Chapter 63 A Mafia Princess Is Born

My princess has yet disobeyed me again and went directly against my orders. She is at her father's warehouse prepared with only Jax, Damian, and Leo by her side.? I don't know if the woman has got a death wish or if she is just plain and adamant in protecting me from her father. From where we are sitting in the middle of the warehouse, there is a raging battle of gunfire at the entrance; they are fast-breaking through the barrier of Joseph's followers.
My princess has disobeyed me yet again and gone against my orders. The little vixen has come to her father s warehouse with Jax, Leo, and Frank. I can only imagine what she threatened the poor guys with. Now I don t know if the woman has a death wish or if she is just plain adamant in protecting me from her father.
From where we are sitting in the middle of the warehouse, Joseph has no idea who is causing the raging battle of gunfire at the entrance. I just hope it is not my fucking princess doing the shooting. Now, if they are going to break through the barrier of Joseph s men is left to be seen.
I honestly don t know what she was thinking. Not only is this dangerous, but it can go south in so many ways. I should have cuffed her to that damn bed again; at least I would have known the woman is safe. Does she not understand that all I want to do is protect her? This war is not a place for a woman. I never anticipated for things to have gone the way it has gone tonight.
With saying that, the rapid gunfire is fast approaching the center of the warehouse as the bullets start piercing the nearby walls. It seems that the boys have broken through. In no time at all, Frank and Jax take the last of Joseph s men down.
So this is what it has come to today. I have my princess saving the man that she loves from a man that she did once love. A man that she called father. She seems to think that she shall be invisible and that he shall do nothing to her. Well, if she only knew his words earlier on, he has been waiting for this very exact moment.
Yes, I, too, have been waiting for this moment since my father died in front of my eyes. So today is about revenge. It is an eye for an eye, blood for blood, and a bullet for a bullet. I am not letting him get out of here alive. This is the path that I choose; this will be my end game. This is my life; this is the only thing that I breathe. It is the only thing that burns a fire through my veins.
My entire crew, and my princess, came here to set things straight not only for me but for the great Foster Caine. The underground has belonged to the Caine family for years; for so many years has the power belongs to us. Now this power belongs to me. There is only one man standing in my way from taking it all, and he shall soon meet his fate.
I have no idea what else remains out there for me; some of the men that served Joseph are too scared, and yes, some of them have even been mutilated by me. Yes, I am yet to take out many, but the fact remains, if you do not stand by my side, then you too shall not see the next light of day. They can either become part of my crew or run for the rest of their lire. When I walk out of here today, I want to say that I have triumphed.
I am soon ripped from my thoughts as I see Cassandra come from out of nowhere with the barrel of her gun aimed with the most terrifying accuracy at Joseph. She has never in her life thought that she would come to a point where she would have had to make such a decision. Yet, I think we all knew that she when he chose to deceive her, that the bond that there was broken.
She always looked up to him, he is her father after all, but he was the man that brought her down to be something which she was not ashamed of, but just the fact of making her believe it is all that she deserves, that is the point that broke her.
While he gave everything to her mother so easily, she always seems to have been like a burden. She was not the legacy that he wanted; no, if she were a boy, then he would have never treated her the way he did.
She has had a bad life, and it was not by her own doing; she was forced into circumstances. But, god, this is where it got her today. She got here all by herself, she might always still think she is that stripper, but to me, she is Cassandra, the exotic dancer. And it is that Cassandra that is slowly pointing the barrel of a gun at her father s head.
"Let him go," I hear her voice rumbling to every corner of the warehouse. Joseph freezes as he feels the tip of the barrel point against his head.
Joseph burst out laughing, "Look who has finally arrived. I was waiting for you."
She only but presses the barrel deeper into the back of his head. "I said untie him."
"Cassie, drop the gun." I hear as Joseph tries to talk her down. "You are not really going to shoot your father."
I only smirk at him, "You know what, Joseph, if it were any other woman, they would have listened to you. The fact is your daughter would not think twice about leaving you here on the floor." I pause for a brief moment while I watch him swallow rather hard. "Do you know why that is?"
He shakes his head at me, "No, Christian, please do tell me? Because you are just another bad boy that she has got herself caught up with?"
"No," I hear Cassandra answer from behind him, "I love him. Love is a word that you don t understand."
"Ha!" Joseph mocks her. "He was just after you because you were a damn stripper."
"That is where you are wrong, Joseph," I call for his attention again. "I never had the courage to ask Cassandra to come even sit by me. To you and every other man, she will always be a stripper; to me, she is Cassandra. It did not matter what your and Giselle s plans were; we would always have met our own way. Not because she was an exotic dancer."
"You are a fool." Joseph snaps, "Both of you. Now I will not ask you again, Cassie, put that damn gun down."
"I am afraid not daddy, untie Christian, or else I will shoot you."
"You will never get out of here alive," Joseph warns her, yet she does not move.
"You know what else, Joseph," I continue. "You have one problem with that. I will never serve under a Cummings."
I hear him mumble something underneath his breath.
Then absolute chaos erupts. There are bullets snapping through the air into walls as men are taking cover behind crates. Screams of pure horror fill the air as they pierce flesh as Jax, Leo, and Frank take in full force after Joseph s crew. Terror is ripping through every corner.? I watch as Joseph s face turns into horror as the rest of his crew starts fleeing out the back door.
So it is left with Cassandra aiming at Joseph and Joseph aiming at me. Not a single person left in the room has made a move.
"Daddy…"
But before Cassandra can say a word, Joseph raises the barrel of his gun closer to my head; I hear it click, then there is that slight jolt, and I hear as the bullet snaps as it leaves the chamber. It coils through the air and in less time than I can take a breath…
I watch as Cassandra rests her trembling finger on the trigger. The time has come… Cassandra will either fight for her father, or she will fight for me until her last breath.
I love this woman with every single fiber of my body.
Somewhere through the adrenaline that is pumping through my veins, I hear Joseph vaguely say, "Where is your playboy now."
Just as I topple over onto my back, Cassandra erupts in absolute fury. She unleashes the entire clip into the man who she once called dad.
As his body drops into a loud thud, she rushes over to my side.
"Christian!" her soft little voice echoes like thunder against the walls. "Christian!"
She falls down next to my body and starts to shake me furiously. I keep my eyes for but only a brief second close, and then I slowly open them.
"Princess, do you think you can perhaps untie me first."
She smiles at me through tears that are drowning those brown eyes. "You are such an ass. You had me worried there."
"Quick reflexes, princess, I am not just brains and muscles."
With that, the boys come to untie us; I briefly walk over to where Joseph is lying on the floor. Yes, I have the satisfaction that he has met the same fate as my father, but it is not me that paid the price.
Cassandra paid the ultimate price for the man that she loves. She has taken the life of another, and that she once also loved to save my life.
And that is what else you need in this life, a woman that every night you can lie next to that makes all that difference. That woman will want you to change the man that you are.
Today, Cassandra became my Mafia Princess. She gave me a gift that no one can, and that is life. We, and in the saddest way, have taken what is rightfully ours. We took what was supposed to have been her legacy from the start.
Cassandra stepped up today, and god, I cannot be more proud of her.
So as she takes her place by my side, I pull her into my arms, "Are you okay, princess?"
"Yes, Mr. Caine." She gives me a tiny peck on my cheek. "You owe me twice now."
"Twice?"
"It is the second time I have saved your life."
I only burst out in laughter and lace my fingers in hers as we walk hand in hand out the door. Then she turns to me, "Are we done now? Is this war over?"
"Not yet, princess."