Bloody Union

by Brooke Summers

  I turn to Granda and he’s looking at me with a smile on his face and pride in his eyes. “I need a drink. When Denis gets here, I’ll be fine.”

  “Kenna, don’t go just yet. I want to talk to you,” Da says and I glance at him, he’s got tears in his eyes. “I’m so fucking sorry, I failed you.”

  I don’t reply, I’ve no idea what to even say. Yes, he failed me. Da loves me, that I’m sure of, but I also know that my brothers have always come first.

  “I never realized you felt that way, you should have told me.”

  I scoff, “When, Da? When did I have time? When I came out of the hospital? Oh, yeah, you had me sent off to Killian. By the time I came home I was able to stand on my own two feet and didn’t need your help.” I’m being bitchy right now and I can’t help it. Everything I’ve felt and bottled up is spilling out of me.

  I need Dante.

  If someone had told me weeks ago that I’d need someone in my life I’d have laughed in their face, but right now, I need my husband.

  “Makenna, fuck,” Finn growls. “I don’t give a shit if you’re the Boss. Hell, I’d fucking stand beside you and happily do so. I’d protect you until my dying breath. I hated that you were sent away. I fucking demanded you to be here with us where we could protect you. I held you in my arms, held your throat as you bled out.” He slams his hand down on Da’s desk. “Don’t fucking tell me that I don’t care. I fucking do and I always have.” His face is bright red and his chest is heaving. I’ve never seen him look so devastated before. “I’d do anything in my power to protect you, Kenna. Everything you’ve just spewed is bullshit.”

  “Really?” I can’t help the sneer that comes out of my mouth. “What about those two? You really believe they give a shit about me?”

  He nods and I step closer to him, he instantly pulls me into his arms. “They don’t care about me. I’m the reason ma’s dead,” I tell him quietly and his arms convulse around me, tightening as it does. “I’ve got what they’ve desperately wanted for their entire lives. They hate me.”

  I feel like that twelve-year-old girl that was lying on the floor bleeding out. Vulnerable.

  “I don’t give a shit,” he growls in my ear. “You’ve been through so much and came out fighting. You’ll always have my love and loyalty, Kenna, always,” he tells me and I sink further into his embrace. “If they don’t see that, then they’re fucking idiots.”

  I pull back and I’m instantly pulled into Da’s arms. “I’m so fucking sorry, Kenna, I should have protected you and I didn’t.”

  I take a deep breath and nod. “It’s okay, Da, you did what you thought was right. I’ve forgiven you. I did a long time ago.”

  He sucks in a deep breath and his entire body shudders. “Love you, baby girl. Always have and always will. I’m sorry that you felt that you were alone.”

  “It’s okay, Da. I’m just being bitchy. I don’t like being put into a corner. I tend to get my back up.”

  He chuckles, “Yeah, I know that feeling. Your brothers are being bastards, they’re jealous and when they fucking see that they’ll realize just how much they’ve fucked up.”

  I pull out of his arms and look up into his eyes. The pain in them is so much that it takes everything I have not to look away. “They're hurting right now, Ma’s dead, and they’re feeling it. I get that. They blame me; I’m the only one they can blame.”

  “You quite finished?” Granda asks and I nod. “Good. Finn, Patrick, and Cian leave us. We’ve business to discuss.” The boys look furious at being made to leave, but do as they’re told. Once the door closes, I take my seat again. “Makenna, have you thought about who your Underbosses are going to be? You have Connecticut, Philadelphia, DC, and New Jersey.”

  I hide my grin, those fucking bastards doubted me and they paid the price. Nobody undermines me and gets away with it.

  “I have for Connecticut, and Philly, but not the others.”

  He nods in approval, “Who have you in mind for the job?”

  “Romero for Connecticut as he’s marrying Holly, it’ll be his wedding gift and Finn for Philly.”

  Granda’s grin spreads across his lips, “I agree with both of them. What about Pat and Cian?”

  I scoff, “Why would I have anyone working below me that I don’t trust to have my back?”

  Now it’s Da who grins widely. “I wouldn’t have anyone work for me that I don’t trust.”

