CHAPTER 43
C HAPTER 43
MADDOX
Five month later
I scanned the room, disgusted by the faces around me.
If given the chance, I’d erase every last one of them from the Earth.
I hate these meetings—forced to breathe the same air as these pathetic excuses for men is exhausting. But I kept my composure, holding back my frustration, staying on my best behavior.
Each family sends one representative. Twenty of us in total, all sitting around the large round table, waiting to discuss business, as always.
This time, my father made the rational decision to send me instead of Angelo.
I haven’t crossed Martin off my blacklist yet, but after the mess Angelo caused at the last meeting in Italy, I had to put our differences aside and handle this shit myself. He’d brought too much trouble to be trusted with any meetings anytime soon.
Looking around, I couldn’t help but think how laughable it was that we had to sit at the same table, pretending to be partners, even friends when we all knew that, if given the fucking choice, we’d turn this place into an ugly bloodbath.
I leaned back in my chair, frustration building.
I glanced at my watch— already late. My time was precious, and I hated wasting it. Yet that’s exactly what I was doing.
This meeting was a surprise to everyone. The next one wasn’t due for another two months, but someone—some family—had called for it early. I didn’t ask who, and honestly, I didn’t give a single fuck.
Now, we were just waiting for one family to join us.
The one I was most interested in seeing—The Romano’s.
Even months later, the name still leaves a bitter taste in my mouth.
Martin King did a damn good job hiding Allyn from us.
Nearly six months since she was taken from us, and we still haven’t gotten any closer to finding her.
The past few months have been nothing short of torture.
After receiving the black rose on my birthday with the threatening note attached, I fully expected something to come my way—A small, feisty woman, to be exact.
And when nothing came, the disappointment was… immaculate, even though I’d never admit it out loud. That’s the feeling I’ve had to live with for the past few months.
I stared at the empty chair across from me, my mind racing through a thousand scenarios of how this evening might end. I was determined to get my answers from Mikael Romano tonight, one way or another. Just then, the door opened, and as everyone was talking and laughing, the room fell silent.
They stared at the door as if they had seen a ghost.
I’ll never understand why Mikael instills so much fear in everyone. Maybe I’m just tempered enough not to fear him, or anything at this point.
But what caught my attention, what made me turn toward the door like every other stupid man in the room, was the sound of heels echoing through the space.
And when my eyes landed on the figure walking toward the chair, my heart dropped to my fucking feet. A part of me left my body as I gripped the armrests of my chair, cursing inwardly.
Months had passed, but that wasn’t enough time to forget. A lifetime wouldn’t be enough for me to fucking forget.
Allyn Romano was walking toward the chair, her hips swaying in her catwalk, her guards flanking her. Her head high, savoring the shocked expressions of every powerful man in the room—including mine.
I allowed myself to undress her with my eyes.
It wasn’t intentional, but I couldn’t stop myself. Her toned body was wrapped in a tight black dress, every curve accentuated perfectly. I could still remember my mouth on her skin, marking her in ways that felt like a lifetime ago. But my memory still lingers. How could it not?
She looked like the Allyn I knew, but at the same time, she was so fucking different.
I was entranced, unable to look away.
Her hair was chocolate brown the last time I saw her, but now it was a deep, murderous black, stripping away the “good girl” image she once carried. It was tied back in a high ponytail, exposing the small tattoos now inked along her neck.
They were recent—when she was last in my hands, her skin was bare, untouched by ink. The dress revealed just enough to tell me she was hiding more tattoos she never had before.
She once told me she liked tattoos, but not on herself. I had caught her admiring mine more times than I could count. And now, here she was, standing before me—flesh and blood, murderously beautiful, just as stunning as the last time I saw her.
The day I fucking lost her.
She’s always been a mix of goddess and hell.
I expected her gaze to settle on me as she took her seat at the head of the table, but I didn’t expect the gut-wrenching feeling that hit me the moment our eyes locked in a battle.
My stomach twisted violently, storms swirling inside me as her dark, unreadable eyes stared back. I had expected to see that familiar warmth, that spark she always carried, but it was gone.
Erased, as if it had never existed. Instead she kept her eyes on me for a few seconds longer before turning her attention to the other men, still staring at her in stunned silence.
A woman had never sat among us before.
Every representative of the families has always been a man .
It’s a law that has lasted for centuries.
Murmurs rippled through the room, the men confused and stunned by Allyn’s unexpected presence. I could hear the sneers in their whispers.
But I was too stunned to look away from her. I could hear their voices, but it was as if they were nothing more than background noise.
My entire focus was on her.
“What the hell is this?” Garrett Stone finally spoke, his voice cutting through the silence. A man in his forties, the head of The Stone family.
“Is this some kind of joke?”
Allyn tilted her head to the side, crossing her arms on the table, giving me an unobstructed view of her cleavage. Fuck.
