Chapter One

Paul

With a silver knife, I make my water glass ring like a bell. Down the long table, the faces of all my family and the few select invited guests turn, and I want to sink into the floor. But it has to be done.

“Ladies and gentlemen, I need your attention.”

An O’Malley family dinner is always a loud and boisterous affair. This evening is particularly rowdy. Even though this dinner is partly in my honor, I wish I could drop the speech and give all of my attention to one guest at the far end of the table. Over the rims of dozens of wine, whiskey, beer and water glasses and through the sea of faces, down at the other end of the table, Lucy’s bright, innocent eyes sparkle.

It’s true that I’ve changed over the past few weeks. As the new boss of a major Las Vegas casino, I don’t think of myself so much as a dirty hoodlum. Running a big business, some respectability rubs off on you. At least a little bit.

It’s a new feeling. I don’t feel I need to keep myself so much in the shadows. Between the sheer amount of money the casino generates and the number of staff who depend on me, I have status. It feels better than the grudging respect that I’m used to. It’s cleaner.

Mobsters in this town respect me because they fear me. O’Malley is a name that sets them quaking on its own. But, as the youngest of the O’Malley brothers, I’ve always been determined to live up to the family name that our father has built with sheer guts and heart.

I’m not the strongest of the brothers. There’s no question that would be the middle brother, Peter. And the smartest of us is John, the eldest, there’s no doubt. Compared to my two older brothers, I have always been quiet. Reserved. Even before I got my scar.

Still, my reputation has spread far and wide.

Across Las Vegas and all over Clark County, and in Boston where our family hails from, my name is feared as the O’Malley family enforcer. My fame, or notoriety, comes from my fierce and ruthless determination to get the job done. Whatever it takes.

That means I’ve got a lot of bad deeds behind me.

There’s an open, airy sense of freedom I get from being out in the light. But it’s a different kind of freedom than I’m used to.

In the light, you can stand tall and proud. But in the shadows, you can do anything.

It surprised me that I slipped so easily and comfortably into my new life, wearing fine suits and expensive shirts, and not getting them ruined with splashes of blood. Making sure that all my employees do what they’re supposed to, getting what I want without having to threaten or terrorize them.

Turns out, people do what you tell them if you have clear rules and you pay them well. Who knew it could be so simple?

When I stride across the casino floor, supervising the staff and security, I’m out of my comfort zone. I’m not naturally what you would call a people person.

Speaking in front of large groups is something else I don’t do much of. It stressed me to give the best man’s speech at my middle brother’s wedding a few weeks ago. Getting up to stand and talk, even to the family, makes me uncomfortable.

As I rise up out of my seat now, the glow of Lucy’s eyes makes me draw a breath.

I tap the glass again.

The speech I have to give is about the family. It’s about Dad. How his maverick spirit cut through the crap, did whatever it took to lift us out of poverty. From our roots in Boston to where we are now.

And it’s about the new casino. Buying the downtown casino is a major step up for the O’Malleys in Las Vegas, and we’re going to rebrand it in Dad’s image.

It’s a great speech. I worked for hours on it. If only I could remember the words. The start is about the family roots, and that’s all I can remember. Like a leap off a bridge, I shove the first phrases out, hoping they’ll pull the rest of the speech out after them.

As I blurt and stumble over the words, it’s like I’m trudging uphill in a blizzard, dragging a huge rock. Whatever sense or meaning was in the words, it all blows away.

I blink to avoid Lucy’s eyes but, like a drunk trying to walk a straight line, I fall straight into them. Struggling for control, I stiffen and straighten. I lift my voice. Light breaks out inside me.

I can’t even hear what I’m saying, but I feel it. Like a song, when you couldn’t say the words but you know you can sing them, it opens in my throat. Bright faces nod. Smiles shine. Eyes gleam and moisten.

Tags: Frankie Love Romance
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