Black Wedding by Emma Luna

Idon’t even bother trying to tell Liam that he can’t come along. I want him to see the other side of me, the one I don’t let anyone see. The side that people don’t think I am capable of having. But that’s okay, I love being underestimated because the underdog always wins.

The threat really caught me off guard because it was so personal. Whoever sent it knows a lot about me, or there’s a snitch in my father’s company. That’s who we are going to have a little chat with today. Jimmy has suspected for a while that Art is a turncoat, that he swapped to work for a rival firm, but nobody has any proof. We are working on rumours and accusations, but you can’t be too sure in our line of work. So I plan on finding out.

Obviously, my life has been threatened numerous times before. I mean fuck, I was kidnapped just a couple of weeks ago. It feels like Liam has been in my life for so much longer, and he was never a real threat. I mean, he could have been if he wanted to be. I’ve never seen Liam in action, but I have seen him focused, and the rage on his face when he saw the threat let me know exactly what he is capable of. I know that together we will put this threat to bed, and then we will exemplify whoever is responsible. We have to make a point, so nobody else thinks about trying this and to make sure that they take our reign seriously.

Pulling up at the warehouse, I climb out of Liam’s BMW. It’s sleek, black, and rumbles when the engine starts. This car is perfect for him; it’s like him but in vehicle form. It looks perfectly normal, but when you turn on the engine, it roars to life, rumbling through your body before soaring along the open roads. It doesn’t look like it’s powerful, but as we know, looks can be deceiving. He walks towards me with that sexy, cocky grin that quite literally melts my panties. I try desperately not to think about how it felt with his tongue on me earlier. Fuck, he has a talent, but when he said he didn’t want or expect anything in return, he had me. I already knew the guys I had been with before were fucktards, but Liam just confirmed it. I have never had a guy make it all about me and my pleasure, and fuck did he make sure I was screaming and moaning with pleasure. I have never been given an orgasm by someone else, and he managed it on the first attempt. I was literally knocked off my feet.

It was supposed to be a one-time thing, a way to get him out of my system, but all it has done is leave me desperate for his cock. But since we didn’t go all the way, I was not classing earlier, no matter how fucking epic it was. Yeah, that makes perfect sense. It only counts if he sticks his cock in, which means we still haven’t got it out of our system. Perfectly logical! I’m still in shock he managed to give me a fucking earth-shattering orgasm on the first attempt. He puts the other pussies I dated to shame.

Liam reaches over and grabs my hand, lacing our fingers together. We look like a real couple, which is precisely the look we are going for. I don’t miss the way his gaze slips over my body, taking in my appearance. Given how his eyes become hooded with lust, he is obviously a fan of my work ensemble. I am wearing some old ripped jeans, a dark vest top and my favourite leather jacket, paired with my favourite black motorcycle boots. I look like your classic rocker girl, but there isn’t exactly a dress code for running a crime Family. My father and grandfather are always in their suits, dark and foreboding. I am not a suit kind of girl, and neither is Liam. He is wearing a similar look to mine, and fuck, does he make distressed jeans and a tight t-shirt look so fucking hot. I’m not even trying to hide my staring. His cocky smirk becomes even more prominent, and I just roll my eyes at him. He knows he is fucking gorgeous, but I don’t mind letting him know a bit more.

I guide Liam towards the door. The signs surrounding us are for a toy company that is owned by my father. It’s a front for imports, but you have to have somewhere to conduct business. The large metal building is on the edge of an industrial estate. The nearest factories are far enough away that they never cause us any issues. We don’t want any too close or they may become suspicious. Not that it matters, my father and Gramps have greased enough palms to ensure that nobody looks too closely at our business.

Jimmy, obviously having seen us on the CCTV, comes out to meet us. Jimmy is tall, burly, and stern-looking, but that’s just the face he keeps for other people. I get to see the relaxed smile that is rarely seen. His greying hair is short, and a matching lightly cropped beard spreads across his chin. The crow’s feet and bags around his eyes are a reflection of his age, but made worse by the stress of the job. He is only fifty-eight, but he looks a lot older. I smile when I see him, dropping Liam’s hand so I can greet Jimmy with our usual hug.

Pulling me close, he whispers in my ear while making sure to keep me wrapped up in his arms, “Missed you, Bee. How are you doing?”

