“Mr. Malloy, would you like to hold your son?”
The nurse who handed Declan to me was faceless. I didn’t know if they were male or female, what kind of car they drove or if they had a family of their own. But in this instant, they were holding a living breathing example of the love his mother and I shared—my son, my first born heir.
With shaking hands and enough adrenaline to kill a horse, I took him from them, being extra careful that his head was guarded and straight. His dark brown hair and tiny nose were like his mother’s, but his lips and the shape of his eyes were all me. I tucked him securely into my arms, ready to promise him the world, give him every luxury I could beg, borrow or steal. I was completely in love with this tiny creature and I would kill anyone who tried to hurt him.
Time was an enemy, a thief that would steal how long I got to keep him with me. His mother would demand him soon, how could she not? I knew when she, the gift she had allotted me would be gone and she’d ask me to leave. It was our son who decided when that time was near, he began to fuss and I knew he needed to be with Christi. It didn’t help to squelch the yearning I had to crawl into that bed behind her and wrap them both in my arms, daring any motherfucker to take them from me. But his crying increased and I knew my time had expired. Giving him to his mother was easy, natural;it was the letting go of him that about killed me.
“I love you, Declan.” I kissed his forehead, then backed away slowly. “Be good for your ma.”
I couldn’t look at Christi; I knew she would have the same disgusted look on her face that she had the last time I made eye contact with her. My heart just couldn’t take it right now. So I left, without a word. I stood with my back to the wall just outside of her room. I could hear her settling the baby and I imagined for just a moment that I was lying there beside her, kissing her cheek, as she touched his face. I pretended that we were happy and she was excited to be my wife.
I failed to notice that Ma was standing beside me. As I opened my eyes, she opened her arms and I fell into her embrace. No words were exchanged, but just like Declan, I needed my ma.
“They’re going to move her shortly,” Ma whispered in my ear. “Let me get the family here and we’ll talk to her as a whole.”
I couldn’t argue with her; I didn’t have much choice left. I nodded my head in silent agreement.
“Call the florist and have him decorate the room. I will phone your da and have him bring what we know.”
She kissed my cheek and assured me everything would be all right. I believed her, she was wise and strong and she always kept me doing what I was supposed to do. With her assurance, I almost felt like the clouds were clearing and the sun was about to shine. However, it was the words I heard my wife speak that caused the heavens to open up and pour.
“Gretchen, Declan was born about an hour ago. How fast can we have him served with divorce papers?”
I FELT THE ANGER BOILING inside of my chest. She was ready to just toss everything away after hearing only one side of the story. Christi was a member of this family and more importantly, the mother of my new son. She was out of her goddamn mind if she thought for one fucking second that I was going to let her walk away without a fight.
I looked around the hall; I needed reinforcements for what needed to happen. Christi might not want to listen to me, but I had a few people in mind that would make her listen. With no real plan on how to make that happen without the use of violence was foreign territory for me. Give me a gun and I could make any man tell me what I wanted to know, but that beautiful woman, who kept my balls in her purse, wouldn’t even look me in the eye, much less spill her guts. I needed to get my shit together before I made her listen.
I removed my phone and sent a text to my men to meet me with the evidence we had, and another to the people I knew she couldn’t ignore. Da returned my text that they were on their way and would meet me in the parking lot as they had new information. I didn’t like the idea of leaving the floor; I wasn’t convinced Christi wouldn’t bolt with Declan the first chance she got. However, after the long night I had and the events of the day, I knew I needed sleep. I wasn’t about to go home to a house without Christi. A house with no life or laughter, there was only one real choice left.
Not much had changed since I left my parents’ house earlier today. The entryway still smelled of the floor cleaner the cleaning service used. The television in my father’s study could still be heard, the evening news anchor telling the events of the day, a smile on her face as she shared the doom and gloom of the world around us.
If I could just get a few hours of sleep and a hot shower, I knew I could think of a way to get through to Christi. Ma designed the shower in the guest room with these amazing jets that aligned with your body. I stood with the hot water pulsing at me from three directions, closed my eyes, and let the action calm me. As I ran my towel through my hair, the rumbling of my stomach reminded me I had neglected it for far too long. I wasn’t entirely certain when was the last time I ate. There was never a question if there was food prepared in this house. Ma lived to stuff the faces that graced the open doors. I didn’t really want to talk with anyone, not until I had a firm idea of what to do about this situation—how to get everyone back under one roof. This time, as I passed my da’s study, the door was closed and I assumed my parents had gone up to bed. Sitting in the center of my ma’s kitchen island was a plate of meatloaf, steaming hot with a tall frosty glass beside it. I barely even tasted the food as I shoveled it hastily into my mouth, my body acting on its own violation in its need for replenishment.
When I returned, the door to my da’s study was open and I could hear the sounds of my da and Sherman talking. I was about to enter the room, when I clearly heard my da talking about a call from McIntyre, our family attorney. I didn’t like the tone of his voice, the urgency and, sadly, the fatigue.
“Da, tell me what’s going on,” I demanded, storming into the room. “What does McIntyre want?” Getting a call from the family attorney was never a good thing, especially with everything going on with Christi.
