The Mafia Boss

Ch. 30: Torin certainly knows how to put on a show.

It's not every day a mafia boss goes against all expectations and straight up suggests you take over your brother's entire business empire once you've killed him. Torin has a habit of going against the grain and doing the unexpected. It's what I admire about him most, but a fucking heads up would've been nice.

"Don't be so fucking ridiculous!" barks Finn, severely annoyed.

"I fail to see how I'm being ridiculous," counters Torin, voice calm.

Finn—however—is the optimum of stressed.

"Imogen can't be boss. She's—she's..."

"She's what?" I implore, daring him to complete that sentence.

"A woman," he finally concludes, gaze deadly.

"You're right!" I declare. "Having a vagina does affect the way I lead."

To my left, Xavier laughs.

"Don't be so fucking crude," argues Finn, throwing daggers straight through me.

"Crude?" I laugh. "Finn, you pull out people's fingernails for a living and you want to lecture me on being crude?"

I can tell I've angered him by the way the vein in his neck pulses.

"Speak down to me again and I'll kill you," he warns.

I want to relent. To quit while I'm ahead, but how am I supposed to show that I'm capable of running an entire family if I can't even make it through one simple conversation with Finn Gallagher.

"Go ahead," I say, unstrapping the small handgun I have secured to my left thigh and sliding it across the table to him. "Do it and see what fucking happens."

Torin's hand—still on my right thigh—squeezes, urging me to stand strong.

"What kind of mafia boss gives up her only gun during the middle of a sit down?" laughs Finn, eyeing the many men around the room.

"An underestimated one," I state, abruptly standing from my chair and reaching into Torin's suit jacket to retrieve his—much heavier—gun. I release the safety and point it at Finn's head, making sure to smile sweetly as I do so.

Cillian chuckles. "She's got you there, Gallagher!"

Finn pushes the gun back towards me, prompting me to release my aim.

"How about we stop this stupidity and address serious matters?"

"This is a serious matter," insists Torin, taking back his gun. "There are talks happening amongst the Murphy estate."

"Go on..." encourages Frank.

"People are loyal to the Murphy name. Not necessarily Shane."

"So?"

"So, if we dangle the possibility of Imogen taking over, we can strip Shane of his army. Most of his soldiers are against his business ventures anyway."

"Where are you getting your information from?" asks Finn, agitated.

"I have eyes everywhere, Gallagher."

I don't miss the suble look Torin and Xavier share and—suddenly—I know more about the mysterious stranger I met twenty minutes ago.

"Many won't like it," offers Frank, not entirely opposed to the idea.

"Many will," counters Torin.

Both men shut up, silently speculating. Cillian—however—sits back in his chair, smiling. Torin is fighting hard in my defence, and I can tell this infuriates Finn. But beyond that, he's threatened. An O'Brien and a Murphy side-by-side is bad for business. His business.