Chapter 8 Celeste
CHAPTER EIGHT
CELESTE
“Until death itself comes, no calamity need be feared.”- Sun Tzu, The Art of War
Finishing up the last touches of my bold eyeliner wing, I give myself one last glance in the mirror before shrugging on my suit jacket.
Spraying on my mother’s favorite perfume, I straighten my spine and head downstairs where the boys are waiting for me.
Even though my uncle is family, he doesn’t know what that little girl in pigtails has become.
If he sees me confident but also unreadable, he can then convince the rest of the Mafia that I’m not just the timid little girl that he knew a long time ago.
I’m all grown up, ready to take on anything that’s thrown my way.
“Bellissima, Celeste!” Beautiful, Celeste. Uncle Giovanni approaches me, kissing me on both cheeks. “You’re shining like the stars. If only your father could see how vibrant you are. Are you ready to go?”
His eyes light up with adoration. Makes me feel warm and fuzzy. Which also makes me shift uncomfortably. I’m not used to it as of late. It’s even hard to look at my uncle since he’s a spitting image of my father.
“Thank you, Uncle. I’m very interested to see everyone again. Anything I need to know before I join?” I give him a warm smile.
I already know what I need for each of the men I will be joining but I’ll humor him. One thing I know about men, make them think they’re useful and full of knowledge and it typically works in my favor when I give them the element of surprise, later on.
“These men are deadly, Celeste. You mustn't anger them. They will be taken back by a female lead as women don’t enter this side of the business. But also, show them you’re fierce and you belong among them.” We walk out of the villa towards the SUVs.
It takes everything inside me to hold back the most dramatic eye roll. They haven’t had the chance to meet the Reaper yet and when they do, will they then shut the hell up?
“I’m not worried about it. A male doesn’t scare me. If they’re intimidated by me, it’s their problem they need to work out.” My response takes him off guard but he simply nods as we enter the SUVs.
About twenty minutes later, we arrived at an old brick building covered with vines.
It’s beautiful even with its age. My door opens to Larson holding his hand out to help me out.
Men in suits gather around, blocking me from any threat that may be lurking.
I take a deep breath and place on an unreadable mask.
Antonio comes to my side as we walk up the steps through the threshold.
Let the games begin. Let’s see who brings up that a female can’t run the Mafia first.
Taking long powerful strides, we walk through the hallway to the back where the sound of chattering can be heard. Looking down at my watch, we’re fifteen minutes early but it appears they have gathered before our meeting time. Interesting but not surprising.
As I walk in with my head high, the room goes quiet. The click of my heels are the only thing that can be heard. I notice the head of the table is empty and I don’t hesitate to take my seat at the throne.
“Gentlemen. By all means, please resume your conversations.” I sit back in my chair, crossing my leg over my knee raising my eyebrow.
Confused stares dart in my direction before they look upon each other asking each other silent questions. Surprise motherfuckers!
“Celeste, my have you grown. It’s been ages since I’ve seen you. Your father must be so proud of you,” the head of the Irish addresses me.
He’s a tall, muscular, bright orange-haired man who doesn’t seem to age one bit. Must be those good genes. His eyes are as golden as honey and he has ink covering his body. Each tells a story of each enemy he took the life of.
“Cian, it’s nice to see you. He’s very proud of me, that’s why he left me as the head. I hope your wife, Aisling, is doing well.” I give him a tight smile, catching him off guard that I remember his and his wife's name.
He’s always been the neutral one out of them all, so I won’t dig my nails into him, yet. He leans back into his chair, fixing his started expression into indifference as he observes my movements and expressions. No doubt recognizing the Italian King’s blood running through my own.
“Speaking of your father, why would he leave the head to you? You don’t know our ways. There should be someone else in your place.” That Turkish accent has me turning my head to the opposite end of the table.
Typical of him to start this debate. I remember my father coming home huffing with annoyance because this idiot always had to argue and question everything. Made for long nights.
