Mafia Queen (The Manning Sisters #1) Read online

  “Smart and beautiful. A deadly combination,” he told her with a smirk. “Remind me never to piss you off.”

  She laughed and walked back to the car. “Get that door opened and the car pulled onto the ramp. I’m going to drop a couple matches and then we can let what happens, happen.”

  “Wear gloves just in case the match stick doesn’t burn,” he told her and grinned. “We don’t need you arrested for arson.”

  Lis grinned and snagged a pair of gloves from the lock box. After she slipped them on she grabbed a book of matches and quickly walked down the open aisle between rows of boxes.

  As Lis found the perfect spot to start the fire, Dakota pulled the car onto the ramp. When he walked back inside he saw a small, flickering light coming from several places in the building and he started searching for Lis. When he saw her jogging toward him he grinned and darted back to the car.

  He started the engine just as she opened the passenger side door and hopped in. “Let’s get far away from here fast.”

  “Yes, ma’am,” he said and hit the gas. Just as they rounded the corner at the end of the block several small explosions sounded from inside the building and Lis grinned.

  “That was a warehouse where the Manning family held a lot of their illegal arms. We just cost them millions.”

  “How do you know that?” Dakota asked and looked in his rearview mirror as sirens sounded behind them. Fire trucks were flooding into the warehouse district, but no one was paying attention to them.

  “I opened a couple of crates before I set them on fire. The top half of them held the legal stuff, but under that stuff was a massive amount of guns and ammo. I can only assume he already had a buyer for him to have that much merchandise. This is really going to hurt them financially.”

  Dakota didn’t say anything else as they made their way through the city. When he pulled into a parking place in the parking garage of his brother’s building and stopped, he glanced over at Lis. She was cradling her arm, but was looking around them to make sure everything was quiet.

  “Let’s get you inside. I want to look at that shoulder and make sure you’re not bleeding again.”

  Lis nodded and grabbed her gun from where it rested in her lap before she got out of the car. “I’ll watch our backs while you carry everything. I don’t think I can carry my suitcase anyway.”

  Dakota nodded and less than two minutes later they were in a secure elevator heading up to David’s apartment.

  Chapter Eighteen

  “Lis, I’m so glad you’re okay,” Rachel yelped out and flung her arms around her sister.

  “Easy, Rach,” Lis hissed and pulled out of Rachel’s arms. “I was shot by Morrison’s men. It’s just a graze, but it still burns like fire.”

  “Shot? What the fuck happened?” James asked as he took a step toward Lis.

  “We passed several SUV’s of Morrison’s men as we were leaving the island. Just as we started across the bridge one of them got behind us. They were about four cars back by the time we got off the bridge so I thought I could outrun them. I was wrong and they caught up to us. Lis poked her head out to take a shot just as they took a shot. She was grazed, but managed to get off several rounds anyway. One of her bullets hit their tire and they flipped.”

  “Holy shit. You’re lucky they didn’t shoot you in the fucking head,” Rachel told her and shook her head. “Do you know what would have happened if you’d been killed? They’d have won and I’d be alone to face them.”

  “Okay, calm down. I didn’t get shot in the head. I barely got grazed by the bullet. Dakota pulled into this open warehouse and you will never believe what we found,” The excitement in Lis’ voice was evident and the other’s just let her talk. “It was a Morrison Holdings warehouse.”

  “You’re shitting me,” James said and looked at Dakota.

  “Nope,” Lis responded and grinned. “It wasn’t just a Morrison warehouse; it was a Morrison warehouse where they housed illegal gun trading.”

  “Did you turn them in?” David asked as he stepped up behind them from the kitchen.

  “Nope, better,” Lis told them with a grin. “We burned it. Well, not everything burned, I’m sure, but what didn’t will be seized and they will be in a lot of trouble.”

  “Holy shit, really?” James asked with a grin.

  Lis nodded and Dakota grinned. “It was brilliant. Just remind me not to get on her bad side. She really likes to burn shit.”