“Slow down, Patrick,” Da cautioned, his stance guarded. “McIntyre was calling to tell me he had an interesting call from an Inspector Beliogini.”
I gave him a questioning look as he took a seat and encouraged me to mimic him. “It would appear that Mia Montgomery is singing like a canary in her Italian jail cell.” I closed my eyes and settled into the leather chair. Would that nightmare ever die? “She had a lot to say about a certain ‘friend’ of hers that she recently ended a relationship with.” This was the first time I had ever seen Da using air quotes as he spoke. “According to Mia, Theresa Johnson was once her girlfriend.”
I looked to Da; his face had the beginnings of a smirk.
“Are you saying ... ?” The grin formed, no matter how much I tried to fight it.
“Yes, Son, Mia says she’s a lesbian.”
The urge became too great and the laughter came with an audience as everyone joined me. I could remember Eileen trying to set the two of us up several times over the years. How hard she had worked to place us together. Had I spent any real time with her, I may have been able to hone in on this new detail, save a lot of people a lifetime of heartache.
“She told Beliogini they met a few years ago. Eileen found out and told Mia that Theresa would be the perfect accomplice to their plan to take over.”
I was completely awake now. The desire for more clarity raged inside of me, bringing me more strongly into focus.
“How? I mean we never saw her before the open house,” I stated, racking my brain, trying to figure out where I had met her prior.
“Oh, but we did,” he retorted. His words took on a character full of amusement and fun.
“When, Da? When did I see her?” My tone disbelieving, because frankly I couldn’t remember ever noticing her.
Da relaxed into his chair as he took a sip of his drink. “Remember the car that brought Morgan to the wedding?”
My eyes went wide. I had forgotten all about the mystery driver that day. I was so turned on by the way Christi took charge, showing everyone around her that she was secure within herself. She had been more than ready to enter this family and she showed the world just the kind of contender she was inside.
“That was Theresa Johnson?” I verified.
“Mia said she drove the car from the airport to the church and then to an old warehouse where Morgan was killed.”
Da and I looked at each other for a few minutes. The pieces of the puzzle started coming together. Each detail brought the big picture more into focus.
“But why did she continue? I mean Eileen is dead and Mia soon will be. There’d be no money coming to her.”
“That’s where the story takes a little twist,” Da said, as he stood and crossed the room. He grabbed a cup from the side board filled with cups and pastries. “It seems that McIntyre also received a call from the Feds.”
I knew from earlier that Sherman had some information he hadn’t been able to give to me.
“They arrested an Alex Houston. He’s a rookie who started with the department about a year ago. He was sitting outside of the church during Books’s wedding and decided to follow the car Theresa was driving. He discovered what she was in the process of doing, but she was able to con him into believing she was being forced to do it.
“He took her to his home and she slowly convinced him she had fallen in love with him. He thought he was building a future with her, but she was only using him to get the information she needed on us. She told him she was pregnant with his baby and they needed money to buy a home to raise their family in. He decided if he made a big break in a case against this family that he’d get a promotion and then he could buy them a house.
“So he began to do things on his own time, with no regard for the rules of the department. He made too many mistakes and his department figured out what he was doing. When they arrested him, Theresa laughed in his face and told him she lied about everything, including being pregnant. Apparently, during their pillow talk, Alex spilled a few too many of the Feds’ secrets and now she’s considered a huge liability. They’re asking for our help in putting her away for a long time. They want the video tapes we have.”
Sherman and Caleb sat in the corner, silent until this point. Sherman took one look at me and made his way over.
“Patrick, I know who’s behind this. I swear we’re going to get the truth to Christi. You just need to be ready to take your wife and baby home.”
I continued looking at Da’s face.
“The condom belonged to an Alex Houston, didn’t it ... ?” Everyone knew it was more of a statement than a question. “I still don’t understand why Theresa stayed in the game.”
“I think I can help with that one,” Caleb announced. “Once Theresa found out Eileen was dead and Mia was in prison, she decided she could still cash in. She used the computer that Alex was issued to hack into our system and steal the video tape she used to trick the monitors. She’d planned to blackmail Patrick with pictures of the hidden panties. Christi just, unfortunately, chose the wrong day to clean the closet.”
I turned my attention to Caleb. “How do we know this was her plan?”
Caleb chuckled as he looked me directly in the eye. “Because, Tonto went back to her apartment with Angus and gave her some medication that caused little Theresa to be very truthful.”
“Where’s the bitch now?” I demanded.
“Right here, Boss,” Angus announced, as he shoved a bound and gagged Theresa through the den door.
Her hair was a matted mess and her eyes were black from her running makeup, but she was otherwise unharmed. My guys would never hurt a woman if they didn’t have to.
Theresa stumbled and then tripped on the rug. She landed on her side next to the coffee table.
“Sit her up and remove the gag,” I ordered. “I want to talk to her.”
