and this shit shouldn’t be happening.
Georgiou glances at me as I approach and gives me that look of habit we shared when we were kids. It’s a heads up that I better say the right things.
I’ve always had to do that because I’m the youngest of the pack. He and Vincent are the oldest in their forties.
“Morning,” I say and take a seat opposite them feeling like I’m sitting my ass down in the electric chair.
“Good morning,” Vincent answers. “Right, we spoke last night, and I’ve delivered the news to Angelo. He’s not happy about it Christian and neither am I. I would love to excuse you in blame, but the shit happened because security wasn’t tight enough.”
My fucking breath stills because he’s right.
“I thought it was,” I answer. “I thought we’d be okay until I got someone to fill Peter’s shoes.”
“Two months Christian. It’s been two months. I shouldn’t have to remind you that people are lying in wait to fuck with us and that’s what’s happened. You asked me to give you more responsibility and I did. I thought taking care of the warehouses and the larger shipment contracts would go hand in hand for you because you’re good at it. Angelo is one of our biggest clients, we can’t lose a guy like him.”
I glance at Georgiou who tenses his jaw.
“I’m sorry. I got the men on the street looking but Falcone has two days on me.”
“Falcone won’t sell weapons like that on the street Christian,” Georgiou states.
I release a heavy sigh. “I know but I want to cover all bases and leave nothing unturned. It starts with the streets. Falcone is a prick who does the devil’s bidding. So, on this occasion I got to find out who the devil is.”
“Christian, I’m not gonna lie to you, I’m pissed as fuck this happened. You know the fucking ropes when it comes to security. We don’t trust anybody and that fucker, Jonny was the last motherfucker you should have left in charge. Men like him are weak. We have a strong hold because we need to.”
He’s right. “I know I fucked up. I accept that. By the same token Vincent, a man like Peter is hard to come by. You don’t fill those shoes overnight. The first person I thought of taking care of business while I looked for a replacement was Jonny. He proved time and time again that he could be trusted. There’s no way I thought he would do this.” That’s actually true. Vincent knows it too and that’s why his face softens.
“Okay… we need to just figure out what we’re gonna do,” Vincent states. “The last thing I want is for long standing clients like Angelo, to pull out because things have changed in our hierarchy. When shit like this happens, people are quick to blame those in charge. I don’t want that happening here. That’s my head, no matter who the lose link is. It’s on me.”
“I’ll sort the shit out. Leave me to it,” I say.
“I’ll help,” Georgiou says, and I snap my gaze to him. Vincent does too.
“Thanks, but I can figure out this myself,” I tell him
“No, I think this calls for help from someone like me,” Georgiou says with insistence. His tone suggesting that’s an order from our father.
Fucker. He never passes up a chance to make me feel like shit.
I don’t like arguing with him in front of Vincent, so I hold my tongue.
Georgiou and I are as close as brothers can be, but we don’t have that bond Vincent shares with his brothers. We have enough trust to go into business together on ventures like the club and the properties we bought together a few years back. That’s it though. He’s too far up Pa’s ass to come down to my level of thinking.
Georgiou is the way he is because if shit happens and Vincent and his brothers get wiped out, business in every aspect comes to us. Georgiou will be boss of the family. It wouldn’t be me.
I hate thinking of death, but I have to face facts. Trouble has come in the past where disaster could have happened. We all got a wakeup call when Frankie, Vincent’s older brother was killed. It showed us we weren’t above death, as bad ass as we’d like to think we are. The next call came when Sorcha, Vincent’s first wife was killed, and his baby was nearly killed too.
“I don’t care who helps who, sort it out,”