Mafia Games by Vi Carter
EPILOGUE
RICHARD
I like to leave the house only when she’s asleep. Otherwise, I find myself making excuses of why I should stay. Nothing has been easy since everything went down. Every corner of the house is covered by cameras, and security guards have been doubled. I hate making Claire carry a panic button, but my father is still alive and kicking. The fear that knowledge caused has sparked fear in her eyes and made my stomach twist. I need to protect her.
The sad reality is that my father will always be a threat to us. I know myself or Jack won’t actually kill him, but we need to confront him. That’s where I am going today. To my parents’ home with the backing of Jack, to first call off the hit on Shay and also call a truce for now.
It may be a panel of four Kings, but we would be stupid fuckers to really believe that. The panel is one King, my father, and his three princes. That’s how I like to see the situation. It means one of us will become the King, and I personally think any of us are far more fitting than my father.
The gates to Jack’s house open, and I pull up outside his door; I don’t go in but blow the horn. Minutes pass before the door opens, and Jack steps out of the house. He’s wearing a dark suit, just like me. I’m proud of the man he has become, and I hope he’s proud of me, too. I’ve never yearned for anything so badly with how I yearn for this to work, for us to have more than a circle of men who control everything. I want us to be a legacy.
Jack gets into my car and glances back up at the window of his home.
“How is she?” I ask.
He buckles his belt. “She’s guilty over Dana. She blames herself.”
So she should feel guilty.
“It will all work out,” I say.
“Any word from Shay?” Jack asks once we hit the main road.
“No. The last time I spoke, he was pretty pissed, and I’ve heard nothing from Cillian.” That’s a serious concern. He could have contacted Shay, but Shay isn’t answering me. So our sister is missing.
“Mother has started to ask questions. I don’t think she believes Dana is off with friends,” Jack says.
I want to laugh. “That’s a first. She believed I was on holiday for three years. Dana’s only been gone a few days.” I can’t stop the bitterness that slips into my words.
“Dana and Mother talk every day, that’s why. She did question where you were, Richard. We all did.”
I didn’t want a fucking pity party. I turn to business. “So, how do we play this?”
“Like what we agreed. He has to call the hit off Shay as he’s the only one who Cillian will be in contact with.”
I nod. We had discussed this. I just hope when the hit is lifted off Shay’s head that he will return.
“If Shay doesn’t come back?” I say what I fear.
“He will. Shay wants what you want, Richard. He’s loyal almost to a fault. He’ll come back.”
I wish I had the same amount of faith in Shay as Jack does.
We are close to our parents’ estate. “Are you sure Mother is not here?” I ask.
“I told you already, she’s out. I made sure of it.” Jack sounds irritated.
I keep asking the same questions, but I don’t want to deal with my mother. I hate lying to her about Dana.
I’m about to ask Jack if he is sure that Father is here. That’s what I had him do this morning before we agreed to this meeting or ambush. It depends on how you look at it, to make sure Father was home and Mother was gone.
It’s like Jack reads my mind. “Father is there in case you were going to ask.”
“I wasn’t.”
We pull up at the house. I have to roll down my windows and show my face before the gates are opened. I know my father is alerted to our arrival. You can’t creep up on him. So fucking annoying.
I don’t pull up at the front door but park around the back. Old habits die hard. Getting out, I clock three security guards making a path towards us. I bend back down and look in at Jack, who’s checking his gun. I shake my head at him, and he stuffs the weapon in the glove compartment. I straighten as the first security guard reaches me.
“Hands in the air.” His gruff voice suits his face. He’s a face on him like a butcher’s dog.
I raise my hands and cooperate. He removes my gun and two knives. Jack is being patted down across from me. Once we are checked, they stand back.
“Go ahead, Mr. O’ Reagan is in his study waiting for you both.”
I meet Jack’s eye, asking him if he’s ready. A curt nod of his head, and he leads us into the kitchen. We walk down the hall and pass four more security men. My father has really upped the security here. I wonder fucking why.
I grin in hopes it’s because of me, that I am a threat to him.
Jack knocks, but I turn the handle and step into his office. My father isn’t alone. He rises from behind his desk, his face stoic. He’s polished like always, but I see the fucking glint in his eyes. He’s smiling at us.
“Come in.”
The second man turns and faces us from his chair.
“Meet Cillian O’Hara. Cillian, this is my oldest son, Jack.”
Cillian gets out of the chair and walks up to Jack, who looks at me like I know what the fuck is happening.
“This is Richard, my youngest son.” My father continues the introductions like we knew about this.
“What’s going on?” I ask my father as he returns to his desk. I take Cillian’s hand and size him up. He’s the same height as me, his build is not far off mine, but I’m not sure what would happen in a fight with him.
I still have no idea why Cillian is here. This is what would save Shay. The fucking person who is here. We had nothing to bargain with. I release his hand, but he doesn’t stand back. His green eyes are hard, and they dance across my face in what feels like a challenge.