“Why, Egmen? Because I’m a woman? What makes you think I can’t bring a man to his knees and beg me for his life?” I raise my eyebrows challenging him.
His face turned a deep red and I can see the steam coming from his ears. He looks around for support as if they can challenge and defeat me. Sad little man.
“What he means, dear, is that this isn’t a game. It’s dangerous and we have all known you since you were a child. We expected to see Mike step up and be a man. He would gain more respect.” The next victim sitting across from Egmen joins in on the assaults.
“You see, Mike is currently unavailable with a shattered hand for defying me. He, too, thought he could take my place but he was so very wrong. He’s not blood.
He isn’t owed anything but to be on the streets with the dogs.
Weak and powerless. Tell me, Arrid, do you tell your daughter that she can’t be queen of the castle simply because she’s a female?
Will you crush your sweet girl's dreams because you haven’t come to terms that women can be much stronger than men? ” I protest against him.
My uncle sucks in a breath as I did exactly the opposite from what he asked me to do.
I don’t want their respect. I want their alliance, yes.
But I could give two shits about what they think of me.
They need to know I’m here to stay and they can’t get rid of me.
I’ll never be weak and cower down just because they say so.
“Little Reaper.” A thick Russian accent rolls through the air.
“That’s what they call you on the streets.
My men have told me what you’ve done. Cutting off the hands of a man who touches a female when not asked.
Slitting the throat of a man who sold drugs to a child under your father’s name and then dumping his body.
Then your stepbrother is seen with snot running down his nose with a mangled hand.
I would say you are not the typical woman. ”
My heart warms with pride. The head of the Russian Mafia has heard of me and his eyes are lit with adoration and acceptance. Everyone goes quiet thinking over what he just said. Cian smiles as if he’s already swayed to my side.
“Deniil, you’re right. I’m not average and my father has raised me to believe that I can rule the castle.
Blood does not faze me, neither does cutting off limb after limb as the screams are music to my ears.
As my father’s oldest friend, you should know his ways.
They’ve been passed down appropriately.” My lips turn up to the side.
Deniil and my father were extremely close.
Out of all the leaders, he was the one who was around the most. He’s a ruthless man, divorced and now married again to some young broad.
He has two older sons and now a young daughter with his new wife.
He’s the definition of loyal, but if you betray him, he’ll be the deadliest enemy to have against you.
“I have, too, taught my daughter that she will rule. I stand by you as you take on this empire. We have the second biggest territory. You have my allegiance.” He nods with approval.
Cian also nods with agreement along with Arrid.
Egmen keeps his mouth shut but his scowl stays plastered on his face.
He knows he’s outnumbered and this is final.
The weight that has been pressed on my chest lifts with ease and I can finally breathe.
We discuss the trading routes, businesses we all uphold, and expansion.
“We do have a problem on our hands. We had a drop a couple weeks ago and when we came to the drop, about a million dollars worth of guns were missing. We have reason to believe the Albanians were behind it as they keep inching closer and closer to our territory.” Cian leans forward folding his hands.
“Ours, too, have gone missing and the feeds were cut at the warehouse where we normally do the drop. We’ve since then moved locations. In addition, we had some break-ins at the family-owned shops leaving us in one hell of a mess,” Arrid adds.
This is all too coincidental. Both allies are added within our territories as if someone is trying to make a statement and find the weak spots of the new leadership.
“Any indication that it was them? They haven’t stepped foot in my territory but I’m also finding that we may have some rats within.
We’ve set traps, waiting to see who takes the bait.
When did this start?” Antonio comes up from behind me handing me a folder with damages of the shops and silhouettes of the thieves dressed in all black with covered faces.
I always thought it was cowardly to hide behind a mask. Own that shit. I take what I want, and I’ll smile in your face as I do it.
“There was a flag left behind. That’s all we were able to find. It started the day your father passed. They would never go against him, but now that he’s gone, they’re testing to see if our alliance is just as strong or if we’ll crumble with thievery.”