Mafia Queen (The Manning Sisters #1) (13 page)

“Lis, we have a problem,” Dakota said as soon as Lis and Rachel walked out of the church they were having their parent’s service in.

“What’s wrong?” She asked as he ushered her into the car.

“Ballard found Jenn’s body at the construction site yesterday,” he told her and shut her door. After he slid behind the wheel and started the car he turned to face her. “Lis, she was strangled to death. Ballard said the ligature marks looked like a wide leather belt. He also said there were signs of intercourse at the time of death.”

“Wait, what?” Lis asked as Dakota pulled away from the curb and headed toward the mansion. “Are they thinking Mike killed her as he fucked her?”

Dakota shook his head and sped up a little. “No, they think either Lee or I killed her as we fucked her.”

“WHAT?!” Lis yelled and Dakota glanced at her. “That’s ridiculous.”

“It is, but one of the other detectives thinks that since Lee and I were closest to her then it has to be one of us. They couldn’t find a connection to her and Morrison.”

“But you were with me when she was killed,” Lis said and Dakota nodded.

“I was, but Lee wasn’t. He had taken off by that point. He’s most likely going to be arrested. I’ll get him a lawyer and get him out on bail, but he’s probably already being picked up.”

“What about dad’s security that were in that trailer?”

“None of them remember what happened that night. Carbajal and Oggier are being treated for extensive injuries, but O’Neill and Schaffler have been released from the hospital. They are at the mansion already and you can talk to them when we get there. Ballard told me they didn’t tell him much though.”

“So Lee’s being arrested, O’Neill and Schaffler are at the mansion, and Carbajal and Oggier are in the hospital. A lot happened in the past hour.”

“Well, I did tell you it was going to be a busy day,” Dakota told her with a grin, trying to lighten the mood.

She grinned back and shook her head. “That you did, but did you know it would all come crashing down around us in such a short time?”

“No, but we can face anything, together,” Dakota took one hand off the wheel and placed it on her leg. “We will get through everything together.”

“Dakota, mom and dad would have never approved of us being together.”

“I know, but Lis, I think we would have eventually ended up together anyway. Maybe not now, but I feel like we are meant to be and what’s meant to be usually finds its way together.”

“Their memorial is set for tomorrow at three. I want to get a message to all the families and I want triple security there. I have a feeling Morrison is going to try something and I want everyone to be there and alert.”

“I think you may be right. I will put the other families on alert, too, but I will be beside you the entire time so you don’t have to be worried.”

“I’m going to be armed, and so is Rachel, but I still can’t shake the feeling that something is going to happen. Something that none of us are going to be prepared for.”

“If it does, we will face it together,” Dakota assured her.

“Yes, together,” Lis agreed.

As they drove back to the mansion in silence, Mike answered a knock on his study door, “Come in.”

“Mr. Morrison, you have a package,” one of the servants said as she opened the door and walked in carrying a medium sized box.

“Just set it over there. I’ll get to it when I finish this,” he told her and dismissed her. After she sat the package on the table he indicated she left the room and he rose to his feet. He was curious about the package after his father told him that Elisabeth was sending him something that was supposed to strike fear in him. “Let’s just see what you sent me, Elisabeth.”

When he opened the box he grinned at the carefully wrapped gift inside. As he pulled the package from the box he saw a card taped to the outside and he grinned again. He pulled the card from the box and opened it carefully. When nothing fell out, he started reading it:

Dearest Michael,

I know our parting wasn’t on the best of terms, but I do hope you will accept this gift as my way of saying thank you for a lovely three years. Also, I wanted to tell you that I hope you and Kiwa will be very happy together.

Best of luck to you both,

Lis

Wondering what could be so frightening about the contents of a thank you gift, Mike slipped the bow off the box and carefully unwrapped it. When he broke the seal on the gift, he was hit with the smell of the perfume he’d purchased for Elisabeth and he smiled. She clearly still wanted to be with him despite what she was saying.

“Guess Jackson was wrong about you, Lis,” he murmured as he opened the flaps of the box and looked inside. The sight before him caused his eyes to widen and his throat to constrict. As he pulled Kiwa’s head from the box his body started shaking with rage. The gleam between her lips instantly caught his attention and fury filled his every pore as he pulled the engagement ring he’d given Elisabeth from Kiwa’s cold lips.

He dropped the head back into the box and walked over to his desk with the ring clutched in his fist. As he sat down he picked up his phone and dialed the number he recently obtained. When she answered he smiled, “Well played, Elisabeth.”

“I take it you got your gift,” Lis said and grinned. “I do hope you like it. I mean, it’s nothing to lose your head over, but I thought I needed to send you a little something to remember me by.”

“You have no idea what you just started, Elisabeth,” he said through clenched teeth.

“Oh, but I didn’t start anything, Michael. Next time you send someone to kidnap me, be sure you send someone that knows how to fight. If not, you can expect more packages from me.”

“You little bitch,” he spat out, but she cut him off.

“That’s where you’re wrong, Morrison. I’m nobody’s bitch anymore,” she told him and hung up the phone.

