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“Aiden, I’ve got this under—”
“I beg to differ,” Aiden interrupts. “Unless I’m forgetting something? I can go over it one more time, if you’d like?”
The king is clearly frustrated. We all are. With the Greeks on our side now, we’re supposed to be in complete control of the underworld.
But there’s always something.
And right now, that something is the Italians.
The Italians are supposed to be Ray’s problem—but if he doesn’t get his shit together soon, then they’re going to be a major problem for all of us.
“Fine. Go ahead,” Ray huffs. Throwing up his hands, he sits back in his chair.
“I put you in charge of watching over the Italians, right?” Aiden starts.
“Sure.”
“Now is not the time to fuck around, Ray,” Nolan barks.
“I’m not fucking around,” Ray launches back. “I’ve been doing my fucking best. But what authority do I have to these people? At best, I’m a glorified enforcer. They don’t care that I’m second in command to the all-powerful Kilpatrick boys—they are well aware that I don’t have the power to wipe them out. They also know that they’re too valuable to get rid of. They’re calling your bluff, Aiden. I’m just a fucking messenger.”
A tense silence slithers through the room as the most powerful men in the underworld try to navigate their way through one last problem.
It’s all that stands between us and complete domination.
“Those stubborn Italian fucks are such a fucking pain in our asses,” Shane rumbles. “We should just wipe them out.”
“No,” Aiden shakes his head. “We can’t do that. They have too much knowledge. Too many connections. If we’re going to conquer them, we need a less direct approach.”
“That’s what I’ve been trying to do,” Ray insists, crossing his arms. He may be the oldest man in the room, but he’s still got a sarcastic energy to him that undercuts his age. Add in his salt and pepper hair, and Sophia has said that he sometimes reminds her of a witty superhero.
The problem is, unlike the rest of us, he wasn’t born into power or wealth. He’s had to struggle and fight for everything he has, and it causes him to get fed-up fast.
That’s a dangerous combination for someone with his set of skills.
“You didn’t even know that the Italians had been going behind our backs to the Greeks,” Roman points out.
“I didn’t think the problem was so widespread,” Ray shoots back. “There was only one Italian who was acting the least bit suspicious—the daughter of one of the dons—so, I started following her.”
“Are you sure that’s why you were following her?” Shane asks, accusation lacing his question.
I can’t bite my tongue any longer. “Enough of that shit,” I boom, stepping in front of my friend. “If you want to deal with the Italian problem, then we’re going to have to focus on the Italians, not each other.”
“Come on,” Shane challenges. “We all know that Ray is a ladies man. I’m sure this suspicious Italian wouldn’t have been so suspicious if she was one of those fat old Italian dons.”
“Hey, I resent that comment,” Ray pipes up from behind me. A bit of the frustration has drained from his voice. I imagine it has a lot to do with someone finally standing up for him.
“Is he lying?” Aiden asks.
“I’m not interested in the girl… not like that…” Ray grumbles. “And even if I was, she’s too young for me, anyway. Plus… I once had a fling with her new step-mom. So, she’s off the table…”
That last line breaks through the tension in the room and everyone lets out a little chuckle.
This is classic Ray Byrne. For all of his shit, the man is endearing—even if he is a stone cold killer.
“Shit, I’m sorry man,” Shane says, pinching the bridge of his nose. “I trust you. We all do. But after all we’ve been through; after being so close to the end game, we just want to strangle away any last bits of resistance.”
“Remember, boyo, my reach doesn’t extend as far as yours,” Ray says, standing up. “Maybe, if I had some real power, I’d be able to strangle the throats of these four Italian families all at once. But I’m just a poor street urchin you idiots have let rise far too high.”
