She squeezes my hand letting me know that I’m free to talk. “As you’re aware, I married the badass that is your Boss.” Makenna and her brothers laugh at my words. “I’m also your Boss, and when I take over as the head of the Famiglia, she’ll be their Boss too. Times are changing, our union is only going to make our families stronger. Anyone who has a problem with who I am or what my wife and I are doing, then I encourage you to be a man and step forward.”
The murmuring begins as the men start to talk among themselves. No doubt wondering what’s going to happen if they step forward and go against us. After a couple of minutes three men step forward.
“Speak, Thomas,” Makenna demands and the man flinches at her harsh tones.
“Boss,” he starts, his voice unsure and trembling. “We don’t need an Italian fucker to lead us. We’re Irish, we have pride.” He sneers in my direction and I glare at him.
“Yes, we have pride, we also have fucking respect,” Makenna fires back. “That is my husband you are talking about, the man that is going to rule with me.”
“Eric, talk,” Makenna tells him as she leaves that other fucker standing there wondering what’s going to happen to him. I glance to the man on my right.
“Boss, I’m just not sure if joining forces with the Italians is the right way to go.” He’s softly spoken, like he’s talking to a friend, trying to get her to see reason. It’s not going to work.
Makenna turns to her father, dismissing Eric.
“Michael, speak,” Seamus says, and I turn my attention to the left where a man is standing alone.
“Boss, I have been with you from the beginning. You have had my trust and loyalty from the get-go. But this? A woman leading us.” He shakes his head in disgust and I’m itching to move forward and snap his fucking neck. No one disrespects Makenna. Ever. “A woman...” he spits out. “Has no place here.”
“Anyone else have a problem with my granddaughter being the fucking Boss?” Henry asks, his voice booming as he does. No one says a word. “Clinton, tell me, what do you think of Makenna Bianchi?”
The man in question steps forward and holds his head up high. “The Boss is someone I respect, sir. She has my loyalty and in turn, I know that she has my back if things get tough. She’s a hard but loyal Boss and I for one am happy to have her lead us.” Every man in the clearing, except for the three fucking bastards, nod in agreement.
“Makenna,” Henry says and she steps forward. “Deal with this.”
“Yes, sir.” She steps toward Michael and I watch as he swallows harshly. The men around him move away, like he has the plague. Not wanting to be associated with the traitor. Michael’s gaze is focused on her face and that’s where he makes his mistake. While he’s watching her face, she’s unsheathing the knife from her boot and within seconds she has her knife at his throat, cutting him from ear to ear. The look of shock on his face makes me smile. He should never have underestimated her. The blood pours from his throat as he slumps to the floor.
“Finn, Romero, deal with the other two idiots,” she instructs and they move in sync. Within seconds, they’ve killed the two men. “I have two Underboss positions to be filled. There will also be more as we take over the US. I’ll remind you once again, that if you are not with us, you’re against us, and that is betrayal. One that you’ll pay for with your life. If you’re loyal, you’ll be rewarded.”
She steps back beside me and I take this opportunity to speak again. “We’ll be watching you. There’s nothing that you can hide from us. If you need help, come to us. If we find out you’ve fucked up and haven’t come clean, the consequences will be harsh.”
The men stand taller and relax somewhat. They glance around at each other and the air feels lighter. Good.
“Let me introduce you to the new Underboss of Philly,” Henry says and motions for Finn to step forward. The men cheer and I see that he has a lot of respect from the men. That’s good, he’ll be a good Underboss. “In two months, my great-granddaughter Holly will be making our Italian connection stronger. She’ll be marrying Romero Bianchi and in turn Romero will be the Underboss of Connecticut.”
Cheers once again sound, not as robust as when Finn was announced but still they’re welcoming. It shows us that they’re willing to accept us. I just hope that when it’s the other way around, our men will be just as tolerant. When my father meets his demise, there could be an uprising. We’re gearing up for it in fact. If the men find out he’s been murdered they’ll want blood, they won’t stop until they find out who killed him. Just the way it should be.
“Now that you’ve met your new Underbosses, go out and do us proud,” Henry tells them. “You know what to do and remember, we’re always watching.”
With that last threat echoing, Henry motions for us to follow. However, Makenna and Seamus stay behind. These are their men. They want to talk to them.
“You need to greet them, Dante. They’re yours now too. It’s time to get to know the men that you’re leading,” she whispers as we walk toward the crowd.
“Boss,” an older gentleman says as he comes to stand in front of us, I shake his hand after Makenna does. “Thank you for meeting with me.”
Makenna nods, “Of course, Lawrence, what’s wrong?”
He sighs, “The shipment was intercepted last night.”
I feel Kenna tense beside me. “Where?”
He shakes his head, “They didn’t make it across the state. I have the men working on it. I’ll keep you apprised. I just wanted you to know what happened.”
She nods, but I know that she’s not happy. Her body is still wound tightly.
“Congratulations on your nuptials,” he murmurs shaking our hands again and shuffling away.
Before I can ask her what the hell that conversation was about an elderly gentleman approaches with a younger man at his back.
“Michael,” Kenna says with a smile. “I apologize for making you wait this long.”
The name clicks, this is the man that was at Killian’s house and she told him to come back with his son.
The old man waves her off. “Makenna, it’s fine. I know how busy you are at this time. It’s just that, I don’t have much longer.”
Makenna holds up her hand, “I know, Mike. It’s okay, Jason will take over from you.”
The relief in both the older and younger man’s eyes is clear to see. “Thank you,” they say in unison.
“You’ve been a big part of this world, Mike. You’ve shown your loyalty on more than one occasion and I know that Jason has as well, if you weren’t dying, Jason would have been up for a different Underboss position. We’ll make the transition soon, making sure that the men know that just because Jason is your son, doesn’t mean he’s not the right man for the job.”
“Thank you,” Jason replies, his hand clamped on his father’s shoulder.
“Before you go,” Makenna’s voice lowers significantly and both men lean in closer. “What have you heard about the shipment that didn’t make its arrival to Lawrence?”