Mafia Queen (The Manning Sisters #1) (7 page)

“Dakota, what’s wrong?” Lis asked when he stopped in front of her.

“Not sure, but something feels wrong.”

“If something happens we will face it together,” she assured him and he smiled.

“Definitely.”

Their conversation was cut short when Rachel walked into the room. “There you two are. We have a problem.”

“Morrison knows my number and Collin was the mole?” Dakota asked and Rachel looked at him in confusion.

“That too, but Morrison also has James’ number and James feels we are all in danger here.”

“I disagree,” John said as he came down the stairs. “I feel we are safer here than anywhere. Those phones are almost impossible to trace and we have a safe room here that’s fully stocked if they do happen to find us. Each room in the house has a tunnel that leads to the safe room door and both boys, as well as Michelle and myself, know the code to open it. I’ll give it to you two girls, but no one else needs it.”

“What about the rest of my security and James?” Rachel asked in a concerned voice.

“I’ll give the code to James, but I don’t trust anyone else at this point. Until I do, they aren’t going to be alone with either of you,” Dakota told her and she nodded.

“I understand, but I know you can trust Tiffany,
too. She’s only been with us since I started college, but I know she can be trusted.”

“That remains to be seen,” James said as he walked up behind Rachel. “Tiffany has proved valuable, but I’m with Dakota on this one. No one is to be alone with you two.” Rachel scowled at him for a moment before she turned and walked upstairs.

“That went well,” Lis said and grinned. “Let me talk to her. I’m sure I can make her see reason and understand where you two are coming from.”

Dakota nodded and watched Lis walk up the stairs before he turned to James. “I don’t care who we have to kill, no one will harm those two.”

“Agreed, boss,” James said and Dakota snarled.

“I never wanted that title, but I guess I have it for the rest of my life now.”

“Sure do,” John said and grinned at his son. “Now, let’s get a plan of action in place.”

***

As the men gathered around the kitchen table, Lis knocked lightly on Rachel’s door.

“Go away, James,” Rachel said from the other side and Lis grinned.

“Well, for one, I’m not James and for two, you’re stuck with me,” she said as she opened the door and walked in. “Wanna tell me what’s going on, Rach?”

“I think they are being too overly protective. You and I have had enough training to protect ourselves, but those two just don’t give us the opportunity to do so.”

“Rachel, James and Dakota are just looking out for us. They don’t want anything to happen to us,” Lis said and sighed. “You’ve fallen for James, haven’t you?”

“Is it obvious?”

“Only to everyone except James. Can I tell you something? James is falling for you,
too.”

“No,
he isn’t. How could he be? I’m ten years younger than him and he treats me like a baby sister he needs to protect.”

“Age is just a number, Rachel, and trust me on this. He does not look at you like a sister.”

“Whatever, Lis. Can we just drop this and discuss how we’re going to get them to trust us enough to let us help them?”

“Dakota isn’t going to stop me from helping. I’ve already told him that I would only follow any plan if I was beside him the entire time. He knows I’m capable of handling myself because I showed him I am. Maybe you need to show James some of your mad sparring skills.”

“Maybe I should,” Rachel agreed and grinned. “Did you know that there’s a full gym here?”

“I did not, but I think it’s time we use it,” Lis said and stood up. “I don’t know about you, but I could use a workout.”

“Me,
too,” Rachel agreed and smiled. “Let’s get changed and hit the gym.”

Ten minutes later, both girls were changed and in the gym doing a light warm up and stretches.

“Sparring?” Rachel asked and Lis nodded. She needed a good sparring session.

When the men found them twenty minutes later, they were both sweating vigorously. They didn’t stop when Dakota and James walked in, but increased their attacks. By the time they stopped ten minutes later, they were both exhausted.

“Enjoy the show?” Lis asked as she walked over and stood in front of Dakota.

“You and Rachel both have moves, I can tell you that,” he said and she grinned.

