Page 54 of Mob Star

The silent one nudges the other guy, and they leave without another word. I want to turn and watch them walk away, but I don’t dare. Instead, I lean forward.

“They’re having an affair, aren’t they?”

Finn’s eyes widen, and his jaw tenses. Then I’m the recipient of his stare.

“What makes you say that?”

“They’re wearing wedding rings, but they don’t match. Not even similar. The similarity part is just incidental. The quiet one moved to a defensive position to stand in front of the loudmouth. Two men that size rarely need to protect each other during a conversation. A more dominant lover will. Just because he wasn’t the pushy one doesn’t mean he isn’t a top.”

“You got all of that just from how they stood?”

“Of course. You already know that, and that’s what you have on them. They wouldn’t want any proof they were out together.”

“They’re brothers-in-law, so them hanging out isn’t implausible. But you’re right about the rest. And no, they would rather I not use proof to go along with what I could share.”

“They thought to embarrass you in front of me, and they wanted to use me as a shield to issue thinly veiled threats to you. They assume I know nothing.”

“Which you don’t. I won’t tell you their first names, Thea. You figured out something that impresses me, but it’s something dangerous. This isn’t how I wanted to prove there are risks to being with me. As much as they don’t want anyone to know they were out together, they know I don’t want your name or face splashed around. They were using you as a shield. That pisses me off.”

I can’t help but wonder what it means when someone pisses Finn off. Like is that an understatement, and they’re going to have concrete shoes? Or is he mildly annoyed? I attempt to keep my expression impassive, but he smiles.

“I’m not putting a hit on them, Thea.”

Yet? “Okay.”

I return his smile as the waiter comes to our table. The rest of the meal is shockingly normal. We chat about what a typical workday looks like for both of us and how our jobs have evolved over time. Maria came up naturally in conversation. It wasn’t like he asked. He’s known her pretty much her entire life. At least since they were old enough to play rec sports. Will I ever get used to how fucked-up their world is? That their parents used to stand around on Saturdays and watch their kids play together. Then Monday rolled around, and they were trying to kill each other— figuratively or literally.

We’re about to step out of the restaurant when Cormac comes in. “I was looking for you.”

How’d he know we were here? Cormac wouldn’t randomly drive around.

“I stopped by your place, then remembered you were out. I was going to go to my office to call you.” The look they exchange says more than they’ll say aloud.

“Should I head to the car?”

Finn’s gaze sweeps the restaurant before he looks out the door. He doesn’t like either option. I think he knows how awkward it would be for me to just stand here.

“I’ll walk you out. Cormac, I’ll be right back.”

Joey opens the door for us. I saw him having dinner at the sushi bar.

“I’ll try not to take too long.”

“Take as long as you need.” I kiss his cheek and give his forearm a squeeze.

He looks torn, but he nods and heads back inside. I think this is a look into the life I’m accepting. He wants to put me first, but family and the mob will always take precedence. I can’t blame him, but I think it’s going to hurt. A lot. Often. At least in the beginning. It’s something I have to be okay with. I’ll get there. Part of why it sucks is I know it means whatever’s happening is something at the very least illegal, but far more likely dangerous.

I’ve already rationalized why I can accept what Finn does, but I can’t accept what Uncle Corey does. I’m in the car with the door shut, looking out the window at the restaurant. I pull out my phone and do the thing I told myself not to. I search the internet for anything about his family.

Immediately, shit shows up. A lot of shit. I open another tab and search the Mancinellis. Just as much. I try Diaz and mafia. That’s too common a name not to search something specific. Tons come up for them, too. I comb my memory for the fourth family’s name. It takes a moment, but I search Kutsenko. They’re the only ones who seem to turn up only articles about legal shit. They’re corporate moguls. I noticed that the dates for the Kutsenko articles were only within the last ten or so years. The dates for the other families go back further.

I toggle to the tab with results for the O’Rourkes. With trepidation, I click the first link.

Mob Boss Dies in Plane Crash

Which of Finn’s family members was this? Looking at the dates, my guess is an uncle or grandfather. I scroll and read. It names the victim as Liam O’Rourke. It said he died at sixty-three, so my guess is Finn’s grandfather. The article hints it was one of the other syndicates. That whoever organized it made to look like a mechanical failure that caused something in the fuel line to ignite, then explode. My heart breaks for Finn as I think about how traumatic that must have been.

Then I keep reading. The article names several court cases filed against Liam. They accused him of some pretty fucking heinous shit! Like holy fuck! If he did what the article claims, then he was a fucking sociopath.

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