Page 87 of Lucky Strike

“You’ve all been my teachers. I’ve learned from every one of you over the years, and that isn’t going to change. I want to serve this family—” I gesture to the room— “The way my parents have. And I promise to leadmyfamily with the same honor and integrity my father has.” I slip my arm around Dad, returning his embrace. “Thanks for the love and support you’ve shown us, and please keep praying for Dad. We need it.”

For the next few minutes, I’m hugged and kissed like a new baby, everyone offering their love and congratulations. It’s bittersweet, though,and as Dad finishes the announcements, I can feel the weight of these new responsibilities bearing down on me. The Kellys play a special role in Saoirse, and now it's up to me to maintain that legacy.

The floor opens to general concerns. Heath Murphy clears his throat, standing. “I’d like to discuss the ongoing issue with the gun shipments.” He looks at me, giving me a quick nod. “Glad to have you serving the family on an official basis, Lucky. Happened a little earlier than we’d have expected, but we all knew it was coming, huh?”

I dip my chin in acknowledgement, keeping my expression blank. There’s always been something about Heath. He used to pinch the shit out of our cheeks when we were small, always got a little too drunk at holiday parties. His son Steven is no better. He thinks he’s hot shit because he went to Harvard Law, but he’s as smarmy as his pops and twice as petty.

“Owen, we’ve been friends a long time. They say blood is thicker than water, but that ain’t true—not in this room. We’re all of us family, aren’t we?” There’s another hum of agreement. “That said, I gotta be honest. I have concerns. I think the sharks are circling because of Owen’s health. These Bratva kids don’t know him like we do. They don’t know how strong he is.”

I look at Dad, who’s observing Heath with an unreadable smile. “Yeah, we’ve discussed this, brother. What d’you suggest?” His calm voice is serrated with an edge that has the room so quiet I can hear the leaves rustling on the trees in the garden below.

“Maybe it’s time we switch up how we do things.” Heath shifts to his other leg. “The guns are one of Saoirse’s most lucrative assets. We can’t afford to have that fall apart. With your blessing, I’d like to do an overhaul of the system, see where we can tighten things up.”

I cock my head. “What would you do that we aren’t doing now?”

Heath holds up his hands. “I’m just offering to help, Lucky. Your dad’s taking a step back for his health, as he should, and I think you’re a little distracted. Understandably.”

“With all due respect,” I begin. “Every single person in this room has distractions.”

“Some of us have more distractions than others,” he says, raising an eyebrow.

What the fuck does that mean? Liam? Bria?

Steven Murphy sneers at me. He’s a bully, just like his father. Once, at a barbecue when we were twelve or thirteen, he wouldn’t stop teasing Tristan until I popped him in the mouth.

Dad clears his throat. “We appreciate you looking out for us, Heath. Really. But Con and Tristan have been working with Kelly Logistics for years, and they’re more than capable of handling the hardware we got coming in and out, okay? We will figure out what the Sokolov family is up to, don’t worry about that.” He looks around. “But if anyone else shares Heath’s concerns, this is the time to speak up. Please. In the multitude of councilors, there is safety.”

I take a sip of water, swallowing a smile. Leave it to my father to diplomatically handle the issue with a proverb.

Will O’Reilly speaks up. “I think we should leave things as they are for now. We’ve had problems like this before; it’s the nature of the beast. We can always lend backup and support if delivery issues continue. Extra men, surveillance. The works.”

“Agreed.” Donovan claps the table. “We’ll reconvene, if necessary, but let’s trust that the Kellys know what they’re doing and move on.”

Heath nods impassively, taking a seat. Steven leans in, whispering something to him before raising a hand to speak. “Before we move on, we’d like to know what safeguards are being put into place to ensure the safety of future orders and shipments. The guns might be Kellys’ business, but like Dad said, they affect everybody in this room.”

Dad and I share a look. He dips his chin, giving me the floor. “We’ve put a temporary hold on all arms shipments coming in or out of Conley,” I say. “We’ve also ceased the use of semis for domestic transport.”

Steven blinks at me. “You’ve secured another means of getting the guns out?”

“We have. And that’s all I’m comfortable discussing at this point.” I give him a smile. “You understand, I’m sure, the wisdom of keeping the details sparse.”

He nods once, jaw clenched as he sits back.

Teddy Walsh takes Dad’s place at the podium, sipping a glass of water. “All right. Time to vote.” He clears his throat, glancing at the papers in his hands. “Contenders for syndicate leadership are as follows:Will O’Reilly, myself, Donovan Brennan, Conlan Kelly, and Heath Murphy.”

“I’m officially excusing myself from running, as I’d prefer to stay on as secretary,” adds Teddy, adjusting his glasses. “Does anyone take issue with this?” No one does. “Good. Is there anyone else who’d like to do the same?”

“I’m not running against my godson,” booms Donovan, and everyone laughs again. “Let’s give him a year at least before he fucks things up.”

“Right.” Teddy smiles at me, shaking his head. “Let’s get this done, then. Write your vote on the index card in front of you, fold it, and bring it to the front.” He motions to the box on the floor by his feet. “Ladies, would you do the honor of counting the votes?”

Saoirse has always done it this way, ensuring there’s no shadiness by having a representative of each family oversee the vote count. The women file up front, collecting everyone’s votes as soon as they’re all in. Moving to another table, they work quickly through the index cards until Mom returns to Teddy, sliding another index card onto the podium.

He glances at it, giving an expressionless nod. “Thank you.”

Once everyone is seated again, Teddy holds up the index card. “Conlan Kelly has secured the majority vote.”

My heart drops to my feet. Mom grabs my hand, squeezing it so hard it tingles.Holy shit. I blink rapidly, trying to process what just happened as applause fills the room and everyone swarms around me again. Their trust in my father was warranted, but how can they be so sure about me?

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