“Where is Dana?” Jack asks, pulling Cillian’s gaze from me.
“Everyone sit down.” My father points to the three chairs in front of his desk. Cillian returns to his seat, and Jack sits down too.
“I think I’ll stand.”
“There is no need to be hostile.” My father says and waves me off. “Suit yourself.” He sits down like he hasn’t a care in the world.
“I was working with Cillian’s father, helping him to find his daughter who was trafficked.”
My father speaks to me, and sitting down seems like a good idea, but I remain standing. My father’s words are a case of deja vu. Everything is familiar, and the final conversation I had with Davy springs to mind. Before killing Davy, he had said my father was helping him track down his daughter. I didn’t care at that moment, but now I’m thinking I should have asked some questions.
“Eight days ago, we got word that Davy’s house was burnt to the ground, with him in it.”
“Davy’s your father?” I have to clarify what I’m hearing. Davy’s second name is Markey, so it made no sense.
Cillian turns toward me, but I catch the look of pure glee in my father’s eyes. When Cillian finds out in the next thirty seconds that I killed his father, what would stop him from killing me? All our weapons were removed. I’m starting to bet Cillian’s weapons weren’t taken from him.
“Yes, he's my father. We didn’t have a good relationship.” Cillian seems somewhat uncomfortable, but that same hardness is in his eyes. It’s a look that a lot of Mafia men carry. I think his weight is a little heavier.
“Cillian uses his mother’s maiden name, O’Hara, so I’m not surprised no one made the connection.” My father chimes in.
Jack hasn’t spoken. His shoulders are stiff. He knows I killed Davy. He knows what this means.
“The Russian’s who run the trafficking rings must have found out that Davy was looking for his daughter. He was getting too close to the truth, so they killed him. But I have promised Cillian that he will have his revenge, and I will help him find his sister, and in return, he has agreed to keep Dana safe.”
My father is a fucking snake. He’s looking at me, daring me to say anything. How easily this could all swing back to me. He was giving me an out right now, and I wasn’t stupid enough not to take it.
“Since Shay no longer wants to be a King, I have offered the position to Cillian.”
“Shay will return,” I state, getting everyone’s attention. We can’t let someone like Cillian on board with us. He is too tied up with the RA. This is getting messier by the second.
“Can I have a moment with my father?” I ask, staring at my father, who looks too fucking comfortable.
“There will be no secrets among the Kings. Say what you need, son, in front of everyone.”
I run my hand along my jaw, wanting to rip it off with the irritation that claws at me. He really screwed us all.
“No offense, Cillian,” I say first. “But isn’t he tied to the RA?” I direct the second part toward my father.
My father stands up from the desk. “I have always searched for a bridge to help bring the North and the East together. I had thought we had found that in Shay, but I was wrong. Cillian is that bridge now.”
I’m looking at Cillian. He isn’t afraid or intimated. He sits back, not with arrogance but self-worth. I don’t like it. I don’t like him.
He’s dangerous.
“I don’t take part in the RA anymore. But yes, Lucian is like a brother to me. I still work for them. I’m more of a freelancer nowadays.” His words carry more weight than he is telling.
Jack turns and meets my eye. Of course, Lucian is like a brother to Cillian, the man we had wanted to take down along with my father, and now my father had thrown everything out the window by bringing Cillian into the mix.
“I like to think of you as a lone ranger, but I hope that day has come to an end, Cillian. We can do great things,” my father says.
“So, where is Dana?” Jack asks, and right now, I don’t fucking care. All I see is a mess that I’m not sure I can clean up.
“She’s safe. Cillian is going to make sure no harm comes to her. I will speak to Dana soon when she calms down.”
“Let me talk to her.” I find myself saying. I had given the go-ahead to hand her over to Cillian. I should at least make sure she is okay.
“No. I think you and Jack have done enough damage.”
My father gets back up and takes out four glasses, along with a bottle of brandy. He pours out each glass and hands it to us. Jack and Cillian get up too and join us for a fucking toast.
“To four Kings.”
I pause, wondering if the brandy is poisoned. It looks like everyone is thinking the same thing, and my father grins before taking a drink, and we all follow suit.
“Welcome to the O’ Reagans.” I click my glass with Cillian, and I hope he reads the warning in my eyes that he better not fuck this up.
I leave the office with more anxiety than I have ever experienced. But with the Irish Mafia, there is always a mess to make and one to clean up. Only this time is different. I get to go home to a woman I love, one I will continue to fight for. For now, it looks like our father will play with his new toy. I just don’t think Cillian O’Hara will play along easily.
He might just end up being the one who takes our father down.
***
Thanks for reading. If you want to follow Cillian’s and Dana’s journey, you can pre-order Mafia Boss today.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08Y7SH2Y1/
Sign up to my newsletter if you want to be notified about new releases.
https://view.flodesk.com/pages/5f609c6c410e0d3355340e44