CJ's whole body ached. Muscles she didn't even realise she had screamed in agony at every move. A knock sounded at her bedroom door, but she could barely grunt in response.
"Hey," a sheepish Aiden entered.
"What possessed you to visit me at this ungodly hour?" CJ buried her face deeper in her pillow.
"It's literally 5 pm. It isn't even dark yet." He gestured to the open curtains revealing the sky painted in various hues of blue and pink.
CJ lifted her head long enough to deadpan him, before she succumbed to the pain and collapsed into the comfort of the bed once more.
"Anyways," the young man continued, "Dinner's ready. Are you up to join us?"
Her ears almost visibly perk up at the mention of food. She smiled warmly at him before replying, "Dinner sounds great, I'll be down in a minute,"
She opted to swap her typical black trousers, for a pair of loose-fitted, burgundy track-suit bottoms and a vest top. Eventually mustering enough energy to move, she shuffled downstairs, walking through the pain, as she had been taught.
"Hey, CJ!" Mike called out from the dining room. The mahogany table that looked as though it wouldn't be out of place in a conference room was covered in all sorts of foods.
"Who prepared all of this?" she questioned, trying not to drool at the sight.
"The cook," Leo shrugged, as though it were no big deal.
"You have a cook and I've been cooking for myself for days!" CJ exclaimed, astonished by the audacity of the men.
"Yeah, I guess," came the bored reply.
She dragged herself lethargically to the nearest chair, at the head of the table. Everyone gasped at the simple action, as she placed her head on the table.
"Um, CJ," Adrian whispered, "Leo usually sits there."
"Well then, Leo's gonna have to find somewhere else to sit for two reasons:
a) I don't have the energy in me to physically move seat after your bullshit trial
b) I was raised to be the head bitch, of any household, and the head bitch sits at the head of the table, capisce?" she ranted, turning her head to the side to look at Leo.
She held his eye contact, daring him to challenge her, to give her an excuse to blow off some steam. However, to everyone's surprise, he nodded his head in respect and sat at another seat. Once they were all seated, they began to eat. Plates piled high with greasy foods sat in front of each member, as they dug in.
Conversations flowed freely between them, raucous laughter filled the hall late into the night.
☆☆☆
CJ awoke to a shooting pain down her leg. Concealing a scream, she bit her lip and hobbled downstairs to retrieve a bag of ice from the freezer. She came back to a running bath full of freezing water, Leo stood beside it.
"Figured you'd need a cold bath after yesterday," he explained. She muttered a small thanks before closing the faucet and dumping the contents of the bag into the tub. The two stood there in a comfortable silence until CJ broke it.
"So... I'm going to undress now..." she began.
"Right," Leo nods, turning slightly red, before dashing out of the door, closing it swiftly behind him. She laughed at the goofy Mafia boss.
Stand-in Mafia boss, she corrected herself. Dipping one toe into the water, she submerged her full body into the cool liquid, allowing it to soothe her. She gasped as it reached her back, working its way up her spine, numbing her swiftly.
Suddenly, the door came crashing open. Shrieking, CJ grabbed a throwing knife from behind her and threw it at the intruders. It thudded against something before falling to the ground.
"Oh, shit not again," Aiden cried before turning around. Paulo and his other half followed suit.
"What the hell is it this time?" she groaned, too tired to get angry.
"You have to get ready asap," Paulo rushed, "The last part of your initiation starts in 5 minutes." CJ let out a fed-up grunt, standing up to wrap a towel around her naked form.
She brushed past the boys, making her way to the wardrobe, selecting an outfit far different from her usual attire. The startled trio, watching her intently, saw what she was about to do, and simultaneously ran for the door, all three of them attempting to squeeze out of the small frame.
Finally, she had some privacy. Pulling a once-white, paint-covered t-shirt over the tattoos that decorated her ribcage, she slipped on her normal black skinny jeans and a tight leather jacket. Hurrying to meet the guys, she grabbed her Dr. Martens and slid down the banister of the spiral staircase.
"You are all blessed with my presence at last," CJ joked.
"Cursed, more like," Dennis grumbled just loud enough for everyone to hear. She pointed her index finger at him, raising her eyebrows, making him shut his mouth almost immediately.
"Let's go then, guys. We don't have all day." Leo ushered them out of the door to a line of vehicles. CJ made a beeline for her bike, slipping her helmet over her naturally wavy, chestnut hair.
"Follow me," Dennis shouted over the roar of engines.
☆☆☆
"A test. Are you kidding me right now?" CJ snorted at the prospect of having to complete an exam to rejoin the gang. "Yup," Leo replies, a bored expression on his face.
"And if I fail..?" she questions.
"Then you re-try tomorrow. And the day after that, and so on and so forth until you either succeed or give up."
"Fun!" she cheers sarcastically.
With an hour on the clock, she begins. Opening the booklet, she is greeted by an array of verbal reasoning questions. Encouraged by the simplicity of the task, she speeds through the first section of the quiz, rearranging letters and sentences hardly posed a challenge to her.
Next, came the maths. These were also fairly easy, since she had left high school with an A level in Maths. Question after question went in and out of her brain, their answers flowing fluidly from her pen. She had barely taken a breath by the time she had completed the second section.
The penultimate part of the test was harder, more gang-related. Problems to do with rivalries and solutions to conflict came up, but CJ was trained to deal with these since before she left the US. Breathing deeply, she filled each page with clear notes and ideas on every situation, leaving no option unexplored.
At last, after around 50 minutes of slaving over the paper, she turned the page to the end, which read: Final test, Verbal.
She looked up to see Leo hovering over her.
"I'm ready," she stated surely. He nodded, grabbing an A4 piece of paper from his own desk reading out:
'You're in a hostile environment. An enemy of the Díaz Mafia gives you an ultimatum- choose an object or we all die. He presents three options: a pen, a knife, or a heart. Which do you choose?'
CJ was taken aback by the classic style of question, as well as the options. She knew that in this case, she couldn't use logic to make a decision, she had to go with her gut.
"The heart."
Puzzled by this answer, Leo asked,
"Why?"
"Each object shows what kind of leader you aspire to be. My mother chose the pen- she was a level-headed, tactical leader. My father chose the knife. He was a ruthless, unforgiving man. I chose the heart because I don't want to be like either of my parents. I want to lead with you guys, not for myself."
"Well then, it is with the greatest honour that I pronounce you the leader of the Díaz gang."
YOU ARE READING
The Mafia Queens
Action"I came because your father passed two days ago. Drew is dead. You know what this means, right? You're next in line." - - - CJ Dickson is pulled out of her life in England and thrust into the USA, where she is supposed to assume her father's positio...
