United and Dangerous by Cherie Benjamin (the speed reading book .TXT) 📕

"I don't know.  I just get this uneasy feeling when he is around, and every time he looks at me, my skin crawls."

"Shit, baby, why didn't you say anything?"

"I know he has been working for the family for a little bit, so I didn't want to question the family’s confidence in their company."

"Baby, he is just a paid architect.  He might have suspicions about what the family does, but he doesn't have any information.   So, if the fucker hasn't been doing his job, I say fire his ass."

"But won't they put us even further behind?"

"We will find someone else.  Money talks, baby, and when it is known that the Leone and now Morotti families are looking for an architect, they will be beating down the door for our business."

"Okay, let's do it."

Kane smirked.  "Let me do it.  I can't wait to see the look on the fucker’s face."

Ara kissed her husband.  "Okay."

Kane pulled out his phone and dialed David's number.

"Kane, what can I do for you?"  David answered.

"It's Mr. Leone to you.  And I want you in my office in an hour with all the information on Solar Eclipse." 

"But, Ara is handing that project."  David’s whining response was indicative that he knew this was not going to be good.

"You will not address her by her first name, it is Mrs. Leone to you, and I want to see the fucking information, so your ass better be there in an hour." 

"Yes, sir."  David stammered.

Kane hung up the phone and smiled brightly.

"Damn, that was fun.  I can't wait to see the fucker’s face when I fire his ass.  This is going to be so much fun." 

Ara smiled.  Yes, it was.

Kane and Ara arrived at their office, and asked Uriel to meet with them in private.  Uriel wondered if he had finally screwed up enough to get him killed.  For weeks he had been burning the candle at both ends, running Diamond Knotts, as well as dealing with the increasing duties as Kane’s Capo. Now, he was the Capo to both the Don and Donna of the combined families; there was not enough time in a day to get everything done.  He was still kicking himself for allowing Sebastian to slip through his and his crew's fingers, but he wanted, no, he needed to make amends for that.  In addition, with all the work, he had very little time to spend with his lovely wife, Katrina.  She had been a trooper, but he could tell she was feeling neglected and lonely, which was no fucking way to start a marriage.  Also, they had not been in his playroom in weeks, and he craved the time to be with his submissive. 

After placing their guns securely under the desk, Kane and Ara sat down, and motioned for Uriel to do the same. 

"Uriel, I want you to know that you have done a tremendous job at Diamond Knotts, but we feel it is time to find someone else for your duties.  Being my, correction, our Capo, is an enormous job and we need for you to be focused entirely on those responsibilities and duties."  Kane stated.  He noticed that Uriel seemed to relax upon hearing this news. 

"Thank you, Kane and Ara.   You are correct; I have felt as though I was unable to devote all my concentration on one specific job without letting something slip by on the other.  I promise, as your Capo, to provide you with sound counsel and protect you with everything at my disposal.  I have and will spend the time and effort needed to make sure nothing gets past me." 

"We know this, Uriel, but we would also like your input on your replacement."  Ara said.

"Gladly."  Uriel responded while shaking his head in agreement.  For the first time in weeks, he felt as though he may be able to breath.

"Good, now, we have David Grant coming in to the office in about forty-five minutes; we are firing his slimy ass."  Kane grunted.  Ara snickered at Kane’s aggravation.

"Has he done something I don't know about?"  Uriel was hoping that he had not missed anything he should have been aware of.

"He has not been doing his job.  He has already missed several deadlines, not to mention he makes Ara feel uncomfortable.  And, last but not least, I am not particularly fond of the way the fucker was looking at her yesterday.  I have a gut feeling he is not going to take the news well, because he and his entire fucking family have made a ton of fucking money from our contracts, so I want a team to be ready to follow the ass if this goes south.  I don't want to do something here, but have the warehouse ready, just in case." 

"Good plan, Boss.  I’ll go make the arrangements."  Uriel said.

"Hey, Uriel, could you also call Katrina and see if she can come and meet us for lunch?  I have something I want to talk to her about."  Ara suggested.

"Sure, she’d like that.  See you in a bit."  Uriel commented and left the office with his phone to his ear, making the necessary arrangements.  Kane knew he couldn’t do something in the building; he needed witnesses to see David leaving the building the same way he entered it.

Kane and Ara were reviewing some details for the Coven Inc. project when Kane’s phone rang.  The caller ID informed him that it was his friend, Sean O'Leary.

"Hello, Fucker."  Kane chuckled.

"Bastard, how is married life?"  Sean teased.

