Taking Risk Series

by Toni Aleo

  When the car stops, the doors open and we file out. I assume we are heading inside, but Declan stops me, pulling me to him and in the other direction.

  “Declan, honey, where are you off to?”

  Glancing back his mom, he says, “We’re gonna go on a walk, clear our heads a bit.”

  “Oh, you don’t want to eat?”

  He shakes his head but then looks to me. “Ya hungry?”

  I shake my head. “A walk sounds great.”

  “Grand, we’re good, Ma. Be back later.”

  Lena looks at us longingly, and I can’t help but feel that she’d rather walk with us than go inside. Since I’m not sure why Declan wants to go for a walk, I don’t say anything as she heads back inside while his mom says, “Okay, see ya later.”

  He puts his arm around me and we head out toward the lake, walking in a comfortable silence, the warm sun shining down on us. When we don’t go where I thought we would, the dock, I look up at him.

  “Where are we going?”

  “Just walking,” he explains as he holds me tighter. “You were amazing today, my love.”

  Wrapping my arms around his waist, I smile. “You too.”

  “I’m sorry ya had to get up there and do that. You shouldn’t have been involved at all.”

  Rolling my eyes, I let him go and look up at him. “Even if I wouldn’t have stepped in front of you and taken the bullet, I’d still have to testify because I saw what happened.”

  He shrugs. “Sure, but still. I wish none of this would have happened.”

  He hasn’t said anything like this in a while, and I know it’s because I told him to let it go. It was bound to come back up with the trial and all.

  “It’s not your fault.”

  “Eh, I don’t know. I sometimes feel it is.”

  “It isn’t,” I remind him. “I made my own choice. Took my own risk to save the man I love.”

  He smiles down at me and nods. “Yeah, but I should be doing the saving, ya know?”

  I grin back at him, wrapping my arms around him. “But you have. You have saved me in every way possible.”

  “How so?” he asks, confused.

  “I could be a puddle of tears, doing nothing but crying and being sad because I’m an orphan,” I say, holding his gaze. “But instead, I’m happy and I’m excited for my life. You bring out all the good in me.”

  “As you do for me,” he answers, kissing my nose. “I do love ya.”

  “I love you too,” I say back as we reach a hill that a large stone building sits on. “Oh wow,” I gasp, taking in the beauty of it.

  “Yeah, this is the old church that most of my ancestors got married in. It was built in 1790. Pretty, yeah?”

  I nod as he leads me in through an entrance that I’m pretty sure had a door at one time. Everything is very old, but it has good bones; I feel like they could still hold a service here. It’s beautiful, but the windows are gone and there is only one pew.

  “Why doesn’t it have windows and a door? It could still be used.”

  “Eh, no one has kept up with it. The only reason it isn’t infested with animals and dirty is ’cause my ma has people to come clean it out every other month.”

  “Why, though?”

  “She was born here.”

  “What?” I ask, my eyes wide.

  “My ma’s ma worked on the grounds and was pregnant but didn’t want anyone to know because she’d gotten knocked up and wasn’t married. So she worked all through her pregnancy, had every intention of leaving my ma in the church for someone to come save or something, but she looked into my ma’s eyes and couldn’t do it.”

  “Oh my goodness,” I say, covering my mouth. “That’s so crazy.”

  “Yeah, so she raised my ma the best she could, very poor, but my ma was and still is a very pretty lady. My grandma used to say she was born on this land because she was meant to rule it and more shite. She married my da and here we are.”

  I smile. “That’s sweet that she keeps the church clean.”

  “Yeah, it makes sense. I come up here some, just to sit and to get back to me,” he says, and then he falls into the pew, looking up at me. “After Lena was found, they couldn’t locate me for hours ’cause I sat in here, crying and throwing myself a blaming party. It was bad, but I dusted myself off and went back, ready to stand by my sister.”

  I sit down next to him, taking his hand in mine. “You are the most amazing person I know, Declan,” I say, kissing his palm.

  “No,” he says with a shake of his head. “Ya know yourself, right?”

  I grin but shake my head. “I’m not that amazing.”

