Page 184 of Bride By Initiation

Nerves flare in my stomach. I ask, "Why are you risking your safety?"

He looks behind him again, shifts in his seat, and removes his tattered beret. "You should know what I'm going to tell you before you decide whether you want to take your seat."

A sense of excitement charges the musty air. I take a deep breath, claiming, "I want to know everything."

Byrne's green eyes glow in the dim light. His face falls, and pain crosses his expression, along with anger. "Your father wanted a utopia. He created a vision where everybody could live peacefully. You, your sister, and all the generations to come in all the families."

"Yeah, I've heard that before," I say, still pissed off that Zara and I are fighting, and that she thinks I'd cheat on her.

Byrne stares at me intently, then he blurts out, "Your father was backstabbed by his sisters' husbands."

"What? Boris would never do that to Nora!" I assert.

Byrne shakes his head. "No, not by Nora's husband. By the twins' husbands—Shamus and Niall."

My eyes widen. I always forget about my twin aunts. They don't come around the family much. They were never fun or seemed like a big part of it, but it's still a shock to hear that my uncles would be involved in my father's death.

Byrne continues, "The O'Malleys had big enemies just like all of our friends. The Rossis, Baileys, Abruzzos, Petrovs... Your family was always at war...always fighting with them. When you were born, your dad met with members of the enemy families. All the men who had influence enough to make change were there. He did it behind your uncle Darragh's back."

The hairs on my arms rise. My uncle Darragh was Liam's father. He loved me and my sister. Everyone feared but respected him. The thought of my father going behind his back is a shock to me.

Byrne goes on. "So your father, along with Shamus and Niall, met with Lorenzo and Anthony Rossi, Tadgh Bailey, Salvatore Abruzzo, and Daniil Petrov, who had just come from Russia but spoke fluent Italian. No one on the O'Malley side had met him. After your father's death, he infiltrated the Marinos as a spy. When they discovered he was a Petrov, they killed him. You were in high school or the start of college. I can't recall the exact time."

I close my eyes, my heart beating faster. I shake my head. "Why would he trust those guys? I've heard about all of them. They were horrible men."

"Aye. But your father had a vision, and they pretended to agree with it. They'd all lost people close to them. Your father's brothers always told him he was crazy, but they didn't know he had been creating The Underworld behind their backs. He wanted to prove to them it could be done."

My gut flips. I admit, "My uncles seem to knowsomethingexists."

Byrne doesn't answer right away, then says, "They are aware your father attempted to start something, but they don't know the extent ofit. They've only seen their enemies wearing the skull brand. And they can't get their minds past all the bloodshed and revenge to see what can be possible."

"Can be? Don't you mean what is? The Underworld exists," I point out.

Byrne shifts in his chair. "The Underworld is eighty percent what your father wanted. There's less war on the streets. Less death."

I grunt.

He scowls. "What's the negativity for, son?"

"Seems to be lots of death. Whenever I'm doing anything with The Underworld, people die."

"Yeah, but it's necessary in order to weed out the bad people."

"Isn't that what my uncles have been doing?" I question.

"Yes and no. People in your enemies' families have lost members they shouldn't have. So has your side. People who didn't do the evilest things and shouldn't have been killed but were because of their last names."

I cross my arms. "So the guys who murdered my father pretended to agree with his vision and then stabbed him in the back. Why? Just to kill him for fun?"

Byrne grinds his molars, then fumes, "They wanted to take over leadership with the Omni."

A deep chill runs through my veins. "But they're dead. So they didn't do what they wanted, right?"

He takes a few deep breaths, his expression darkening. "The ones who physically murdered your father are dead, yes. But there's one more thing you need to know, especially if you're going to sit at the table."

"What's that?"

He looks behind him again and then tells me, "Salvatore Abruzzo orchestrated your father's murder. He was supposed to be there the night your father died, but he got tied up in Italy. He's the only one still alive, and he has a seat at the table."

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