As Dakota pulled through the gates of the mansion he glanced at her, “You okay?”

“I’m better than okay,” she answered and smiled. “I feel like I’m finally free from him.”

“Miss Manning, I’m glad to see that you are safe and well,” Schaffler acknowledged her when she walked into the room.

“Mr. Schaffler, I’m glad to see that you are as well. How is your wife and daughter?” Lis asked and glanced at Dakota.

“They are here, ma’am. Mr. Jackson and Mr. O’Brien sent men to get them this morning and bring them here. I’m sorry about your parents. They were great people to work for.”

“What can you tell us about that night?” Dakota asked and Shaffler shook his head.

“Not much. Mr. Manning decided he wanted to take Mrs. Manning out for dinner so we all headed for the garage. O’Neill was driving and we were right behind the SUV your parents and their security heads were in when everything went black. I don’t remember anything else until I woke up in that trailer. We had food and water delivered to us, but it was always a different person bringing it in. I never saw anyone I recognized from any of the families.”

“Miss O’Neill, what about you? Do you remember anything from that night?” Lis asked and watched O’Neill rock from one foot to the other.

“No, ma’am,” she answered, but Lis saw something in her eyes that said differently. “All I remember is seeing the SUV stop at the gate then everything went black.”

“Ashleigh, please don’t lie to me. I’m not the police and I’m not my father. Telling me the truth will go a really long way toward keeping you alive,” Lis said and O’Neill’s head popped up.

“They had Shai. They had my sister. They told me all I had to do was release the gas in the SUV and they wouldn’t kill her. They told me no one was going to get hurt. They just wanted to take the Manning’s some place where they could talk. I did what they asked and they killed her anyway. They killed my sister.” Ashleigh broke down and sank to the floor as the words flowed out of her mouth.

“Who. Ashleigh? Who killed her?” Dakota asked and shook his head at Lis when she moved to comfort O’Neill.

“Aaran and Kiwa Nadas,” O’Neill said between sobs.

Dakota nodded his head at the men standing behind O’Neill and Schaffler and they stepped forward and helped her to her feet.

“Where are you taking her?” Lis asked and took a step toward the men.

“They’re just taking her upstairs, Lis. She needs to lie down and I need to make a few calls. Ashleigh, do you know for sure that they killed her?” Dakota asked and O’Neill shook her head.

“I don’t have proof, but I have a feeling they did.”

“I’ll see what I can find out, but this confirms my theory. The Nadas kids are seeking revenge on the families who helped bring their family down.” 

***

“Where’s my sister?” Aaran Nadas yelled out when Mike answered the phone.

“Your sister is dead,” Mike said with no emotion in his voice.

“Dead? She’s dead? How the fuck is she dead? Who the fuck is responsible for her death?” Aaran asked furiously.

“She was beheaded yesterday be Elisabeth Manning,” Mike answered, a hint of boredom in his voice.

“You stupid son of a bitch. You said Elisabeth Manning wasn’t a threat to anyone. You said she was a Barbie Doll princess who could barely tie her sneakers,” Aaran said in a menacing voice.

“I guess I was wrong about her,” Mike told him, his temper starting to come out in his words. “She never showed me anything but the spoiled princess. Now, if you’ll shut up for two minutes I have a plan to avenge Kiwa’s death and bring down the Mannings once and for all.”

“I’m listening,” Aaran told him and sat quietly as Mike explained what he had in mind for the memorial service the following day.  “That sounds like a lot of fun, but don’t you think the memorial will be the absolute worst place to try to do that?”

“No. I don’t think they will be expecting anything to happen there and I know that Chakravarthy, his wife, and their kid will be there. It will be the perfect chance for you to do what you’ve been aching to do since your family was killed,” Mike told him and Aaran smiled.

“I have been wanting that man to suffer for a really long time. Maybe the Manning’s memorial will be the perfect place to attack.”

“It will be. Trust me,” Mike said and Aaran laughed.

“The last time I trusted you, my sister was killed. I want to make Elisabeth Manning pay for that one personally.”

“Elisabeth Manning is mine. Once I’m finished with her you can have what’s left, but she will be mine one more time before she dies,” Mike told Aaran then hung up the phone.

He sat at his desk and started stroking himself through his pants at the thought of having Lis under him one more time. She may have been a spoiled princess, but she was a wildcat in bed and he could already taste her sweetness on his lips. As he thought of all the things he would do to her before he turned her over to Aaran, he unbuttoned his pants and slipped his hand inside.

Wrapping his hand around his arousal, he started gliding it up and down as he remembered the feel of Lis’ mouth wrapped around. He could feel her tongue and teeth as they pleasured him. He closed his eyes and pictured her on his desk, her legs spread apart and her clit pulsating between her legs, begging him to take her.

As hot cum coated his hand, he imagined wrapping his hands around her neck and squeezing until the life drained from her body.

“Lis, we need to talk,” Rachel told her as she sat beside her at the dining room table.

“What about?” Lis asked and looked at her sister.

“I think we should have more security at the memorial,” she said quietly.

