Their Queenpin (The Ridge MC #6)

Chapter 15Adelina

Chapter Fifteen

Adelina

I left the room and stepped into the mirrored elevator, the click of my heels ricocheting off the hard surfaces. I swiped my card and pressed the button for my father’s penthouse suite.

When I stormed through his office door, the guards barely had time to step aside. But when they saw it was me, they chuckled and left us alone.

His office was exactly as I remembered it—rich, dark, and oppressive. My father sat at his enormous cherry-wood desk, surrounded by paperwork and a glass of whiskey in his hand. He looked as if he didn’t have a care in the world as his eyes flicked up to mine. Cool. Detached.

Then, he gave me a warm smile, albeit fake, like the ones he always gives when he’s trying to control the situation.

“Adelina. To what do I owe the pleasure?” Papà had always been an expert at masking.

I had fallen for it many, many times. But with all that had happened, I was starting to see straight through.

I ignored his slimy charm. “You disappeared during my wedding.”

He let out a breath through his nose and his smile fell. “I must apologize for that, mia figlia.”

No matter how many familial words he spewed, epithets geared to throw me off my game, I needed to stay strong and focused. “That was right before Sas was thrown in jail. You want to tell me what the hell that was about?”

He didn’t flinch. “I left for your protection.”

“Bullshit,” I snapped, stepping closer. “This was about control. It always is with you.”

My father huffed, setting his glass down with a soft clink, his eyes watching me over the rim. “I had no hand in Sas’s arrest, Adelina. The Medellín Cartel and their... associates have their own agendas. I disappeared because I got a tip that something was coming, and I needed time to assess. To protect you.”

“Protect me?” I barked out a bitter laugh. “Is that what you call this? Or was it your idea of protection when you suggested I get an annulment? After everything, you still think I’m a little girl you can hide behind closed doors.”

Papà’s eyes narrowed slightly, but he remained silent, letting me speak. The silence only fueled my anger.

“I’m done being your puppet,” I continued, my voice growing stronger, sharper. “You don’t control me, and you sure as hell don’t control the MC.”

He steepled his fingers. “You see, daughter, that’s where you’re wrong. The agreement I made with the president gives me control over his little ragtag band.”

“That was only as it relates to taking arms across the border.” I crossed my arms over my chest, suspecting he believed otherwise.

“That was an in, daughter.” He raised his glass in a half-toast. “And I’d say it’s the most opportune deal I’ve made to date.”

But arms trafficking had been the only deal. I’d overheard him discussing it with Alessio, his enforcer, before he bartered me. Like he did with everything, he was trying to squeeze more juice out of a dried-up lemon.

I wasn’t about to play into his needling at the side I had chosen. If he didn’t want me here, I was sure as shit going to forge my own path, and it had MC written all over it.

Something struck me then, and I tilted my head. “And what cartel are you selling to, Papà?”

My father leaned back in his chair, his face darkening as the smile slipped away. The shift in his expression made the air vibrate. “You’re stepping into dangerous territory, Adelina.”

“For fuck’s sake, Papà,” I spewed back.

“Adelina!” he snapped, still trying to act like the doting father trying to teach his little girl a lesson.

I wasn’t having it. “Give me a break. I’ve been in dangerous territory all my life. Can’t really help it when you’re born into crime.”

“Watch yourself,” he said, his voice colder now, each word deliberate. “Do you have any idea what you’re up against? The cartels, the alliances you think you understand—none of it is as simple as you believe. You can’t handle what’s coming. Not with small-town bikers as your army.”

I straightened, my hands curling into fists at my sides. “I think we’ll do just fine without you,” I shot back, refusing to cower before him. “I don’t need you pulling strings behind the scenes.”

“They’re taking my men on this little adventure. Therefore, I will get a cut. No matter if I pull the strings or not. Boomer will see to that.”

“Rafe’s in charge, and he’s going to make damn certain Nicolò Bellucci doesn’t have access to the C4 until it’s absolutely necessary.”

My father smirked. “Rafaele is my man, Adelina. My brother.”

I barked a snort-laugh. “Sometimes blood doesn’t mean shit, Father. Sometimes family is found. Or forged. The MC has been through worse, and we will survive this.”

His gaze didn’t waver, but I saw something flicker in his eyes. Something like frustration, or maybe disappointment. It was hard to tell with my father.

“You’re confident now,” he said, his voice lowering. “But confidence isn’t enough. The cartel doesn’t care about your loyalty to your men, or your sense of justice. They care about power. Money. Blood.”

“If you think I don’t know that much, you don’t know shit about me.”

He stood, circled the desk, and leaned back on it with his ankles crossed. “And when they decide to come after you, daughter. When they really come after you, neither your bravado nor your entire club’s will be enough.”

“Then we’ll fight,” I snapped.

Massimo’s eyes flashed with something—anger, maybe. Or was it regret?

“You don’t understand,” he said, his tone harder now. “This isn’t about fighting. This is about winning. Power. And if you keep pushing them, if you keep acting like you’re untouchable, they’ll break you. Piece by piece.”

“Why would I be afraid of them?” I took a step closer, my voice barely above a whisper, laced not with fear, but fury.

“This is why we need to work together, Lina,” he nearly begged.

