Taken by Her Prince

“Hey,” I said.

“Hey.” She stepped out the door, stood up on her toes, and kissed me. “Thanks for coming.”

“Wouldn’t miss it. How’s he doing?”

“Doctors say he’ll be fine. Three broken ribs and a sprained wrist, but otherwise just bruises.”

“Good.” I kissed her one more time, pulling her tight against my chest. “Come on. Let’s go meet with your old man.”

She laughed and turned, tugging me inside. She took me into a small living room with a worn leather couch, big leather arm chair, and a flat screen TV hanging on the wall above a cabinet. There were pictures on the wall, and I caught sight of a pretty older woman with red hair just like Colleen’s, smiling and leaning against the railing of a cruise ship, her hands thrust up in the air.

I didn’t stop to inspect it. Colleen led me past the living room and into the kitchen where her father sat at a round table tucked into a corner. He nodded to me but didn’t stand, and I walked over to shake his hand.

“Glad you’re doing okay, Finn,” I said.

“Oh, she makes a fuss, but I’m fine,” he said. “Had worse beatings. I think Mathis took it easy on me, you know?”

I laughed. “You were family, after all.”

“Exactly. He had a soft spot for me.” He gestured at the refrigerator. “Help yourself to something.”

“You want anything?” I walked over and opened the plain white refrigerator door. Inside, it was pretty sparse, just a few cans of light beer, a loaf of bread, some cheese, some condiments.

“Beer, please.”

“Dad,” Colleen said. “Take it easy on that, okay? At least until you’re healed.”

He rolled his eyes and accepted the beer I handed him. I opened one for myself and sipped it and Colleen sighed, shaking her head.

“Come on,” her father said. “I’m not some old man, you know.”

“You sort of are,” she said. “But fine.”

I pulled out a chair and sat opposite him. Her father gave me a look, a little smile on his face, and he leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest.

“So, Steven,” he said. “What are your intentions for my daughter.”

“Dad!” she said.

I laughed and sipped the beer. “Honestly sir, I plan on treating her like a princess if she’ll let me.”

“That’s good to hear.” He looked at her. “You could do worse.”

“Stop,” she said. “I’m serious. I’ll take you back to Uncle Mathis’s house and tie you up again myself.”

He held up his hands. “Okay, okay, I can’t go through that nightmare again.”

She sighed and leaned against the counter. “Seriously. Just… leave it alone.”

“Fine.” He grinned at me. “Can’t help myself. Easy to rile her up.”

“I noticed,” I said.

“Gets her temper from her mom,” he said, sipping his beer. “She was always a handful. Anything went wrong, and she’d flip shit. I was on eggshells around that woman, but my god, I loved her to death.”

“I’m sure you did, if she’s anything like your daughter.”

He laughed. “All right. You’re not so bad, for an Italian mobster at least.”

“I’m only half Italian,” I said. “I’m German on my mom’s side.”

He rolled his eyes. “Of course. You new generation kids don’t know a thing about lineage.”

“What, you’re all Irish?” I asked.

He pounded his chest. “I bleed green. Irish all the way back.”

“Good for you,” I said and shook my head. “I’m just a mutt.”

Her father laughed and sipped his beer. Colleen gave me an apologetic look and I just shrugged like it didn’t matter. Older people, they cared about that sort of stuff, about lineage and your parents and whatever. My generation cared less and less, and someday it wouldn’t matter.

America, the great melting pot, and all that.

“All right,” her father said, putting down his beer. He leaned toward me, his face serious as he put his arms on the table. “Jokes aside. I need to ask you some things.”

I nodded. “Okay, ask away.”

He glanced at Colleen, who frowned at him, then looked back at me. “What are your plans for Point Breeze?” he asked. “A lot of people are worried. And there are some that want to stir up trouble.”

“I expected that,” I said. “Lots of people are angry about what happened with the Club, and I can’t blame them.” I leaned back in my chair and put my hands behind my head.

“Lots of dead bodies leave lots of angry relatives,” her father said.

“I plan on paying out,” I said. “All those families will get a small cut of the profits for a while. I’ll make sure they’re taken care of. Any former Club members that want to join my crew will be given a shot, but they’ll have to prove their worth and their loyalty before they ever get made. Otherwise, I’d like it to be business as usual around here.”

Her father frowned at me for a long moment. “That’s going to be expensive,” he said.