Total pages in book: 125
Estimated words: 124836 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 624(@200wpm)___ 499(@250wpm)___ 416(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 124836 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 624(@200wpm)___ 499(@250wpm)___ 416(@300wpm)
And oddly. . .and too my surprise. . .Dimitri handed the leash to his guest right as the cat was getting ready to charge for those two crows. The change with the leash, dragged the cat back a little which caused a strangled, disappointed sound to leave its furry throat.
I thought Dimitri was about to make some grand statement.
Instead, he dove his hand into his jacket, pulled out a tiny notebook and yellow pen. Then, he just. . .scribbled in it.
O-kay.
No one stopped me, so I kept on, “I am glad you all will put a pause on discussing the law now and I am not in the Diamond Syndicate, but this law is about me. Right, Banks?”
He sighed. “Listen. Lei knew you were my cousin and took you away without your knowing shit. Kidnapped you even. Had you on the mountain and shit, wearing blue like you was his chick. When I gave you men, he injured them.”
“Let it go.” I raised my voice higher than I intended. “All of you. That’s quite enough.”
Dimitri smirked and scribbled some more.
“And I like this garden a lot.” I gestured around at the plants and flowers. “I don’t want a bunch of nonsense and fighting. You all are not going to do what you did to the hotel, to my garden.”
Dimitri looked up from his notebook. “Your garden?”
I swallowed.
Lei stepped forward.
Rowe Street Mob snapped their views to him.
He got next to me and wrapped his arm around my waist. “I agree with Moni. Either we have a cookout and co-exist in peace, or you all leave.”
Banks sucked his teeth. “I bet you second us leaving.”
Lei held a wicked grin. “I sure do.”
At Dimitri’s feet, the cat got back onto its mission, slowly creeping toward the crows.
Meanwhile, those birds, still perched confidently on the helipad, seemed unaware of the danger lurking just a few feet away.
Dimitri wrote something else down and didn’t close the notebook. “Lei, I think this is an amazing opportunity to introduce me to the new Mountain Mistress.”
I tensed.
Marcy spoke, “She’s not the Mountain Mistress yet, not officially.”
Oh, God.
I glanced over at Lei and it was like looking at a tightly coiled spring, ready to snap. His eyes were locked on Marcy, a dark storm brewing just beneath the surface.
It wasn’t lost on me that several moments ago, Lei’s men had been holding him back, keeping him from launching himself at Marcy for that crazy hug he had given me.
How in the world are we going to have a cookout today without someone dying?
Chapter twenty-two
The Best of Friends
Lei
Tension hung in the air like a storm cloud, ready to break at any moment. I could feel the weight of every gaze, every unspoken word, and every barely suppressed impulse to let violence take over.
But Moni had somehow gotten control of those fucking idiots.
It was strange how they easily listened to her—these men who had grown up in the same sort of chaos and violence that I had.
Men who respected power, feared nothing, and answered to no one.
Yet here they were, standing down, because she told them to.
I watched as she held their attention with just a few sharp words, her voice steady, her gaze unyielding.
There was no hesitation in her.
No doubt.
And they recognized it.
They knew better than to push Moni and it was almost as if they feared disappointing her.
These were men who had seen and done terrible things, who commanded respect through fear and strength.
And yet, when Monique spoke, they listened.
Good.
It filled me with a sense of pride I hadn't expected.
More and more I was seeing how Moni wasn’t just any woman; she was a force of nature, capable of holding her own in my world of shadows and danger.
She may end up being a better Mountain Mistress than my mother.
And while, I still wanted to kill Marcelo—rip his fucking innards out of his body and feed it to Banks—she had everything calm and under control.
So I had to push down my violence and have her back.
Good job.
Dima watched me and jotted down another note.
What the fuck are you writing about?
I took a deep breath, forcing myself to relax my clenched fists and stepped forward, pulling Monique closer to my side. The words were sharp in my mouth, but I kept my tone steady. “Dima, let me introduce you to Monique. She is my official Mountain Mistress.”
Monique stiffened slightly beside me, but I kept my arm around her waist, hopefully grounding her in the moment.
This wasn’t just for show; it was the truth. She needed to understand the weight of that title, the responsibility that came with it.
But I also needed her to know that I was here, by her side, protecting her in my world of death and power plays.
Dima’s eyes flicked to Monique and for a moment, I could see the gears turning in his mind, assessing her, calculating. Then, as if flipping a switch, his face softened into that charming, almost disarming smile of his that used to make even my mother giddy.