Before we walked into the safe house, I could hear chattering from the inside. Andy took my hand and looked back at me before she reached for the door knob. Her face was set in stone in a serious manner but her eyes were soft. "You sure you want to go in? It might get ugly," she warned. It was clear that she was a ticking time bomb that was ready to go off. She loved her crew too much for them to be killing each other.

"I'm a bad b-tch. No one can kill me," I joked lightheartedly as I squeezed her hand. She chuckled and surprised me with a kiss on the forehead.

"Alright, let's go, darlin'." If anything I should've felt nervous at the moment but I wasn't. I was with Andy and she made me feel invisible. She wasn't timid about anything so neither was I. I knew I was in good hands.

On the outside, the safe house looked like any other mansion. A collection of cars were parked throughout the yard, and along the street which made it stand out. The yard was well kept and the blinds were closed shut. If the house wasn't in the middle of a gang heavy neighborhood, most people would think it was a regular millionaire's home.

When we walked into the house, everything suddenly got quiet. I walked in behind Andy and looked around to see a bunch of people eyeballing me. Most of them looked anxious, some were confused and others just appeared annoyed. Legs were shaking, eyebrows were lifted and arms were crossed.

Beer cans, food wrappers, cigarettes and clothes were sprawled over the nice, high class wooden floors. There were some guys trying to pick up the trash but they stopped when they saw Andy. A clear path was made for us. Leading up to where Leo, Lin, and a handsome guy were standing. I remembered the guy from the wild, drunken picture of all four of them at Andy's place.

When Leo saw us, she whispered something in his ear and he rolled his eyes before laughing. I wanted to punch Leo in her f-cking face. She was so aggravating. Lin who was standing beside Leo elbowed her to knock off her joking. In response, Leo smacked Lin on the back of her head.

As we walked closer to the three, I noticed that there was a bar. Some guys were unbothered by Andy's presence as they drank. A lady was across from them cleaning a glass. Her eyes were focused on Andy, and for a few moments they locked eyes. She seemed upset as Andy looked away. I didn't know what was going on, but she better keep her hands off of Andy. She wasn't mine but I would still choke a b-tch out for her.

Andy slowly let go of my hand as we approached her friends. Lin waved, the guy candidly nodded while Leo laughed. What the hell was so f-cking funny? I rolled my eyes at her and she smirked. "Fuego," she commented.

"Cabrón," I responded back harshly.

Andy stepped in front of us as I reluctantly found my place beside the guy, who seemed to find my name calling funny. "Listen up," Andy's voice suddenly boomed. It initially startled me and I saw a couple others jump too. She was loud, and her voice carried. Her tone was clear, aggressive and potent. When she spoke, everyone listened. "What happened last night was f-cking ridiculous. When I got the call this morning, I was f-cking disgusted. How are we going to be the supreme leaders if we're killing off each other?"

"Do you know what would happen if other gangs found out about this? We'd look like an easy and weak f-cking target. We'd look like dumbasses. We're killing off each other after a few drinks. What the f-ck has gotten into you all? Five f-cking bodies. What are we going to tell their families? Who's going to be tough enough to stand face to face and tell someone that their loved one died by the own hands of their own gang?" Andy paused to glower over the crowd of gang members.

Everyone fixated their attention on her even the ones who weren't enjoying her speech. I could tell the crew was divided partially. A lot of people looked at Andy with respect but it was a select few that I knew envied her. It was sad when people of your own gang didn't want you to succeed. I wasn't sure what Andy's rank was in her gang, but she deserved something high. She was a leader. Despite the few bad seeds, most looked at her as if she was a goddess spreading news on how to get to paradise.

"Exactly. No one has the balls or the ovaries to do that, but you guys sure do have the balls and the ovaries to sit there and let five people kill each other. I get it. They got in a brawl, but instead of watching and cheering them on, you guys could've done something. All of this could have been prevented. I know you guys might not give a f-ck about my thoughts but I'm highly disappointed in us right now. This isn't what my father built this gang on. We're supposed to be like brothers and sisters to each other. We need to get better."

Suddenly, a man appeared from the crowd of gangsters. The man stood out from the rest and I was surprised I didn't notice him earlier. He was wearing a tan suit, and a scar went down his right cheek. He looked sharp, dapper and important. He clapped his hands as he nodded his head. A slight grin was on his face and I saw Andy sigh. I wasn't sure if it was from relief, anxiety, annoyance or fear.

The man stepped up and wrapped his arm around Andy as he faced the crowd. "That was a great speech, Andy," he told her. The guys who seemed to not care for Andy, abruptly perked up when the man started talking. It was apparent that he had seniority. He looked like he was in his 40s, and I bet he had been affiliated since at least his early twenties. "You really tugged at the heartstrings, kid. Your father would be proud of you." The man laughed and it made me feel uncomfortable. He was acting like he was being nice but I could tell he had other intentions.

