Page 104 of Disobedient Pawn

“Aye, but the rest are all mafia and major crime families from all over the world. We are talking Irish, Russian, Italian, the Cartel, and Hell’s Angels. Ya name it. This place is neutral ground. No one is allowed to start a war, attack this place, or pull strings to take over another group by using their children. The rules are very strict, but just to be safe, the guards walk the property at all times, and cameras are everywhere. The school is run by a group called the Superintendents, and they don’t mess around. The name doesn’t sound scary, but they are deadly and have been facelessly running this place for generations. They have wiped out whole families—that no one would dare take on—for disobeying the rules. There is some shit we can get away with, but nothing major can happen on the property, or you pay the consequences with your life.”

“They sound terrifying.”

Ren looked around the room like they were hiding in a corner.

“They are, and you won’t see them coming. People go missing, but you always know it’s the Superintendents.”

“Why is it that I suddenly feel like I’m at the hotel from the movie John Wick, and this place is not as safe as it is supposed to be?”

I chuckled at that, but it wasn’t far from the truth.

“Aye, a lot like that, which makes what Nash does so dangerous,” I whispered, fearful to even talk about this on property.

“What does he do?”

“He created a group, his own order, called The Last Rank. It’s made up of those of us who are oppressed by our families and want a way to take over or to get out.”

“He’s a smuggler?”

I laughed hard at that.

“No, he’s more like a ringleader of unruly cats.”

She smirked, and I loved how she nibbled on her lower lips as she thought.

“So, when you said you hurt people, you meant for the mafia? Like collecting payments for them, not just working for a local bookie.”

“Aye, I’m afraid that my lifelong membership to the fucked up world of shadows was decided for me the day I was born. I need ya to understand that we don’t get to choose this life, and to refuse is certain death. Our families don’t mess around, blood or not.”

She wiggled around, and at first, I thought she would get up, open the door and order me out. Instead, she rolled onto her side and looked me in the eyes. I loved that she didn’t look horrified or that she was judging me. She was as rare in her heart as she was in her looks.

The desire to touch her became too much, and I ran my knuckles against the soft skin of her cheek.

“Why do you do that?”

Her voice was nothing more than a whisper.

“Do what?”

“Look at me like that? You look at me like….”

“Like yer a glittering diamond that fell from the sky into this dark school?”

Her eyebrows rose.

“I was going to say something a lot less dramatic,” she said, the corner of her mouth curving up.

Fanning my fingers out, I cupped her cheek and knew I’d remember this moment for the rest of my life, even if I never got to touch her like this again.

“I stare at ya like this Snowflake because, from the first day we met, I knew there was somethin different and unique about ya. I was drawn to ya, and I’ve been makin’ a fool of meself ever since, hoping ya would give me a chance. I want to show ya that I’m more than just what I’ve been labeled. My entire life I have worn one label or another, but no one knows the real me, not even the guys, at least not fully.”

“You’ve kind of ruined the way I see you all on your own, you know?”

“Aye, I know, but I’m praying you’ll find it in ya to give me a chance to make it up to ya.”

She sighed, breaking eye contact, and my heart sank.

“I’ll think on it. So what happened with the bet and tonight? I want to know what the hell is going on.”