“Dad insisted we take several years of martial arts training. We both achieved highest rankings before we started high school and we sparred almost daily with each other before I left for college. While I was in college I trained with the Martial Arts Association’s top trainers and am at a point where I can instruct if I want to. Rachel stopped training in college, but still worked out regularly to keep in shape.”

“How did neither of us know this?” James asked as he watched Rachel stretching.

“No idea. I guess you two don’t know everything, do you?” Lis asked and grinned. “I hope you both remember that our father was molding us both to work for him. We were never meant to be treated like delicate flowers.”

When Lis walked away James turned to Dakota. “I think we may have underestimated their skills.”

Dakota chuckled and shook his head. “You may have, but Lis has already showed me she can handle a gun. Seeing her spar only made me more determined to keep her safe. We just have to do it in a way that they don’t know we’re doing it. They both need to know that they’re helping and we can let them help and still keep them safe.”

“How do you do it? How do you love her the way you do and still have the sanity to say that she can help?” James asked and looked at Rachel again.

“It’s because I love her that I can see things more clearly. If I try to hold her back she’s going to resent me and that is something I couldn’t handle. I will keep her safe and she will keep me safe because neither of us wants to lose the other.”

“I cannot even imagine how empty my life would be without Rachel and she and I aren’t even a couple,” James told Dakota and cringed.

Dakota chuckled and shook his head. “I won’t repeat that if you don’t want me to. It’s hard not to fall for the Manning sisters though.”

“It’s impossible,” James corrected and looked at Rachel again. “I’m ten years older than her though.”

“So? I’m seven years older than Lis and we’re getting married.”

“But you two are meant to be,” James said and Dakota chuckled again.

“And who says you and Rachel aren’t?” Dakota asked and looked at James. “Don’t give up on what you feel. Sometimes it’s the only thing that helps us survive.”

With that Dakota stood and walked away, leaving James to contemplate what he’d just heard.

“Here’s what we’re going to do,” Dakota said as they all sat around the kitchen table. “We are heading back into the city tomorrow, but we aren’t taking the SUV’s. We have five cars in the garage here and we are taking two of those. Both security teams will be in the SUV’s, but Rachel and Lis will not be. I’ll be driving my personal vehicle and James will be driving dad’s car. We will leave at two different times and take two different routes back into the city. Once there, we will meet at David’s house and change vehicles again before we head to the mansion. I spoke with Detective Ballard earlier and the police are releasing your parents’ bodies in a couple of days so we can have their wake shortly thereafter. When we get back to the mansion tomorrow I will issue a statement to all the families that the Manning family has a new head and that the family will call a meeting as soon as a respectable mourning period has passed. Any questions?”

“Only about a million,” Lis said and shook her head. “But I’ll settle for just a couple at the moment. Does Detective Ballard have any idea who murdered them? Do we know that the mansion is safe to return to?”

“He suspects, but cannot prove, that it was the Morrison family and yes, the mansion has been swept and new security has been installed. Also, the panic room has been updated and is fully stocked. You two cannot stay in the pool house though. There is no way to completely secure it,” Dakota answered and Lis nodded.

“I have a question,” Rachel said and all eyes turned to her. “Why would we want to return to the house our parents were murdered in?”

“They weren’t murdered in the house. They were murdered in the driveway at the entrance gate. They were leaving the mansion and had just driven through the gate when they were killed. I’m not sure where they were going or where their security was at, but it was just them and each of their security heads.”

“Dad never left the house without at least three security guards for each member of the family,” Lis told them in a confused tone.

“I know, which is why we are searching for the missing security. Richard would never put himself or Bianca in that kind of danger,” Dakota informed them and shook his head. “I don’t want to believe it, but Ballard seems to think they were working for Morrison.”

“Do we know who it is that’s missing?” James asked as he scooted his chair a little closer to Rachel.

