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Until I took over and things went to shit.
“Seamus,” I say and everyone’s staring at me now. “Come with me.”
Cousin Jacob stands up. He’s one of Cormac’s cronies, a young kid with shaggy dark hair and a crooked nose from boxing too much. “I think he took enough punishment already, boss,” he says, and I don’t like the implication.
“We’re going to talk and put this behind us.” I nod at Seamus, who looks wary and uncertain, but pushes up to his feet. “You good?”
“I’m good.” Seamus brushes off his friends and follows me.
We walk across the room and sit together at the bar. The others give us space while Niall pours some coffees and places them down in front of us. Once we’re alone and drinking, I lean forward on my elbows and let out a sigh.
“I hate fighting you,” I say.
Seamus frowns at me. “Why’s that?”
“You fucking punch me in the face and you’re good at it.”
He snorts. “Doesn’t seem that way to me.”
“You’re hungover and not at your best. Peak condition, that fight would’ve gone differently, and you know it.”
“Maybe.” He seems wary as he sips his coffee. “We’ll have to find out.”
I smile at him and shrug. “Yeah, maybe we will.”
“That was good in there though. The second combo you threw at me? Didn’t see it coming. And the body shots were smart.”
“I appreciate you saying that.” My smile fades. “We have to talk about last night.”
Seamus glances away. Is that shame I see on his face? Or is it still anger? I can’t tell, but he just shrugs. “Yeah, I guess so.”
“Tell me why you hate Valentina so much.”
That surprises him. He looks back and seems like he’s trying to come up with an answer. He must’ve assumed I was going to chew him out, but I don’t think that’s the way to settle this problem. Instead, I’m trying a different tactic.
“She’s not one of us,” he says at last. “She’s an outsider. It feels like you’re listening to her over your own family, and that’s just wrong, you know?”
I nod my head. “I can understand that.”
“We’ve got ideas too,” he says, warming up to the topic. “Like Cormac, he’s always talking about ideas, you know? But you’re too busy with the Italian girl.”
“You do realize that Cormac has never actually come to me with any jobs or plans before, right?”
His eyebrows knit. “Really?”
“Seamus, really. Not a single time. Neither have most of the uncles. Neither have you. I’m listening to Valentina because our family is at a crossroads, and she’s the only person with actionable ideas.”
“Crossroads?” He seems confused. “I don’t get it.”
“We’re growing.” I drink my coffee and try to make myself relax. “The last few years have been good for the Hayes Group, but my father’s gone now. I’m the one in charge, and if I’m going to keep this growth up, I need some bold new plans. That’s why Valentina’s important. She’s got experience.”
“Experience with an Italian family.”
“The old divisions don’t matter as much as they used to, and you know it. The Biancos employ dozens of different people in their organization, black, Chinese, they don’t give a shit so long as they’re loyal and good workers.”
Seamus’s expression darkens. “We’re not the Biancos.”
“No, we’re not, and we never will be. I don’t want to be like them. But I do want to drag this fucking family into the future stronger than it ever was. Valentina… she’s a part of that.”