He lets me go, and straight away, I reach back to take Liam’s hand in mine. It’s like I am drawn to him, desperate to maintain some form of contact with him. But, now that shit is getting real, I realized on the drive over here that even though I know I can do this alone, I don’t want to. I want to know that no matter how bad shit gets, when I get home with Liam I can take off the mask. I don’t have to be Brianna, leader of a crime Family in front of him, I can just be Bree. The girl who plays twenty questions while getting drunk and eating her body weight in pizza. Liam is about to see the brutal side of me in action for the first time. What if I scare him off?

“I’m doing good, thanks. I need to find out who is threatening our reign before we have even gotten married, though…Which reminds me…Jimmy, meet Liam Doughty. Liam, this is the guy who raised me. He’s like a father to me, Jimmy Neil.” I stand between two men who shouldn’t mean so much to me, but they do. Jimmy stepped up to be my dad when I needed him the most, when my own father didn’t give a shit. Liam is the one who stepped up to stand beside me. He believed in me before he even got to know me. These men get me, but will they be able to get along?

“We have met before,” spits Jimmy.

Liam starts to speak but is quickly interrupted. The loud thump of skin on skin startles me, and it takes me a few seconds to realise that Jimmy punched Liam in the face. I take a step so I’m firmly in the middle, preparing to break up a fight but knowing, in reality, I stand no chance. These are two big guys, and if they throw down while I’m standing here, there’s a good chance I will get hurt, even if it is by accident.

I’m startled when I hear Liam laugh, his hand cupping his bleeding nose. I listen to it more clearly as he pulls his hand away, revealing some blood, but luckily his nose doesn’t look broken. “I guess I deserved that,” he chuckles.

What the hell? If I wasn’t confused enough with Liam’s reaction to being punched, I am even more baffled when Jimmy stretches out his hand to shake Liams. I am looking between them like the world’s most bizarre tennis match, my eyes flicking from one to the other. I am waiting for the fight that never comes.

“I appreciate a man who can admit his mistakes and take a punch.” Jimmy is still holding out his hand, and I know it is the utmost disrespect to refuse the handshake. But I also know Liam’s hand is covered in blood.

Wiping one of his hands down his jeans, he reaches out and shakes Jimmy’s hand. “I don’t regret kidnapping Bree, but I am sorry because I can see how much she means to you. I never expected things to go this far, but now that this is happening, you need to know I am all in. I will stand by Bree’s side, no matter what.”

Jimmy nodded, but his face still held that look of suspicion. He struggled to trust people in everyday situations, so this was even worse. But I know Liam would win him over, he’s just that type of guy. He won me over while I was still tied to his bed. Fuck, maybe we need to get those ropes out again. No, focus, Brianna!

“You talk a good talk, but time will tell. Don’t forget, boy, that I know all about you and your family. You abandoned your blood and said you didn’t want to live this life, but now you do. Why?” Jimmy asks sceptically.

Liam chuckles, pulling his hand away to find his nose has now stopped bleeding. He uses the hem of his t-shirt to clean himself up, and I try to ignore the flash of abs I get when he lifts his top. “My father’s a psychopath. I am in this life; I never left. I just follow my own standards. Blood is important to me, my family is still my family, but that doesn’t mean I have to follow his words as gospel. I genuinely believe Bree has what it takes to make the right kind of changes. I follow her because I choose to. Even if we weren’t getting married and sharing the role, I would still follow her,” Liam says, taking my hand in his.

His cocky smile is back, and I can’t help matching it. “So, now that you have interrogated Liam, can we get to the real reason we are here?” I say, practically bouncing on my heels, desperate to get started.

I can feel that telltale feeling of blood lust invading my senses, my heart racing as adrenaline floods my system. Jimmy nods and leads us into my father’s warehouse. We walk through the fake setup, the rooms that look like they really could belong to a toy factory, before getting to the backroom. My room.

It’s a large room covered in what I’m sure used to be white tiles. Now they are stained in various bodily fluids and grime. The floor even has a handy drain to allow for it to be easily cleaned after usage. Along one wall is a table made for DIY tools but littered with all manner of instruments that can inflict pain. Not that I bother much with those. There’s also a tatty, orange sofa that looks like it has seen better days, but it serves its purpose as somewhere for people to sit while they watch the show. There’s even a small fridge next to it that I know the guys always keep stocked with beer. Of course, sometimes there can be hours between the person being captured and the interrogation beginning, so I don’t blame them for wanting somewhere kitted out.

My attention is drawn to, as always, the chair that is padlocked to the centre of the room. Tied to the chair is a young guy, probably only a couple of years older than me. I have seen him around my father’s office before. I know he is one of his dealers. His name is Art.