Tonto put her in the chair and ripped the duct tape off her mouth. I took the chair from the desk and placed it directly in front of her. I said nothing to her as I locked eyes with her. I watched her as she sobbed and squirmed. She never said a word. No one said a word. The only noise in the room was the clicking of the grandfather clock in the hallway. The silence was interrupted by the dinging of all cell phones in the room. I ignored it and continued to stare at her.
She was the reason my life had been upended. She was the reason my wife was thinking I no longer wanted her. I twisted my wedding band as I continued to shoot daggers at her.
I continued to watch Theresa fall apart in the chair. She knew she was caught and she knew she would die soon, yet she said nothing. It only pissed me off further.
“My son was born today.” I chose my words carefully. “He’s the most beautiful baby I’ve ever seen.”
The tears increased and her entire body trembled. I so wished Christi could see this; could give her everything she deserved for the wrong she had done to this family.
“You took something from me that I’ll never get back.” Theresa began to shake her head back and forth. “My son was born early and my beautiful wife thinks I was unfaithful because of your lies.”
“I-I ...”
“Did I give you fucking permission to speak to me? You’ve opened your goddamn mouth too many times when it comes to me!” I shouted at her. Her body began to shake with fear as her sobs increased. “Get this piece of shit out of my sight!” I threw my phone at her.
“Patrick,” Ma’s soft voice spoke.
I turned and came face to face with nearly the entire family. Ammo stood in front of Muscles and a very pregnant Amex stood holding Sherman and Caleb’s hands. However, Smiles’s face was the one that caught my attention. “She never left my side when Abby was born.” I crossed the room and took Smiles into a tight hug. “It’s supposed to be a magical time, having your first baby.”
“Theresa took that from her,” I spoke into her ear.
“She took it from you as well,” Smiles responded.
“I know ... I know.”
“We’re going to get her back, get her to listen to reason,” Smiles assured me, stroking my face. “She may not listen to you, but she will listen to me.”
It was a little later when everyone left. I had found a chair on the patio that was quiet and alone. I sat out there for hours and thought about everything that had happened. I replayed the memories of meeting my Christi, falling madly in love with her, taking her to my bed for the first time, dancing with her, waking up with her, begging for her forgiveness ... watching my son being born.
I heard the patio door open and got a whiff of Ma’s perfume. I felt her warm hand on my shoulder as she walked around the chair.
“She believed a lie, Ma.”
“I know, sweetheart.”
“After all the times I’ve told her how much I love her, that I’d never be unfaithful, she still believed a fucking lie.”
Ma placed her warm hand on my knee. I knew her words of wisdom were about to make the hurt go away, just like she did when I was a little boy and fell and scraped my knees—if only it was that easy.
“You have a big choice to make. You can either dwell on the negative of this or you can rejoice in knowing she’s safe and he’s healthy.”
I knew she was right. Once Christi heard the truth, she would apologize and promise to make it up to me. I knew that wasn’t what I wanted.
“I need to see my son,” I spoke, as I rose from the chair and headed upstairs to shower.
Last night when Smiles had shared her plan, I could have kissed her. Actually, that was exactly what I did—it was her cheek—but I still kissed her in appreciation. The plan was simple. Christi wanted nothing to do with me or any male member of the family, but she could never refuse her sister, or mine, for that matter. Ammo would go along as the muscle in the situation. The ladies would enter her room, while I waited—not so patiently outside the door—listening for my cue to come in. With my back pressed t
o the same spot I found last night, I closed my eyes and prayed this plan would work.
“You know when you look into the store window of a pet shop and you see all of the cute and cuddly puppies playing with one another, then you take one home just to find out he pisses on the floor and chews up your best pair of heels?”
The girls entered the room a united front. I listened carefully as Ma stood beside me. I could just picture them standing with arms cross and glaring at Christi; somehow I knew she would be glowing sitting in that hospital room.
“I say we take the baby and leave his mom to wallow in the hole she’s dug for herself,” Amex suggested.
“No, Patrick would kill us for that. However, she’s going to owe us big after this.” Smiles said; her voice laden with attitude that only a sister, who was about to hand you your ass, could carry.
“Don’t you roll your eyes at me, Christi!” Smiles suddenly barked. I adjusted my position, struggling not to laugh.
I could hear their clicking of heels as they moved around the room, surely getting closer to Christi’s bed.
“Give my nephew to me,” Amex demanded.
“Oh, Sissy, what am I going to do with you?”
The sounds of sobs followed and I knew they were from my wife. I had to physically hold on to the wall to keep from dashing in there and holding her.
“Don’t worry; you’ve got us and we’ll help you fix this,” Ammo instructed. Her voice was muffled; she must have been hugging a crying Christi. I could hear Declan begin to fuss and I yearned to soothe him.
“Christi, I swear to God, I love you like no other, but this is beyond belief. If you hadn’t just given birth to the most beautiful baby, I’d totally kick your skinny ass.” Ammo spoke loud and clear. I made out the sounds of sniffles that I couldn’t assign, but assumed whom they belonged to.
“I knew the two of you would make beautiful babies, but he’s more perfect than I imagined. He looks exactly like Patrick,” Amex said, admiration in her voice.
Claddagh and Chaos (Shamrocks #2) Page 8