  “You’re right,” he says, cupping my face. “You’re damn well spectacular, yeah?”

  He kisses me as my heart just flies out of my chest and into the clouds. Wrapping my arms around his neck, deepening the kiss, I fall onto him. Holding me, he devours my mouth, both of us playing and enjoying the great splendor of kissing each other. When his hand goes up and under my shirt, I arch my back, wanting his hands on me. Trailing kisses down my throat, he nibbles at the valley of my breasts before slowly pulling away, looking at me with those intoxicating blue eyes.

  Pushing my jacket down my arms, he takes my shirt off before kissing my neck again, my chest, and then very slowly trailing kisses along my bra. Tangling my fingers into his hair, I let my head fall back as my bra slips down my arms and his mouth is on my breast. Swirling his tongue and nibbling at my nipples, he has me crying out and arching into his mouth. Squeezing my eyes shut, I hold on to him with everything inside me as he slowly marks his mouth down my tummy to the button of my pants.

  Pulling his head up, his eyes burn into mine as he stands, removing his jacket and then his pants along with his boxers.

  “Take your pants off,” he demands, and I don’t question him or even protest. I stand up, pushing them down my legs along with my panties before standing bare-ass naked in front of my fiancé. A grin pulls at his lips as he reaches for me, cupping my breast, his eyes scalding as he drinks me in. “You’re stunning, mo stór.”

  I’m breathless as he takes me into his arms, our mouths meeting in a hot embrace. I am humming with awareness of his hot, hard body against my soft one. His fingers dance along my skin, molding and kneading me as his mouth just drives me out of my damn mind. When he bends down a bit, taking me by the back of my thighs, I hold on as he lifts me, sitting himself down before bringing me down on his lap.

  His dick presses against my belly, my wet center dripping for him as he continues to kiss me senseless. When his fingers find my wet spot, swirling his finger along my clit, I cry out against his mouth, riding against his finger, wanting my release. Holding me by the back of my neck, he kisses me intensely as he flicks my clit, sending me into space. Soon my body is trembling, shaking, and I’m sure I’m going to spontaneously combust.

  This man gives me everything my body was missing before, and I have the rest of my life to get my fill of him.

  Closing my eyes, I ride my orgasm as he nibbles down my neck, whispering how much he loves me. When he pulls back, I look at him through hooded eyes as he smiles.

  “Love, can you reach my slacks? I don’t want to move ya,” he says softly, his hand molding my breast.

  I look behind me and I’m sure I can reach them. Leaning back, him holding my hips, I take ahold of his pants, but as I’m about to come up, his mouth is on my vagina, and I go languid. He holds me and my head dangles as he sucks my clit into his mouth and I cry out, my heels digging into the pew.

  “Oh God,” I cry out, and I’m sure that is wrong on so many levels.

  But I don’t have time to think of that before I am flying on pretty little pink orgasm clouds, my body seizing up before I go completely limp, my vagina throbbing with want for this man. Pulling me back up by my arm, he takes my mouth with his before he takes his pants from me. I really don’t know what happens next, but soon, he is lifting me and then I’m coming down onto him. He fill
s me completely, my whole body squeezing him as my fingers dig into his shoulders before he starts to move my hips, showing me how to ride him.

  “There you go, my love. A little faster, yeah,” he coaches in my ear, holding me tightly as I move my hips faster, his dick going in and out of me, deeper and deeper with each stroke. “Fuck yeah, love, yeah,” he says, his fingers biting into the small of my back until he takes control. Or maybe loses it because he takes my hips and thrusts up into me, his body slapping into mine, his dick going so deep, it takes my breath away. Holding on the best I can, I cry out with each thrust, loving the feeling before he stills, gathering me close before he slowly thrusts inside me. When he stops, he squeezes his arms around me before nuzzling his nose into my neck.

  I suck in deep breaths, trying to breathe, but I’m sure that won’t even happen. He’s taken it all. All of me. Every single bit. When he pulls his face out from my neck, he looks me deep in the eyes and smiles.