  Granda nods. “Okay, well maybe think about having two of your men move up the ranks.”

  “Yeah, I’ll think about it. I have a few in mind,” I tell him absently. I had wanted to ask Patrick and Cian but that shit’s not going to happen any time soon. If they want the position, they’re going to have to work for it.

  Shouting pulls us from our conversation and I’m on my feet and moving toward the door. When I open it I see Patrick and Cian standing on one side of the room and Finn, Danny, Dante, Romero, Alessio, and Killian standing on the other. It’s like they’re having a stand-off.

  “You two are a fucking joke,” Finn growls. “What you said to her in there was out of fucking line. She’s our sister.”

  “What the fuck did you say to my wife?” Dante demands moving past Finn and stalking toward Patrick and Cian. “What. Did. You. Say. To. Her?” He clips out each word.

  “Enough!” Granda yells and I walk toward Dante, needing to touch him. “This shit isn’t going to happen anymore. Your father and sister are the Bosses. You have a problem with that, come to me about it. You ever show the disrespect I saw in that room again, I’ll see to it that you’ll disappear from the face of the earth. Do I make myself clear?”

  Both of them nod, looking contrite. Stupid fuckers.

  Dante pulls me into his arms and I place my hand on his chest, feeling the beat of his heart beneath my fingers, loving the way it settles me. “You okay?” he asks quietly.

  “We’ll talk about it later,” I assure him as I tighten my arms around him. I lift my head so that I can see his face. “Thank you for not killing my brothers.”

  His lips twitch, “It’s only fair, you restrain the urge to kill mine on a daily basis.”

  I can’t help but laugh at that, “That is true.” I pull out of his arms but instead of releasing me, he leans down and captures my lips, giving me a long, hard kiss.

  “Jesus Christ,” Finn mutters. “Get a goddamn room.”

  “Everyone sit,” Granda instructs us.

  I can’t keep the smile from my face. I reach for his hand and pull him toward the sofa. He keeps his hand in mine as we sit.

  “As you all know, between Da and I we run the Irish on the east coast. What you don’t know is that I have a few vacant Underboss positions.”

  Danny chuckles, “That’s because you’ve killed them.”

  I glare at him, “I have four vacant positions and I’m filling two of them. Romero is marrying Holly and therefore he’ll be my Underboss of Connecticut. Finn, you’ll be my Underboss of Philly.”

  I watch as my brother’s eyes widen before he grins. “Fuck, Kenna, I’m honored.”

  I smile and give him a nod. I knew he’d be the one for the job.

  “Who’re the other two positions going to?” Patrick asks, a hopeful gleam in his eyes.

  “Not you two fucking pricks,” Dante snarls and I place my hand on his thigh, trying to soothe him. The last thing we need is bloodshed.

  “You and Cian will be working for me, you have six weeks to show me that you deserve to be made Underboss. You’ll do whatever the hell I tell you and you’ll do it without a fucking complaint. If you so much as disrespect me or Dante, there will be blood spilled.”

  They both nod and I see the guilt in their eyes, they went too far in Da’s office and it’s going to take a while before I’ll be able to forgive them. Today has been a hell of a fucking day and I can’t wait to get home and crawl into bed beside Dante.

  “Now that’s sorted out, your brother is outside waiting. Danny, go let him in,
” Granda instructs him and turns to Finn, Patrick, and Cian. “Denis, Danny, and Malcom are Bosses. Remember that.” Granda’s voice is hard.

  “Piss me off anymore today and I’m going to lose my temper,” I warn them, the anger of what happened in the office still on the surface. Dante’s hand goes to my nape where he begins to massage it. Instantly my anger starts to diminish.

  “I’m sorry for what I said, I was way out of line,” Cian begins and Dante’s hand tenses on the back of my neck. “It’s been a fucked up few days and I shouldn’t have taken my anger and frustration out on you.”

  I nod. “Apology accepted.” I don’t turn to Patrick, if he were to apologize now, I wouldn’t accept it, it would just be because Cian did.

  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.”

  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.”