“Carbajal, Oggier, O’Neill, and Schaffler. All four have been with the family for several years and I just don’t see that they’d turn on Richard and Bianca,” Dakota said and John shook his head.

“Son, you’re forgetting that some people will do anything if the price is right. Maybe they did it, maybe they didn’t, but until they are found we will never really know. What we do know is they are missing and Richard and Bianca are dead.”

“We also know that all four of them have families. Are we sure Morrison didn’t do something to them or their families? Are we sure they’re even still alive?” Rachel asked. “Carbajal and Oggier both joined when their fathers retired. We have known them all our lives. O’Neill’s parents were killed by the Chakravarthy family several years ago during a territory takeover. Schaffler is the only one I really don’t know, but I do know he has a wife and a new baby. He was set to leave the organization as soon as his contract was up. I cannot see any of them turning on mom and dad.”

“Rachel, what if the Morrison’s had Schaffler’s wife and baby? What if they had O’Neill’s sister or Carbajal’s brother? What if they had Oggier’s fiancée? You never know what people are capable of doing when their loved ones are in danger. You never know until you are there,” James said and they all looked at him. “My oldest sister was held by the Nadas family until my dad agreed to come to work for them. She was fifteen years old at the time. After my dad gave in they returned her, but not before the three men who held her had their way with her. I happily killed all three of them right after I came to work for your family. Your father ordered the hit, but I was happy to carry it out.”

Rachel looked at him in shock for a second before she looked at her sister. “Didn’t you graduate with the youngest of the Nadas girls?”

“I did and she was a total bitch. She always talked like her family was so much better than ours. Her name is Kiwa, and I know she’s working for Morrison now.”

“What happened to their family?” Michelle asked and looked around at them all.

“They were taken over by the Chakravarthy family about four years ago,” Dakota answered and looked at Lis, “Didn’t your father help Chakravarthy with that one?”

Lis nodded, but it was Rachel who responded. “He did, and I was happy to see it happen. Most of that family was wiped out and it really cleaned up the territories. They fed drugs and guns to kids. That’s why they were taken over. The other families didn’t like how they were running things.”

“Do you think what’s left of that family had anything to do with your parents’ murder?” James asked and Dakota looked at him.

“I never even thought about that,” Lis said and thought for a second. “I know Kiwa has been working for the Morrison’s since the takeover. She’s a trained killer and was doing some pretty nasty stuff for her father before Chakravarthy had him killed. I wouldn’t put it past her to be part of it. I also wouldn’t put it past her to kidnap and torture the other guards either. She is mentally unstable and has a taste for blood.”

“Sounds like just the person we need to have a chat with,” James said and Lis looked at him like he’d lost his mind.

“You don’t have a
chat
with a person like Kiwa Nadas. You have a bloody battle that will most likely end in one of you dead,” Lis told them and shuddered. “When we were in high school she had a falling out with one of my friends and two days later my friend’s car was destroyed. All the windows were busted out and someone had taken a knife and carved
die bitch
in the leather interior. We all know it was Kiwa, or one of Nadas’ men, but there was never any proof.”

“Wow, so we know she likes revenge,” Dakota stated the obvious. “But would she wait all these years to take it out on people who weren’t even directly involved?”

“Yes,” Lis answered quickly. “She would see it as a way to let the Chakravarthy family know she was coming for them.”

“Okay, then I need to make a phone call tonight. I need to call Chakravarthy and let him know what’s going on. He needs to be alert so he can keep his wife and daughter safe,” Dakota told them and rose from the table. “I think we all know what’s going to happen tomorrow and I think we all need a good night’s sleep.”

“I agree,” John said as he rose from the table. “Goodnight everyone.”

As they all made their way to their bedrooms, Dakota glanced out the window at the quiet street. He had men stationed in several locations, men who weren’t connected to any of the families, and he knew they’d alert him at the slightest hint of danger, but he couldn’t shake the nagging feeling he’d had since leaving his beach house. He couldn’t shake the feeling that something was going to go wrong.