"Andy is right. No one should die by the hands of their own gang. The next time this happens there will be consequences," is all the man said but everyone seemed to get the gist. "Now, make something useful out of yourselves."

The crowd of gangsters slowly dispersed. Some found their way up to Andy and the man to apologize, others left to do their gang affiliated duties and some stayed to socialize amongst each other. After a few minutes, the crowd of nearly 100 gangsters had simmered down to less than 20. When it cleared out, the man turned to Andy. "Next time you give some sh-tty, want to be inspirational, p-ssy ass speech like that, acknowledge me first." His demeanor was hostile but Andy stood there with a straight face.

The man turned around and I looked him right in the face. I was guilty of not having the most flattering look on my face. I was actually scowling at him. He couldn't just talk to Andy like that. The man scratched at his stubble before looking from the quiet guy to me. "Who's this? Is this your new girl, Rafael?"

"No, sir," Rafael quickly said as he put his hands up. "That's all Andy." He gave Andy a grin and Andy smiled slightly. It was nice to see that after that asshole got mad at her for no reason. Rafael turned to me. "I'm Rafael, by the way. Andy's best friend."

"B-tch, I'm her best friend," Leo argued instantly.

Lin didn't say a word which caused Andy to walk over and sling her arm around her shoulder. "Lin is my best friend," she said as she kissed Lin's temple. Lin scrunched up her face but laughed as Rafael and Leo quietly argued about who was next in line in Andy's choice of best friend. Leo argued that she knew Andy longer, but Rafael argued that he was Andy's first kiss-- which really had no correlation, especially since she turned out gay. Andy had told me the story about her first kiss but I definitely wasn't expecting it to be with him.

"Can you guys stop being f-cking idiots," the man spoke, causing each one of them to get serious. This guy was a real d-ckhead, but he was clearly over them in rank. "Introduce me to her, Andy," he demanded as he pointed to me.

Andy moved her arm from around Lin and walked over to me. Her hand lightly met my back, which made me feel less irritated with f-cking Scarface. "Jimmy, this is Delaney."

Jimmy gave me a sly smile and it almost made me want to puke. "Nice to meet you, sweetheart." He reached out his hand for me to shake it, but I didn't extend my hand. What was he going to do? Shoot me because I didn't shake his hand? Probably. When I didn't take his hand, he chuckled deeply, and shoved it into his pocket. "I guess you aren't as sweet as you look."

"Guess not," I said simply with a shrug. I could tell I really f-cked with Jimmy's ego. He didn't scare or impress me one bit.

Jimmy looked at Andy and then at his watch. "Well, everything's settled here. Andy, don't do sh-t like that ever again. Luckily, it worked this time but these sh-tbags need tough love not award winning speeches, dig it?"

"Yeah, I got you, Jimmy."

Jimmy looked at me one more time. "I'll see you around, Delaney. The rest of you, be good." With that, Jimmy walked out and most of the gang members that remained walked out with him. As soon as he left, Leo grabbed my shoulders and shook me.

"Are you f-cking crazy?! That was awesome but are you seriously f-cked up in the head? Refusing to shake hands with Jimmy is like a death wish," she yelled at me. I frowned up my face and pricked her fingers off of my shoulders. Just because I gave her boss attitude didn't give her a right to touch me. She was still an ass.

"Anything anyone does that Jimmy doesn't like is a death wish," Lin pointed out. "You were really brave for that, Delaney." Lin patted me on my back which I didn't mind. Leo was the only one who couldn't touch me. There was no telling where her hands had been.

"Muy valiente," Rafael agreed with an impressed smile.

"Oh sh-t, here we go with the f-cking Spanish sh-t," Leo complained.

"I just said she was very brave. Pick up a Spanish-English dictionary and stop complaining if it annoys you so much, cabrón."

"What the f-ck does that even mean?"

"Look it up."

Leo got out her phone and looked towards Rafael. "Wait, how do you spell it?"

"Who was that guy anyways? Why is he so important," I asked both Lin and Andy as Leo and Rafael bickered.

"He's the head honcho so he basically runs everything in our city that's gang related. He's been head honcho for fifteen years now. You not shaking his hand is such a big deal because he's used to literally having everything handed to him. He's probably going to try to get me back for that, but it was worth seeing him freak out for a few moments," Andy informed me a little more.

"If you ask me, he's a real asshole. But don't tell anyone I said that. If anyone badmouths him, he'll kill them right on the spot. Execution style. You don't question Jimmy. You don't play with Jimmy. He's more feared then he is admired, which sucks. He's supposed to give everyone someone to look up to," Rafael added into the conversation.

