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"Little Sam Costello." Kade leans his elbows on the table and looks at me. "You the boss now? Last time I saw you, you were just a kid." His smile is lopsided, showing off a few missing teeth. He's trying to intimidate me, make sure I know he has years of experience that I don't.

But I was born for this job. Trained for it my entire life, waiting in my father’s shadow until one day the crown would be mine.

"Didn't realize we ever met." I shrug.

"Well, you had a sack on your head back then." He's watching me, waiting for my reaction, and I have to admit, his words make me tic.

He was part of the kidnapping.

I school my features to not let him know he rattled me. I can't show weakness. Not now. Not ever.

"Ahh, memory lane." I give him a matching smile. "If I recall correctly, that's the same night half of your club was killed, right? And then a few nights later, your clubhouse burned down." I shake my head, feigning sorrow. "With all those men locked inside. What a shame."

Kade grits his teeth. "What the fuck do you want, Costello?"

I match his stance, leaning forward on my elbows. "You out of my territory."

"Well, as I see it, no one was managing those streets. You can't steal something no one owns."

"But I do own it. And you know that, because it's part of the agreement you made eighteen years ago. You really want to throw all those years of peace down the drain?"

Kade's lips twist up into a smirk. "Eighteen years ago, we were weak. Most of our men dead, as you mentioned." He relaxes back into his chair, that smile only widening on his ugly lips. "But we're not the weak ones now."

Fuck.

He might be right. Because back then, my father weakened their forces. They didn't have the manpower to go up against us. But now, after the civil war my uncle and Marcus started, it's me who's lacking the manpower.

"Let's come to a new agreement, then. What do you want?"

Kade mimes thinking, tapping his forefinger to his chin. "I want it all. Every street, our clubhouse, that strip club you got in the Quarter." He leans forward once again, his voice lowering, eyes darkening. "I want everything you took from us, plus more."

"You know I won't agree to that."

Kade chuckles. "Oh, I know. That's why I'm going to take it."

A yellow sheetof paper torn from a legal pad sits in the center of my desk. Olivia's handwriting is the cutest thing I've ever seen. That's how I know I'm losing it. Who thinks handwriting is cute? But hers is. It's rounded and crisp, girly, and so very neat. I'm staring at it until Adrian and John step into my office.

Once again, I find myself daydreaming about Olivia when I should be focused on the family. The sit-down with the Serpents didn't go as well as planned. After Kade announced his plans to take all of our territories and businesses, I could feel my blood boiling from the disrespect. So I stood up, announced we were done, and left.

John glances down at the paper. "What's this?"

Begrudgingly, I hand him the sheet. "A list of things that need to get done at Gino's. Have someone take care of it all, ASAP."

John eyes me skeptically. "Why are we fixing up the girl's bar?"

Because she agreed to let me help her.

What he's not saying out loud is that we have more important things going on. I know he thinks I'm distracted by her, and the problem is, he's right. But I'm refusing to let her go.

So yes, we're fixing the bar. Because once those pretty lips agreed to let me help, we walked downstairs, and I grabbed the yellow legal pad and pen, laying in front of Olivia and asking her to make a list of everything she needed in order to get the bar in tiptop shape.

She had chewed on her lip while she fidgeted with the pen for a while before she finally started making the list. There were quite a few things missing that I scribbled on the bottom, like new appliances and glassware. She was reserved with her list, picking essentials. I wasn't.

Leaning back in my chair, I rub my temples. Sometimes I wish John was a loyal solider who didn't ask questions, but that's not what I actually want. My cousin is the only one left alive who's willing to stand up to me, and I need that. Even if I don't like it. "Because I promised her she could keep working there if we fixed it up. Her grandfather's not doing well."

John grimaces before turning his attention to Adrian. "Consigliere, what do you think?"

Adrian's sitting in the seat across my desk, his elbows resting on the arms and hands linked together at his chin. His gaze goes from John to me and back again.