  “Ya blow my mind, mo stór. Completely, ya know that?”

  I smile back, running my finger down his shoulder to his elbow. “I don’t even think I can breathe right now,” I admit, and he laughs.

  “But ya are,” he says, pressing his lips to mine.

  I get lost in his kisses. I don’t have to think when I am kissing him. I can just vanish.

  Pulling away, I cup his face, loving him with every fiber in my body. A grin pulls at his lips before he presses his lips to my chin. Still smiling, I ask, “Do you think we are going to hell for having sex in a church?”

  He laughs, pressing another kiss to my bottom lip. “After that, I’d take a one-way ticket, as long as I get to do it again,” he says before kissing me again. “And again,” he whispers against my lips before kissing me once more. “And then some more. I can’t get enough of ya, and I’m not going to try.”

  “Please don’t,” I beg as he lays me down on the pew, kissing down my throat. “I don’t ever want you to try to.”

  Chapter 25

  Declan

  Like we all knew he would, Casey fuckin’ lied through his teeth.

  With my fist clenched at my side, I hold Amberlyn’s hand with the other as I listen to the complete bullshite that comes out that wanker’s fuckin’ mouth.

  “I did love Lena, very much,” he claims. “I never raped her. We didn’t even lie down that night. I took what she said to heart; I’d figure out how to marry her another way. I dropped her off at the gate like I always did and drove off, like I usually did. The next thing I know, I’m being accused of raping her, and from then on the O’Callaghan family has had it out for me. Always putting me down, running my name through the mud, coming at me in public and trying to ruin me.”

  “Did you feel threatened?” the defense asked.

  When a scared look comes over that fucker’s face, I want to smack it off, especially when he claims, “Yeah, of course. They are rich. They have ways of making people disappear.”

  My da scoffs as I shake my head; even Lena rolls her eyes.

  “Have they ever tried to have you disappear?”

  He nods. “Yeah. Old man O’Callaghan has offered to pay me off many times. Told me to leave town or he’d open the case about Lena again. I’m innocent, but they keep on with it. No charges were ever pressed, so why they feel like I need to burn for that is beyond me.”

  “What happened that night you allegedly shot Amberlyn Reilly?”

  He shakes his head and I want to laugh at his theatrics. It’s downright pathetic. When the tears well up in his eyes, it takes everything out of me not to stand and call him on his bullshite. It’s just completely insane!

  “Fuckin’ wanker,” Kane says from behind me and I nod, completely disgusted by him.

  “I didn’t mean to hurt her. I love Amberlyn.”

  Amberlyn looks at me and I roll my eyes. Love? This bloke has a different notion of love.

  “We dated and we were happy. She says that Declan didn’t steal her from me, but he did. He swooped in, his money waving in her face, and she was a goner. Of course, she’d go for a rich guy, the damn prince of this county instead of a struggling artist.”

  Kane scoffs and I have to agree. This dude is out of his damn mind.

  “I was heartbroken, distraught even. I tried to win her back, but she wasn’t having it,” he says before pausing to wipe his face. Sucking in a deep breath, he looks at his lawyer and with the most pathetic expression ever, he says, “I never stopped loving Lena, still do love her. I figured out I was using Amberlyn as a rebound, so I reached out for Lena and she came. We professed our love for each other, and we were gonna run off together, and then Declan comes out, telling me to go. And like Lena always does, she listens to her brother and is leaving me. Amberlyn is standing there, looking at me like I’m worthless, and something inside me snaps. I didn’t even have control of myself. I would never try to kill someone. I would never do that. Never,” he pleads with his hands up. “I don’t even know what happened next. I woke up at home and then the police came, saying I shot a girl. I would never do that,” he cries. And when he looks at Amberlyn, I swear, if looks could kill, he’d be dead. “I would never.”

  “But they say you did.”

  “I wasn’t there. Mentally, it wasn’t me. I was out of my mind,” he cries, and then he just breaks down. Crying so damn hard that if I didn’t know he was a full of shite bastard, I’d believe him. Looking at the jury, I see that some are wiping their tears, and I want to scream that they are dumb. He is playing them all. Wake up! He is a fuckin’ liar!