His jeans are tattered with graffiti paint, and his t-shirt is ripped, revealing his severely malnourished body. His face is sullen and almost grey. His eyes look sunken and lifelike, his cheekbones prominent. Seeing me staring at him, he attempts what looks to be a smile, but all it does is expose his blackened, chipped teeth, which are few and far between. Clearly, Art doesn’t just deal drugs. He looks like he uses more than he sells.

“Well, well, if it isn’t Princess Brianna. To what do I owe the pleasure?” Art slurs his words, clearly not yet down from his latest hit.

“It’s Art, isn’t it?” I ask, and he nods enthusiastically. “I am here to ask you some questions. If you answer correctly and honestly, you can leave here with a free hit on me. On the other hand, if you lie or don’t tell me what I need to know, I will make this difficult for you.”

His high-pitched laughter ripples through the air. “What the fuck you gonna do, Princess, or should I say whore. I have heard the rumours.”

As he says the word whore, I hear Jimmy growl from my left, and see Liam step forward to make sure he is right beside me on my right. Yet neither of them interfere.

Pulling my knife out of the holder in my back pocket, I grip it in one hand, and with the tip placed against the finger on my other hand, I twirl it around. Making sure Art can see the blade and how sharp it is. “Tell me, what have you heard?”

“That pretty boy over there kidnapped you, and you were so wet for it that you not only opened your legs, you said you would marry him. So now, he and his fucked up Family will be running the London firm. Your daddy is not happy with you at all,” he practically sings, not realising he is giving me what I need every time he opens his mouth.

“Who said the Doughty’s will be running London? Everyone knows that Liam left his family years ago,” I ask, taking a step closer to Art. He just laughs at my question, exactly what I expected him to do.

“Come on, Princess. I didn’t have you down as a stupid cunt. Of course, he is working for his family. Everyone knows Desmond is after the London firm. He will never take the Irish side from Mr. O’Keenan, but this firm is weak and only getting weaker.” As he finishes, I step forward until I stand right in front of him and kneel down, one knee hitting the floor. Now I am looking straight at Art. I slowly lift my knife and drag the blade down the back of his left forearm, right from the elbow to the wrist. I make sure to do it on the back of the arm to ensure I don’t hit any significant vessels, but it causes enough damage.

Art’s high-pitch screams fill the air as he shouts profanities and begs me to stop, his body is physically shaking. My body reacts to his screams and blood loss with an intensity that makes my heart race. Adrenaline is flooding my veins, and my pulse is beating in my ear. The sensations bring my body to life, and I love the power it brings me. It makes me feel seven feet tall, and fuck, do I want to hold onto it.

“Call me that again, and I will create a matching line on the opposite arm. Understood?” I ask, not really looking for a reply, but of course, Art answers. He begs me not to hurt him anymore. I want to laugh at how quickly he changes his tune. But then again, we already knew he was a rat. We just need to know who for.

“What I want to know from you, Art, is who you work for? I know you are no longer loyal to my father, which means you are no longer loyal to me. So I want to know who you are working for? Who is making moves against us?” I ask.

“Whoa…I-I don’t know where you heard that, but I am not a rat. I am loyal to you and your dad. You have to believe me,” splutters Art, while rocking back and forth, trying to get free of the ropes that bind him securely to the chair. He stands no chance of getting free until we decide to release him.

“Oh, Art. I thought I said you would be honest with me,” I say as I take my knife and draw a small but deep line across his right upper chest. It bleeds but not too heavily. It’s more to cause intense pain than anything, and it does its job.

Art, crying and sniffling, now looks like even more of a mess than he did before. “Nobody wants you to rule, Brianna. I’m sorry, but that’s true. Even your father is determined to put a stop to it. You have more enemies than you even know about!” he screeches, spit and snot flying everywhere.

CRACK.

The sound of flesh hitting flesh causes me to stumble backwards, and I feel Liam take hold of my shoulders to help me back up into a standing position. Apparently, Jimmy hit Art across the face, which now has blood pouring everywhere. Jimmy tells Art to pull it together and to answer my questions, but it has the opposite effect. Instead of calming him down, all it does is make him more hysterical as he tries to spit the blood out of his mouth. Fuck, I think he may have just spat out one of the very few remaining teeth he has left.

Looking across at Jimmy, I tighten my gaze, making it very fucking clear I am not happy with the intrusion. I did not ask for his help or his interference, nor was it needed at this stage. Guys like Art don’t respond to violence, if anything, that pisses them off, but they do respond to fear. It’s the fear of what I could do to them that makes them sing like a canary.

