Page 16 of Forbidden Romeo

“Why am I only just hearing about this?” Padraic snaps. “Who dealt with that?”

Buzz looks at me pointedly, daring me to raise my voice. The man has never liked me, but clearly, he’s decided I’m fair game to torment now that I’ve fallen out of favor.

“I did,” Kate suddenly pipes up at my side. She gives me a small nod that I return cautiously. I’ve never known her to take the fall for me before, but maybe she’s just reading the room. Padraic is never productive when he’s flying off the handle like this, and God knows he has a soft spot for Kate.

True enough, Padraic’s entire stance relaxes a little. “And?”

“Just testing his luck,” Kate replies. “Seems the other house heads are coming to their own conclusions about our… family situation.”

Andy, who’s been quiet until this point, finally speaks up. “Which is what exactly, Padraic?”

Padraic levels every man in that room with a stare so intense I can practically hear the sweat dripping down their foreheads. Only Andy, as always, seems unfazed by this.

“Our family might be grieving, but we remain a united front. I will not tolerate speculation until all those involved have been brought to justice,” Padraic growls.

But Andy only doubles down. “Why not name Jack as heir and get this over with?”

I stiffen at that, aware that all eyes are suddenly shifting to me. The men murmur to themselves as Andy and Padraic lock eyes. It seems there’s a fairly even split on the matter.

“As much as I appreciate your support, Andy,” I say calmly, immediately snapping Padraic out of his fury, “I am no longer in a position to have a claim on this family.”

This causes more heated debates to begin across the table.

Padraic’s mouth tightens at the uproar, and he regards me with a look of disgust.“Enough,” he barks a moment later. “I will not discuss this matter any further. My son’s body is barely in the ground; the matter of succession can be dealt with when I’m goddamn ready.”

Andy looks like he’s about to push his luck but thinks better of it.

“Gentlemen, the Maguires have embarrassed us. It’s time we hit back, and we hit hard.” The room murmurs in agreement before Padraic continues, “I have it on good authority that one of the Maguire sisters was spotted at Lenox Hill ER. If one of the sisters is back in town, it could mean Connor has plans to strengthen their alliance with their new ‘friends.’ I want her here, alive.”

As he says this, a memory stirs in the back of my mind. A fundraiser for one of the Italians we attended once as kids. I remember standing with Kate in the corner of the grand ballroom, much like we are now, as Graham was paraded around like a prize cow. Neither of us was thrilled to be there, but we were still unwilling to miss out on a party.

I remember watching from a distance as Graham was introduced to a scrappy-looking ginger boy and his father. It was one of the only times I ever saw Caleb Maguire—a man who could barely stand, even at the beginning of the evening, speaking too loudly about things others thought distasteful and getting kicked out before the night had begun.

Graham was ushered away from his kids quickly, but not before Kate had the chance to sneer at the two girls that followed Connor around like puppies. The youngest couldn’t have been more than ten years old, and not once did she let go of her sister’s hand.

We had intel they’d gone missing about five years ago, along with rumors of Caleb’s descent into madness. But, if one of them was back, I’d wager the other wasn’t far behind.

And I’ve always been a betting man.

“Kidnapping someone’s sister, especially someone like Connor’s, is gonna start a war,” Ray points out. “We don’t want to risk losing everything we’ve built here.”

Padriac’s eyes narrow. “This is already war. We can’t allow them to walk all over us like this. We need to take the fight to them.”

The group falls silent for a few moments, each lost in their own thoughts.

Finally, Padraic stands and walks to the window, looking out at the bustling city below. “All right, here’s what we’ll do. Andy, I want you to start gathering information on Lennox Hill. I want a positive ID on this girl. We’ll be patient; we won’t make any moves until we know exactly where she is and what we’re up against.”

Andy slowly nods his head in agreement. “It’s unlikely she’ll cause any trouble, but nobody approaches her alone.”

“Buzz, I want you to put a bounty on her too,” Padraic says before adding, “I want heralive.If the Italians catch her first, I want them to know I’m willing to renegotiate Pier eighty-eight if she arrives at my doorstep in one piece.”

Buzz smirks at this, no doubt thinking through the loopholes ofalive. I cringe a little at the thought but push it out of my mind.

Padraic turns to Kate. “I want you ready to intercept this girl when the time is right.”

“I thought Andy just said we weren’t going solo on this one,” Kate replies.

“Fine.” Padraic waves her off. “Pick someone and make your preparations together.”

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