Robbie
I need to play this carefully. Ronan cannot know about mine and Dina’s previous relationship-no one can. It’s a weakness I don’t want to flaunt. She was the one who got away.
I won’t lie; when I had her that close, and she produced a gun to my cock and threatened me, the way she took charge, my cock was rock hard just from that. Luckily, I hid it well. There’s something new about her, an air of confidence that hadn’t been there when she was twenty-five, and a part of me wonders if it’s real or an act.
I have to seem outraged by this situation, even though it places me to be near her. Right where I have always wanted to be. I would have continued to stalk her and forced her to be mine years ago if Katya hadn’t married Alessandro and created a more threatening enemy to our family.
I had to back off, not because anyone told me to but because my loyalty, first and foremost, is to the Quinns.
And as exciting as it was to be close enough to feel her warm breath on my lips, my new office is not.
I at least wormed my way back to the same floor as her so I could keep an eye on her, but this tiny little shithole office that will barely fit a desk will not cut it. I think I’ll take a leaf out of her book and break the wall between the two offices so I can incorporate one of the boardrooms into my office.
I don’t need her approval for that kind of shit, it’s not security related.
I hear the elevator doors close and realize she’s left without a word.
I need to go and sort the men out, but when I get to the first floor, no one is there. I don’t have Dina’s number to check with her if she sent them away, but I text Aidan, who says the men were told to go to the pier for a job with the Italians.
I sigh. This disrespect has to come to an end. If I just shoot one of the guys, regardless of the family they’re from, I’ll command a healthy level of respect that will ensure the others listen.
I lock up my office, take the elevator to the ground floor, and go to Rudy. “Where did she go?”
“Miss Dina said she would be back as soon as she can, that’s all.” They both stood when I walked in, showing me the respect I deserved. I wondered if they stood for her.
“I’m leaving. Call me on my cell when she’s back to let me know.”
It is an instruction, not a request, and the two men nod their understanding.
I leave, walking swiftly to my car and getting in.
It’s not far to drive to my family’s pub, and once I’m parked, I go inside. I need to play this carefully: if I show I’m excited to work with Dina or if I show I know her, Ronan will have questions I don’t want to answer.
So when I step in, I compose my face into one of irritation. My oldest brother is seated at the bar this time, eating his lunch of fish and chips while Molly packs away glasses.
I stomp over to him and growl, “I didn’t know you meant that
Dinara. I’ve heard about her. She’s weak. I won’t be taking orders from her,
Ronan. I won’t work for a weak fucking woman.”
Ronan is not surprised at my outburst, but Molly leans over and whacks me against the ear, causing my ear to ring slightly.
“Don’t you say women are weak or can’t lead, you little rat. There is nothing wrong with working for a woman. They are good at organizing things and discipline. I mean, for fucks sake, Robbie, it’s in our DNA to police little children all the time, grown men included.” She looks at Ronan, motioning in my direction with her head. “He’s lucky he doesn’t work for me. I’d tan his little hide for being so insubordinate.”
“Maybe I should put him in your kitchens,” Ronan jokes. Molly scoffs and walks off, unfazed by this.
Ronan turns to me, chewing softly and swallowing. “While I am mildly annoyed that you interrupted my lunch, that was rather amusing. I should put you in Molly’s kitchen for a year or two. You’d learn a healthy respect for women.”
“I respect Molly plenty. It’s the Russian princess I don’t respect.” I sit on the barstool next to him.
“She’s not a princess. She isn’t related to Katya. She’s simply someone who works for them, so you’ll probably find she’s more agreeable than the heads of the family are.” Ronan stabs a piece of fish with his fork and eats it.
“I…” my phone buzzes, and I take it out. It’s Aidan.
“Hello?”
Aiden’s rushed voice comes over the phone loud enough for Ronan to hear. “Our boys got jumped at the pier boss. Before they were attacked, they called, saying something fishy was happening with the Italians there. It was a huge fight, apparently. I’m going to the pier now.”
I stand up. “I’ll deal with the pier. You go to the office and summon the boys.”
I hang up and look at my brother. “Still think we can work with them?”
“You know how many Italian crime families there are in New York? Check what’s happening and maintain the peace as best you can. I don’t want a war, Robbie. I mean it.” He goes back to his food, and I leave. I gun it to the pier, and when I arrive, I see a few of our paid cops standing there.
“Mr. Quinn, it’s quite bad. We haven’t called it in yet, but there’s no saying if anyone else has.” The one-beat cop says as he walks up to me.
“How many dead?”
“Six, all your men. No injuries or deaths for anyone who did this,” he looks around. He is an Irish lad himself, someone the Quinn family took care of when he was young.
“Call it in, but make it a fight among each other. Use Detective Brooks. He’ll smooth this over. Don’t let the media get wind of this at all.” I straighten my suit. The men are going to be fucking pissed about this. How the hell am I supposed to keep the peace?
I take out my phone as I walk back toward my car and dial Dominic.
The rage filling up in me slowly is palatable.
“What is it, Quinn?” His tone is harsh, and I know he’s a busy man.
