Page 39 of Honorable Sins

"That’s what family’s for."

"You’ve always been my brother, but I don’t think I really saw you as family until the last few years."

"I’m loyal to you." As long as I never have to choose between them and my own nuclear family.

"I didn’t believe that either. I’m sorry, Mick."

I don’t need his apology. I doesn’t matter that he never saw me as family before. But sorry isn’t a word any of us says.

It will make Kara happy to know Adam said it though.

"Don’t fash yourself. What you believed about me didn’t change who I was."

"Nah. It didn’t, did it?"

How could it? The only people whose opinions matter to me think I’m the antihero who gets the girl.

And as long as I have her, it’s all good.

My phone call with Brogan takes an unexpected turn.

"Hell, I shouldn't have told Kenneth about me retiring yet. But fuck, how was I supposed to know he'd be stupid enough to spout off about his grievances to his kid? We don't talk mob business with our children."

Fitz knows more about the business than some of the soldiers, but he's going to be boss one day. And he's my son.

"You told Kenneth you were stepping down? When?" I ask.

More to the feckin' point, why? They're family. Second cousins, or something. But the men aren't close.

"He was saying shit about how you didn't deserve to be underboss and I told him to keep his tongue in his head if he knew what was good for him because you'd be boss soon enough."

"And?" I prompt. Because soon enough could mean any point in the future.

Brogan curses. "He said he still had hope I'd show some sense and change my mind about turning the reins over to you. I told him I don't go back on my word."

And he'd be dead if he tried.

"This isn't the first time he's brought it up," I say, sure I'm right.

"When he's had one too many whiskeys he gets maudlin about how Shaughnessy blood should run the Shaughnessy mob, but he's been spouting bullshit like that since we signed the addendum to the blood contract."

Brogan inherited his cousin as a captain from his father and made him a lieutenant a few years later. "Did you think promoting him would shut him up?"

"Yes."

"It didn't."

"No, but he's a good lieutenant."

"That had two traitors on his crew," I judge.

"He accepted his punishment."

And resented having to do so. "Your lieutenant has been bitching about you making me underboss since before my son's birth and you never once said a bleedin' thing about it?"

"He was just letting off steam."

"Well, he's been letting that steam off around other men and his own kid."