Honored_ An Alpha Mob Romance(9)

“Bring Joey with you.”

He looked confused. “Why do I need Joey?”

“Just do it.”

He shrugged. “Whatever you say, boss.”

Brink was our local junkie dealer, and our go-to guy for picking up the week’s cash. Joey was one of my soldiers, though I didn’t know him all that well. From what I could tell, he wasn’t interested in fame or climbing the ranks: he just wanted to be made Right, to crack skulls, and to live honorably. Also, he wanted money and pussy, but who didn’t?

“Luis,” I yelled.

The kitchen door opened. “Yeah, boss?”

“What’s for breakfast?”

“Eggs and shit,” he said.

I gave him a look. “Scrambled, ketchup, hold the shit.”

“You got it.” He disappeared into the back. Colin chuckled and I sipped my coffee again.

That was our routine. I showed up early, I got some coffee, I went over the day’s jobs with Colin, and I ate. Normal, routine, like punching a clock, except dangerous. Way more dangerous.

As Luis returned with my food, Colin’s phone rang.

“Colin,” he said, answering.

I glanced at him and then did a double take. His face was white, and he looked terrified, like he had seen a vampire or something.

“Okay, hold on,” he said.

He stood and walked over to me, holding out his phone.

“Big boss wants to talk to you,” he said.

I gave him a look. “What’s with you?”

“It’s Boss Brennan. He wants to talk to you.”

I dropped my fork and grabbed the phone. No wonder the kid looked like he was about to shit himself. Colm Brennan was the head boss of the Irish Mob, at least ever since the chaos happened. When the old boss Michael disappeared, Colm began cutting throats and knocking skulls until there was a nominal peace and he was in charge.

The reality was, there was no peace, and Colm was hardly in charge. He was constantly fighting back the other heads that all felt like they should be in charge. Still, as the days went by, Colm was consolidating more and more power. It was really just a matter of time before he was the sole head of the Mob.

“Liam here,” I said.

“Liam, how are you?” came Colm’s voice.

Colm Brennan was a snake. He was an adder in the bush, a poisonous and aggressive, scaly creature. He was a few years older than me and had a reputation for ruthlessness even back before I had entered the ranks. He was the wunderkind of his day and was a mid-level boss by the time he was twenty. Even with my father’s connections, I didn’t make it to my position until I was twenty-six. He had done it six years faster than me, and without family help.

The problem with him was, Colm believed the Irish Mob was getting stale. He believed we needed to adapt to a more modern world, and he scorned many of our traditions. The Right People may have been thieves and murderers and scoundrels, but we had a code of honor that kept us from killing everyone around us. Mainly because of that, the police turned a blind eye to some of our smaller crimes, and the peace was maintained that way. Michael had been a bit more liberal than other bosses in terms of change, but Colm was practically a radical. He wanted to be rid of the honor code completely, and he wanted to remake the Mob into his own image of what a modern gang should look like.

I hated him. But I also helped him become boss.

“How are things, Colm?”

“Oh, well as can be expected. How’s the little brother?”

“He’s pretty good, thanks.”

“And your place?”

“Still turning a profit, actually.”

“That’s always nice to hear.”

“So what can I do for you, Colm?”

“Well, let’s not get into business over the phone. I’m on my way to see you.”

I blinked. Colm hadn’t visited my territory since he had become boss. Really, he had no reason to. Everything ran smoothly, and I kept my head down. If he was coming out to my place personally, that meant something big was going down.

Times were changing. I knew it was going to be a shit day.

“Looking forward to it,” I said.

“See you in twenty.”

He hung up, and I held the phone out to Colin.

“What’s happening?” he asked me, and I heard the fear in this voice.

“Boss is coming here. Go have Luis make some food.”

He nodded and walked fast into the kitchen.

I turned back to my meal, sipping my coffee and eating my eggs. I should have expected something, and I felt like an ass for not seeing it coming. In all my time with the Mob, I had never been asked to put a hit out, and I had never been tested. But suddenly, I’m taking care of some tweaker scumbag, with zero explanation.