“The boss the Sorvino family appointed over me, Dinara. I need her number. There’s been a hit on my men, and it will cause a lot of infighting if we don’t sort it out immediately.” I stop at my car. “The men called and said it was Italians before they were all gunned down. There’s not one dead
Italian to show for it. My men are going to assume it’s your men.” Dominic sighs. “You know it wasn’t my men.”
“Do I?” I ask. “How do I know you have control over all your men?”
“Do you have control over yours?” I keep quiet, and he continues, “My men respect me. They wouldn’t do this, but I’ll ask them anyway. I’ll send you Dinara’s number now. And don’t take a snotty tone with me again, Robbie Quinn. I will put you down.”
He hangs up, and I climb into my car, waiting patiently. The notification goes off, and I check Dinara’s number. I save it after memorizing it, and then I dial her.
It goes straight to voicemail. I know she doesn’t have this number, so it isn’t actively blocked. She must be in a meeting, probably with the family. I drive back to the Irish territories quickly and head to my headquarters. It’s only my men in there, as many of them as I can count. Some are still out working, but word will get to them, and I need it to be my word and no one else.
Aidan is trying to talk over the men, but they’re not listening. I put my fingers in my mouth and whistle loudly.
“Shut the fuck up!” I on a crate in the front of the room so everyone can see me.
“I know you’re all angry as shit because we were attacked, but, at this point, we don’t know who it was…”
“It was the fucking Italians, Robbie,” someone calls out from the back. I’m sure it’s Mac.
“Listen, there are loads of families that are Italian. Just because the one we’re working with are assholes doesn’t mean they carried out a hit on our men.” I look around. “So no fucking fighting back.”
There is a complete uproar, and I take my gun out, firing three shots into the ceiling. As ceiling dust rains down and the men fall silent, I roar,
“No! Fucking! Revenge! Kills.”
The men shuffle their feet, and I sigh. “Anyone who retaliates before we get the facts is as good as dead to the Quinn family. Now, I will find out who did this, and if it is the Italians we are aligned with, I promise you, I’ll give you as many guns as you can carry right to the Sorvino front door. But until we confirm it’s them, I don’t want anyone starting up shit.”
The men mumble their agreement. They know I’ll shoot them in the fucking head if they carry on the way they did. There is only room for one chief, and sorry, Dina, that’s me.
I can see my men are unhappy about the situation, and I look around. “I would just like to remind you, from the older fellas who came in with my Granda and my da to the younger guys who came through with Ronan, that the Quinn family has always protected its own-first and foremost. We’re hard-working Irish folk on whose backs many nations were built to greatness. We will let you have your revenge on the people who killed those men today. Those men were my brothers, as sure as Ronan,
Daniel, and Jarryd are. As sure as you are.”
The men nod at this point, and I know I’ve struck a chord. I allow myself a slight grin. “Please, men, I’m asking you for a wee bit of time to get to the bottom of this. Then we will take our pound of flesh.”
As I’m about to hop off the box in front, I see Ronan at the door, nodding. He turns to leave as I jump down.
Dinara
Katya listens to me calmly as I speak.
“I just don’t think I’m the right person for the job, Kat. I cannot work with Robbie Quinn. He’s a narcissist, an asshole, and he will probably get me killed.” I don’t take my eyes away from hers. “Please, I know it’s an honor, and I can return everything. I just don’t think I’m the one to sort out a mess Robbie Quinn has made. The man is fucking psychotic.”
Katya sips her wine and purses her lips. “That’s why I chose you, Dina-the calm to the chaos that is Robbie Quinn. The man needs a gentle hand to merge the families’ lower ranks without problem. You can do that. It cannot come from someone higher up in the family by relation.”
I sigh. I haven’t touched my red wine, and I don’t want to. I want to be fully here as I speak to Katya. Wine makes me easier to convince.
The door to her sunroom opens, and her greying, handsome husband walks in. He’s still tall and fit, but the greys in his hair and the beard he is now growing are clear as day.
“Katya. Dinara. We have a problem.” His tone is serious, but instead of addressing Katya, he turns to me. “Ronan Quinn just called me.” “What did Robbie do now?” I scoff. “Kill the mayor.” He doesn’t react but sits in the available armchair facing us.
“Six of his men were just gunned down at the pier. Before they were gunned down, they called to say the Italians summoned them, and that is presumably who attacked them. Now, Dominic checked, and no one called the Irish down to the pier. No one from our families, but of course, the men aren’t going to believe that. You’re going to have to handle this delicately,
Dina.”
I listen, horrified, knowing I can’t step out of the role now. Not at the first sign of trouble. Katya is watching me closely, and I look back at
Alessandro as I nod. “I’ll get on it straight away, Mr. Sorvino.”
Alessandro clicks his tongue. “The fact that I had to come find you to get on it at all concerns me. You need to be on top of these situations at all times.”
“My love…” Katya starts to say, but Alessandro holds his hand up.
” I agreed with Katya when she said you would be the best person to do this, but if you’re going to do this, you need to get your head in the game. You were doubting whether you could control Robbie Quinn. You’re not here to parent him. You’re here to get the men in order, merged, and working together without issue. If you have a personal problem with Robbie Quinn, best you sort it out because I can promise you now, either you’re in it for the long haul, or you can leave.”
I realized he’d been listening to our conversation for some time.