"Great, other than the fact I haven't had the quality time I want with my wife."  Kane placed a kiss on Ara’s temple as she continued to review the plans.

"Well, that is what happens when you decide to do something this grand.  How is the beautiful Ara?"

"Hold on while I put you on speaker."  Kane said.

"Ara, sweetheart, are you tired of that fucker yet?"  Sean asked.

"No, I am afraid not; how are you, Sean?  I was sorry to hear that you had to go straight back to Boston." 

"Well, you know how the life is, some fucker was trying to take something that was mine and I needed to have a (cough) little conversation with him."  Sean quipped.  "But the reason I was calling is to ask a favor."

"Anything."  Kane stated.  Sean may be the Boss of the Irish Mafia, but he was also a friend.

"My sister has decided to stay in Seattle.  She fell in love with it and is hoping to start her own business there, so I hope she can call upon you if she runs into any problems."

"Of course.  Please give us her number; we would love to have her over to our house for dinner."  Ara said.

"Ara, that would be so appreciated."  Sean was touched that should would be so accommodating.

"What type of business does she want to start?"  Ara asked.

"She got her degree in architecture and has finished her internship, but has decided not to work for a large firm.  Instead, she wants to start her own business."

"Fucking fantastic!"  Kane yelled.

"What?"  Sean questioned.

"Well, you see, we are about to fire our architect and we have several large projects in the works, so we need an architect; since she knows about the family this would be great."

"All right, I will give her a call, but are you sure about this, Kane?  I was only expecting you to be there for her if she needed your help."  Sean was totally taken aback at the good fortune this phone call had generated.

"Hell yeah, have her come this afternoon about two and we will go over everything.  Sean, this is going to be a fantastic arrangement for everyone involved." 

"Seems so.  Kane, Ara, I can't thank you enough.  I think you are right; this is going to be great."  Sean said.  "I will call her now, and, as soon as I can, I am coming out again."

"Actually, Sean, we are working on something big here, so we will be contacting all the Bosses to tell them our plans.  Our hopes are to have a large meeting with everyone, somewhere, and lay out what we are proposing."  Kane said.

"Name the time and place and I will be there."  Sean stated.  Knowing Kane, whatever he was planning had to be huge if he was calling all the Bosses, and Sean wanted in on it.

"Okay, will do."  Kane said, hanging up the phone.  He turned to Ara and pulled her into his arms.  "I love you."

Ara melted into his big strong arms, enjoying the feeling of warmth and protection.  "I love you, too."

"Are you ready for this meeting?"  Kane asked, worried that it might be too much for her.

"No, but, Kane, it needs to be done and I need to be here.  There are going to be things that are not pleasant, but, if I am to be the Donna that the families need, I need to be able to handle all situations, the good, the bad, and, in David's case, the ugly."  Ara giggled.

"Okay, but that fucker better watch his mouth."

"I know, but we need to control ourselves here.  However, that doesn't mean we can't have our fun later on."  Ara whispered with a raised brow.

"I know, but I have a feeling it is going to be very hard to restrain myself from not shooting his fucking ass here and how."

"Kane, you have great control; I should know."  Ara smirked, knowing that Dom Kane was always in control in his playroom.

Kane leaned down and captured her lips with his, dominating her mouth and lips, enjoying the taste that was Ara and Ara alone.  He respected her as his co-leader of the family and his wife, but he enjoyed his little submissive in his playroom.  This woman was everything he ever needed, wanted, and he would always be grateful to Uriel for hiring her at the club.  The thought of him having never met Ara caused his heart to ache.  Placing several pecks on her lips, then her nose, he leaned back and smiled down at her, noting the dark chocolate pools full of lust and need; he knew just how she felt. 

Ara’s heart was beating so loud that she was sure that Kane could hear each beat.  This man was a very dangerous man and she didn't mean with his gun, well not that kind of gun, anyway.  Okay, maybe that gun, too.  She smiled as she walked over to their bathroom, straightened her hair, and reapplied her lipstick.  She checked to make sure her navy blue satin wrapped dress was straight and not too much cleavage was showing.  Kane fell in love with the color of the dress when she put in on this morning and said he couldn't wait to peel it off of her this evening after all their guests left.  Kane had picked out one of his navy blue Armani suits to compliment her dress and when they stood next to each other in front of the mirror before leaving their room, she had to admit they looked like the perfect couple that they were.  She walked out of the bathroom and back to the desk where Kane was sitting reading over some documents.  Sitting back down in her chair, she checked her gun