I think back to my family when I was only a small child and what my Irish father would whisper to my mother in the old tongue before he headed out the door each morning to provide for his family. Growing up, we were poor and more often than not did without. After I looked on as my father died beaten down, overworked and still poor, I vowed to work for a better life. My two best friends followed, and now we sit at the top of the food chain of the underworld. A white-collar life with a criminal infrastructure. Crime pays. Don’t ever think it doesn’t.
All that doesn’t mean I don’t value the lessons my father taught me. My father understood love and family came above all else and no amount of time or money will change that. The legacy he instilled in his son early on in life will carry on long after I’ve left this world through the children we father with Katriona.
We are no saints, but we are not evil either and live by a set of rules. Human trafficking, drugs, and prostitution are all off-limits. Most think those are the only areas to make a handsome living, but they are wrong and have a limited imagination.
Unlike Katriona’s father. With him, anything was on the table. And now his right-hand man wants the Kane family business. Eventually his own ego was his downfall, and I plan on being the man behind the bullet that will send him into the afterlife to protect what’s mine. And I’ll make no apologies for it.
I reach out and tighten my jacket around her shoulders and take comfort when the fear in her eyes lessens as she leans into me.
In that instant, it all becomes crystal clear. She’s our queen and means more to us than the air filling our lungs. How is that even fucking possible? I’m a fucking criminal by any definition of the word and here I am ready to recite God damned lines of Shakespeare for a woman I’ve only kissed.
My gut churns with disgust. She deserves better than men like us, but I’m a bastard and can’t help myself. “Mo chroí.”
“Why do you keep calling me that?”
I want to tell her because she stole my heart, but I hold my tongue and wait for a better moment. If I tell her the truth now she’s likely to think I’ve lost my good sense. Truth be told, she might be right. What sane person falls for someone with a single kiss? She stands there in my jacket and stares at me. Despite the heaviness of the early morning events, I smile down at her and it provokes the same reaction.
“Your father signed a contract after getting indebted with me. Us,” I correct. “He owed us ten million dollars. In a show of good faith of uniting our families, he offered a deal. Pay us back with something more valuable.”
Her eyes widen with surprise and understanding. “Me. Why does that not surprise me? Of course, he would throw me away like that. A freaking pawn so he can get what he wanted?”
“Yes.”
“And then he reneged.”
“Yes.”
Hurt fills her eyes and I move on quickly before she gets the wrong idea.
I drop my hand from her chin and gesture for her to take a seat, but she refuses.
The side door from the home office opens and Katriona turns.
Drake and I look on as surprise fills her expression but it’s quickly replaced with an injection of anger and then it’s right back to surprise.
“No. You’re dead.” Her voice drops to a whisper. Like she’s seeing a ghost.