BOW DOWN: A Bad Boy Mafia Romance (Barone Crime Family) by B. B. Hamel Read Free Book Online

couldn’t help myself.
    There was a lot to do around the house, and yet I had this man on my mind.
    As I began to wind down, something suddenly pinged my console. I opened it up and realized that he was currently on the internet, or at least someone was on his computer.
    Smiling to myself, I decided to take his laptop over. I took control of it and made his screen blank. I typed him a message.
    “Hello, stranger.”
    It took almost five minutes for him to respond.
    “Who are you and what do you want?”
    “I’m me, and I want someone to protect me from muggers.”
    Another ten minutes went past. I was smiling to myself the whole time.
    “Louisa?”
    “The one and only.”
    His responses got faster now, like he wasn’t carefully considering them anymore and just typing to me.
    “How are you doing this?”
    “I’m very good with computers.”
    “Clearly. Why, though? You can just call.”
    “I can, but I thought this would be more fun. I want you to know that I’m serious.”
    “I know you’re serious.”
    “Do you? I can take control of anyone’s computer like this. I can read their messages, their emails, their personal files. Nothing is safe from me.”
    “Is that what you’re doing to me right now?”
    “I won’t pretend like I haven’t done my homework.”
    “Did you like what you found?”
    “Yes and no. You’re too clean.”
    “I know.”
    “How? This is a secure connection.”
    “I work very hard to maintain appearances,” he typed.
    “Still, there’s nothing.”
    “I have some help. But I’m also aware that anything I type in an email could be read by someone one day. So I am careful.”
    I nodded to myself, smiling. I liked that about him. He was a careful man because he was smart and could see a few moves in the future. He wasn’t so dumb that he thought he was invincible.
    “I want to meet,” I typed.
    “Okay. When?”
    “Tomorrow night. I’ll need protection.”
    “I can bring men.”
    “Just bring yourself.”
    “Okay then.”
    “I’ll be in your hotel lobby at nine.”
    “I’ll be there.”
    I was smiling to myself like a stupid schoolgirl. I felt like a teenager again typing to a boy in a chat room, and I realized instantly how dangerous that could be.
    If I was going to enter into business with this man, I cannot let myself be infatuated with him. There was so much more at stake for me than just our relationship and our power.
    I really did want to save my girls. I wanted to control the city, but that was because I thought I could save even more lives. I would outlaw human trafficking and destroy anyone that got in my way. The police tried, but they were constrained by laws.
    No law would touch me. I would be the swift hammer of justice and save lives.
    I needed Wyatt to get to that level. But if I let myself get sucked into his world, I may lose sight of my real goals.
    Just then, there was a knock at my door. I looked up. “Come,” I called out.
    Brooks opened the door. “The Italians.”
    “What happened?”
    “Ernesto’s crew hit one of our houses.”
    “Fuck.” I sat up. “Which?”
    “The one on Jefferson.”
    “The girls?”
    “Most got away. Some didn’t.”
    “Fuck.” I shook my head. “Fighters?”
    “Most are dead. Regina, Lacey, and Alice made it out with the girls.”
    “Shit,” I said softly. “We lost a lot of people tonight.”
    He nodded grimly.
    “I’ll be down soon.”
    He nodded again and was gone.
    I leaned back, shaking my head.
    The Italians were getting more and more aggressive. They were rooting out our safe houses one after the other, and killing everyone inside. They used to try and take prisoners and bring the girls back into their employ, but not anymore, not since the real war started. Now they simply try and kill everyone without a care for who they harmed.
    That was my father and his men. They were sick bastards, and they were the ones I was fighting against.
    “I have to go,” I typed. “Tomorrow night. See