Sensing my displeasure, Jimmy holds up his hands in an apology and steps back. I continue with my questions, kneeling back down to make sure I can maintain eye contact with Art. It’s easier to tell if he’s lying this way.

“So my father doesn’t want me to rule. What has he got planned to stop me?” I ask, and before Art gets a chance to answer, Jimmy cuts in.

“Bree, your father, isn’t planning anything, He may not believe you can rule, but he listens to the old man. If your grandfather declares that you and Liam can rule after you are married, then that is what will happen. He follows the rules.” Jimmy steps towards me as he speaks, and whilst I don’t see this as a wrong move, Liam obviously does as he angles his body so that he can put himself in front of me if needed.

Both Jimmy and Art are watching the showdown with interest, wondering if Liam is really willing to put himself in danger for me. Of course, I already know he would; it’s just the type of guy he is. What bothers me is that the man I have viewed as a father figure for all these years is suddenly looking very shifty. He is acting defensive and abrasive, which he never usually does with me. He’s lying about something, and I want to know what.

Gently touching Liam’s arm, I indicate that it’s safe for him to step back, that I have got this. “If my father isn’t planning anything, then why are you getting so defensive?”

“Because, Brianna, I brought you here to interrogate a rat. Yet all you seem to be doing is looking for more reasons to get angry at your father. So, of course, this asshole is going to say your dad is involved. That way, he doesn’t have to name who he really works for. Fuck, Bee, didn’t I teach you better than this?”

Wow, that cuts harder than a knife. His words make complete sense, yet my body is telling a different story. Jimmy has always told me to follow my gut, and right now, my gut is screaming at me not to trust Jimmy. I feel like my world is caving in around me as the one man I have trusted my whole life stands in front of me, chastising me. I avert my eyes quickly so nobody can see the tears that are starting to well up there. I need to push aside all emotions.

Feeling Liam place his hand on my shoulder, it’s like he is passing his energy over to me, telling me he believes in me. The fact he hasn’t stepped in or said anything speaks volumes. He knows I can handle this.

“You did, I’m sorry,” I say to Jimmy, avoiding eye contact so he can’t tell how insincere my apology is. I then turn my full attention back to Art. “So, who are all these enemies you were talking about earlier? And if you mention my father, I will slice your throat slowly” I sneer, making sure the threat is clear.

“I-I don’t…I don’t know the details,” Art stutters, and I smile.

Taking my knife, I slice identical lines across each thigh. The blade is so sharp it goes straight through his jeans and into his skin, drawing a nice trickle of blood. The screams and pleas for me to stop echo around the small room. But Art doesn’t know it’s completely soundproof. We could have a room full of police next door, and they wouldn’t know he was in here.

As I start to slice the second leg, Art tries to talk, but I have already begun, and I am not stopping until they are symmetrical. But I listen to his cries, hoping to pick up something useful.

“Please…please stop. I will tell you everything. There’s a new gang on the streets. They are recruiting people from different families, trying to get as many rats as possible. Everyone knows that if the O’Keenan Family weakens, even the slightest, the Doughty’s will exploit it. But the fact you two are uniting has everyone shit scared. They hate how powerful your families already are separately, let alone what it would be like with the O’Keenan’s money and Doughty’s ruthless behaviour. When people are scared, they try to capitalise,” he whimpers. I watch as the blood drips down his body and feel that tingle of power rushing through my body, it’s a heady, intoxicating sensation that I crave. I start to answer him, but Liam speaks for the first time.

“That’s bullshit. Everyone knows I’m not with my father, that I don’t work for the Family and haven’t for a long time.” Art has the nerve to chuckle.

I slice quickly across his lower abdomen, probably a little too close to his dick, given the way he yells and attempts to jump back while being tied down. Now it was my turn to chuckle. The stupid fucker made the cut worse. Who tries to jump while there’s a knife piercing his skin. He’s lucky little Art didn’t suffer, instead, his happy trail is a bit less happy though. I, on the other hand, am a lot happier and feel a lot lighter. I don’t know what it says about my personality that I love to cut people up and watch them bleed, of course, only if they deserve it. And right now, Art deserves it as I hate the way he was laughing at my Liam.

Whoa, did I just say my Liam? Fuck. I need to get my head screwed back on and worry about the feelings I’m developing for him some other time.

