Page 105 of Vengeful King

I tell everyone how hard she worked in life. I explain her struggles, and the way she worked so hard to raise me. I tell them that she’s the reason I made it through cancer treatments, the reason I lived at all.

I tell them how she was always there for me, especially after my father left. I talk about how much I loved her and miss her, and how I’ll keep her close to my heart.

“She can rest easy, I think, knowing that I’m safe,” I finish.

I look over at Lachlan when I say it. I look at him and find his eyes burning, a strength in him matching my words. I know what I’m saying is true. He will always protect me, and he’ll protect our unborn child.

My child will never have to go through what I went through. Unlike my father, Lachlan will never leave and never do anything but love and protect my child, and me.

Tears fall down my cheeks as I say goodbye to my mother, but they’re not just painful. They’re not just despairing. They’re cleansing.

I’m making room for hope to grow in my chest.

CHAPTER38

Lachlan

The weeks after the memorial service for Katrina’s mother are hard. I know she’s working through grief; I know it’s difficult for her. I’m there for her as often as I can be, trying my best to show her that I know what she’s going through.

We have this in common now.

It’s a terrible thing to share, but it’s healing. I try to spend as much of my day with her as I can.

There are days where it’s easy and she’s smiling at her memories, and there are days when she’s crying, slipping for just a moment into thinking her mother’s death was her fault. I listen to the memories when they come and refute the guilt when it comes, too.

Slowly, I know she’ll make peace with this.

At the same time, there’s fallout from Yuri’s death. His people have popped up across the city, but they haven’t been given safe haven. The Assembly has acknowledged Yuri’s misstep, and they’ve made a formal pact to deny his followers any right to power or safe quarter.

The best thing Yuri’s death has done for us is reveal to some up and coming criminal organizations in Boston that the O’Reilly family is not to be messed with.

The way we dealt with Yuri might not have been how we’d wanted it to go, but it did prove to others that even in a pinch, the O’Reilly family could protect themselves.

I think about Yuri and the aftermath as I walk through the club one night, watching my brothers at the bar. They’re with their wives, laughing and talking amongst themselves.

Jade is there too, and I notice Finn giving her a strange look. She seems to return it.

What’s that about?

I can’t think about it too much. I’m drawn into a conversation with Aiden, who’s watching me keenly. His wife, Rose, is probably resting her feet somewhere. The pregnancy is coming along well for her, and I suspect she’ll be staying home more soon.

“Ezra wants to meet with us soon,” Aiden says, his voice barely raised. The crowd almost drowns him out, but I lean in close. “He wants to discuss repayment of the favor we owe.”

I can hear Aiden’s lip curl on the wordowe.I know we could have cut off Ezra the second the wedding was no longer going through, but I also know it would’ve been a bad idea. We need his partnership. So as much as this ‘favor’ might be tricky for us to handle, we’ll do it.

I remember what Ezra said when we last spoke. It had sounded like he wanted a hit taken out on someone.

Death is a serious thing in the mafia. We don’t take it lightly, and we’re careful about it. If Ezra wants someone dead, there’s going to be a hell of a lot of arrangements to make.

But we’ll deal with that as it comes. I know we can handle it. For now, I’m focusing on tonight.

“I’ll set up the meeting,” I say, nodding toward the bar. “Somewhere he’ll be reminded that this isn’t his world.”

“You think that’s necessary?”

“Yes, I do. Ezra may have us owing him, but he knows nothing about the mafia. In the end, he’s in over his head. We could have him framed with a word.”

Aiden shakes his head. “But that wouldn’t work out in our favor.”

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