Katya looks at me with sad, apologetic eyes.
Alessandro sits forward, resting his elbows on his legs and linking his hands. “We are on the brink of war because of this merge. I don’t regret it; the Irish are strong men to have in our corner, and it multiplies our forces. But I will regret it if men from all three families fall out and start killing each other. It won’t matter what the heads of the families order. Then what we have built will crumble to nothing, and other families will use that to their advantage to take what is ours. A lot is riding on you getting this right, Dina. Do not disappoint me.”
He stands, kisses Katya’s forehead, and walks out.
Katya reaches a hand out to me. “I’m sorry, my friend.”
“It is the nature of what we do, Kat.” I give her a reassuring smile. “Alessandro places a great deal of trust in me, making me feel more confident.”
“If you truly can’t…”
“Then no one can. I will deal with Robbie Quinn as I see fit. Thank you for letting me air my concerns. I best get this sorted out straight away.” Katya gets up, and I give her a hug before I leave. Once I’m in my car, I let out an unsteady breath. My hands tremble, and I’m shaky as I start the car, but then I settle down as I drive off, deciding where to go first.
The phone rings through the car sound system, and I press the answer button. “Dina, hello?”
“It’s Robbie. We have an issue.”
“How did you get my number?” I ask without thinking.
“That’s not important now. There’s been an attack,” he says.
“I know. Alessandro just told me. I am on my way to the office to summon the men.” I am not confident about that answer, but he needs to know I have a plan.
“I’ve already spoken to mine. They’re still here, and they want a Sorvino to tell them who it was that attacked them. Can you get Dominic to come down here?”
Anger bubbles inside me. He’s going over my head as though I’m not in charge. I need to nip this now.
“Don’t be ridiculous. Dominic is a busy man, and I’m head of security. I’m not far away. I will be there shortly to address the men. Make sure they don’t leave.” I hang up before he can argue, and I turn around.
Places I never wanted to go to again for a hundred points: Robbie Quinn’s security headquarters in the Irish territories. A faint memory of the two of us in his office surfaces, and I shiver. As Alessandro pointed out, I need to keep my head in the game and put whatever issues I had with Robbie Quinn aside. Right now, I have to protect the family from a major war.
I find parking, and as I exit the car, a few guys standing nearby whistle at me.
I give them the finger as I stride into the building and past security. I can hear the rumblings of many voices and step into the vast meeting room filled with smoke and the stench of whiskey.
Men turn to look at me, and in a wave, the room falls into silence. The men move out my way without me asking as I walk toward the front, where Robbie is with a man who looks familiar.
“Dina,” Robbie says. “This is Aidan. He’s in charge when I’m not.” “Well, you’re not in charge. I am,” I quip.
I see a crate nearby and step onto it without wavering. “Gentlemen. My name is Miss Dinara Popov, and the three dons of the families have appointed me to oversee the merging of the most important part of the operation: the men who carry out the security.”
There is some grumbling, so I raise my voice, “I stand with you in anger that someone would dare think they could lay a hand on someone who belongs to our family. We are one family, everyone who belongs under the Sorvino, the Volkov, and the Quinn banners. We will find out who planned this heinous crime, and we will make them pay the only way we know how. Killing amongst the families is not tolerated, and I can assure you that no one from the Italian family requested the Irish men to meet them at the pier where they were attacked. This is most likely interference from another family, trying to sow dissent.”
There’s more grumbling when one of the men steps forward. He’s older than Robbie, from the looks of it, a seasoned man and most likely a very respected member of the group. He looks me up and down. “I’m not going to take fucking orders or well wishes from someone who belongs in the kitchen until I summon her to suck my cock.”
Before anyone can laugh, jeer, or comment, and before I can step down and handle the situation, Robbie has the man by his shirt with a knife pressed against his throat in the fastest flash of a millisecond. The silence is thick, and everyone watches the interaction.
“I don’t like it any more than you do that they chose a lass to lead us. She clearly has the qualifications that we don’t if they choose her. We don’t know what she knows or what she’s trained in. What I do know is that the man who leads our family has told us that we are to listen to her. All three leaders of this coalition chose her to oversee everything with a fresh perspective. That includes us, the security. So now we’re going to shut the fuck up and listen to what she has to say, understand Stevie?”
The man’s eyes are wide, and he nods slightly, not too hard because of how hard the knife presses into his throat. When Robbie pulls away, a trickle of blood drips down from the small nick he made.
Aidan steps forward and holds up his hands. “Lads, Ronan and Robbie Quinn have never steered us wrong before, and they’re not going to know. They will never sell us out. Robbie told you earlier that you are his brothers, and he means that. Now, this lass has come to tell us that it wasn’t from their side, and we need to trust this. We need to trust that Ronan and Robbie, as always, are doing the best thing they can for us, the family. Can we agree there?” Aidan looks around.
Men call out their agreement, and the tension in the air dissolves, not to a friendly atmosphere but more of a calmer one. Some of the men, from where I’m standing, still don’t look happy, but you can’t please everyone.
“As soon as I have news of who’s behind this, you will all be summoned,” I say.
Robbie appears on a crate next to me and looks at me. I raise an eyebrow as he turns to the crowd. “That being said, we’re going to be operating from somewhere new in the East Side. It’s more spacious, and there will be new rosters, new amenities, everything. Groups A and B must be there at eight in the morning to receive their briefing. Everyone else can pick up their rosters anytime during the course of the day. Group C and D are to be there at two for their briefing.”
The men talk amongst themselves as Robbie calls, “That’s it. Off ya fuckers go.”
He hops off the crate and offers me a hand, but I step down on my own. I walk right up to him, giving him a broad smile so no one thinks we’re at odds.
“If you ever talk over me, interrupt me, or try to show me up again, I’ll have your head on Alessandro’s wall as a trophy. I don’t need you to protect me. It makes me look weak. I’m anything but.” I turn and walk out.