I turn my head toward the door when I hear footsteps. I get to my feet when I see Holly step into the room, she looks nervous and I’m wondering if it’s because she’s meeting the family or meeting her future husband?
I embrace her and she pulls in a sharp breath. “You’re fine. Don’t stress,” I whisper in her ear so that only she can hear me. “Deep breath and hold your head high.”
“I’m just scared,” she confesses. “I’m moving here. Leaving everything I know behind and getting married to a man I don’t even know.”
My arms tighten around her. “You’re strong, Hol, you’ve got this. It’s not like you’re never going to see your family again. Besides, you’ll have me here.”
“That’s the only reason I agreed,” she tells me as we pull away from one another.
I’m instantly swept into a hug from Denis and I squeeze him tightly. From the age of thirteen he was the one that kept me sane. He made sure that I was safe and when things got tough he was there as a shoulder to cry on. He was the one that trained me to become Boss and he was there to celebrate with me when I finally did become one.
“Good to see you,” he sighs as he lifts me into the air. “I’m sorry I missed the wedding.”
I laugh as he puts me down on my feet and releases me. “Eh, you didn’t miss much. It was fairly uneventful.”
Dante’s chuckle sends heat throughout my body. “That it was, babe.”
Denis’ gaze finds my husband and his eyes harden. “You must be the Italian?”
I step backward and Dante’s hand clamps down on my waist. “Yeah, you’re Denis,” he grunts, no doubt pissed off at being called the Italian.
“Enough with the pissing contest,” Granda says. “We’ve things to discuss.”
Malcolm walks up to me and kisses my cheek, he’s got a big smile on his face. It’s been a while since we’ve seen each other, a year, maybe longer. He lives in Spain and spends the majority of the year there. He goes home to Ireland once a month for a weekend but the past year, whenever I was in Dublin, he was in Spain and whenever he was in Dublin, I was here in the US.
“Hey, it’s nice to meet you,” he says to Dante, not an ounce of hatred in his eyes.
I relax against my husband's hold and his hand tightens on my waist. “Same,” he replies, his voice not as tight as when he spoke to Denis.
“You must be Romero,” Denis says and I turn to look at him, he’s one pissed off man right now. His arms are crossed over his chest as he takes in my brother-in-law. If I thought he was rude to Dante, he’s downright belligerent to Romero.
“Yes,” Romero replies, meeting his gaze.
I tug Dante’s hand and return to the sofa, this is between Romero and Denis, no one else will be getting involved.
“Why don’t you three go to my office and talk?” Da suggests when neither man says anything. They’re just staring at each other. I’m impressed. Romero’s holding his own just as I knew he would.
We all watch as Holly, Romero, and Denis move to Da’s office. Once the door is closed, the chatter starts up. “So what have I missed?” Malcolm asks with a grin.
“Since Makenna’s been married she’s not killed anyone. I miss the bitch,” Danny says with a grin and I can’t hold back my laughter.
“Actually, she killed at least four men at her wedding,” Alessio informs everyone and Dante stiffens beside me. Guess he didn’t know that.
“Only four?” Malcolm quips as his lips twitch. “You’re slacking, Kenna.” He shakes his head in mock disgust, causing me to smile. God, I’ve missed these guys.
“I’ve actually been good. I’ve managed to hold off on killing my brothers along with Dante’s. For me, I’ll call that a success,” I say with a grin.
Dante throws his head back and laughs, “Yeah, she’s managed to quell her bloodlust.”
“As have you,” I respond immediately.
“Jesus Christ, you two are a couple made in hell,” Malcolm grouses.
Da chuckles, “That’s what I told him before he married her.”
The door opens and Holly walks out, her body not as tight as it was when she went in. Romero and Denis walk behind her, Romero with a stupid smirk on his face and Denis with a scowl.
“Holly, you’re excused,” Granda says and she nods before leaving the room. “Now, it’s time to get down to business. Matteo Bianchi is going to die.”
Everyone in the room grins. This is what we’ve all wanted. Every single person in this room hates that bastard. I know that Dante wants to do the honors and I’m going to ensure that he gets to do just that.
Sixteen
Dante
Entering the clearing, the cold air hits us and cuts through me. I’m surprised at just how many made men the Irish have. There has to be hundreds here. Makenna is the only woman and yet as she walks past her men, they stand taller, the respect is clear. She keeps her head held high as we walk ahead of her father and Denis. Henry walks ahead of us as Malcolm and Danny bring up the rear, Romero, Alessio, Finn, Patrick, and Cian are in the crowd. Henry wanted them dispersed so that if anyone had any problems they’d be on hand to deal with them.
When my father dies, I’ll be having a meeting very much like this one. I’ll be making sure to get rid of the naysayers and the doubters. The Famiglia have many men that would kill to take the reins. They’d betray the family if it meant they could lead. They’re the ones I need to get rid of and I will. I want to kill my father, not so that I can lead the family, but to get rid of the cancer that he is. He went too far when he ordered the hit on my wife, a hit that nearly killed me too. Makenna has managed to survive both times he’s tried to have her killed. I’m not sure she’ll survive the next. Although, there won’t be a next time. I’ll end him, before he touches a hair on her head again.
We’ve still not come to an agreement on how to kill him. Romero and Alessio want it over and done with quickly, whereas, the rest of us want him to die slowly and painfully for what he did to Makenna. I’ve seen Makenna researching drugs and shit; knowing my wife, she’s going to come up with a way to keep my ass clean.
“Gentleman, thank you for coming today,” Henry begins as he takes center stage so to speak. He’s standing in the clearing facing his men. Seamus, Denis, and Malcom on his right, Makenna, Danny, and I on his left. Henry himself told me that I was to be standing upfront with them. That I’m now part of the family and when we have meetings with the men, we’re a united front.
“You’ve heard the rumors, well I’m here to set them straight.” He continues and he’s got the audience’s full attention. “We are expanding. We’re going to move into the Midwest and once that’s done, we’re going to move to the west coast. There’ll not be a single inch of the US that we don’t fucking own.”
Makenna smirks as her Granda nods his head to her. “That means gentlemen that there’s opportunities for you to rise through the ranks. We’re going to need Underbosses for when we take over the rest of the USA. Those that stand with us will be rewarded. Those that go against us,” she smiles brightly, “well those motherfuckers will realize what it means to betray the family. Their blood will be spilled.”