table?”
I shrugged at Aidan Sr. “As off the table as it can be.” Watching as he rubbed his chin, I asked, “What’s wrong?”
“Don’t you think it’s too easy?”
I had to snort. “No. If you’d seen how much work Conor and I—“
“Not saying anything about the work, Finn.”
“What then?” I demanded, unsure why he was raising this particular topic so many weeks after he’d put an end to the leader of the gang.
“Things have changed. The Colombians would have come at us with fucking rocket launchers back in the day.”
My lips curved. “Thank Christ then that we aren’t back in the day.”
He shot me a look. “I’ll forgive you the blasphemy only because I’m thankful too.” Sinking back in his desk chair, he murmured, “Why haven’t they come at us with rocket launchers, Finn?”
Crossing my legs at the ankle, I slouched back in my seat. “Because they don’t have any money to fund them. Currently, at any rate. On top of that, the only people who genuinely don’t fear the Russians are us, and that’s only because you’re a crazy motherfucker.”
If my tongue was far laxer now that I knew he was my father, so be it. It wouldn’t save said tongue from being sliced out, but I guessed I was going through a rebellious phase. The kind most kids endured through their teenage years? Well, I was experiencing it in my late thirties.
He didn’t seem angered by the condemnation though. More than anything, he seemed resigned. “I’m old, Finn,” he said sadly.
“We’re all getting old,” I countered.
“We’re not as much of a threat as we were because of that though.”
“You’re talking to the wrong son about recruitment and defense,” I informed him, aware that it was getting easier to think of myself as his ‘son’ around him. “But, if you’re scared about the Russians going back on their deal with us, don’t.
“You and I both know that Vasov wants to cement ties with the next generation. If he doesn’t, his family is fucked. You know what his lot are like. The next Pakhan that isn’t related to him will slice his widow and his daughters’ throats to make a point.”
That had Aidan grunting. “True.”
I tipped my chin at him. “He’s like you in that.”
“Like what?”
“Loves his wife.”
Aidan rubbed his chin again. “That Sunday after lockdown… Lena said you hugged her.”
“I did.”
“Said that was the last time you hugged her too.”
I huffed out a breath. “Aidan, why do you do this?”
“Do what?”
“Bring me here on business then make it personal?”
“We’re at the house. You should know that the two mix when we’re here.”
I had to concede to that, but still, it pissed me off. “Look, the Colombians have no funds to do fuck at the moment. We didn’t just hit the New York branch, Aidan. We hit them at the core. They’re going to take a while to come back from that.”
“And they’re going to be pissed when they do,” he pointed out.
“If you didn’t like the tactic back when I came up with it, then you shouldn’t complain now.”
“Not complaining, just saying.”
Heaving a sigh, I continued, “It could take them fifteen years to recoup what they lost. Never mind the ties. And by then? Fuck knows what could happen. Fifteen years is a long ass time. Yes, we’re borrowing trouble, but when aren’t we? When don’t we have shit from rivals?”
“These rivals are going to be more than pissed at us.”
I snorted. “Rivals always are. Look, we are borrowing trouble, but we’re also trying to protect ourselves from that. Eoghan and Brennan are working on recruiting and training.
“By that point, we’ll also have more funds because projects like the Heights will be up and running. We’re going to make a couple of hundred million on that alone, Aidan. Whatever happens, the money will protect us.”
“Until it doesn’t. What if they hack us like we hacked them?”
“We’re protected.”
“They thought they were.”
I sighed. “If you want to talk about firewalls, again, you’re talking to the wrong son.”
“At least you’re talking to me.”
That had me narrowing my eyes. “Huh?”
He shrugged. “If you’ll only talk to me about business, then talk about business we will.”
For a second, I could do nothing less than gape at him. “You’re being serious, aren’t you?”
His grin was dry, and fuck, how was it the first time I noticed the similarities in our grins? “When aren’t I serious, Finn?”
I studied him, hard. Looking for similarities between us, looking for the shared connection our genetics gave us. Then, I blew