Page 40 of Dangerous Games

“What?” Jimmy acts confused.

“I’m handing you revenge on a silver platter, Jimmy. There are no surveillance cameras in the theater, no guards, no security even. He won’t be expecting it.” I stare at him, and he shakes his head.

“What’s the catch?” he asks, turning the weapon over and over in his hand.

“As I said, a member of my family is dead.” I purse my lips and think about this one last time. I have no doubt in my mind that Jimmy is the only man for this job. “Red was my personal confidant. He got me intel when I needed it. He handled difficult tasks, had connections all over the city. He’s gone. His spot needs to be filled.”

“I… I don’t understand.” Jimmy’s breathing is erratic, probably his pulse too. He is still shaking his head like a fool. I have to spell it out for him, or he won’t get it.

“You are being given a chance at redemption. Nanette deserves her revenge, and so do you. I know what he did to you both. Gallagher, much like the Italian, has to pay. I’ve set everything up for you. You just have to walk in, pull the trigger, and walk out. That’s it. If you want, you can even torture him a little. The boxes at the opera house are soundproof.” I lower my chin, looking down my nose at him.

“But… why?” Jimmy’s brows knit together in confusion still and he lets the gun rest on his lap.

“Because when I meet someone who is capable of the things of which I am also capable, I believe them worthy of working close to me. I’m the most powerful man in this city. You think it’s the mayor or the commissioner—I have them on speed dial—because they need me, Jimmy. Now, all you have to do is finish what you started years ago. You finish Gallagher, prove to me and to your sister that you have what it takes, and you’ll be my right-hand man.”

Jimmy fumbles for a moment, reaching into his pocket. He pulls out a handkerchief that has a bit of blood stain on it and tosses it onto my desk. “Isn’t that proof? The finger of the Italian, like you asked.”

“Bring me Gallagher’s and Nanette will know you have finished the job. Or would you like me to give her the gun?”

He squirms uncomfortably. I understand the dynamic between Jimmy and Nanette more clearly than ever. He feels ashamed that she has been the one to protect him all these years. It is that shame that has held him back, made him feel like less of a man. It’s that shame that caused him to delay this job and fail me time and again. When Gallagher is dead, Nanette will be able to rest, and Jimmy will feel like the most powerful man in the world.

“So, are you going to do it?” I ask, waiting for his reply.

“Tuesday at seven, the opera house on Hoewisher?”

“Don’t be late.”

Jimmy stands, tucking the gun into his waistband, and walks to the door.

“Make no mistake, Jimmy,” I call to him. He stops and looks back at me. “Your sister is mine now. If you fuck up, you die. I can’t stop Gallagher’s people from coming for you. But if you succeed, you have the entire Bratva at your back. You’ll never want for anything again, and Nanette won’t either.”

Jimmy walks out without saying another word, and for a few moments I am alone. I sit with my thoughts for a while, wondering if he will have the guts to do it. If not, I will finish Gallagher myself, just to spare Nanette the gory action. She is too precious to see that event again. After watching Nick die today, that’s all the bloodshed I ever want to see her witness again.

I shoot my doctor a text message letting him know I need him to come over, then I lean back in my chair. It’s been a hell of a day, and it’s not over. I assume the stitches will hurt like hell too; doc isn’t always gentle, but I have walked away from this with my life. The mole is rooted out, and my family is safe. I think about calling my father, but it can wait until morning. Sven too; he will want to know how I plan to reorganize things now that so many of our people have revealed how compromised they are.

“Dom?”

I look up to see Nanette standing in the doorway. She is wearing one of my white t-shirts and a pair of pink panties. She’s gorgeous, even with the blood still caked to her hands. Later, I will soak her in a hot bath and wash her, clean myself, but now I gesture to her.

“Come, sit with me,” I tell her, and she climbs right onto my lap. Her body curls up on my chest, fragile and emotional.

“You said Jimmy was coming?” she asks, resting her forehead against my neck. The scent of our sex still lingers on her skin. I like it that way. I’m like a dog who has marked his territory. I want to make her smell like me in every way so every man will know she is mine forever.

“He just left.” I kiss her hair and hold her as tightly as I can with my right arm. She plays with my chest hair, picking the blood out of it.

“I hoped to see him.”

“He’ll be back. He’s fine. Now my men are watching him, and he will be safe. No one is going to harm him, Nan.”

She feels good in my arms, a goodness I never thought was my right to enjoy. Since the day my mother died, I felt like I only deserved tragedy, pain, sadness. But this victory, no matter how small it may seem on the outside, has taught me that I can’t blame myself for other people’s evil. Watching the closeness between Jimmy and Nanette showed me that family is everything, though I think I knew that already.

Nan sucks in a deep breath like she’s going to say something, but she says nothing. I can tell she is antsy, though I don’t know if she wants to ask me something or if it is because when she climbed on my lap my wound started bleeding again. She touches the sticky flow lightly and then presses her index finger to her thumb and rubs the blood around.

“And Gallagher?” she says, her voice just a whisper.

With confidence, I reply, “Jimmy is handling that, and when he’s done, he will prove to you that you never have to fear anything again.”

Nan looks up at me with fear in her eyes. “But last time—”

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