Chapter 3
Jude
Nineteen years old
The rain lashes against the windowpane, each drop striking against the glass as if it had some sort of vendetta against it. With my arms crossed over my chest, I watch with contempt as lightning illuminates the far horizon, bringing with it the only ray of light this god awful gray day will get.
Usually, walking among the roses and ivy in the garden would be enough to clear my head and uplift my mood, but today, I don’t have that option. Instead, I’m left feeling like a caged animal in this grand manor—trapped inside its walls, unable to shake the feeling that they are closing in on me.
“You look bored,” Mina’s voice cuts through the quiet, pulling me from my troubled thoughts.
Suffocated, more like.
“That obvious, huh?” I respond, glancing over my shoulder to find Mina watching me with an amused glint in her eyes.
“A little.” She smiles, stepping closer to me. “Not a fan of rain, I gather?”
I shake my head, focused on the storm outside that promises to ruin my weekend.
“Hmm, I see,” she muses, now standing beside me. “I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but rain is a significant part of English weather.”
“So I’m finding out.” I frown.
“Don’t fret,” she adds optimistically. “I’m sure you can find something to do to take your mind off the weather. Don’t you have some new book to read?”
My brows furrow at her remark. “How do you know I like to read?”
“Because I pay attention.” Mina grins as if she knew something I don’t. “And because I grew up with two boys who’ve probably never cracked open a book in their lives. Meeting someone who actually enjoys reading? That’s rare. And noteworthy.”
“Remus and Rolo don’t exactly scream ‘bookworm,’ do they?” I chuckle.
“No, they do not.” She laughs. “They’re more the ‘throw books into bonfires’ types.”
I wince at the image she just painted.
“Please tell me they haven’t actually done that.”
“No, of course not. It was a joke, cowboy.” She laughs. “My cousins are a little unhinged, yes, but they’re not that bad.”
I have my doubts.
“Good to hear, because to burn a book or prevent anyone from diving into its pages is an unforgivable act. Such a thing is not only a crime but an assault on the very essence of knowledge and imagination.”
She tilts her head my way, looking utterly intrigued. “That’s a lot of passion for the written word.”
“I guess it is.”
Aside from my family, there aren’t many things I believe to be sacred.
But books, be it fiction or non-fiction, are definitely in my top five of things not to fuck with.
I have my mother to thank for the obsession.
The best memories I have of my childhood revolve around my mother reading to me. Every night before bed, I would pick one of the books we brought from the library, and we would delve into it together, creating a bond between us that felt unbreakable.
But that was before we moved to Chicago.
Before the Outfit touched our lives.
Mina studies me for a beat before crossing to the other side of the room. She halts at a table on which a chessboard is set up, gently running her fingers over the back of a chair before lifting her gaze to meet mine.
“Well, since you’re not in the mood to read, how about a game?”
“I’ve never played chess,” I reply, walking over toward her.
“Ah, but I bet you’ve read a book about it.” She smirks.
She’s got me there.
“You really are an enigma, Jude Romano.” She hums in amusement as I pull out the chair for her to sit down.
“Is that what I am?” I chuckle since no one has ever used that word to describe me before.
“At least to me, you are. But enough chit-chat. Take a seat so I can teach you the basics.”
With nothing else to do on this dreary afternoon, I take her up on her offer.
Mina is patient as she explains the rules, guiding me through a few practice rounds until I get the hang of it. Once I feel comfortable enough, we start a real game. She chooses the white pieces, leaving me with the black ones.
Mina starts the game by using the queen’s pawn to claim the center.
I respond by mirroring her move with my own pawn, blocking hers.
“I know I said it before, but I really am sorry for going into your room like I did last weekend,” Mina says, eyes lowered on the board, calculating her next move.
Again, I get the feeling that apologizing for anything is out of her comfort zone, so I decide not to give her any more grief about her lapse in judgment.
“It’s fine, Mina. I don’t hold grudges.”
“Then you’re in the wrong line of work. I thought all mafiosi held grudges like their lives depended on it.”
“Some do.” I watch her move her knight to attack my central pawn. “I don’t,” I add, moving my own knight to defend it.
“Interesting,” she muses, eyeing the board attentively before sliding one pawn to get her bishop ready. I follow her strategy and mimic her moves.
“What about you?” I ask, giving her time to think about her next move. “Do you hold grudges?”
“Let’s just say a Crane never forgets… or forgives,” she replies, letting a slow smile creep on her lips before aiming her bishop at the pawn, now ready to take the fall after my last move.
“Ouch. Remind me never to get on your father’s bad side.”
“Or mine.” Mina wiggles her brows playfully.
“Fair enough.”
A few moves later, I slide my bishop next to the knight, but from how Mina’s eyes light up, I can’t tell if it was a smart move—or if I just handed her the game.
“Huh. You managed to pin my knight to my king. You’re a quick learner.” She laughs, raising her finger to show she needs a minute before making her next move.
“You were a good teacher, Lady Crane.” I chuckle, happy that I didn’t fuck the game up with a bad move.
“Please.” She rolls her eyes. “Just Mina. ‘Lady Crane’ makes me think of my Aunt Pippa, and I’m having too much fun to let her invade my thoughts.”
“You two don’t get along?”
She tilts her head to the side, considering the question.
“We get along… when we don’t spend time together. If that makes sense.”
It does. I think of my father and how we’ve settled into an unspoken truce since I arrived in London. A silent understanding that I can do what I need without his interference.
“I understand perfectly.”
Mina grins. “Family, right? Can’t live with them, can’t kill them either.”
