Page 49 of The King's Boy

"Oh, I am."

Spencer treated me the same way, as just a guy, not a mobster. It was nice and not something I expected. Maybe that was something else I needed to consider.

"How do you do it?"

Borelli's eyebrows lifted. "Do it?"

"Keep him safe?" That was my biggest worry. "I've already assigned Spencer a bodyguard, but I worry that it will not be enough."

I was hesitant to tell Borelli about someone trying to kill Spencer simply because he didn't fall under the spouse veil. If Borelli got angry, he could take Spencer out and I would have no support from the other families to enact my revenge.

"It's not easy, honestly, and Nicky doesn't help. He's headstrong and he has a moral compass a mile wide. We work really hard to keep a separate line between my work and his life, but it does cross on occasion."

"I'm not sure Spencer actually knows what I do beyond what he sees in the movies."

Borelli chuckled. "It took a lot of convincing to get Nicky to understand not everything he sees in the movies is true. I thought he was going to slug me when he learned I took a man named Jai D'Amato as collateral for the loan his parents took out. Nicky was convinced I dealt in human trafficking." A sudden flush filled Borelli's cheeks. "He thinks I'm sweet."

I tucked my lips to keep from laughing. Vincenzo Borelli was anything but sweet. "That's not necessarily a bad thing when it comes to those we care about."

"No, I suppose not." Borelli smiled for a moment before growing serious. "Do you think you'll be able to turn things around here?"

"Maybe," I admitted. "O'Donnell really fucked things up. I'm actually kind of surprised headquarters didn't take him out before now."

Borelli nodded his agreement. "His kid was just as much of an idiot as he was."

I couldn't agree more. "That whole damn family is nuts. They never should have been put into power. I'm still trying to weed through the bad blood."

"Well, I can't say I'm not glad they are gone. After Kirby tried to kidnap and then kill Nicky, delivering him to Ireland was the nicest thing I could do to him."

I winced. "I do apologize for that. Your Nicky never even should have been in O'Donnell's crosshairs. He falls under the veil."

"He didn't when O'Donnell started messing with him. We were just seeing each other at that point. We weren't married."

"Doesn't matter." Ireland might not agree with me, but I felt that it was unethical to go after the families of my rivals, even if they were just dating. "That's the easiest way to make an enemy."

"Then let's talk about what will not make us enemies."

That's what I wanted to hear.

"I'm overhauling things here in Queens," I said. "I want us out of the drug business. It's bad for everyone involved."

One eyebrow on Borelli's face lifted. "If you're getting out of the drug business, how are you going to send money back to Ireland?"

I grinned. "Liquor."

Borelli blinked at me. "Come again?"

"There is a very large market for alcohol here in the US. Half the adults living here are either drunks or they know someone who is. By shipping liquor here at a reduced price, I believe I can make enough money to make Ireland happy."

"You really think you can make money on that?"

"A bottle of real tequila costs about three dollars retail in Mexico. Companies here buy it, pay to ship it here for very little cost, and then slap a forty-dollar price tag on it, and the bottles fly off the shelves. With my shipping lines, I can get it here for half the price and cut the cost in half and still make a profit."

"If you can get it wholesale, that would save you even more."

That was kind of the idea.

"Will I be stepping on any toes if I move to the alcohol business?" I asked. "I don't want to cause more of a rivalry between the families than there already is."