The past month has been so fucking busy, I’m exhausted. Stepping off my private jet, a tired smile tugs at the corner of my mouth as I walk toward my uncle.
Cillian might be my father’s younger brother, but they’re nothing alike. There have been many times when I’ve wished Cillian was my father. My own is only interested in profits, and lately, traveling the world.
Cillian gives me a lopsided grin. “You look like shit.”
Letting out a chuckle, I give him a very quick hug. I hate being touched. There’s no reason for it. I’ve just always despised any form of physical contact.
“I feel like shit,” I admit. That’s another thing about Cillian, I can just be myself around him.
I glance around the island, which belongs to Damien and Winter Vetrov. They deal in blood diamonds, and Cillian’s been the head of their guards for as long as I can remember.
Because he doesn’t get along with my father, he chose a different path for himself instead of joining the Irish mafia.
“Are Damien and Winter still away for work?” I ask to make sure. I never visit when they’re home.
“Yeah, they’ll be back in two weeks. You can relax,” my uncle reassures me. Tipping his head toward the house, we start to walk away from the private jet. “Things busy at work?”
“You have no idea.” I sigh, rolling my shoulders to ease the tension in them. “We took care of the Sicilians.” Christ, they’ve been a pain in my ass for way too long. When I finally drove them out of Chicago, they migrated to Vancouver only to give Nikolas Stathoulis hell. He’s part of the Priesthood I belong to.
We consist of the five heads of the most prominent crime families who rule the world. There’s me, the head of the Irish mafia, and Gabriel Demir, head of the Turkish mafia. Nikolas runs the Greek organized crime syndicate, and Luca Cotroni is the Don of the Italian mafia. Luca is really close with Viktor Vetrov, who’s in charge of the bratva.
To avoid a war, the Priesthood was created, and honestly, joining them was the best thing I ever did. With the united power we hold it’s made us all unbeatable.
“It’s about time,” Cillian chuckles. “Took you long enough.”
I give my uncle a playful scowl, but it quickly falls away as I say, “Now to take care of Finn.”
Cillian’s eyebrows pop up. “Is he still giving you trouble?”
“More than ever.” When my father married Finn’s mother, the fucker somehow became my problem. It’s been fifteen years, and I still don’t understand why my father legally adopted Finn. I mean fuck, Finn was practically a grown-ass man at seventeen.
You know why.
It was to create competition between us, and it gave Finn a false sense of confidence that he could rule the Irish mafia in my stead.
Which will never happen.
I’ll kill him long before he can get his greedy fucking hands on my city and men.
“What’s the little shit up to now?”
“Insubordination.” Meeting my uncle’s eyes, I admit, “I think he’s acquired a taste for sex slavery.”
Cillian’s eyes widen, then he shakes his head. “What are you going to do?”
“Catch him in the act so when I kill the fucker my father can’t say shit.” If there’s one thing The Priesthood disapproves of, it’s peddling flesh. Everything else is fair game.
Before the conversation can continue, Dana steps out onto the porch, and I brace myself for the hug that’s bound to come my way.
“Liam, it’s been too long. How have you been?” The moment I step onto the porch, she leans in for the dreaded hug.
Dana and Cillian got married late in life, and they’re the perfect couple. Even though I’m fond of her, my body tenses when her arms wrap around me. Instantly, revulsion crawls over my skin, and I grit my teeth against the overwhelming sensation. My chest constricts, and I focus on counting to three before pulling back.
“I’ve been good. How are you?” I ask politely.
“Cillian keeps me busy,” she answers with a teasing tone to her voice while her eyes rest lovingly on her husband.
We all head inside, and before I know what’s hit me, Dana has me sitting at the kitchen table and stacking a plate with food. “You must be hungry after the long flight. After you’ve eaten, Cillian will show you to your room so you can rest.”
“Still in the habit of feeding people?” I joke with her as a plate loaded with meat and vegetables is set down in front of me.
“The stomach’s the way to the heart. That’s why everyone loves me,” she chuckles.
“Clever.”
Cillian sits down across from me, and after he’s taken a bite of his food, he locks eyes with me. “How’s Owen?”
“Father’s traveling the world with Gemma. I haven’t spoken to him in months. Honestly, I talk more with you than him.”
Not that I mind. I’ve never been close with my father.
Cillian shakes his head, clearly displeased by my answer. “It’s always been about money for him.”
“I have you, so it really doesn’t matter.” Cillian’s more than just my uncle. Besides Will, my second in charge, Cillian’s the only other friend I have.
Being at the top of the food chain would be lonely as fuck without the two men in my life.
They’re also the only people I don’t have to pretend around. Being the head of the mafia, I have to be dominant and threatening at all times, but when I’m alone with one of them, I can actually let my guard down.
It also doesn’t help that people, in general, annoy the fuck out of me. Needless to say, I’m not an extrovert by nature, and people find me grumpy and cold. Not that I care, seeing as it makes my job easier if my employees are too terrified to mess up.
My phone vibrates, and pulling it out of my pocket, it’s to see a text message from Will.
Finn’s back at the office after his so-called well-deserved month-long vacation.
I quickly type out a reply.
Keep a close eye on the fucker.
Tucking the device back into my pocket, I focus on eating some of the food Dana made, even though I hate consuming anything I haven’t prepared myself.
After the meal, I follow Cillian to the room I usually stay in whenever I visit. With the island heavily guarded, it’s the only place besides St. Monarch’s where I can sleep with both eyes shut.
“Try to get more than four hours’ sleep,” Cillian mutters jokingly.
“I plan to do just that.” Feeling a rare affectionate moment, I place my hand on my uncle’s shoulder only to pull it back. My eyes drift over his graying hair before locking on the blue eyes I inherited from him. “You’re getting old.”
“Yeah, every one of these gray hairs is thanks to you and Winter,” he chuckles.
Winter might be like a daughter to Cillian, but we’ve never been close. She’s good to Cillian, though, and it’s all that matters at the end of the day.
When I shut the door behind me, I walk to the luggage one of the guards brought in. I take a couple of minutes to shower before changing into a pair of gray sweatpants. Slumping down on the king-size bed, I stare up at the ceiling.
My thoughts instantly turn to the only real problem I have right now. Finn.
To keep him away from interfering with the mafia, I’ve placed him at Byrne Enterprises. He should be working in the mailroom instead of occupying the director’s seat.
He doesn’t even do half a day’s work for the exorbitant amount he gets paid, and he’s damn good at delegating his workload to the other staff.
Also, I might be a fucking bastard to work for, but I let my employees work in peace where Finn likes to interfere with them to the point where I’ve had to pay off sexual harassment claims.
That’s why I have Devon working reception for the executive floor.
Honestly, Finn’s just a fucking annoying thorn in my side, and I’m quickly running out of patience with him.
One of these days, I’m going to lose my shit with the fucker, and whether it starts a family war or not, I’m going to put a bullet right between his eyes.