  “So you are the victim?”

  “I am. I’m sick in the head from where they have ruined me,” he pleads, and all of us are in disbelief.

  Is this really happening? Handing him a box of tissues, the lawyer pats his shoulder before looking at the judge. “I have nothing more.”

  The prosecution lawyer stands automatically and tucks his hands in his pockets before looking over at Casey. He is excited about something, and you can tell that this isn’t his first trial.

  He is ready to pounce.

  “Explain to me, Mr. Burke,” he says and Casey looks up, his eyes red as he watches him. “You say that you were in love with Ms. O’Callaghan and Ms. Reilly, yes?”

  “Yes. Lena is the best thing that ever happened to me.”

  “Hmm, why didn’t you ever tell her that?”

  “I did, all the time.”

  “So she’s lying?”

  “Yes, that what that family does. Lie and deceives.”

  “Hmm, that’s mad because I’ve known this family a very long time. When they aren’t working hard to make their whiskey great, they are helping the community. They have parties and invite everyone. They are generous. Last I heard, they are building a new library for Brighton Elementary. They also paid for your ma to be housed in the home, so I’m sorry, but I don’t see them as being liars or even deceivers.”

  Casey’s mouth drops at hearing about his ma, but he recovers quickly, shaking his head “Probably out of pity, to make them look good!”

  “Hmm, maybe, but still,” he mutters but then quickly starts another sentence, probably because the defense was about to object. “You said you don’t remember pulling the gun out or even pulling the trigger, right?”

  Casey looks up and something inside me tells me this is it. This is what the prosecution was excited about.

  “No, I don’t.”

  “Why did you have the gun? Your grandda’s old pistol?”

  “Um,” Casey says, pausing. My da smacks my leg and Kane squeezes my shoulder. Amberlyn is beside me, sitting on the edge of her seat as we wait for him to answer. “Um, for protection, of course.”

  “Protection for what? It’s not common to carry a gun in Mayo. I don’t have one for sure, and I put bad guys in jail. It kind of makes people mad.”

  The courtroom laughs as Casey looks wildly at his lawyer. The prosecution stands in his line of sight, smiles, and asks again, “So please, tell me why
you went to the O’Callaghan estate with a gun. Did you plan to use it?”

  “No,” he blurts out. “It was for protection. I forgot I even had it.”

  The prosecution doesn’t say anything for a second, but then he puts his hands back in his pockets. “If it was for protection, what made you want to use it, do you think?”

  “I don’t know; it wasn’t me.”

  “Hmm, but you said you forgot about it. Why do you think you pulled it out and shot an innocent girl?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “Could it be because you hate Declan O’Callaghan, and you didn’t have the gun as protection from everyone else, but actually in case Declan came out so you could kill him? And wouldn’t that mean your actions were premeditated? That you took the gun with the intention to do harm?”

  “No, never,” he says.

  “Or maybe it was actually to kill Lena? Maybe with her out of the picture, all the rape accusations would be gone and you could live your life. Because, like I said, no one really carries guns in Mayo, so in order to carry one legally, it would have to be registered. Your grandda didn’t have his gun registered because it was so old, so in turn, no one could trace it back to you. Am I correct?”

  Whoa. I never thought of that. Looking at Lena, I can see her eyes filling with tears as she looks down at her lap. Amberlyn moves her hand into hers, and Lena gives her a watery smile.

  “I didn’t think he could do that. Any of this.”

  Amberlyn nods. “Me neither, but he did.”

  “Yeah,” she says with a nod before wiping her face to look at Casey.

  Looking back at the stand, I see that Casey is just staring at the lawyer, his mouth hanging open, his eyes wide. You can see the guilt all over his fucking face. He was gonna kill my sister if she didn’t agree, or maybe me, who knows. But that wanker wasn’t out his mind; he knew what he was doing. He’s a fuckin’ psycho.

  “I’d never,” Casey promises. “I love her.”

  “Sure ya do,” the prosecutor says. “I have nothing more.”

  * * *