  “Wait,” Rachel said and shook her head. “You set it on fire?”

  “I did. I wore gloves so there wouldn’t be any sign that it was me. I’m sure Morrison will connect it, but their entire organization is going to be answering questions for a while so I don’t think we are going to have too many problems.”

  “What if he comes after us directly?” Rachel asked and looked around the room.

  “You mean like he already has been? Like he was when he killed mom and dad? Like he was when he sent his men after you? Like he was when his men shot me? Rachel, I think we crossed that bridge a long time ago.”

  “Yes, but we don’t need to make them come at us even more. I mean, we don’t want to draw any more attention to us,” Rachel said and Lis looked at her.

  “They won’t know it was me. It could have been anyone. Morrison has made a lot of enemies over the years,” Lis responded then sighed. “Rach, we are already on their radar so we may as well fuck with them a little.”

  “I agree with Lis. You’re already their biggest target so why not fuck up some of their business deals,” David told them and Dakota grinned.

  “David likes to fuck up business deals,” Dakota explained and David nodded.

  “It’s what I do best. Other than fly planes of course.”

  “Okay, on a serious note, we need to leave here within two hours to be at the mansion in time for the conference call we set up. Lis, I want to look at that shoulder again, but first I think you should take a shower and clean it really well. We cannot have you getting an infection,” Dakota told her and kissed her forehead.

  “I agree,” she told him and looked at David. “Mind if I borrow your bathroom? I promise to return it in the same condition it was in before I borrowed it.” David laughed out loud at her sarcasm and nodded his head.

  “Thanks,” she told him and Dakota led her to the closest bathroom.

  “Need some help?” He asked as he shut the door behind them.

  “Yes,” she answered and he smiled.

  He set the water as she gingerly took off her clothes. When he turned around she was standing wearing nothing but her bloodstained bra and he frowned. “Can’t get it off?” He asked as he swallowed the anger that erupted in him over seeing her blood.

  “No, and I think it needs to be burned, along with the shirt I had on, when I get out of the shower.”

  “I agree,” he told her as he walked behind her and unhooked the ruined yellow lace covering her firm breasts. “I’ll buy you a new one.”

  She smiled at him through the mirror and leaned her head to the side as his lips gently brushed the bandage covering her left shoulder. “Thank you, Dakota, for everything.”

  “Lis, there isn’t anything I wouldn’t do to keep you safe.”

  “I know and I feel the same way about you.”

  “I know,” he told her and dropped another kiss on her shoulder. “I’m going to take this off now so we can see that wound.”

  Lis nodded and he slowly pealed the bandage back. The place where the bullet came in contact with her ivory skin was an angry, red color and had droplets of blood seeping out, but it looked clean.

  “It doesn’t look too bad,” Lis said as she looked in the mirror at her shoulder. “It’s going to leave a nasty scar though. No more strapless or sleeveless dresses for me,” she added with a frown.

  “Let’s just see how it goes. For now, let’s get it cleaned and bandaged back up so we can get to the mansion and deal with what awaits us there.” Lis nodded and Dakota
pulled her away from the mirror. When she stepped into the shower, he quickly undressed and stepped in behind her. “Let me help you,” he said and she nodded.

  As he slowly soaped up her body she closed her eyes and felt comforted by the gentle strength in his hands. In just the few days they had been together she knew his touch and knew that no other touch would ever make her feel the way his did. “Dakota, I know this isn’t the time, nor the place, but as soon as we are somewhere we can be alone, I want to show you how you make me feel.”

  An instant heat came into his eyes and his cock hardened at her words. “Lis, if you weren’t hurt, I wouldn’t care where we were,” he told her then brushed his lips over hers. “Now, turn around so I can wash your hair before I forget you’re injured and take you right here and now.”

  Lis blushed deeply and turned around like he asked. Once he was finished washing and rinsing her hair he squirted a little more soap in his hands and started rubbing them together. “This is going to burn, but it needs to be washed out.”

