“You are welcome anytime, my friend.”
Kian looks around at the wide range of different crime families that fill the lounges in the VIP section.
He’s stuck around for longer than I ever could have asked. He and his men have been invaluable in cleaning up Budimir’s many messes.
“And apparently I’m not the only one,” he chuckles.
“Being the don is not just about throwing your weight and watching the ants scatter to the wind. Diplomacy is needed. Intelligence is needed. Brute force is never enough to hold power. In short—I like having friends.”
Echoing my father’s words does strange things to my heart in my chest. It feels like not so long ago that he was saying them to me himself.
But they feel right on my lips. His crown feels right on my head.
I’m where I belong.
“Wise words,” Kian says with an inclination of his head.
His blue eyes are alert as he gives the room another once over. He’ll be don one day, whenever Ronan decides to step aside.
That doesn’t look like it was going to happen anytime soon. Ronan might be getting along in years, but the man is made of steel.
I’m sure he’ll live well into his nineties and until then, he will hold on to power.
But that’s fine with me.
Kian’s time will come. And for now, we are friends, allies, equals. It’s a good relationship between my Bratva and his.
One that I intend to maintain.
His parents couldn’t make it tonight, but they sent a bouquet of flowers to congratulate me on the opening of the club.
The note in the arrangement said, “To a friend—With love, the O’Sullivans.”
It was written in a looping female handwriting.
Sinead, no doubt.
Kian sees one of his lieutenants enter and excuses himself to greet the man. I take the opportunity to walk out of the VIP area towards my personal quarters.
It’s past one, but the night has only just begun for many still here. The only thing I want, however, is my wife.
“Esme,” I say softly,.
All is quiet, so I move deeper into the room, but Phoenix’s cot is empty. I hear movement in the adjoining bathroom and I open the door and walk inside without knocking.
Esme is standing in front of the mirror. Her eyes catch mine instantly.
“Hola,” she greets with a mischievous gleam in her eyes.
I walk up behind her and put my arms around her waist, pulling her against me. I’m already half-hard, and the moment her ass meets my crotch, I’m fully erect.
“Where’s our boy?” I ask.
“I had Talia take him home,” she says. “Adrik and Alexei went with them.”
“Good,” I say, spinning her around so that she’s facing me. “Did I tell you how fucking beautiful you look in that dress?”
She smiles, running her hand down the front of my shirt. “Hmm, I can’t recall,” she says playfully. “But you’re welcome to say it again.”