Page 108 of Arranged Addiction

He laughs lightly, then cringes in pain. “You don’t even care that you’re torturing me, do you?”

“No, not really.”

“Monster.”

“You love it.”

“I really, really do.”

I kiss his lips, his neck, and down a little lower, because I love it too.

Chapter 38

Declan

The old Bricklayers union building is a crumbling, echoing structure in a quiet Queens neighborhood. This used to be neutral ground for years before the Whelan family got big enough to swallow it all up. Now we use the hall for big meetings we can’t hold anywhere else.

“They’re all here.” Cormac stares bleakly out into the main hall. “Every family sent at least a couple representatives. There are whole families out there.”

I sit in that for a moment. We all know how important this is going to be. These men all look to me for leadership, especially now that Donnell’s plot has been torn to shreds. There are no other options but to obey.

Except I don’t want them coming to me reluctantly. If they stay unhappy, there will come a time when someone else decides to rise up. When that happens, many of these families might decide to throw their strength against me for a second time.

I want to make sure that’s never an option.

Siobhan’s out on the main floor, shaking hands and greeting people. I wait for her to approach. “They’re in poor spirits,” my mother murmurs as she turns to face the crowd by my side. “Time to show them what we are.”

I nod once sharply before I stride off to find Casey. I spot her having a conversation with Alina near the bar. I kiss my wife on the cheek.

“They’re all yours,” she says, smiling up with the most beautiful look on her face I’ve ever seen.

“Not yet, but they will be.”

“Good luck out there, brother,” Alina says, patting my arm lightly.

I leave the women behind and approach the stage. I climb to the podium, and as I settle myself behind the microphone, the room begins to quiet as people notice me waiting. I don’t have to ask for their attention. I simply stand and demand it.

“You all loved my father.” I look into the eyes of men and women I’ve known my whole life, many of whom were willing to stab me in the back. “But none loved him like I did. He was everything. He was my father and my mentor. He was my boss and my teacher. You all loved him. I wanted to be him.”

I think back to all the hours I spent in my father’s shadow. I learned to be a man by his side. I learned what family meant. What sacrifice meant. How to be better even when the world wanted you to fail. My father prepared me for this moment in a thousand little ways.

And now it’s time for me to step out of his shadow.

“My father is dead. I’m the new leader of the Whelan organization. I know there are those here in this room who have been unhappy about that fact. One among you most of all. But I’m here to make it clear that the Whelan family is strong. We are united. We will continue to thrive and grow now that I’ve cut the cancer from our body.” I gesture sharply toward the side of the room.

Seamus and Finn emerge from a doorway, dragging a bloody and battered Donnell between them.

There are gasps and murmurs from the crowd. I notice more than a few scowls. Seamus and Finn deposit Donnell at my feet, the old man cowed and broken. He kneels, head hanging low.

“Donnell Lynch is a traitor.” I gesture at him like I’m pointing toward a pile of mud. “He turned his back on the family when it needed him the most. Many of you like him. Many of you respect him. But now you will see what it means to be Whelan.”

I step out from behind the podium. Donnell looks up at me, his expression dazed. I approach slowly, staring at the broken man?—

And offer him a hand.

He hesitates. He’s clearly confused. But after a moment, he lets me drag him to his feet. I brush him off and slap his back, making him face the crowd.

“Donnell deserves death,” I shout out, making sure everyone can hear me. “But my father would have shown mercy, and so I’ll follow in his footsteps. From here on out, Donnell and his entire family are banished from New York. If they ever set foot in the northeast again, their lives will be forfeit.”