When I finished, I licked him clean, and he pulled me to my feet. The rich aristocratic boys I grew up with would’ve been done with me then—but Gian kissed me, held me tight, and made me feel good.
“So much for the future,” I whispered.
He laughed softly. “Don’t worry,” he said. “I’ll take care of you, if that’s what you want.”
For some insane reason, I believed him.
16
Gian
My crew gathered at a strip club called Lucy’s Darlings deep in the heart of my territory. It was four in the afternoon and the club was closed until six, and the guys sat in the chairs, laughing with each other, drinking whiskey and gin and beer. Ash sat on the edge of the stage watching them, kicking her legs a little, her cheeks still flushed from the nice morning workout I gave her. I leaned next to her and put a hand on her knee.
“What do you think?” I asked her softly.
She shrugged a little. “Lots of guys,” she said.
“They’re a rough bunch,” I said, glancing out at where Tomaso and Stefano sat with Ricky and Aaron. “But they’re a good group.”
“Why’d you call them all here?” she asked, frowning slightly with worry.
“Let’s find out,” I said, winked a little, and turned to face the guys. “Listen up, assholes,” I shouted over the general murmur.
A few of the guys looked over. Stefano banged his beer bottle on his table. “Boss is talking, you ungrateful cock-sucking donkey fuckers,” he shouted. “So shut your syphilis-ridden herpes holes.” He nodded once silence descended and gestured toward me. “All you, boss.”
“Thank you, Stefano,” I said, “for that very eloquent introduction.” A few of the guys laughed as I paced across the room in front of them. I was keenly aware of Ash’s eyes following me. She didn’t realize it, but I rarely called the full crew together like this. We almost always had a bunch of different things going on throughout the day—deals, trades, fights, rackets, whatever. I could rarely afford to pull every single guy in for a meeting.
And yet this was important. I faced them again, drawing myself up to my full height.
“The reason for this meeting is simple,” I said, staring at them one at a time. “The Healy family tried to kill me the other day. They’re currently backed by some rich motherfucker, and that little shit has it out for me and Ash. I’ve tried to be patient with them, and tried to be rational about all this, but the time for being soft is over.” I stepped forward and tilted my chin up. “We’re going to war, boys. From here on out, the Healy family is fair game anywhere in the city.”
A hush fell over the room. Ash stared at me, a big frown on her lips.
Tomaso stood up. “Fuck, yeah,” he said, grinning. “So this means the hunt is on, right, boss?”
“That’s right,” I said. “Find the Healy soldiers and kill them. Anywhere, anytime. Don’t worry about blowback, I’ll handle all that shit. All I want from you boys is blood and more blood. I want so many dead Healys that the morgue overflows with their corpses. Do you understand me?”
“Fuck, yes, we do,” Tomaso said, grinning and raised his glass high. “To murdering some heinous Healy fucks.”
“Here, here,” Stefano said, and all the boys took up the cheer. I grinned at them and glanced over at Ash.
Her face was clouded with uncertainty.
I had a drink with the boys. There wasn’t much more to say, but they all understood the gravity of the situation.
All-out war was rare in the city. The mafia families knew it wasn’t good business to start murdering each other. If we brought attention to ourselves, then the heat would come down hard, and that would only fuck things worse. We had a good thing going and the money flowed like rainwater, but I couldn’t rest until I knew my crew was safe, and Ash wasn’t in danger anymore.
Which meant all-out war.
I pulled Ash aside after a while and took her outside. She leaned against the wall and crossed her arms, squinting against the late afternoon sun as it bore down above the buildings. Long shadows were cast across the sidewalk.
“What’s all this mean?” she asked. “We’re really going to start hunting down the Healy family?”
“That’s right,” I said.
“I thought trashing Stuart’s office was enough.” She sounded scared, and I couldn’t blame her. This was the real shit now.
“That was a warning to Stuart,” I said. “But the Healy family doesn’t respond to petty stunts like that. No, they’re going to need death. I told you there was a war coming, and this is it.”
She chewed her lip for a second. “I’m worried,” she said. “What if something happens to you?”
“I’ll make sure you’re taken care of,” I said. “The family looks after its own.”