back decades.
My family moved here when I was young from Ireland to head up the San Antonio branch of the Irish Mob. But for our families to make our union official and our organizations to merge, an amalgamation must take place. Savanah is the middle child, but the first-born daughter of the Del Rey’s, and as such, she is destined to merger with the first-born son of the McHale’s. It was written into the sanctioned laws years ago, but Savanah was never told about this life her family is a part of. Her older brother, Christian, is deep into the family business. He will take the place of François when the time comes. But Savanah, she is the princess of this entire kingdom. She can’t even comprehend the power she holds.
François did the wrong thing keeping the life from her for this long. I can already tell from the fire lighting her eyes she’s a fighter, a firecracker, easily built for life at the head of an empire. She’s a princess now, but she could be my queen if only she would let herself.
Making my way to the Del Rey front door, I knock twice. Straightening out my suit, I stand back waiting for the door to open. When it swings back, François bobs his head at me. His graying hair short on top matches the color of his eyes. His hardened face shows years of a tough life in the Le Milieu from making all the difficult decisions. But that’s what happens when you’re at the top.
“Good, you’re here. I need you to spend some time with Savanah. Get to know her, make her see you’re not the asshole you portray.”
“But I am an asshole.” I smirk.
François slaps my shoulder. “She doesn’t need to know that, Hunter. We need this to work. Our families coming together is what’s good for us both. Our countries united in the underworld… this would bring so much good. It would get deals through so much quicker. The merger of the McHale and Del Rey families will be huge news in the underground. People will fear us, Hunter, more than they already do.”
“I had the same exact speech from my father… believe me, I know what’s on the line. I understand, and I’ll make this happen, François. It would have been easier if you had fucking told Savanah about the family business long ago, though.”
François curls up his lip. “She respects me, Hunter. I didn’t want to tarnish the way my princess viewed me. You’ll understand when you have your own kids one day.”
Does he mean with Savanah?
I’m supposed to be marrying her, so I can only assume he’s already planning my children for me now, too. Sometimes being heir to a dynasty isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.
“Where is Savanah?” I ask, trying to get away from this fucked-up conversation.
“In the living room with her mother.”
Bobbing my head once, I turn, making my way through the kitchen toward the living room. The muted hum of the television sounds through the room as I step in on the carpeted floor. A soap opera plays on the television. They’re heavily invested as a character is shot in a completely obscure way. I scoff, folding my arms over my chest, which gains their attention.
“It wouldn’t happen that way. Technically speaking, for the bullet to make it through so many obstacles, then hit the person square in the chest, that is near on impossible.”
Savanah snorts. “And like you’re some kind of criminal mastermind who knows the ins and outs of the trajectory of bullets better than the experts on television?”
The fire in her is alluring. The way her wavy, dark brown hair sits perfectly at shoulder length. How her big doe eyes stare up at me through those long fucking lashes. Even the way her skin is a gorgeous shade mixed between the paleness of her father’s and the gorgeous chocolate of her mother’s. She’s stunning. What she lacks in manners, she well and truly makes up for in beauty and sass. This woman has fight in her. I have to admit it kind of turns me on the way she pushes me back.
Her mother, Elena, glances at me. She’s heard about my precision aim.
It’s quite the shame I can’t say shit about it to her daughter, so I can put her back in her place. “Maybe not, but these shows are farfetched.”
Savanah scoffs. “An arranged marriage to a man I don’t know for capital gain