Art’s whimpering stops when I pull the knife away, and he addresses Liam again, clearly understanding my warning. “Sorry, Sir.” He bends forward like he is really trying to bow, having realised Liam’s fundamental importance and how fucked he is. “People are idiots. They think you leaving your family was all a ploy. They are laughing at the idea of a female boss. No offence, Brianna, Miss. I think you will be a great boss, but others do not feel the same way. They think it’s all a ploy to make it look like you’re the leader, but really, the Doughty’s are pulling strings behind the scenes.”

I look over at Liam, his face is a mask of indifference. Knowing not to show emotions in these scenarios is one of the first things Jimmy taught me, but right now, I want to know what is going through his head. Is there really a chance the Doughty’s are trying to take the Family business from within? I have never had reason not to trust Liam, and I sure as fuck won’t be starting now. We will need to have a very serious fucking chat about how real this threat from his father is. Given the way his eyes flick from me to Jimmy, I’m guessing he wants to know how significant a threat my family could be. Fuck me. Could my dad hate the idea of me ruling so much that he would threaten me, put me in danger? The simple fact that I don’t know the answer speaks volumes, and I need to look into that. But that doesn’t explain who this new threat is.

“Okay, so we have established that both my family and Liam’s are against our wedding and us ruling. Fine, we get that. But I also notice you are using our families to get out of explaining who the real threat is. Who recruited you?” I ask calmly.

“I don’t know. I don’t know anything! I refused to be a rat. I work for you, I promise!” Art screeches and the desperation almost hurts my head.

“We both know that is a lie. So I am going to give you two options, and you better take the right one. However, I would prefer the wrong one, personally,” I mused, thinking of the blood dripping all over Art’s helpless body.

A cough from behind pulls me out of my musing. Jimmy knows me so well, having done this with me lots of times before. “Option one, you tell us who this new fish in town is, and I will give you a kilo of smack to do whatever the fuck you want with it. You want to smoke it, snort it, fucking bathe in it, I don’t care, but your intel better be good, or you will pay back the cost plus interest and damages. Option two, I will continue to cut along every area of your body until you are singing the correct name and begging me to stop. Still, by that point, you will have angered me. So, I will put the word out that you are done. Nobody in this town, shit, in this country will sell to you again. You will have no choice but to go cold turkey and withdraw. You will also find no work amongst me or any industry associated with me. Blocked means you are done. So, what will it be?”

The luminous lights that fill the room glisten off the bloody knife as I twirl it in my hand, letting him know what my preference is. I hear Jimmy walk away, closing the doors to the room as he goes. All eyes are focused on his departure, but it’s not long until he returns. He is carrying a brick of uncut snow, showing Art that we are not pissing about. I can see the concern in Jimmy’s eyes; he is not happy I am offering up over fifty thousand pounds worth of product. Still, he doesn’t see the big picture.

The shit Jimmy is holding in his hand right now is uncut, pure, and Art is not used to taking the good stuff. Our product is legit, and my Gramps ensures they don’t water it down with anything dangerous, but we still dilute it. Mainly for the money, but also so these assholes don’t overdose and kill themselves. There’s no regular income from a tweaker if they are dead. So, I will let Art take one hit from the good stuff, and when he is out of it, I will arrange for someone to steal back our product. So, Art gets the best hit of his life, and I get my heroin back. It’s all good.

Looking at Art, I can see he is still contemplating his options, hoping option number three will pop out of thin air. Bored with how long he is taking, I take a firm grip of my knife’s handle, and without warning, I slam the blade down into the top part of his thigh. The blade penetrates right through skin, muscle, and fat until it reaches the hilt of my handle. Art’s screams fill the room even worse than before, and it’s like music to my ears.

“I’m sure by now you can tell that Bree here is very serious. Now, if you don’t want her to twist the knife even further into your flesh before moving onto the other parts, I suggest you start talking.” Liam doesn’t look at Art as he addresses him. Instead, his gaze is firmly on me. His dark eyes blaze with desire, and he is looking at me like he has never seen me before. I feel naked, like my body is heating up with every lingering glance. He is turned on by watching me, and fuck if that doesn’t hit me in all the right places.

“You’re fucking psychopaths, both of you! Fucking bitch, no wonder people are trying to kill you!” Art screams and I audibly tut. What a fucking idiot. Why the hell would you antagonise the girl holding the knife in your thigh.

