"No, I knew it would be you," Catrina whispered.

Good God.

Dante felt an uncontrollable urge to put a distance between his body and Catrina. The part of his brain that wondered what her mouth would feel like as he fucked it made him stay pressed at the junction of her thighs with her knife at his balls.

"Word travels fast in our business, Dante. Seems you've been taking the reins a lot lately, but a little more talk went along with it. To be boss, you need a wife. Something you don't have and seemingly, you don't want to be married if your rebuttals on the issue are anything to consider."

"How do you know my opinion on marriage?"

"Another thing my pretty face gets me when I want it to is information. What could a sweet woman really do to a Marcello, hmm? She's only curious, they think. Stupid men."

Dante's throat felt thick. "You sought me out for a proposal?"

"In a sense," Catrina murmured. "I have something you need, and you have something I need. It might work and we won't know if we don't discuss it."

"I don't know you," Dante forced out. "And after tonight, I don't think I want to."

"You really need to drop your gun, bello."

"Stop calling me that."

"No, I think handsome fits you quite well." Dante annoyance grew, but before he could respond, Catrina's knife disappeared from his groin. She slipped the blade into a sheath at her thigh. Catrina waved behind Dante, undoubtedly at the men she had brought along to play their games. "This is just a taste of what I'm capable of."

Not that he wanted to, but since she had removed her weapon, Dante replaced his inside the holster at his back. "I don't appreciate you sending your men in your place."

"Not just my men, Dante. This entire thing. The drugs; your streets; and the information. You still haven't figured it out yet, have you?"

Dante blinked, unsure of what she was asking him. Catrina's finger tapped to the center of his chest, sending sparks blooming across his skin. The tattooed word on her slender, pale digit caught his eye again.

"Catrina Danzi," she repeated.

"That name rings no bells."

"To the outside world, it shouldn't. If it did, I wouldn't be very good at my job, Dante." She struck her finger on his chest again. "I think I'll head out and take my men with me."

Dante stepped back. "Do that."

Catrina slid off the stool with a learned grace that Dante would appreciate if she were any other woman and not one that had seriously fucked with his head and time tonight. Passing him by, she turned at his shoulder, wiggling her fingers teasingly.

"For you, it's Cat, but they'll know me better as Queen."

Stunned, Dante observed the men get up from their respective seats and follow the redhead out of the club without a word. Lucian and Gio, however, were only a few feet behind Dante, both sporting expressions churned with anger and shock. Some patrons were being herded out of the club by men Dante recognized as his own ... or rather, his father's.

"Did I hear that woman right?" Gio asked when the coast was clear.

"Depends on what you heard," Dante replied quietly.

"A lot," Lucian said for his brother.

Dante lifted his shoulders in response, but even the action felt robotic. He didn't like being tricked and he didn't like being cornered. Dante was neither a circus show nor an animal needing trained. That woman-Catrina-had treated him like both.

It pissed him off more.

"Plan remains the same," Dante said, reverting back to his cool demeanor. "I want them off my streets."

"Even if it's a woman running them?" Lucian asked.

"Especially because it's her running them."

Chapter Three.

Catrina Danzi required but one thing in life to keep her happy and not for the reason most would suspect: men.

She didn't need or want their intimacy. Very little about a man interested her enough to keep her attention. The few men she had forged relationships with, physical or otherwise, had been either a pawn in someone's game, or dead before morning.

They didn't call her a black widow, though.

No, they called her the queen.

The only reason she required men in her life was for business.

Being a successful Queen Pin was partly about understanding the environment of the work, then the product came along, and finally, the most important of them all was the ability to find the clients. Cat was mighty good at finding hers. She always had been.

It wasn't hard when her looks drew attention, her charm closed the gap, and her product kept them coming back for more. She fit in to high society without gaining attention to her place. If a man-any man so long as he had the right amount of cash and clout-needed her to be the ghost supplying his substance indulgence, she was the perfect fit.

She didn't touch the men, though. A good Queen didn't get involved, certainly not emotionally, and definitely not with a client. Feelings and business didn't work, regardless of how some men tried to convince her differently. If just one of her clients would realize his worth to her was only as good as the bottom-line on his bank account, maybe they'd get the hint.

Right. She doubted it.

Cat had a signature. One she was known for by every client who had her on speed dial. Beyond the bodycon dresses, red lips, and stiletto heels that accentuated her sexuality and held attention, they had all come to know her as Queen.

Just like that. Simple and clean. Kind of like her business prerogative.

Well, as clean as dealing drugs could be, that was.

It had taken Cat a decade to amass the specialty clientele hidden in her black book. No, those weren't just for hookers and madams. Cat had her own list. Politicians, high profile judges, celebrities, and influential families from all over the country lined her pages.

Sure, they could buy their blow or whatever else they needed from any dealer on the streets, but that always carried a risk. Cat was known for her silence, her talent for never being seen, and her track record of keeping everybody happy.

Plus, she was pretty sure there was a bit of ego mixed in with her clients, as well. Like maybe her high-class standards mixed in with her no bullshit attitude, the intelligent wit, and the queen title that came along with it all made them feel like she wasn't just a drug dealer.

Dio, the fools; they were so wrong. She was just as filthy as the man on the street corner selling to feed his own habit. Another thing Cat never did was touch her own product. There was no profit to be had if you were snorting all your cash.

Yeah, that little girl from the Sicilian village sure came a long fucking way from where she started.

Standing from the chair she rested in, Cat gave her whispering men a once-over as they spoke in hushed tones around the small kitchenette in the hotel room.

