Page 63 of Bloody Union

Makenna nods, “For now, there’s still a few days before we can bury him. Until then, we keep vigilant and make sure no one has any reason to doubt that the arsehole had a heart attack.”

“We get it, no celebrating until he’s six feet under,” Romero says, but he’s grinning from ear to ear. “I just want to say, Boss. That was a fucking good plan. Not only that, you actually fucking shed a tear. I was impressed.”

She grins. “It all works toward the facade. If we look like a grieving, shocked family, no one is going to look at this as anything other than a tragic accident. Having Dante and I be lovey dovey wasn’t a hardship. It put everyone’s attention on us and what I was doing with the spoon rather than what Dante was doing with his hands.”

I nod, “We keep quiet, act like we’re fucking grieving the loss of our father and then when he’s six feet under, we can congratulate each other. Until then. No more is said about it.”

Makenna leans against me, “Tomorrow is going to be a long ass day. We’ve got the meeting first thing, but you’re all going to have to deal with people wanting to see you, especially you, Dante. You’re now the Boss, they’re all going to want to ensure their job is safe.”

I groan. “Fuck, I hate most of them.”

She laughs, “I know, but it’s what we do. Are you keeping Pauly on as your consigliere?”

I glance at Alessio and shake my head. No, I'm going to have my brother take over that position. As though she can read my mind, Makenna nods.

“I’m going to bed,” I tell my brothers as I lift Kenna into my arms. “I’ll see you both in the morning.”

Makenna grumbles, something about her being able to walk but I ignore her and walk toward our bedroom. I need to bury myself deep inside of her and let this fucking day seep away.

Twenty

Makenna

“How many ofthe men do you think are in on this?” Romero asks as I drive toward the docks. There’s an abandoned warehouse out here that we use for meetings sometimes. It’s secluded enough that no-one could just come across it, and if they did, we have men guarding it so there would be enough time to get the hell out of there without being seen.

“I don’t know, I have no fucking trouble taking the lot of them out.” I’m seething. These are my men and they’ve betrayed me. They’ve stolen from me and then lied about doing so.

I’m tired. Last night I didn’t get much sleep. From the shit show at dinner, along with watching as that arsehole Matteo took his final breath, to having to hang around for hours as we waited for the doctor to do his shit. It’s just one thing after another the last couple of days and I’ll be glad of the reprieve when we go to London for Danny’s wedding.

Romero and Alessio are lighter since their father died, the darkness in their eyes is still there and probably always will be, because their father was an arsehole. I doubt even Dante knows what that monster did to them. Nor do I believe that he or I will ever know.

“Romero,” I say after a few minutes of silence.

“Yes, Boss.” There’s no irritation when he calls me that as I thought there would be, he’s become accustomed to it really quickly.

“When Dante and I leave for London, you’ll be my eyes and ears. If my men need anything, they are to go to you. You will deal with whatever you can and if you need our help, then call us.”

I see Dante’s smile from the corner of my eye, we spoke about this last night. With my entire family going to the wedding, we’re going to need someone to take the reins and Romero is the obvious choice. Both Dante and I trust him, plus he’s more than capable. Dante will be leaving Alessio in charge but will stay in constant contact with him, not to mention he’ll have all of his other men on hand.

“Of course, Boss.” He replies instantly but I hear the pride in his voice.

“When we get back, Holly will be here. I know you’re not exactly thrilled about the wedding and to be honest neither is she. Maybe the two of you can spend some time together and get to know each other before setting a wedding date.”

Holly’s been upset, she said that Romero is cold and distant and that their marriage is going to be horrible. And while I know that Romero isn’t what she described, his outward appearance does warn everyone not to approach. The cold eyes, the disdain in his glare along with the bored, pissed-off look he constantly has. It’s his way of keeping people away from him. But Holly is going to be his wife, she’s my niece and I want the best for her and that means having a husband who cares about her.

“Yeah, that would be good,” he replies and there’s a hint of trepidation in his voice.

The car once again falls into silence. I leave Romero, and focus on Dante, his body is tense and he keeps glancing around. He’s looking for danger. He’s anxious about this morning and I don’t blame him, we’re going into the warehouse, not knowing who has turned against us. It could be all of my men or it could be just a handful. I hate not knowing.

My da, Finn, Patrick, and Cian will also be in attendance. Alessio will be in the car hidden from view, thanks to my blacked out windows, just in case things go south.

I pull into the parking lot outside the warehouse and see there’s already over a dozen cars here. Including Finn’s and Patrick’s. Good.

“Alessio, keep your eyes peeled. You’ll be able to see people as they come in. You’re good at reading people, anyone who’s acting shady, text Romero,” Dante instructs as I slide out of the car. The breeze from the docks hits me and my hair whips around my face.

“On it,” Alessio responds quickly.

Once Dante and Romero are out of the car we move toward the warehouse, I notice that Finn is waiting at the door for us.

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