Queen of Shadows: A Dark Mafia Romance

Chapter Sixteen: The Calm Before...

                Catalina’s Point of View

The streets of New York had been unusually quiet for the last two months. No gunfire in the alleys, no whispers of betrayal, no rats trying to snitch their way into an early grave. It was eerie, but I wasn’t complaining. After all, peace meant business was smooth. The Reyes Syndicate, my empire, was stronger than ever. Still, I had learned long ago that in our world, silence usually meant something was brewing beneath the surface.

I sat at my desk, staring at the city through the floor-to-ceiling windows of my penthouse. Manhattan looked as busy as ever, but to me, it was just another chessboard. I’d positioned every piece. Now, I waited to see who would make the next move.

Two months. Two fucking months since Jaxon left for Chicago to handle his business. I couldn’t help but miss him, not that I’d admit that out loud. The bastard was in my head, lingering like the smell of gunpowder after a hit. His voice, his touch, hell, even his smart-ass remarks about how he was always ten steps ahead. The way he owned a room, the way he owned me when it was just the two of us.

But missing Jaxon didn’t mean I was sitting around twiddling my thumbs. The Reyes Syndicate wasn’t going to run itself, and I had an empire to manage.

“Boss, we’ve got the numbers from Puerto Rico,” said Marco, my new right-hand man, as he stepped into the room. His crisp black suit contrasted with the usual chaos of my office. “Everything’s running smooth there. No issues with the shipping or distribution.”

I nodded, feeling a wave of relief. Puerto Rico was my heart. I might rule New York, but the island was where I found my center — my mother, my roots. “Good. And what about Central America?”

Marco smirked, handing me a stack of reports. “Same. Smooth as butter. You know how it is. No one’s got the balls to mess with the Reyes Syndicate.”

I smirked back. “Damn right they don’t.”

But deep down, the quiet bothered me. Sure, things were running like a well-oiled machine, but in our line of work, the calm was always a warning. It meant someone was either waiting for the right moment to strike or was already plotting behind the scenes. And I wasn’t about to let anyone fuck with what I’d built.

I leaned back in my chair, rubbing the back of my neck. “Anything from the rats?”

Marco shook his head, his expression shifting to something more serious. “Not a word. But it’s too quiet, boss. You know what I’m saying?”

I let out a sigh, cracking my neck. “Yeah, I know exactly what you’re saying. Silence in our business is never a good thing. Keep your ear to the ground. I want to know the moment someone even thinks about stepping out of line.”

“Always do,” Marco replied. He leaned against the doorframe, a half-smile tugging at his lips. “By the way, you still thinking about that last shipment of AR-15s? Puerto Rico’s got the space if we need to store them there.”

I raised an eyebrow. “Marco, if I wanted to store AR-15s in Puerto Rico, I would’ve done it yesterday. We’re keeping them here, ready to move. You forget who we’re dealing with? That order needs to be ready at a moment’s notice.”

“Can’t argue with that,” he chuckled. “You’re always a step ahead, Catalina.”

“Damn right I am. Now, go make sure those trucks are ready. I don’t want any excuses when it’s time to move.”

As he left the room, I grabbed my phone. No messages from Jaxon. No missed calls. Just silence. Part of me was pissed, but the other part of me understood. He had his own empire to run, his own problems to deal with. The Moreno Crime Family didn’t exactly run itself, and Chicago was no playground. But still, he could’ve checked in more.