"They beat my housekeeper nearly unconscious because she wore my family crest, then left her bleeding in the rain as a warning to me. But the men who attacked Emma Carter made one fatal mistake: they thought hurting someone under my protection would frighten me.

I closed the ten feet between us in a fraction of a second. Before Kolov could even unholster his weapon, I drove my fist brutally into his solar plexus, knocking the air completely out of his massive frame.

He doubled over, gasping, but I didn't stop. I grabbed him by the throat, hoisting the heavy Russian boss backward and slamming him violently onto the rotting wooden altar.

"You thought you could touch a woman under my protection and walk away with a payoff?" I hissed, pulling the heavy combat knife from my belt, pressing the cold steel directly against his throat.

"Castellano, please!" Kolov choked out, blood bubbling on his lips. "We are businessmen! We can make a deal!"

"The men who attacked Emma told her that Dominic Castellano needed to learn he didn't own New York," I quoted his thugs, leaning in so my face was inches from his terrified eyes. "You made a fatal mistake, Alexei. You thought my legitimate suits meant I had forgotten the monster I used to be."

I applied pressure with the blade.

"I own this city because I am the only one willing to do what is necessary to protect it," I whispered.

I didn't hesitate. I ended the war with a single, brutal motion.

I stood over his lifeless body, wiping the blade on his expensive coat. The message was officially sent to every syndicate, street gang, and mob boss on the Eastern Seaboard. Castellano was untouchable, and his people were sacred.