I blink at her casual tone, caught between amusement and alarm.
“I’ve never met a kid… I mean a woman,” I quickly rectify, “that talks about murder as casually as you do.”
“Must be the Crane blood in my veins, I guess.” She shrugs, unbothered. “Death is part of life, is it not?”
“Death, yes. Not murder.”
Her sharp eyes settle on me, looking even more enthralled.
“You look baffled,” she teases, still eyeing me intriguingly while she castles kingside, securing her king’s safety.
“I guess I’m not used to girls that talk the way you do,” I retort, moving my knight to attack her pawn.
“I could say the same about you. I don’t think I’ve ever met a mafioso with a conscience.”
“Then you’ve never been to Chicago.” I chuckle. “I could introduce you to two or three that would blow your mind.”
“Doesn’t that defeat the purpose, though?” She leans forward, sounding genuinely curious. “Why be raised with a sense of right and wrong when your entire life is built on only doing the wrong thing?”
“It’s not wrong if you do it for the right reasons.”
“And these conscientious capos you mentioned—what are their reasons?”
“Family. Honor. Duty. It’s in their blood to protect these things.” I pause, meeting her gaze. “It’s in mine too.”
Mina goes quiet, absorbing my words. Then, softly says, “Family is important to you.”
“It’s all that matters,” I say truthfully.
Again, she hesitates as if choosing her next words carefully.
“Can I ask you something?”
“Go on.”
“Why did you leave Chicago in the first place? If family means so much to you, why are you here?”
I lean back in my chair, pausing our game. “Because I wanted to get my business degree.”
“You could’ve gone to university anywhere in the States, closer to home. But you picked King’s College.” She continues to study me. “Why?”
When I don’t answer, she sighs.
“You asked me to be your friend,” she starts, moving another pawn to protect the center. “Well, friends share their worries. Friends try to make things better.”
I lean back into the table, sliding a pawn forward to mirror her move.
“It’s your turn.”
Mina exhales, shifting her focus back to the board since it’s apparent she won’t get me talking.
We go like this for a while, moving chess pieces across the board in utter silence.
“My Aunt Pippa thinks a woman’s only purpose is to marry rich and have babies,” Mina says out of the blue. “That’s it. That’s all we’re good for—to wear designer dresses and look pretty on a man’s arm.”
I frown.
“Why are you telling me this?”
“Because if we’re going to be real friends, we have to share our troubles, too,” Mina says, leaning back in her chair. “My Aunt Pippa is a thorn in my side. So far, I’ve been able to ignore her, and so has my father. But the minute I turn eighteen, I know he’ll start listening to her.”
My frown deepens at the sound of defeat in her voice.
“Your father doesn’t seem like the type to care about things like that.”
“My father is a businessman. The Boss of the Firm. Having a daughter as his heir? That’s not something the rest of the Firm will accept. His best move would be to marry me off to someone strong enough to lead in his place.”
Mina’s somber way of explaining her probable fate tells me she has spent more than a few sleepless nights thinking about it.
“Has he told you that?”
“No.” She shakes her head. “But I’m not stupid. Even if he’s trying hard not to admit it, I know it’s his only play.”
I study her carefully before offering an alternative.
“He has another play. He can always induct you. Make you the Boss of The Firm when the time comes. Is that even something that you want? To take his place?”
“I’ve considered it.” She exhales, thoughtful. “I even think I’d be good at it. My morals aren’t as black and white as yours. And I’d have the twins to back me up if I needed them.”
“Sounds to me like your father already has a capable heir, then.”
She tilts her head to the side, eyes sharp on me.
“So does yours.”
Something in her tone makes my stomach drop.
“How much did you read?” I ask, already knowing this conversation didn’t come out of thin air.
“Only one passage,” she admits. “It was about your mum. About how much you miss her.”
A heavy weight settles in my chest at the pity in her eyes.
“That was private.”
“I know. And I’ve apologized. But… I guess what I’m saying is, do you want to talk about it?”
I lower my head, running the pad of my finger over the queen.
“She doesn’t want me in this life,” I finally admit, voice low.
Mina stays quiet, waiting for me to continue.
“My mother never wanted any of her children involved with the family. She believes if I follow in my father’s footsteps, my brothers will follow mine.”
“Do you think she’s right?”
“I don’t know.” I shrug. “Maybe. Maybe not.” I let out a loud exhale, running my fingers through my hair in frustration while feeling Mina watching me carefully.
“Seems to me like having a conscience isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Her actions are based on love. What about yours?”
I narrow my eyes at her.
“You think I’m being selfish?”
“I think you want something so badly that you haven’t stopped to consider the consequences. Just don’t ruin every good relationship you have in pursuit of something as fragile as destiny,” she says quietly. “No one’s fate is written in stone.”
“Mine is,” I state steadfastly.
“That’s where you and I differ. I refuse to believe that. Because if I did, then that would mean my fate is already sealed too. I’d have to accept that in the not-so-distant future, I’ll be married to some capo just because my father needs a man to sit on his throne.”
Silence stretches between us as I let her words sink in.
While I would do anything to live up to my birthright, Mina needs to fight tooth and nail to escape hers.
“Checkmate.”
I blink once, then twice, staring at the board in amazement. While I was lost in thought about the clusterfuck that is both my life and hers, Mina remained focused, strategizing her way to win the game.
“And that, my friend, is what we call The Italian Attack. ” Mina grins from ear to ear as she leans back in her seat, looking victorious. “Let this be a lesson. Never take your eyes off the queen. You never know what she is up to until it’s too late.”
Noted.
Never underestimate the queen… or Mina Crane.