"What's all the whispering for?" Cat asked.

Pao turned in his seat. "How do you think that went, regina?"

"You mean having a gun shoved in my face or leaving him stunned? Because it isn't the first time that's happened to me, on both accounts."

Gaetano snorted. "Doesn't faze you a bit, does it?"

"No, I expected him to react that way once he figured it all out."

Cat was lying through her teeth, but she didn't want her men to know. The fact was simple, Dante Marcello had surprised her. The last thing she expected him to do was threaten her like he had. Men were easily influenced by Cat's seemingly innocent exterior and then blindsided by the darkness hidden under her beauty.

Sure, Dante had been caught by her at first, but that didn't last long.

Cat took notice of Carlos' silence. The man had voiced his displeasure about her choices repeatedly, and it was starting to get dull. More than anything, Cat hated to be questioned. Especially by a man.

"Carlos?" Cat asked at the same time she waved for Gaetano to come to her.

"S, regina?"

"You're terribly quiet, and considering you've had the most opinions to share this week, I'm curious why you're clamming up now." Cat pointed at the back of her dress. "Gae, would you unzip me, please? I need to get out of this damn dress."

"Turn around," Gaetano replied.

"You won't like what I have to say," Carlos explained.

Cat let Gaetano help her reach the zipper on the back of her dress. He pulled the little metal tag down until the article could be slipped off. All the men averted their eyes as Cat stepped out of her dress and covered up again with a white silk robe Gaetano passed to her.

"Fine, be honest with me," Cat said, nodding to Carlos. "Brutally so, even. I won't be angry."

It was a trap and any man who worked for Cat would realize it. Unfortunately, Carlos' personal opinions were affecting the reasonable side of his brain lately, and he would take her bait.

He didn't disappoint.

"Why involve this Marcello at all in this plan of yours, regina? All you're about to do is give up everything we've worked for, anonymity included. Do you really think you'll be the ghost queen if your last name becomes Marcello? It's downright ... stupido."

"Watch it," Gaetano barked, coming to Cat's defense as he always did.

Cat patted her companion on the arm, quieting Gaetano. "It's fine, he's just doing what I asked."

Fact was, Cat needed her men for her business to continue being the success it was. There were avenues of clientele where her men fit in better than she did, especially where women were concerned or even the high-end dealers supplying to several. They were also her protection and comrades.

But she never let them forget who was boss. Not for one goddamn minute.

Carlos was forgetting his place.

"Well, since it's my choice to make and only my name going on a marriage license," Cat drawled, crossing the floor to stand in front of Carlos and Pao at the table, "... you can safely assume your position bears no merit for me, yes?"

"That's the problem, isn't it, regina? Nothing we say matters."

Cat clicked her tongue, gaze narrowing. "Funny, my buttons weren't the only ones you pushed tonight, were they?"

Carlos' brow fell. "Mi scusi?"

"You heard me." Cat took another step forward, keeping her arms crossed over her chest. "Before the meeting tonight, I was clear in my instructions. You were to talk the Marcellos in circles and keep me out of it directly, but not agitate Dante specifically. And what did you do, Carlos?"

"Nothing different from what you told me to do, Cat."

There was another mistake to add onto Carlos' growing list. When Cat acted as their boss, and the queen was out to play, Cat was not.

"You know why I told you not to anger him, Carlos."

Carlos sneered. "Worried how your men act might affect the way he sees you as a business woman and potential wife?"

Cat's nerves were pulled taut. She suspected Carlos' behavior was a direct shot at her and an attempt to screw up her plans, but he simply confirmed it.

Carlos jabbed a finger in Cat's direction. It was the last straw for her in regards to his life, but his next words sealed the deal. "You're putting us all in danger and in a spotlight for a stupid fucking-"

The knife at Cat's thigh was pulled from the sheath before Carlos could say another word. She swung the blade with perfect precision, slicing several red ribbons across his knuckles and up his arm. His blood immediately pooled from the cuts and dripped to the hardwood floor. Cat stepped away and put her knife in place before Carlos even pulled his hand back.

"You fucking bitch!" Carlos shouted, standing from his chair so fast it toppled over.

Pao moved out of his chair a great deal slower than his counterpart, moving away from the scene with a knowing expression.

"You're bleeding all over this beautiful cherry hardwood. Go clean yourself up, now."

Carlos glared. "I'll-"

"What will you do, Carlos?" Cat taunted, knowing damn well she looked cruel. "Don't make me repeat myself."

"Cazzo!" the bleeding man hissed, moving away from her.

The moment the door connecting her suite to the men's closed, Cat turned to Gaetano. Pao had come to stand by his side. "Things are going to be slow for the next year or so on the business side of things while I get everything safe and corrected that needs to be done. I know it's going to put me in a spotlight to possibly marry into a family like the Marcellos, but I need this protection."

"Do you think he'll take the bait?" Pao asked.

"I think so," Cat replied. "But I think I'll need to push him into it. Let's give him a week to look for me, see what he finds. In the meantime, lay low, stay off the Marcello territory, and everything should be fine."

Gaetano tipped his chin in the direction Carlos had gone. "What about him?"

Cat waved over her shoulder dismissively. "Make him disappear. He's tested my patience and challenged me. I can't have him acting like that, so I won't have him near me at all. I'd do it myself, but-"

Gaetano laughed. "We know, regina. You just had those nails of yours done again."

"You know me so well." Cat turned as Pao followed behind Gaetano. "And the next time we sit down with Dante Marcello, I expect you both to be on your best behavior. Carlos wasn't the only one pushing the man's buttons tonight."