Clash Of Worlds

1. ~ Chapter One ~

~ Chapter One ~

T revor

I watched the smoke of my cigar as it swirled upward around me, already bored of the men in the room. I hear about Italian men and their tempers all the time, but I fucking swear, they don’t have shit on Irish men.

Especially when a good whiskey is in their system.

And at this moment, that’s the case.

I took a sip from the crystal glass in my hand before slamming it down on the table.

“Enough,” I bellowed, finally standing up. I buttoned my jacket and looked at each man in turn. There were six of them here.

My heads.

My army.

My most trusted men.

“We don’t need the bickering between us when there is a bigger war going on out there,” I nodded to the window.

“Boss-” but I shook my head, effectively cutting the man off.

“I don’t want to hear it, O’Malley. This is fucking insane, they way you are going on. Worse than women, and I know. Coming from a family of nothing but them. Now,” I walked around the table and to the board that showcased every street along the city. Some were in blue, and some were in red, but neither of them crossed each other.

That was how this very city was divided. The Irish mafia had half, while the other half belonged to the Italian Mob. And never, ever, did they cross over one another.

That’s just how Atalanta was.

“Want to tell me why the bodies of my men were found here,” I asked, clearly pointing to a park that was outlined in red. “This isn’t our area, and I know our boys are smart enough to stay clear of these parts.”

“Yes, Boss, our boys didn’t cross into their territory.”

I lifted my brow at the big man, who only cleared his throat.

“Please go on, Jameson.”

“Yes, sir. I know those boys; they were my own family. They weren’t even working near there. They were about forty miles east of that area.” I turned back to the map, judging the location and nodded. “It’s a tense time, of course, but I’m hearing rumbling that our enemy, at this moment, isn’t the Slick Backs.”

“We do not need to resort to name calling, Jameson. We’re ruthless, cunning, charming, but I will not demean them. I may not like them any more than you, but we’re better than that.”

“Sorry, Boss.”

I nodded my head, knowing that he might be sorry now, but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t use the term again in the future. We were nasty men, of course, but we didn’t need to go that low. A blade or a gun got our point across a lot better than any name calling would do, even in house.

“So, if it wasn’t the Italian’s, what’s the word on the street?”

“It seems there’s a new enemy encroaching on our parts.”

With that, I turned right around to stare hard at O’Malley. Someone was invading my territory, and no one had the galls to tell me that.

“Who?”

“That’s just it, Boss,” he said, shrugging. “No one knows.”

Lucia

“We have a problem.”

I peeked up over my book to look at the man who had stepped up to my father. No one really bothered my dad with work while he was at the house; that was an unspoken rule he had from the time we were babies.

Not that everyone listened, like now. Granted, I would assume it was an emergency, but still, it was always best to call him rather than invade his domain and risk his wrath.

Which I could see was starting to peek at his red cheeks.

“Carlos, not at home. You know this, you buffoon of a man.”

“I’m sorry, but this couldn’t wait. And I did try calling.”

My eyes pinged from each man, curious about what was going on.

“What is it?”

“Two of our boys were killed. They were found on the eastern shore of the riverbank?”

Even that caught my attention. Anyone who was anyone in this town knew that the eastern shore of the river belonged to the Irish mafia and not one of my kind was to set foot there.

The only neutral ground between both families was the mayor’s house. His land sat right in the middle, and he easily dipped from both sides.

“Did they do it?”

“No, sir, I don’t believe the Mud Stain faces did it.”

“Really Carlos,” I groaned, slamming my book on the stand next to me. “Name calling? What are you, five?”

“Lucia, quiet. In fact, take the little ones from the pool. It’s time you were all inside and out of the heat.”

I crossed my arms while I sat in the chair and stared at my dad. He might scare all other men, but I knew him to be a teddy bear. And as I was pushing thirty-one, he didn’t need to tell me what to do. Granted, I would take my nieces inside, but not because I needed to be out of the sun.

“I’m sorry, Principessa , you’ll always be my baby though. Please head inside?”

“Better, papa .” With that, I gathered the little ones and took them in, settling them down for their nap.

Two hours later, I pushed the door to my dad’s office open and peeked my head around.

“Are you busy?”

“No,” he said, putting down the paper he was looking over. “What’s on your mind?”

“Those men who were killed. Dad, I’ve been thinking about it.”

“Have you,” he teased, leaning back in his chair. I didn’t interfere with his job, lessons learned over time of course, and certainly not as the Don of the family, but that didn’t mean I didn’t have my own thoughts on things.

“We’ve never had issues with the Irish, in the many generations we’ve had. I can’t see us starting now. Especially when their own were killed.”

“How do you know this, Lucia?”

“You know my friend Janet?” At his nod, I went on. “She’s friends with Jameson’s son, who let it spill that they had a problem as well. That two of their own were found in one of our parks.” I paused, twisting my lip and my dad waved me on. “They think there might be a new enemy coming around. What better way to find out than at the annual Mayor ball next week?”