I gritted my teeth. “Don’t call me that. You don’t get to use the name my sister calls me out of love.”

“And you believe I don’t love you?” He scowled.

“You don’t know the meaning of the word,” I bit out.

“Everything I’ve done. .. every action I’ve taken has been to build a safe space in our dirty world for my family.” A muscle ticked in his jaw. “For you, Adelina.”

“Bull-fucking-shit, Papà .” The loving name I’d always called him burned like acid on my tongue.

“Believe what you will, but I do love you. And the cartel—they’ll put a bullet in your skull before they get the whole story out of you.”

“I’m not afraid. Not of them, and not of you. I’ve seen the aftermath of the Mafia lifestyle. Blood, violence, destruction. The cartel and the MC aren’t much better. But you—you’re the one who taught me not to back down. So don’t expect me to cower now.”

His jaw clenched, and for the first time in the conversation, I saw him lose a little of that iron control he always kept. “I didn’t teach you to be reckless.”

“No, you taught me to be ruthless.”

“I taught you to be smart, strategic. And right now, you’re walking straight into a fire that you can’t contain.”

“It’s time I light my own fires, Father,” I shot back, my heart pounding in my chest.

I started to pace, but then stopped myself. Showing him my nerves would give him the upper hand, so I leaned on the back of the chair, pinning him with my gaze.

“Mia figlia, would you list?—”

“No!” I waited for him to snap his mouth shut, then continued, “You’ve been trying to control me my entire life. You’ve been pulling strings, making decisions for me, and calling it protection. But it’s always been about you. About your power, your empire. Not me.”

He slowly rose to his feet. “You believe you’re so clever. So strong. But you don’t know half of what I’ve kept from you. The threats, the deals, the blood I’ve spilled to keep you safe. You wouldn’t last a week in my world without me.”

I squared my shoulders, refusing to back down. “Or maybe you’re afraid I’ll do it better than you ever could.”

That struck a nerve. His lips pressed into a thin line, and he took a step toward me, his eyes cold, calculating. “Challenge me all you want. But don’t think for a second that the Medellín Cartel, the MC, or even your husband’s imprisonment was the endgame.”

His eyes flicked to the side, a subtle glance, but it was enough. I knew that look. I’d seen him have his enforcer subdue others. The tension in the room shifted, thickened. Then I heard the soft, familiar sound of footsteps approaching from my right.

Alessio.

My muscles tensed automatically. Alessio had been my father’s enforcer for as long as I recalled. He’d always been a tool, trained to be the Parisi strong-arm. But he had also been the one who’d tried to teach me how to defend myself, not that I ever wanted to learn. Guards had always been in my shadow when I left the hotel.

Now, at my father’s orders, he was trying to catch me off guard.

I held still, listening.

And there was the rustling I was waiting for, then the quicker rush.

Alessio lunged, his hands reaching for me, but I ducked and twisted out of his grasp. Recalling the first rule, maybe the only one I knew, of my self-defense training, I put distance between us.

“Really, Alessio?” I backed toward the door, my chest heaving.

Alessio’s attempt had been half-assed. If he really wanted to take me down, I wouldn’t have slipped away.

I peeked past the enforcer. “That’s low, Father. Even for you.”

My father leaned onto the desk with both palms, pinning me with his coal-like eyes. “I’m proving a point, Adelina. You’re not prepared to be marching into anyone’s office and making demands like this.”

“We’ll see,” I replied, tucking my shaking hands behind my back.

Father sighed. “If you were prepared, you wouldn’t have come up here alone.”

“Seriously?” I narrowed my eyes on him. “Are you threatening my life now?”

He shot me a smile that chilled me to the bone. “I’m only showing you that you’ve got a lot to learn before you’ll be able to run business in the Yuma Triangle, Adelina.”

I didn’t look away, keeping my eyes on my father as I spoke. “I’m not here to take over your empire. But you will not control me or the MC any longer. Try again, and I’ll make sure you regret it.”

Don’s smile turned cold. “Be careful, Adelina. Stepping outside my protection is a dangerous move. La Famiglia and the MC are stronger together. The cartel is watching, and they won’t hesitate to exploit any weakness.”

“I’m aware.”

“You’ve won this round,” Papà said, “but this is a long game.”

“I’m done playing games,” I said. “I’m going downstairs to operations and sealing off the forty-third floor. It’s ours now. For the duration of this operation, I’ll decide who accesses the war room. You wanna know what’s going on, send me a message and I’ll come give you any info you need to know.”

I turned on my heel and lifted my chin to Papà’s enforcer. “Alessio.”

“Adelina,” he replied, eyes shifting between my father and me.

“Where’re you going, Adelina?” my father asked.

Without turning, I said, “To talk to Rafe and then to see my husband.”

As I slammed his office door behind me, my heart pounded with adrenaline. I wasn’t only fighting for myself. My men needed me, and I wouldn’t let my father or the cartel take what was ours.

Then, I opened the door again and smirked back at him. “Before I leave, though, you’re going to do something for me, Papà.”

“Am I, now? And what makes you think you have the right to make a demand after you told me in no uncertain terms how things were going to be?”

“You want the diamonds,” I said simply.

His features twisted for a moment, the lust for more power and riches stirring. “What is it you want?”

“Give your capo a call—the one who has an in with the LVMPD.”