Page 60 of Loyalty

Mostly, John didn’t mind.

As long as they all had Lucia to worry about, they would not be getting on his ass for a while. It was a shitty thing for Lucia, sure, but silver linings were still quite silver.

“Lucian, are you staying or going for this?” Dante asked. “You’re not required to being that you’ve unofficially stepped down, and Andino is here. The option is open, though.”

Even in another man’s house, sitting at that man’s desk, the boss still owned the room. He directed the men, and where their conversation had to go.

Lucian passed John a look, and then went back to his brother. “I think I’ll step out, actually.”

Dante waved a hand as if to say, go.

John was surprised at that turn of events. Decades as a made man—and as the family’s underboss beneath his brother—and Lucian just seemed … done with it all. Ready to move on.

“Find me after you’re done here, son,” Lucian said, clapping Johnathan on the shoulder as he passed him by. “Got it?”

“Yeah, sure.”

For what, though, he didn’t know.

Once the office door was closed, John gave his attention to his two uncles, and Andino. For the most part, Giovanni sat in the corner and worked on lighting his cigar. As the consigliere to the boss, it wasn’t as though Gio really had to handle the men all that much. He was middle man for Dante in a grander sense.

John liked his uncle, though. Gio was the fun one, so to speak.

“How’s the new crew going?” Dante asked.

“It’s good,” John replied.

“Just good?”

“Andino’s crew might as well be a bunch of fucking saints, compared to some of them.”

Andino chuckled darkly. “That’s because I put the fear of God in to them.”

Gio looked over the tip of his burning red cigar. “Not his crew, anymore. It’s yours now, John.”

John passed a look between his uncle, and then to his boss. “I was told this was temporary.”

Dante smirked a little. “I wanted to make sure you could handle it again, John. It’s been months since you were released from prison—you’ve done everything I asked you to do.”

He had.

No messes.

No nonsense.

Business kept clean.

Attention low.

Dante’s demands had been clear. John had even taken extra care with his disorder, and managing it because he didn’t want to disgrace his family when they welcomed him home after everything he had done.

“It’s not my crew, though,” John said, gesturing at Andino. “It’s his.”

“The whole underboss gig keeps me busy,” Andino replied.

Yeah, he bet.

“Or spoiled,” John muttered.