Page 22 of Owned By the Mafia

“Bullshit,” she says. “Whatever you want to discuss, you can discuss with me. Especially if it concerns my safety.”

Some of the men finish their food and leave. I look at Ronan and then at Daniel, who nods. “We need to deal with these mutters. The men are not happy with the situation.”

Ronan looks around as the last of the men leave and nods. “Aye, they aren’t. I’m out of this bloody cast next week. Then, I can be more active in keeping them in control. Until then, you need to keep them in line, Robbie.” He looks at me, and I sigh.

“They’re questioning your decisions, Ronan. They’ve never done that. They’re not listening to me.” I skewer a piece of meat on my fork and shove it into my mouth.

Ronan sighs and looks out the windows. “Daniel and I must establish who is truly loyal to you.”

“We need to make sure this united front stands.” Ronan looks at me, and I can see it in his eyes; he is unsure.

“You can’t doubt you’ve made the right decision, or they’ll pick up on that,” I say. “You have our support; you always will.”

Ronan chuckles. “The support of three psychotic little brothers. Isn’t that nice?”

I chuckle, and Daniel picks at his food. We all look at him before he says, “We’ll keep them loyal for all the good it will do. But we need to show them that what you’ve chosen is beneficial to the family.”

I feel Dina’s hand underneath the table on my leg and relax slightly. She can’t be that mad with me if she’s seeking reassurance from me.

Except she’s not. She wants to interrupt.

“Mr. Quinn, I assure you I will get the Italians and Russians to support your family fully. We just need to figure out what these attacks are about.”

I glance at her with a frown, but Ronan leans forward. “I’m sure you will, Dina. But for now, we need to be concerned about who is trying to kill you.”

Dina purses her lips. She doesn’t like the fact that she’s being babied. I can see it, but she’s got no choice, really.

I smile and look at Daniel. “We’ll collect the men who are truly loyal to Ronan and find out what the others want to remain loyal.”

“They should want to remain loyal purely because it’s Ronan,” Jarryd points out, and I roll my eyes.

“It’s a give-and-take relationship,” Dina says calmly. “They want Ronan to play a hand that is purely in their favor to prove he is as loyal to them as they are to him.”

I turn to her. “There’s a huge family gathering coming up. It will incorporate all three families, and if we don’t get this fighting under control by then, it could turn into a blood bath.”

“There’ll be very few lower ranks there,” Daniel says calmly. “And that’s where the problem is, so we should be fine as long as nobody tries anything stupid.”

I scoff. “You say lower ranks like they mean less than us.”

“You know what I mean,” Daniel says sharply, and Ronan holds his hands up. “Let’s not start fighting amongst ourselves. Where is Dina staying tonight?”

“At my apartment. She’s safest with me,” I say immediately.

Everyone looks at me, but no one says anything, and they better keep it that way.

Ronan nods. “Alright then, everyone, get some sleep, and we’ll speak tomorrow about what we’re going to do to solve this problem.”

“Thank you for having me, Mr. Quinn,” Dina says politely, rising from her seat.

“Please call me Ronan.” My brother smiles and then looks at me. “My brother still being a gentleman?”

She looks at me as well, and my heart races as she says, “He’s always a gentleman, I suppose.”

My brothers laugh as I hurry out of my seat and say goodnight before leading Dina toward my apartment. There are few people on the street, but most of my men will be out doing their collections and other nefarious deeds that need the cover of night. We walk slowly, so it takes a while to reach my apartment, but once inside, Dina turns to me.

I take her face in my hands and kiss her hungrily. I feel her hands on my chest, pushing me slightly away. “We can’t do this.”

“I will protect you,” I murmur the words, my arms sliding around her and keeping her against me. I look down into her eyes. “I just want a second chance, Dina. To prove I can be the man you deserve in life.”

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