“Seems strange, since you’re the one who got married.”
“My marriage isn’t for me.” I spin the drink in a slow circle before sipping it. My eyebrows raise. “You got me the good stuff?”
“Like I said, it’s a celebration, hun.” She winks and goes off to cover another order.
The Whelan organization rarely gets together like this. I can think of a very small handful of times when the entire upper-rank of the family was in a single room all at the same time. Tonight though, they’re all here: Declan, the boss, Seamus and Finn, even the creepy murder-bot Cormac. The brothers drift around each other, amiably talking before breaking apart, running the world like they were born to it.
Guess they were. I can’t pretend like I hold it against them. I’ve been through some shit, but they’ve suffered as much if not more. I couldn’t follow them if they hadn’t. What’s the point of a man if he doesn’t know pain? Can’t be a real adult without loss and suffering, not in my mind at least.
A young man slumps down into the stool beside me. He grunts and looks over, scratching the back of his head. “Well, look at you, about as depressed as I’ve ever seen.”
“Connor. You good?”
“I’m alright.” He asks for a Guinness when Cathy pops over. “You ever take control of a crime family before?”
“Can’t say I have.”
“It’s a fucking pain in the ass.” He grunts a thanks when his beer appears and drinks down half in one chug. “Always more shit to do.”
“Must be nice. You know, you’re your own boss.”
“Yeah, brother, and I work from fucking home. Spend all day on Zoom calls.”
“I think they use Teams now.”
“I don’t even know what that shit is, and I hope to the good lord Jesus Christ I never do.”
“Here’s to that.” I tap my glass against his.
“Seriously, what’s with you?”
“Cathy was giving me shit for it too. Am I being that bad?”
“You look like you want to fucking kill someone.” He flinches and holds up a hand. “Moreso than usual, my friend.”
“Thinking about the way things are trending right now, is all.”
Connor nods grimly. He’s the head of a relatively minor but growing group within the Whelan umbrella. The young man only took control after his uncle and his cousin were both unceremoniously killed in action, and now he’s doing his best to find his footing. I like him and I don’t envy him.
“It’s all they’re talking about. The fucking Russians.”
“This is in theory meant to be a celebration of the new alliance, but we both know what it really is.”
“A god damn war meeting.” He takes another long drink. “Seamus already got me.”
“What’d he say?”
“We’re on notice. Wants me to guarantee my boys will be ready if they’re called on. You know how many times we’ve gone on hits for the family?”
“I’m guessing not many.”
“Fuck no. People like you and Cormac do that shit. No offense.”
“None taken. The family’s been spoiled.”
“Yeah, maybe.” He finishes off the beer and slides it forward. “We’ll do what’s asked of us, you can bank on that, but I’ve got a feeling there won’t be enough blood in this city to stop whatever’s coming. You take care, alright? I got a whole bunch of new shitty jobs to deal with.”
“Good luck, Connor.”
