Bow Down(63)

I never wanted to share my empire. I wanted to live a solitary life, go through the world as my own woman. I couldn’t imagine being owned by a man. The mere thought disgusted me to my very core. But Wyatt was different. He didn’t want to control me, not really. He wanted me because of how strong I was, because of how powerful I was. He was attracted to that strength.

And that feeling was mutual. I couldn’t be with a normal man. Even the big alpha bad boys that worked for my father weren’t man enough for me. I needed a man that understood real power, and knew how the world really worked. Wyatt was that kind of man. He could beat a man senseless with his fists, or he could work a room full of rich donors. He could do whatever it took to rise through the ranks, and he would never settle for being second rate. Wyatt Carter was the only man in this world that could possibly hope to tame me, and I couldn’t believe I had actually found him.

The chances of that were insane. The chances that he would feel the same way about me were even crazier, and I was going to work my butt off from this moment on to make the best of every single moment I had with him.

Assuming this wasn’t our last moment together. Assuming we were going to come through this, alive and stronger than ever.

There was no guarantee. My father may not even show up, and he might just send a death squad to deal with me that way. If that happened, we had plans, but the war would continue and things would get worse. Or they’d get me, and I’d go down fighting, the same way I lived.

I couldn’t be sure. This was it, the moment I’d been waiting for. This was going to end it all, one way or the other. And I was so thankful that I had Wyatt by my side.

The night was quiet. We stood there side by side, watching, breathing, waiting. A million thoughts spun through my head. So much had happened between us since all of this had started, and so much was yet to come. But this was the biggest moment of our lives, I could feel it deep down in my bones.

Suddenly, there were lights up ahead of us. It started out dim and got closer. I could hear the hum of engines. Wyatt glances at me. “Ready?” he asked.

“I’m ready,” I said.

He made a quick hand gesture behind his back, signaling the team. We were on total radio-silence, just in case Arturo was listening in. We didn’t want him to know what was coming.

Three large, black SUVs pulled up in front of us. They circled once then finally came to a stop about fifty feet away. The doors opened, and men spilled out.

There were four men per car, so twelve in total. I recognized my father and his closest advisor, Ernesto. They stopped about twenty feet in front of us, the men loaded and heavily armed. I could barely make out my father’s face because the truck lights were blaring behind them.

“Louisa,” he called out.

I stepped toward him. “Arturo.”

“When we last met like this, I thought you were a liar. I didn’t believe that my only daughter had been fighting me behind my back this whole time.” He shook his head, frowning. “But it seems that I was a fool.”

“You were,” I agreed. “And now you’re here to pay for that.”

“I will pay, though not the way you think. Louisa, I want to end this war.”

“What will you give me?”

“Half of the city. You will have all of the Russian territory, plus a small chunk of ours. In exchange, we will stop fighting, we will destroy the Russians together, and the mob will be allowed to continue its sex trade.”

There was complete silence for a moment. Then, I began to laugh. I felt it bubble up through my chest and burst out from between my lips. It was almost like a coughing fit, and Wyatt looked at me like I was insane.

“What’s so funny?” Ernesto snapped, but Arturo calmed him.

I couldn’t help myself. He was such an egomaniac, such a piece of shit. After all of this, he still underestimated me.

His plan was so transparent. He wanted to get me into a war that my people would never agree with while he was allowed to continue to do the one thing we truly hated. We’d fight his war for him, and my own group would be weakened by the end.

Even assuming my girls didn’t overthrow me and kill me by then. His proposal was so absurd and obvious that I couldn’t help but laugh at it.

Finally, I got myself under control, smiling and shaking my head.

“You’re still an old fool, Arturo,” I said.

“My offer is fair. Together, we can rule this city like father and daughter.”

“I bet you really mean that,” I said, smiling huge. “I bet you really think you’re being fair, or as fair as I deserve.” I took a deep breath. “No, Arturo. I reject your terms and offer you mine. You will surrender. Your mafia will be broken into pieces. You will never traffic humans ever again. You will leave the city, and your captains will leave the city, all except Lucas. You will do that tonight.”