Falling for the Killer

“It’s her,” I said. “Rich girl. Powerful family. Pregnant with my child.”

“Oh, fuck,” Dean said, staring down at his whiskey. He shot it back and asked for another.

I did the same. The bartender poured then went back to cleaning.

“She went home to tell her family,” I said. “And now I don’t know what to do.”

“Pack,” Dean said. “Start running. I’m pretty sure they’ll kill you otherwise.”

I snorted and laughed. He grinned at me, although we both knew he wasn’t kidding.

“The fucked-up part is I want the girl to stay,” I said. “I tried to convince her not to run back home.”

“That is fucked up,” Dean said thoughtfully. “You think you’re ready to be a father?”

“Definitely not ready,” I said. “But willing. With her.”

Dean nodded slowly and turned his glass. We were friends, but we weren’t incredibly close. He was the Don’s son and one of the most powerful men in the family, and I figured that I’d tell him first before the rumors started spreading. If anyone would know how getting an Adamson daughter pregnant would affect the Valentino family, it would be Dean.

“Interesting,” he said. “From what I can tell, you’re not exactly the monogamy kind of guy.”

“True,” I said. “But maybe I haven’t met the right girl yet.”

“You wouldn’t get any of her money,” Dean said. “Her family would cut her off. You know that, right?”

“I know it,” I said. “It’s not about the money.” Which was very much true. I didn’t give a shit how rich she was. If I wanted money, I could get money. I was very good at a few things, and making a lot of cash as fast as I wanted was one of them. I didn’t need a dime from her.

“This is going to complicate things,” Dean said. “We’re at war with the Healy family, and Colm Healy’s going to take any excuse he can to make things more difficult. As soon as word gets out, he’ll find some way to exploit the situation.”

“I’m sure he will,” I said. “I’ll handle the Healy family. They’re pressing in on my turf.”

“Which only makes this harder.” Dean rubbed his face and sipped his drink. “I can’t tell you what to do. If you want to go after the girl, then go ahead, you have the family’s blessing. But don’t be fucking stupid about it. No kidnapping, no shit like that. If she wants to be with you, great. But you’re not stealing the girl. She’s too rich and her family’s too powerful.”

“I didn’t plan on forcing her,” I said, glaring at him. “But thanks for the vote of confidence.”

He waved that away. “You know how the family can be. If she were someone else, I’d say go for it, take her if you want her. But shit, the goddamn Adamson family? That’s a real mess.”

“Will you tell the Don?” I asked.

“I have to,” he said, shrugging. “I can’t keep it a secret, but don’t worry about him. I’ll handle it.”

I nodded a little and sipped my drink. Dean was taking this much better than I expected. I figured he’d yell at me, call me some names, get all aggressive and macho and shit, and maybe throw out some punishments my way. He could make my life harder if he wanted.

Instead, he seemed surprisingly fine with everything, and that set me on edge.

“I’ve got plans to hit the Healys back on the north side of my turf,” I said, nodding down at my drink. “I’ve got my guys working on a plan.”

“That’s good. You running some game?”

“Setting up a little trap for them. I’m thinking if I make it very expensive for them to try to keep fighting me then they’ll slink back over the river.”

“Not a bad idea,” Dean said. “But try to keep the bodies to a minimum.”

I laughed and finished my drink. “I don’t think that’s how it works,” I said. “I’ve got to kill a few, you know that.”

“I know.” Dean sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “This war’s expensive and it’s making the city nervous. I’ve got politicians calling me up, business leaders getting all pissy and shit. I bet even the Adamson family’s thinking about sending a note to my father, asking him to cool it with the Healys. Like there can be some simply solution. Those Irish fucks want to take what we’ve got, and we’ll defend it. That’s all there is.”

“War’s not profitable,” I said. “But sometimes it’s necessary.”

“Cheers to fucking that.” He crossed back his drink and stood. “Good luck with the girl. Keep me updated.”

“Will do.”

“I’ll see what I can do about my father, but he might be angry. You’ll probably have to deal with a little fallout, but like I said, don’t worry too much about it.”

“I won’t,” I said, leaning back to watch as he started toward the door.