“Is there a problem, Mr. Stone?” she raised an eyebrow, her tone sharp and commanding.
“Yes. You have no place at this table.”
“Says who?” she shot back, challenging him in a way that only fueled his rage. I couldn’t suppress the grin tugging at my lips. I was enjoying this more than I should.
“Says our law,” he hissed, disgust dripping from his words.
Allyn rolled her eyes.
“You’re a woman. You have no place here.” He sneered at her. “Who the fuck do you think you are? You want to get yourself killed?”
His words were quickly echoed by the others, a chorus of dogs with half a brain. But Allyn’s smile, a devilish twist I’d never seen on her before, stopped everyone cold. It was wicked, far darker than anything I could’ve imagined from her.
“Allyn Romano,” she said her name with such authority, as if to drown out the disgusting thoughts of the men in the room. “Head of the Romano family. A right granted to me by my father—Mikael Romano.”
Her confidence silenced every single man at the table, me included.
I felt like a fucking idiot, staring at her like I was seeing her for the first time. It had been months, and yet, she still had the power to fuck with me without so much as a glance.
As if I didn’t even exist. As if I wasn’t worthy of her attention.
I tried to force my gaze away, but it was fucking impossible. Every fiber of my being screamed to look away, but I couldn’t. I couldn’t tear my eyes off her.
“Any other questions?” She asked, her voice filled with an undeniable confidence as she locked eyes with the men around the table.
They exchanged wary glances, grumbling under their breath. Every one of these fuckers feared Mikael Romano, despised him, and probably now despised Allyn just as much.
But none of them dared to speak up.
“The meeting was called by me and my family,” She crossed her arms over the table again, making every man in the room—me included—listen intently. “We think it’s time to make some changes to the law code. It would be in your best interest to cooperate.”
Her plump red lips curled into a sly grin. I found myself distracted by the thought of how badly I wanted to erase that red lipstick with my own mouth.
“No.” A man’s voice broke through, drawing my attention. I didn’t even know who he was—either I’d never seen him before, or he wasn’t important enough to be remembered.
“The Law Code is not subject to change.”
“It is now,” she replied sharply, cutting him off. Her words left no room for argument. “It’s up to you whether you’re with or against us. Either way, my family will get what they want. You choose whether blood will be shed first, or if we’ll do it the peaceful way.”
“I don’t want to listen to this bullshit anymore,” snapped another man, standing up. “I don’t care that you’re Mikael’s daughter. I’m not going to let a woman tell me what to do.”
The men around the room murmured in agreement, their approval of his words hanging in the air like a stench. I just leaned back in my chair and observed, letting them fight it out.
Allyn narrowed her eyes at him.
“It’s time you start treating women as your equals,” she hissed. “Let’s put the cards on the table, gentlemen. All of you are nothing but useless men with the power handed to you by your families. Without it, you’re nothing.”
“Little fucking bitch, how dare you talk to us like that?” a man to my right shouted, rising from his seat and stepping toward Allyn.
Her bodyguards immediately reached for their weapons but they wouldn’t need them.
I didn’t even let him take two steps before I stood, grabbing him by the neck and yanking him back into his seat, slamming his head into the table. The satisfying crunch of bone reverberated in the room, but the hunger for more quickly stirred inside me.
His agonized cry echoed in the room as blood began to trickle down his face, splattering onto the table.
He fumbled, desperately trying to stop it, but there was no escape. His groans filled the air, but no one moved—no one dared to interfere. They knew better than to challenge me.
“Son of a bitch!” he screamed in pain, and I rolled my eyes in annoyance before slamming his head into the table again, painting the scene with even more blood and amplifying his screams. I tried to stay composed, but this idiot’s mouth was too big for my liking.
“Talk all you want to me, but that’s not how you talk to a woman,” I growled, tightening my grip on the back of his neck, feeling the blood soak into my hand. “It’s in your best interest to shut the fuck up and listen to what Miss Romano has to say. Otherwise, I’ll make sure you don’t talk at all.”
The room fell into a deadly silence, every man too afraid to make a sound. The pathetic cries of this grown man only grated on my nerves, fueling my irritation.
“Did I make myself clear?” I asked, my voice as cold as ice, tightening my grip around his neck.
He whimpered, nodding quickly.
“Good.” I released him, watching him slump back in his seat, groaning in pain. I adjusted my shirt, settling back into my chair, my eyes locking onto Allyn.
She was already staring at me.
For the first time tonight, she was giving me her full attention.
The corners of my lips curled into a smug grin as I noticed the small red marks on her cheek—proof that I could still get a reaction from her. Just like old times.
She sighed, finally looking away.
Her gaze shifted back to the men in the room.
“As I was saying,” she continued, her voice commanding, “It’s time to make some changes.”
And this time, no one dared to interrupt her.