  Lis nodded and closed her eyes. When he touched his lather-covered hands to her shoulder she hissed and her eyes popped open, but she didn’t say anything as he slowly cleansed the wound. When he was finished, he rinsed her off and turned the water off. They stepped out together and he snagged two towels off the rack. After handing her one, he wrapped the other one around her long, dark hair and kissed her forehead.

  Before he could grab another towel for himself, Lis reached her hand out and wrapped it around his neck. When her lips connected with his, he groaned, but let the kiss go where she took it.

  She pulled away after a moment and stroked her hand down his chest. “Later tonight, after everything is done for today, I want to make love to you. Slowly, deeply, completely,” she told him then brushed her lips across his again before she turned away and started drying herself.

  Once they were both dried and dressed, Dakota pulled Lis into his arms and kissed her as deeply as she’d kissed him. “I want that, too, Elisabeth,” he said when he pulled away. “But right now we have to re-bandage your shoulder and get the plans for this afternoon nailed down, so let’s head into the kitchen so we can all talk.”

  Lis nodded and followed him out of the room, her thoughts on the events that were set to take place in just over an hour.

  Chapter Nineteen

  “Lis, when we get to the mansion, we’re going to be surrounded by security. Some you’ll know, some you won’t, but you can trust them all. They will be there to protect you and Rachel,” Dakota told her when they were about two miles from the mansion.

  “It’s only been six days, but it feels like a lifetime since I have been there,” she said and looked out the window. “It feels like several years have passed. Like I’m a different person.”

  “You are a different person. When you left here six days ago you were engaged to Michael Morrison, your parents were alive, and your sister was safely at college. Now your entire world is different. Your entire world was flipped upside down.”

  “I know. It’s hard to explain. It’s like I’m not me anymore. Like I am looking at all of this from the outside. Like I’m watching a movie or something.”

  Dakota couldn’t think of anything to say about that so he just kept quiet as they approached the mansion. When he pulled to the gates, he stopped and keyed in a code into a new security box. The gate slid open and he pulled the car up next to a small guard shack that was sitting there.

  “I’ll be right back. Lock the doors and don’t open them for anyone but me,” he told Lis then kissed her forehead and got out of the car.

  She hit the automatic locks and watched as he entered the guard shack. The man inside was someone she didn’t recognize, but she was expecting new security staff so that didn’t surprise her. What did surprise her was the woman who walked into the shack. She was tall, blonde, and stacked. And the way she looked at Dakota made Lis’ blood boil. When the woman brushed a soft kiss across Dakota’s cheek, Lis couldn’t watch anymore. She turned her head and looked out the window at the tree line surrounding the property.

  After a few minutes, a soft tap on the driver’s side window pulled her from her thoughts and she looked up. Dakota was standing there so she hit the automatic door locks and turned to look out the window again.

  “Penny for your thoughts, beautiful?” Dakota asked and Lis just shook her head. She wasn’t about to talk to him right now. She was too pissed off to think straight and she knew if she said anything she’d just make it worse.

  Dakota sighed, but didn’t pressure her. He knew something was wrong, but he couldn’t imagine what it could be. As he drove silently toward the mansion he glanced at her, but she was still staring out the window. “Lis, what’s the matter?”

  “Who was that woman?” She asked finally. “The one in the guard shack.”

  Dakota instantly knew what was wrong with Lis and he sighed again. “That, Elisabeth, is Jenn. Jenn is my friend Lee’s friend. Lee is the man in the guard shack. I was in the service with him and he and Jenn have been married for three years.”

  “Oh,” Lis said quietly.

  “Wait, were you seriously jealous?”

  “No,” Lis answered a little too quickly. “I wasn’t jealous as much as I was mad and hurt.”

  “Elisabeth, look at me,” he said as he pulled to a stop in front of the house she’d lived in her entire life. “I love you. You are the only woman I want in my life and in my bed. You are the one who owns me heart, body, and soul.”

  “I’m sorry,” Lis said quietly and looked at her hands in her lap.

