"You?" Antonio Romano shrieked at the thought that she had effortlessly taken out some of his best men, "But you're only a girl!"
CJ smirked at his ignorance. "No, I just happened to rob a butcher on the way here."
He curled his lip at her sarcasm, taking a step forward as an attempt to threaten her. Despite his movements, she stood still, an amused smile on her face.
"You see, Romano, whilst you may have one of the biggest gangs in the continent, mine is better, stronger." His eyes flashed with momentary unease.
"You're a Díaz," he snarled.
"Ding ding ding, you got it on the first try! Want a gold star?" Face twitching with anger, he stepped even closer to CJ. So close that she could smell the alcohol on his breath.
"How dare you disrespect me in my own building!" he yelled suddenly. The girl at the front of the room flinched along with most of his men, but CJ barely moved a muscle.
Bringing an arm to her mouth, she yawned.
"It's getting kind of late don't you think? So, why don't you take a couple of steps back," she shooed him with her hands, "and we can get this over with."
"CJ, don't do anything stupid!" Leo shouted through the comm, firing a gun at someone on the other side. She omitted his protests and pushed Romano away from her.
"I don't fight girls," he declined. Her eyes darkened as she pulled out three throwing knives from her belt.
"But you do sell them." She threw a knife, knocking a man down instantly.
"You do hurt them." The next hit someone in the centre of their forehead.
"You do rape them." The last blade flew past his ear, landing dead in the chest of someone behind him.
"I'm no girl, Romano, I'm a woman." At that, she grabbed her gun and shot four men in quick succession.
"I'm a trained assassin." Bang.
"I'm a cage-fighter." Bang.
"I'm the leader of the Díaz gang, and I don't take shit from anyone."
Everyone in the room remained stationary and silent, afraid to move, awaiting orders from Antonio.
"I guess, just for you," he sneered, "I'll make an exception." Running forward, he pulled out a gun aiming it at her neck.
Barely breaking a sweat, CJ ducked and barrelled into his exposed stomach. His hands flew from the firearm to clutch his bruised gut. At once, three men ran at her, each at least 6 foot in height.
Unsheathing two daggers from her upper arms, she dropped to her knees, slicing at their ankles. Jumping back, they each pulled out a gun. A kick delivered to her upper back pinned her to the cold, concrete floor.
"You dirty bitch!" Antonio coughed, delivering a hard kick to her ribcage. Grunting, she attempted to roll away, but was stopped by another man behind her.
"CJ! CJ, are you alright?" Paulo called through the communication device.
"CJ, what happened? Parle-moi, s'il vous plaît," Aiden's worried cry followed. As she was about to reply, Romano rolled her onto her back, straddling her hips.
Writhing, she kicked her legs to get away, to no avail. He grabbed her chin, his grimy nails digging into her skin.
"Now you listen here," he spat in her face, "Nobody comes for me and gets away with it. Not even Andrew Dickson's figlia."
"You knew my father?" she questioned. Before he could answer, gunfire filled the room once more. Leo stood by the entrance.
She sighed in relief as he offered her a hand.
"Thanks, Cortes."
Most of the men, including their leader, had run at the appearance of her back-up.
"Let's go," he rushed them both back to the door.
"Wait!" she pulled out of his grasp and ran to the woman tied to the wall.
Effortlessly picking the lock on her chains, CJ lowered her to the floor.
"I'm CJ, I won't hurt you."
"Maria," came her timid reply. Scooping the barely conscious woman into her arms, she rejoined Leo at the base of the stairs.
Stumbling up the stairs, Maria held close to her body, she eventually reached the exit. Leo reached out to offer to carry her, but CJ clutched her protectively, hurrying out of the door.
"THE PLACE IS GONNA BLOW!" they heard Adrian shout downstairs. Looking at each other, they sped up their pace, careful not to trip on any bodies. Once out of the door, they sprinted to the vans, where the other members of the gang stood.
"GET DOWN!"
CJ fell to the floor, shielding Maria with her own body. The heat of the explosion could be felt from her position on the ground. Shrapnel flew from the collapsing building; a small metal rod embedded itself in her lower back.
Through the pain, she continued to shelter the body underneath her. Finally, she was able to stand and jumped into the back of one of the sleek black vehicles.
"Is anyone hurt?" Mike, who was in the same van as her, asked. Pulling the stick from her skin, she shook her head.
"I'm good," she responded, taking her comm out at last. He furrowed his eyebrows, unaware of the bloodstain at the back of her shirt.
"Who's this?" he changed the subject, waving his arm at Maria, whose head was rested on her lap.
"Her name's Maria, I found her in the basement." She retched at the memories of what she saw.
"She looks familiar," Mike mused. CJ shrugged, falling silent once more. The other men in the van remained quiet for the entirety of the trip.
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...
