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I took them from her with a small smile. “It means if I’m stressed.” It was good to have a best friend, even if he was an asshole. I put the lighter and joint in my pocket. “Are we ready?”
Brenna nodded and we headed to the main house.
Goons were already lined up along the hall walls outside the chamber when Brenna and I approached. Brenna walked ahead of me to get the door. It felt like it had been forever since I’d last attended a family meeting, but nothing had changed. As soon as I stepped into the room, voices stopped and heads turned my way.
My spiked burgundy pumps clacked on the floor as I made my way toward my seat. “Gentlemen.”
Everyone appeared surprised to see me. Stefan and Jamie were the only ones to quickly mask theirs. Louie’s seat was empty.
Rourke smiled at me and leaned back in his chair. “Done slaughtering Aryans, I see.”
I took a seat in my chair as Brenna went to stand behind me. I met Stefan’s eyes. “Sorry I’m late.”
He studied me with a blank face for one heartbeat, then another, until he eventually said, “We were just about to start.”
“We were going to discuss all the havoc you’ve caused in the past month,” said a voice to my left.
My attention flicked in that direction. Sean Kelly, who’d used to oversee the Boston area for the family, was the biggest weed supplier on the East Coast, and had taken Dylan’s spot at the table, was looking down his nose at me.
“Me?” I said innocently. “What havoc do you mean?”
Rourke snorted. He knew the truth, as I was sure Conor did. They had yet to accuse me of something, though. So I’d be damned before I admitted to being guilty of anything to Sean.
Sean held his hand out to his enforcer behind him. The enforcer handed him a newspaper. Sean took it and slammed it down on the table in front of me. It was dated back to the day we had hung the Aryans and blown up their properties. “You hung four Aryans with giant shamrocks on their chests from a bridge and blew up four properties that belonged to the Aryans. You’ve brought a lot of attention on the family with this shit.”
The news about the hangings took up the front page. I scooped up the paper and looked it over with a blank face. “Who still reads the paper?” I flipped to the next page to read about the explosions. “I have to say that I’m quite touched, Sean.” I folded up the newspaper and laid it in my lap. I wanted to keep it.
He gave me a confused frown. “What?”
“That you think I could do all of that,” I said. “But whoever did this…I like their style.” I held Sean’s yellow-flecked green eyes. “It screams, ‘If you fuck with me, I will destroy everything you care about, and when I’m done killing you, I will desecrate your carcass so that everyone else will know who you fucking crossed.’”
The room fell silent.
Sean looked positively enraged. “Did you just threaten me?”
I sat back in my chair with a smirk and dismissed his question by glancing around the room. “Does anyone else at this table have any issues with me or the vacation I took?” I looked from Rourke to Conor. I noticed that Conor was eyeing Brenna.
Conor’s attention flicked to me when he felt my stare. “Why is my baby niece standing behind you?”
“Because she isn’t a baby anymore, Uncle,” I said, holding Conor’s eyes.
It took a moment for him to understand what I was saying, but his brows rose slightly, and he glanced back at Brenna.
“A child shouldn’t be present for these meetings. It puts us at risk,” Sean protested.
He’d had no problem accusing me of murder and arson in front of her one minute ago.Jackass.
“If you have an issue with her being here, remove her from the room yourself,” Jamie said. The irritation in his tone was blatant and amped up the tension in the room.
Rourke looked from Jamie to Sean with a mischievous grin. “I’ve heard some interesting rumors about my littlest cousin. I’m kinda hoping you try to remove her.”
Sean had lifted his arm to gesture for his enforcer to do it, but paused after hearing what Rourke had said.
I locked eyes with Stefan. “Neither I nor Brenna will be held responsible if she kills him.”
Stefan looked around the table, reading those sitting at it. “She stays.” TheRi’sdecision was final and not even Sean went against it. “Now let’s get on with this meeting.”
CHAPTERTHIRTEEN
