Chapter 2

2

K arrington

3:00 AM

Pops’ brothers, Johnny and Pete, stood at my sides. Because I was Pops enforcer and second in command as the underboss, Uncle Pete was capo. He might not have liked answering to his younger brother, but Uncle Pete was damn good at what he did. He was ruthless, able to control and take charge, and assertive—which made him the perfect man to lead our soldiers. The trio of brothers were the perfect dynamic for the past three and a half decades. I grew in age as my father grew in power and status. He started in this shit as a soldier and I was damn proud when he became capo, underboss, and eventually boss of all bosses. Now, he was gone, and I was going to have to fill his shoes.

It didn’t matter how much my father prepared me for this moment. Preparing to speak those words to his men had my throat clogged. I wasn’t simply about to tell these men their boss was dead. I was about to tell them my father was. He’d tell me to show no emotion, no weakness. He’d tell me in the front of them was not the place to break down. He’d tell me death was the only thing guaranteed in life and he’d lived well, so there was no reason to mourn him. The one thing he hadn’t told me was how much I would miss him, and he hadn’t even been gone for a full day.

“Do you want me to tell them? We need to get this over with,” Pete said, to which I shook my head.

“Nah. I got it.”

“Just give ’im some time,” Johnny added.

They were always like that—always on different pages, always having different perspectives. Always providing balance.

After clearing my throat, I looked around the warehouse. It was one of three the Lowe Mafia used for meetings. In attendance was every member of the council and every leader of our ten teams. They would pass word down to their soldiers.

“I’m sure you all are aware of the shooting that took place earlier this evening,” I started, looking at no one in particular. “My father…” My Adam’s apple bobbed repeatedly as I swallowed back my tears. “He didn’t make it.” A beat of silence passed. “There will be some changes after I officially take over but—”

“I’m sorry.” Kendrick stood and buttoned the top button of his suit jacket. “You can’t officially take your father’s place until you are married.”

“You think I don’t fucking know that?” I replied quicker and with more bite in my tone than intended. “As the underboss, I am in control temporarily for the next sixty days. If I am not married by then, a new boss will be voted in. I know the rules of the organization my father and his three best friends built.”

With a bob of his head, Kendrick conceded and sat back down.

I gave myself a few seconds to calm down before telling them business would continue as usual and that they’d receive invitations to my wedding soon. Getting married to a complete stranger was the last thing I wanted to do, but I had no choice. I wouldn’t be able to fully grieve my father until business was running smoothly with the new changes, and before I could change anything, I’d have to take a wife.

This lifestyle was the reason I didn’t have my art or Luna Ray. My child and the generations to come wouldn’t have to suffer the way I did. Knowing she was leaving the restaurant just minutes before everything went down felt like some kind of twisted lesson from the universe. A twisted lesson to remind me she deserved better than this lifestyle. She deserved better than me . And no matter how trained or lethal I was, no one was invincible. As much as I didn’t want to accept it, I had no choice but to surrender to the fact that the best choice Luna Ray could have made was getting the hell out of my life.

Three Days Later

I couldn’t cry. I wanted to but I couldn’t. The funeral would be a show of strength and power, not just for me as Pops’ replacement but for the mafia. That wouldn’t be the place to shed tears, so I’d been trying to release them now, but I couldn’t. It felt like a failure. I kept telling myself it was because Pops had prepared me for this moment, but that wasn’t true. Regardless of how prepared I was, my father was gone, I missed him, and I should have been able to cry.

I’d come to the home he once shared with my mother to see if that would cause my feelings to erupt. Unsuccessful. Ma must have pitied me, because she came into his office and laid on the thick carpeted floor next to me.

“You need to get it out before the funeral,” she said, as if I didn’t already know.

“I know, Ma, but that’s easier said than done.”

“Maybe it’s because your brain thinks this isn’t the time or space for that. Maybe it won’t let your heart rule because you’re about to be the new boss. If you could just find a way to turn your mind off and focus on your heart, I’m sure you’ll be able to process how you feel.”

That made sense, but I didn’t know how to cut my mind off. It was swarmed by a million things I needed to do. Even with me being in his office, I was thinking about the meeting I needed to have later today, getting security in place for the funeral, and being strong for my mother.

The downside of killing the men that assassinated my father was we had no leads on who sent them. We were unable to trace the calls they made on their burner phones. The payments for two of them had been made from untraceable offshore accounts and the other was paid in cash. Because of that, I didn’t know if they’d strike again.

What was the point of the hit? Was it just to take my father down, or the organization as a whole? Would they come after me or his brothers next?

“Lulu has been calling me every day,” Ma continued. “She said she’s been calling you too.” I didn’t respond. “You should answer, Kare. She’s worried about you.”

“I’ll text her and tell her I’m fine. She’s not coming to the funeral, is she?”

“Of course she is.”

My head shook as I sat up. “I don’t want her there, Ma.”

“It’ll be safe. You’ve made sure of that by not sending out the location until the family is there. No outsiders will know where it will be held.”

“Still. I don’t want her there.”

“Well I do.” Sucking my teeth, I stood as she sat up. “I um… I wanted to let you know I’ll be leaving after the funeral.”

My head jerked in her direction. “Why? Where are you going? And for how long?”

Ma waited until she was standing to answer me. “I’m going back to Chicago to be closer to my family. I can’t grieve and heal here. Too many memories.”

As much as I wanted her near, I knew she’d be safer away until I figured out who was behind the hit. Being with her gave me peace though. I felt like it would be even harder on me to not have either of my parents around, but a part of me didn’t want to tell her that and make her feel guilty.

“If that’s what you feel you need to do.”

She walked over to me and took my hands into hers. “If you tell me not to go, I won’t.”

A small smile lifted the corners of my lips. “You know I’m not going to do that, Ma.”

“Well… Why don’t you come with me? Let your uncles handle this business. You can come with me, and we can just… put this stuff behind us.”

“It doesn’t really work like that, Ma. Pops had already named me as his replacement. Besides, I owe it to him to find out who was responsible for his death.”

Her head hung as she squeezed my hands. “I can’t lose you too,” she mumbled. “If something happened to you, Karrington, I would kill myself. I would not want to be on this Earth without the two of you.” She sniffled. “Gio was my life partner. That will be hard enough to handle. I can’t take burying my child. It would literally be the death of me.”

“Hey,” I called softly, lifting her head by her chin. “Nothing’s going to happen to me.”

“You can’t promise me that,” she replied through gritted teeth as her tears fell. “I want you to come with me, Son. Please .”

The urgency in her voice caused my shoulders to slouch. I didn’t want to disappoint her by saying no, but there was no way I could leave. Cupping her cheeks, I wiped away her tears.

“I can’t, but I promise to be safe and visit you as much as I can. I’m going to miss you so much, Ma. I really don’t want you to go, but I want you to do what’s best for you. Plus, it’ll probably be easier for me to focus on the business if I didn’t have to worry about keeping you safe.”

She released a shaky breath. “I thought about that too. I didn’t want to be in the way.” Her head bobbed, as if she was accepting the plans she’d already made. “I will be back for your wedding and of course for the birth of your child. Hopefully by then I’ll be in a better place, and you will have found out who took your father from us.”

All I could do was nod as she took me into her arms. The tears came at the thought of her leaving me, but they still wouldn’t fall. It was like I was getting backed up with tears and I feared when they finally came that I would drown.