I start to slowly turn the knife, and at the same time, Liam raises his arm and punches Art in the side of his cheek. His fist must have connected with Art’s nose because the crunching and snapping sound can be heard, loudly indicating the break in Art’s nose. Blood sprays from his nostril, hitting both Liam’s hands and spraying across my chest as I was still kneeling in front of Art. His screams echo around the room, but his speech is practically unintelligible. Blood, sweat, and tears are all mixing together to form just a mumble of bodily fluids.

“I’m sorry, I don’t think that is the answer she was looking for. If you call my girl a bitch or any other unpleasant name, not only will the drug offer be off the table, but I will let her cut your dick off. And as you so politely stated, she is a psychopath who would do it,” Liam spat out. Of course, the idea of me being a psycho isn’t one that scares him all that much.

“Fine. His name is Vinnie Marcushio, but you didn’t hear it from me. Now can I take my shit and get out of here?” asks Art, hopeful that his torture is ending, but I’m more concerned with addressing the curse words that come out of both Jimmy and Liam’s mouths. Clearly, this is the name of a guy I should already know.

“Who is this guy?” I ask, standing up and pulling my blade with me as I rise. The slice of it leaving Art’s leg is divine, and his screams are worse than when the knife went in. Blood spurts from the wound in all directions, and it’s clear I hit a major artery when I went in. “Put your finger in the hole in your leg, or you will bleed to death,” I add before looking between Liam and Jimmy for answers.

They both look to be really fucking disturbed by this news, and I feel like I should have heard this name before; he is clearly a significant player. Fuck, I hope this isn’t a sign of how fucking terrible I am going to be at this whole leader thing. I mean, I don’t even know who my enemies are. I must have voiced that last part out loud because Liam takes hold of my hand, staring intently at me like there’s a message he is trying to get across with his eyes.

“This isn’t because of you, Princess. This is all your father and me. Vinnie Marcushio is the son of Leonarda.” He looks at me like I shouldn’t know that name, and when it becomes clear I don’t know what he is talking about, he continues, “He is what started all of this; he’s the reason we met. He was your father’s money man, washed the cash for him, and he suspected your father was guilty of ripping him off. He showed me everything I needed to convince me that I would take the case, but then minutes before your father realised he was innocent, it was too late. I was making my move, and all forms of communication were turned off, so I didn’t get caught. Your father faked all the evidence he showed me and then refused to pay me, even going as far as telling Vinnie, his son, that he played no part in his death.”

I can literally feel my mouth hanging open with every word Liam speaks. Given how Jimmy is shaking his head and pacing like a caged lion, I know he is telling the truth. I can’t find the right words. Unfortunately, Art doesn’t seem to have that problem.

“This is why your father’s men are jumping ship like it’s the Titanic. Your father is a lunatic, clearly a trait you fucking inherited.” I’m in no mood for this shit. I take my blade and quickly slice two lines on either cheek, long and deep. This is a sign that is synonymous with my Family. It’s the sign we have been carving into rats since we became a firm many years ago. Sometimes it does more for your reputation to let them live and send a fucking suitable warning to everyone else that you won’t be crossed. Everyone will know Art is a rat now, and nobody will want to work with him.

“So last week, when word got out that you two were getting married, we got a threatening message from Vinnie. He was drunk and ranting about how he wouldn’t stand by and let Liam gain power. When Leo was killed, he came to us asking if we knew anything. Your father told him Liam was working for his father and was trying to bring down your Family to gain power. He had no idea that you and Liam would end up forming this fucking alliance. He just thought he could pass the blame onto a rival Family and hopefully take your father down a peg or two, Liam. Like I said, though, we didn’t know that by doing that, it would place a target on your back, Bree. He clearly thinks this is Liam’s big plot to take over the Family and is determined to stop it,” explains Jimmy.

“You are both wrong. He knows you killed his father. He knows because he was the one hacking your files and stealing your money. He hated his father being a slave to the O’Keenan’s and felt that the Marcushio’s have what it takes to be their own crime Family. This is just him taking out the competition and getting his revenge at the same time,” Art discloses, further solidifying his status as a rat. I don’t think he is even aware he just confirmed the actions of his new boss or that he was working against the Family. Asshole.

“Then we will just need to make sure we take him down before he gets to us,” I assert, standing tall and firm in my resolve that this fucker will pay for trying to bring down my family and me.

I nod to Jimmy, signalling that I am done here, before leading Liam away from this building. The feel of his hand against mine, the blood of our enemy smudged between them, is a heady sensation. That, combined with the way he is looking at me, makes me realise I made the right choice in choosing Liam as a partner and that I am so fucking screwed. I am falling for this guy, and I don’t know if I want to stop myself.