“I agree, and so does Dakota,” Lis told her as she wrapped her arm around her. “We are also both going to be armed.”

“Mike’s going to try something,” Rachel told her and Lis nodded.

“I think so, but we are going to be prepared and so will the other family heads. We aren’t going to be taken by surprise by him. He will not harm another member of this family.”

“Lis, there’s something else,” she added and looked at the table. “I overheard a phone call this morning between James and Dakota. Apparently James got a call from one of the family heads saying that Morrison isn’t going to accept Dakota as head of the family. Morrison wants you as head and if you’re not he’s going to do whatever he can to take us over.”

“Morrison can cut off his dick and sit on it,” Lis told her and Rachel laughed.

“Wow, sis, where’d you pick that up from?”

“I’m just sick of Easton and Michael thinking they can make decisions for our family. This is OUR family and they have no place in it. Maybe I should announce my engagement to Dakota after the memorial tomorrow. Maybe that would stop their shit.”

“Lis, I think Mike wants you and will stop at nothing to get what he wants.”

“Then I guess I’ll have to make it clear that he cannot have me, no matter how much he wants me.”

“How are you going to do that,” Rachel asked.

“Put a bullet between his eyes,” Lis answered simply and stood from the table. “Now, let’s get some dinner ready so we can lay out security plans for tomorrow.”

Rachel nodded and rose to help her. As they cooked dinner Dakota and James discussed the phone call Rachel had just mentioned to Lis.

“James, do you feel there’s a threat to Lis if she doesn’t step up as head of the family?” Dakota asked seriously.

“Maybe a minor one, but it isn’t anything we can’t handle,” he answered and Dakota nodded.

“Okay, good. I don’t want her as head of the family, but if that’s what would keep her safest I’d talk to her about it. We both know she can handle herself, so I’m not too worried about protecting her so much as I’m worried about not pissing her off and needing protection from her.” James chuckled, but Dakota just shook his head. “Man, you did not see her when Morrison called her earlier today. Her hand gripped her phone so tight I thought she was going to break it and when she told him, ‘I mean, it’s nothing to lose your head over,’ I thought I was going to have to pull the car over and get out to laugh. She held her own with him on the phone and I think she could in person now.”

“I think she always could have,” James told him and Dakota silently agreed. “I don’t, however, think Rachel is to that point and I’m worried that Morrison will try to get to Lis through Rachel.”

“They’re both going to be armed tomorrow and they both know how to handle themselves in hand-to-hand. Rachel is just a tenacious as Lis and if you try to smother her with security you’re just going to piss her off.”

“I’d rather have her pissed off and safe then happy and injured,” James stated and Dakota agreed, but he knew Lis better than that.

“I know that feeling, but I also know that those two will kick our asses if we try to smother them tomorrow. I have talked to the families who support us and they are going to bring extra security with them. Also, I have reason to believe that Aaran Nadas is in the area so I have people watching for him specifically. We know he’s behind Richard getting murdered and we know he’s going to be pissed off about Kiwa being killed. He’s on the list, with a recent picture, and will be escorted out if he shows up. We don’t want any trouble for Lis and Rach tomorrow.”

“Aaran Nadas will shoot first and ask questions later,” James said and shook his head. “Do you think either of them would agree to wearing a vest under their clothes?”

“I know Lis won’t. Plus, the dress she’s picked out for tomorrow wouldn’t allow it. Also, we will be with them the entire time we are at the church. We will keep them safe, James. Don’t doubt your ability to do whatever it takes to keep Rachel safe.”

“I can’t lose her,” James said in a defeated voice. “I don’t even have her, but I do know that my world would shatter if she wasn’t part of it.”

“James, trust our men and women to do their jobs. I can’t promise that nothing will happen, but I can promise that if something does we will all face it together. We can’t keep them safe if we’re doubting ourselves and our team.”

“I know,” James murmured and Dakota sighed.

“I talked to Chakravarthy and he is tripling his security detail. He will have at least two highly trained assassins with him tomorrow. His people are looking for Aaran Nadas, too. He received a threat yesterday that he is not taking lightly. He’s our biggest ally at the moment and we have to trust him to help us if the situation calls for it.”

“Do you really trust any of them with Lis?” James asked skeptically.

“Fuck no, but we have to in this instance. We have to have people we can count on and I believe Chakravarthy is the only one we really can. He’s the only one who feels as threatened by the Nadas and Morrison alliance as we do.”

“Do you really see them as a threat?” Lis asked as she walked into the office. “Sorry, I wasn’t meaning to eavesdrop. I was coming to tell you that dinner was ready.”

“I do see them as a threat, albeit a minor one, but still a threat. I think if they’re given the chance they will take out as many families as possible and try to take over their territories. I don’t think they will be given that chance though. I think we will succeed in stopping them before it comes to that.”

“Okay,” Lis said and smiled. “I trust you both to do whatever is necessary to protect the family, but you have to trust Rachel and I to help. We are all in this together.”

Dakota and James looked at each other for a second before they nodded their agreement. Lis smiled and walked out of the office without saying another word and they followed her to the kitchen where dinner was already on the table.