Binding Rose: A Dark Mafia Romance(4)

At the word grudge, I feel Vadim Volkov’s gaze drilling a hole into my forehead. I meet his loathsome stare head-on, knowing the old fucker is still pissed I got the drop on the son sitting at his side. I left a pretty little scar on Alexi’s neck and completely fucked with his vocal cords. Every time he opens his mouth to speak, he’ll have no choice but to remember how I bested him. The smug smile I offer Volkov in return only widens when I watch him white-knuckling his fists. Not that he’ll do anything about it. Not here, and if this meeting goes through as planned, not ever.

“This peace treaty comes at the expense of our pride, but it’s a sacrifice we all must make to ensure our survival,” Rossi adds, while Vadim and I continue our little staring match.

“What are you looking at, Kelly?” The old fart snarls gruffly in my direction.

My smirk is now a full-blown taunting grin.

“Just appreciating my handiwork. It’s not every day I get to see it so proudly flaunted in my face.”

“Tiernan,” my father reprimands under his breath.

“I’m just teasing him, Athair. No harm in breaking the ice with a little jab, right Volkov?”

I wink at the motherfucker to goad him and his father further.

“One of these days, the only thing I’ll break is your fucking teeth, Kelly!” Alexi spits in hatred, while his father growls in fury.

“Tsk. Tsk,” I taunt.” That would defeat the purpose of this meeting. You ain’t got a whole lot in here, do ye, big fella?” I point to my head to drive the point home.

Even from where I’m standing across the table, I can see his nails pierce the flesh of his palm, drawing out blood, resulting in me laughing in his face.

“Basta!” Don Rossi exclaims, irritated at our antics. “Niall, tell your son to keep his witty remarks to himself before his mouth gets him killed. And you, Vadim! As boss, you should know better than to be so easily rattled. Tiernan has misguided youth to excuse his behavior. You don’t have that same luxury.”

“Mne nasrat’, chto ty dumaesh’. The day I listen to you, is the day hell freezes over. You know what you can do with your condescending advice, Svoloch’? Za cyun v shopu,” Volkov snarls, spitting to the floor in distaste.

You don’t have to be fluent in Russian to know Volkov just told Rossi to shove his advice where the sun doesn’t shine.

Not a great start to this fucking peace treaty meeting.

Everyone glares at their enemies from across the table and there is no mistaking the animosity we all have for one another. There isn’t a man here who wouldn’t like to wring the neck of the man sitting at their side or across from them.

“We came here to ensure peace in order for us to continue on with our livelihood. That can only happen if ego and pride are set aside,” Don Rossi continues with less vehemence in his tone.

“That’s a tall order to make, old man,” Benny chimes in.

“It’s an order that will ensure you get to be as old as me. Or is life so dispensable where you come from?”

“Depends on the life.” Benny shrugs, back to his bored facade.

“Are we going to sit here and do this whole song and dance of who has the biggest cock in the room, or are we going to come to an agreement where we stop killing each other?” Giovanni Moretti exclaims, frustrated. “We all know why we are here, what needs to be done. Now, are we men who want to ensure that our way of life continues, business as usual, or should we just kill each other and save ourselves from these childish tantrums?”

“As much as the idea of gutting your bellies open like fish amuses me, Moretti is right. Business must come before pleasure,” Miguel Hernandez adds his two cents.

Of course, the El Jefe of the Hernandez Cartel has business on the brain, and it has nothing to do with saving his kins’ lives. It’s a well-known fact that the South American boss lives off the misery of others and doesn’t care if it’s one of his own that perishes in this war. All he cares about is his fat bottom line, and that his drugs continue to be spread out around the world.

I’m not ignorant to the fact that The Cartel are the richest dipshits in here. While the rest of the families have billions at their disposal, these fuckers have trillions. Enough money that they will never be able to spend it all in their lifetime. However, Miguel Hernandez’s greed for more knows no limits.

That’s another difference between our families. We don’t want world domination, but like fuck will we roll over and concede to any man’s greedy ambitions. I want their drugs out of Boston and as far away from our domain as possible. I know that will never happen unless this treaty goes through. One of our demands is that only a small percentage of their drugs enters Irish territory. I have no idea what the other requests stipulated from these assholes are, nor do I care. This is the only one that, for me, is non-negotiable, and I know Athair feels the same way. Especially since we know firsthand what that junk can do to a family.

“It has been a year since we started our deliberations, and the time has come to put them into action. I admit it will take some time to get used to this new reality, but resistance is futile,” Carlo Rossi deadpans.

My gaze falls to the man who, in an even note, just told us to either bend the knee now or die, without looking one bit flustered at the threat he laid at our feet. The fucker is old school through and through. Like the Outfit, he is cold and pragmatic. It’s served him well so far. To his discontentment, though, the only part of New York City that he hasn’t been able to reign over with an iron fist is Hell’s Kitchen. And that’s because we rule it. I have no real beef with Rossi or his well-tailored goons, even though I highly doubt they would say the same. The Cosa Nostra think we Irish are an unruly bunch. Too unpredictable to be trusted. They like everything nice and tidy. Organized. And we Kellys have always thrived in chaos and disorder. You can’t control a loose cannon, and for those who view control as a precious commodity, the unpredictability of the Kelly family sets them on edge. Still, the Cosa Nostra has been in this game way before the word mafia was even a thing to be feared. They deserve some respect, even if just a sliver of it.