"We all know that Andy should be the head honcho," Lin said as she playfully punched Andy's shoulder.

Andy sheepishly chuckled. "No way, dude."

"Bro, you have everything. You're someone everyone can look up to. You're scary, but kind of nice. You have mercy. You're lenient but you're not to be f-cked with. You have a legacy behind you. Your dad started this sh-t and your uncle runs everything now. I mean, you're the perfect candidate," Leo agreed with someone for once.

"No one will ever vote him out, and the only other option is to kill him and I'm not doing that. Plus, I'm content with where I'm at," Andy said without much thought.

Andy talked with her friends for a while but then we left. She took me by her house but only so I could get Snuggles, and then she began driving me home. Her friends weren't bad at all, well at least Rafael and Lin weren't. Leo was going to take a long time to get used to, but I could see me tolerating her in the future.

"You're really damn crazy, Delaney. When you didn't shake his hand, I thought I was going to have to save your damn life. You're lucky Jimmy was in a good mood today," Andy told me with a slight laugh.

"That was him in a good mood? He's such a d-ck. Your friends are right. You should be the head honcho." Andy looked over at me and shook her head. I took her free hand in mine and a smile arose on her face. "Yes, you should, Andy."

"I think I would be a good leader but it's just a lot. I'm scared that I might fail everyone or become someone that I'm not. It's a lot of responsibility being a leader, and I'm really young right now. Possibly in the future. For now, I'm content with being a chief."

"A chief?"

"Yeah, Rafael, Lin, Leo and I are chiefs. We're under Jimmy. We report to Jimmy for huge problems but we handle the small ones amongst ourselves."

"So, you're a chief. Jimmy's a head honcho. Who's over Jimmy and how does the whole thing work?" I was honestly really curious about the De Palma family and how they did things. I was probably getting on Andy's nerves with all the damn questions.

Andy pulled up in front of my apartment and put her car in park. She looked over to me and down at her hand that I was still holding. F-ck, I was so f-cking clingy. I slowly let go of it and bit my lip. "I can't go into detail with you, doc."

"You don't trust me?" That was probably the most untrustworthy and dumbest question to ask her.

"No, I do. It's crazy but I really do. I just-I don't know. If I tell you, you have to keep your mouth shut. If you tell anyone else then," Andy's eyes glanced down from mine. "I'll have to hurt you."

"Kill me?"

"It's just how the game goes."

"Well, I already told you that you can't kill me. I'm a bad b-tch so try again, Andy. You're not going to scare me away with that." Andy chuckled and placed her hands on the steering wheel.

"I'll tell you anything you want to know. But only because I know you're just some adopted, spoiled little girl rather than an undercover cop or somethinge."

I giggled and pushed her shoulder as she laughed. "I'm not spoiled."

"Whatever you say, little girl."

"Just f-cking tell me about your gang, dumbass."

Andy began talking but it was in f-cking Italian. I was honestly about to beat her ass. She was speaking as if I actually knew what she was saying. I could catch bits and pieces because of some similarities in Spanish but honestly it was a f-cking blur. "Stop it!"

"You didn't say I had to tell you in English, baby girl."

"Don't call me that," I quickly said. My heart was racing all of a sudden, and Andy raised her brows at me. Honestly, anytime someone called me that it was game over. If Andy really started calling me that then I'd be so f-cking attached. I'd be on her like white on rice and it was too early for that. It was too early to show her my crazy, try to cut a b-tch for just batting an eye at her side.

"You don't like it?"

"No, I do. Just don't."

Andy nodded understandably and I let out a sigh of relief. "Alright, so are you readyw to get educated on the De Palma family, baby girl?" A stupid grin came on her face as soon as she said "baby girl" for a second time. What an adorable asshole.

I decided just go with it. "Tell me all about it, cutie."

Andy gave me a basic rundown but I felt like I knew so much. Most people went up the rank from a regular member to a chief to a head honcho to a don to finally a boss, which was less likely since there was only one boss--who just so happened to be Andy's uncle. The structure was simple but the workload for each position seemed overwhelming. A head honcho had to look over a whole city. A don had to look over a whole state. The boss had to look over the whole damn country and even some countries overseas. There was no way I could be anything more than a member if I was affiliated, which I would never be.

It took Andy nearly an hour to explain everything and answer my questions. I didn't want to, but I knew she had other things to do so I said my goodbye. Andy gave me a kiss and said that she would call me later. It was a sweet gesture and I honestly didn't know what to say. The kiss had caught me off guard. All I could do was give her an idiotic grin and the answer, "Yeah."

-

You guys think Andy has what it takes to move her way up the ladder?