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He had hung back, eager to be in the action. I'm pretty sure that blonde nurse at the hospital would have killed him if he were in the thick of it. She sticks to him like cooked pasta to a wall. And honestly, he seems to enjoy the attention. Despite that, his limited movement meant he couldn't be in on the action. While I was having my heart-to-heart with Augustus, he shot and killed our father. I can't say I blame him; the old man nearly killed him. But all Danny cares about is that he threatened Olivia. I can't fault him for that; I would do the same thing.

“Boss.”

“Danny.”

“I’ll make this quick; I know you’re busy. I need a week off.”

The cojones on this guy. Killed my dad a week ago and now asking for time off. I mean, like I said, I don’t blame him but god damn.

I take a deep breath.

I will not run my business like my father did.

I will not run my business like my father did.

“Okay, when do you need the time off?”

“My flight is tomorrow.”

Fuck’s sake.

“Danny, in a normal company, you have to put in something called a fucking leave request. Then it gets approved. And THEN you book your flights.”

He smirks. “Sure, boss. But one, this isn’t a normal company. And two, you’re in love with my sister, so I figured I’d get some leeway.”

I run my hands over my eyes.

“I’m curious. How long have you known?”

“I saw your neck extend from your torso when you were hiding behind the basement door when I came to the house. You looked like a real creep.”

“Jesus.”

“That’s what I thought. I thought fuck my life, my boss is fucking my sister. But then you were so devastated at the hospital that I knew it was more than that. You sent her away even though it made you miserable.”

“I’m not miserable.”

Lies. I am.

“Tell that to your fucking face, boss.”

“Danny. You’re not meant to talk to your boss like that. This is not going to be like my father’s operation. We’re going to be doing things properly.”

“We’ll I’d suggest not fucking your employees’ relatives then,” he quips, grinning.

“That’s a good point. We should make a handbook.”

Callum enters the room, typing away on his phone. He’s swiftly come into my inner circle since the night at the docks. He’s shown true loyalty on his end and orchestrated the team like a damn symphony when Luca’s betrayal became apparent. It turns out Danny and Callum have been suspicious of Luca for a while. Small comments here and there, sudden needs to take private phone calls when he never used to, disappearing in the middle of the day. All things I had no idea about because I’d taken a relaxed view of work since I found something—or someone, I should say—way more important.

After the team cleaned up the docks, we came back to the office, and Danny explained to me that they’d set up camp at the docks a few hours before. Danny had remained up high, given that he could barely walk. He’d used a rifle to shoot down anyone that was a threat. Turns out, my father pulled out his gun as we were army-crawling away from the fight, and Danny took him out.

Another knock at the door, and Alfie fucking Adams walks right on in.

“I was just popping by to see how you are, Austin.”

“He’s miserable,” Danny and Callum say simultaneously.

“I’m not fucking miserable!” I bellow, letting my head fall into my hands.