  “Lis, you have no reason to be sorry for anything. You saw her kiss me, right?” He asked and Lis nodded, “So the logical conclusion was that something was going on with us. If you would have kept watching, you would have seen that she immediately went into Lee’s arms and laid one on him.”

  “I’m sorry, Dakota. I saw her and I remembered that woman from a few years ago and I panicked a little.”

  Dakota leaned forward and brushed his lips across hers. “Come inside and I’ll show you just what type of woman I want.”

  “Oh really?” Lis asked and winked. “And what type of woman is that?”

  “You, Elisabeth Manning. You are the woman I want. You are the woman I need.”

  “I love you, Dakota Jackson.”

  “And I love you, Elisabeth Manning.”

  After another brief kiss they got out of the car and walked up the front steps of the Manning Mansion. Before Dakota opened the door, Lis took a deep breath and held it for a second. “Why am I nervous?”

  “Because the last time you were here you were clipping flowers with your mom,” Dakota answered. “Now, let’s get inside. There will be an SUV arriving in just a few minutes with more security in it, but I don’t want you visible to any of them yet. I know them well and I trust them with my life, but I don’t trust anyone with yours except me.”

  Lis nodded and followed Dakota into the house. Once inside, she walked around the foyer and sighed. “Mom loved this house. She would greet guests here during dinner parties and she was the perfect hostess. Dakota, how are we going to keep the business running without them?”

  “Lis, we will keep the business going and we will make sure the ones who took your parents from you pay for it. Right now though, I want you to just stay inside so I can talk to the new security.” Dakota nodded to the black SUV that was slowly coming up the drive. Before he could open the front door and step outside, the SUV exploded in a fiery blast that sent pieces of metal onto the porch.

  “Oh my God!” Lis shouted and ran for the door.

  “No, Lis!” Dakota yelled and wrapped his arms around her waist to keep her inside. “There’s nothing you can do out there. They’re gone.”

  “Oh shit. Oh fuck. Why? Why would someone want to blow up innocent people?” Lis dropped to the floor, pulling Dakota with her.

  “If I had to guess, they were hoping the SUV would be close enough to
you or Rachel to take one of you out with it.”

  “No more. No more people are going to die to protect me. No more people are going to die to protect this business.”

  “Lis, I have to go outside. I have to see which group that was and I have to warn the other two groups. I promise you that I will be back in a few minutes.”

  Lis just nodded as she wrapped her arms around her legs and started rocking. Dakota kissed the top of her head and rose to his feet. As he walked out the door he looked back and smiled a little when he saw the look of determination on her face. He knew more people would die, but he also knew that Lis was ready to take a few out herself and that’s the attitude she’d need to survive.

  Chapter Twenty

  “Lee, what the fuck happened?” Dakota yelled into his phone as he ran toward the burning SUV.

  “Not sure, Dakota. They stopped here when they arrived and everything looked fine. I even popped the hood and checked the engine,” Lee answered as he ran toward the SUV, too.

  “Fuck,” Dakota said again as he ended the call and halted beside the burning vehicle.

  “Dakota, it was Ghovany, Bradley, Kevin, and Morgan,” Lee told him as he stopped beside him. “Want me to call the others and tell them to get the fuck out of their SUV’s?”

  “Yes,” Dakota answered and called 911.

  Lee walked off and called the other two teams as Dakota talked to the 911 operator. When they were both finished Dakota told Lee to go back to the gate and he headed back inside with Lis.

  “Who was it?” Lis asked immediately.

  “Ghovany, Bradley, Kevin, and Morgan,” Dakota answered and sighed. “Lis, I need you to go into the panic room while the fire department is here. I can’t be inside to keep you safe and anyone could get in while they are here. I need to be able to give my statements and I need to know that you’re safe.”

  “Won’t they want a statement from me, too?”

  “They aren’t even going to know you’re here,” Dakota answered and shook his head when she opened her mouth to speak. “Elisabeth, you’ve already been shot once today and I cannot take a chance on you being hurt again. Please just hang out in there while they’re here. I promise to come and get you when they leave.”