Do you know what that means?” Her head shook. “It means I’m going to get a divorce and come after you.”

Her head reared back, and she looked at me with wide eyes. “K-Karrington…”

“Divorce him, or I’ll kill him. Either is cool with me.”

Pops choked on the coffee he was sipping as I sat back down. Her jaw clenched as she huffed.

“The fact that you can so casually threaten to kill someone in my presence is just a reminder that I never really knew you at all.”

As she stormed off, I reiterated, “I’ll send you word of when you need to file for divorce, Luna Ray, or I will take matters into my own hands.”

Her steps increased as Pops chuckled, but I didn’t see anything humorous about the exchange.

“Pay the bill so we can get out of here, with your crazy ass,” Pops said before eating the last of his chocolate cake.

I flagged the waiter down and paid the bill, leaving a hefty tip. Aside from the usual disagreement when it came to mafia affairs, I enjoyed my weekly dinners with my father as much as I enjoyed my weekly lunches with Ma. This steakhouse in particular was considered a safe zone, or a place we could dine without having to bring in additional guards. Even with me being my father’s enforcer, I was only one man. When he went out in public, I preferred to have at least three people on him at a time. A lot of the hate my father garnered came from the power he and Uncle Johnny wielded within the city, not the violence we could exact.

Uncle Johnny oversaw the drug organization, which I planned to completely restructure when I took over. We made enough money without having to push crack and pills to our people. I was okay with weed but the other substances would have to go. Uncle Johnny had the South on lock because of a business model presented by Angel , a youngin who went from making a few thousands selling to students at his college to millions all over campuses in the South. Over the past five years, Angel made us a billion dollars, and that was exactly why Pops didn’t want me to dismantle the drug ring.

The original mafia model was against selling drugs, but money changed things.

Aside from Uncle Johnny’s massive drug ring, Pops had connections with politicians and government officials that allowed him to have a hand in who was in certain offices and what bills were passed—what changes were made. He had his hooks in athletes to bring in millions through betting and getting certain teams to throw games. Along with other forms of gambling, loans, and protection, the Lowe family and those loyal to us would never want for anything financially.

We exited the restaurant, where bulletproof SUVs were already waiting for us. While the middle SUVs’ door was opened for Pops, we shook hands. His security team hopped out of the first SUV, and the third one was mine. Bullets rained from the sky. I made quick work of shielding him and pulling him back into the restaurant, but I knew it was already too late. A sniper bullet to the head had taken my father out instantly.

Before I could fully process having his lifeless body in my arms, I set him down and ran out to return fire. It was damn near impossible to pinpoint where the shooters were coming from, but when we did, we took them down. Screams and bodies running in all directions distracted me momentarily, but eventually, I jogged across the street to the hotel where the shooters were. Each flight of steps I took became harder and harder to mount. Not because I was out of shape physically, but because of the weight on my chest. It felt like my heart was literally about to explode.

By the time I made it to the roof, my body had heated as sweat drenched my head and body. I confirmed all three men were dead before emptying my clip into them. Police sirens rang out for a brief moment before the ringing in my ears turned into silence. Monte, one of Pops guards, gripped my shoulder. I saw his lips moving but didn’t hear the words coming out. He opened my suit jacket, and I wanted to tell him I hadn’t been hit. But I couldn’t say anything, because before I knew it, I blacked out.