Page 19 of Once Upon a Villain

I blinked fast to bring the scene in front of me back into focus. Sure enough, two guys dressed in blue uniforms stood on the other side of Dad, waiting to take him away. I conceded with a nod, and they quickly got to work.

“Did you call his doctor?” I asked Lia.

“Yes, sir. He’s on his way to the hospital. He’ll meet you there.” She stepped back to make room for the other men pulling in a gurney.

Five minutes later, everyone but Rex was gone. After the big commotion, the silence I usually found comforting felt eerily still.

“I’m sorry.” Rex finally spoke.

“For which part?” I met his gaze. “Because Dad might die tonight or because you don’t have a successor like you wanted.”

“Because we still need to talk business.” He downed the rest of his drink. “Then you can go see him.”

“I’m not a doctor. I’m not needed at the hospital. I’m needed here.” I sat on the edge of the sofa and braced my forearms on my knees. “I don’t like it when things change.”

“And yet they have to.”

“What’s going on?”

“The Irish mounted a hostile takeover last night. They want Hell’s Kitchen. They almost had us too.” He unbuttoned his suit jacket and took the chair across from me. “I promised Caterina we’d have peace. This is the fucking opposite of that.”

“Wait. The building that blew up last night. That was us?”

He nodded once. “Rossi was ambushed. He had no choice.”

“The New York police are easy to control. But explosions? That’s candy to the FBI.”

“That’s why we need to handle this in-house.” He sipped from his glass. When he realized it was empty, he made his way to my desk, where Lia had left a bottle and ice for us. “Last thing I need is the FBI in our business. A gang war will definitely get their attention.”

The Irish made a move on Italian territory. That was ballsy or incredibly stupid. Though I couldn’t blame them. They thought they were going against the New York faction. They had no idea the Society was here to back them up. The board, the five original families, controlled every industry, and that sometimes extended beyond this country. So much time had passed since the Society went underground, we were no more than a scary bedtime story to keep intruders at bay. Until they came for us, of course. Then they quickly found out we were more than the monster under the bed.

“The Society has become an old allegory. It’s no surprise the Irish aren’t afraid of us anymore.” I wasn’t opposed to getting my hands dirty.

“I’ve considered becoming more than that. But then we would lose a great advantage—right now the Irish are celebrating their almost victory. They have no idea I’m coming for them.” Rex had a plan.

“If you don’t handle them soon. They’ll assume the Italians are cowards. We can’t have that.” I was itching to punch something. “It just so happens I’m looking for something to keep my mind off things. What do you need?”

“First, we need to make sure we eliminate anything that might look like a pattern, or the beginning of something bigger.” He took a big gulp of whiskey. “I need you to send a message to our Chicago crew. Seems they made a similar move on the Irish on the South side.”

“As retaliation for what happened here?”

“Nah. Two mutually exclusive events. But that’s just it. I don’t need the FBI making that connection, thinking that the Irish and the Italians are starting a national feud. Can your crew manage that?”

“I’ll fly to Chicago myself. Consider it done.” I raised my tumbler to him. Work was what I needed right now. Anything to keep my mind off of family matters. “What about the Irish in Harlem?”

“I have a different kind of war planned for them.”

“I like the sound of that. Count me in.”

“I appreciate that.” He patted my arm, then his smile faded. “I hope you understand that sooner rather than later, you’ll have to step into the role of Don, get married, and do your part.”

“I am doing my part, Rex. I’ll go to Chicago and deliver your message just like you want. But don’t ask me to tether my life to a woman because that will never happen. My sister has three boys of her own. I can train any one of them to follow in my footsteps.”

“What?” He raised his hand to stop my ranting.

“I’m assuming that’s what the marriage requirement is for. Dons need successors, heirs.”

“I never said anything about kids.” He chuckled. “What is this aversion to marriage you have, anyway?” He furrowed his brows as if he were confused by my dissent. “Look at me. I’ve been married to Caterina for almost a year. We’re happy. We’re allowed to be happy.”

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