I leaned back on the couch off to the side of the dance floor and clenched my free hand into a fist on my lap. I was nursing a scotch and doing my best to stay seated while Holly danced in my line of sight. I shouldn’t have been watching her, but she’d slammed back shot after shot, and I couldn’t have some arsehole trying to take advantage of her, which included Harrison. Honestly, I was surprised she could still stand, let alone dance.
Ola swapped my empty drink for another a moment later, and after I thanked her and she left, I waved off a brunette who’d attempted to join me on the couch.
“Do you enjoy pain?”
I forced my eyes off Holly and tracked the voice to Luca standing alongside the couch in his usual club clothes. Jeans and a white, untucked dress shirt, paired with a gray blazer and matching oxfords. His hair was gelled back away from his face, but he pushed at it anyway as if expecting a piece to fall into his eyes.
“Sometimes pain is the only way you know you’re alive.”
“Is that some existential shit?” He dropped down next to me and slapped a hand between us. “I don’t know how you do it, mon ami.”
I didn’t have a choice. She could never be mine in the way I wanted, but I also knew it was insane to demand her not to be with anyone else, including Reed.
The idea of that man in bed with her—his mouth on her . . . I wanted to kill him. To wrap my hands around his neck and choke the life out of him.
“You have no intention of taking my advice, do you?”
“No.” I’d just tasted her lips. Had my tongue in her mouth. My hands on her. It wasn’t even close to enough. I’d never get enough of her. I had become an addict like Ma. My addiction: Holly. “Christmas,” I said. “After Christmas, I’ll be out of her life for good.”
That had been the plan all along, but Reed didn’t need to know that. McGregor Enterprises was back on its feet, and there was only one deal I needed to close, then I’d be out of her life for good.
“I have a hard time picturing you walking away.”
Holly shoved her hands through her long, dark locks as she moved seductively to the song. Her hands then followed the lines of her body to her full tits on display in her fitted black dress, her cleavage making my mouth water. She continued to work her hands down her hips, and I dragged my gaze to her long, shapely legs in those fucking redder-than-red heels.
“Where’s your date? If Holly’s here, you must have brought one along,” he joked, but the man knew me well.
I spotted Ainsley on the dance floor, not too far away from Holly, grinding up against some other guy. She was only a friend and had been well aware of the fact that I had no intention of hooking up with her. And Luca was right; I’d brought Ainsley along to try and maintain a distance from Holly. A clear failure.
“If you don’t have sex with someone tonight, I’m worried you’ll kill a guy.” I glanced at him out of the corner of my eye, and he pressed a hand to his chest. “I’d prefer that guy not to be me.” He smiled. “And is that Harrison Reed at your bar?”
I shifted on the couch, uncomfortable at the mere mention of his name. “You know him?”
“He’s famous, so yeah, everyone knows him.”
“Right.” I set the glass down on the table in front of me and rolled my neck from side to side, trying to loosen up.
“That’s some luck. She with him?”
“Co-workers,” I rushed out.
“Yeah, sure.” He motioned for a nearby server and ordered a vodka tonic. “I—”
I shook my head, warning him not to continue when I spotted Sean on his way. “Can you give us a minute?” I asked Luca.
Luca lifted his chin my way, then left.
Sean remained standing in front of the couch, blocking my view of Holly. “Are you serious about leaving the company?” A drawl of suspicion moved through his tone.
“Yes, but I’ll give your family advanced notice, so you have a chance to purchase the stock back at a fair price,” I spoke up so he could hear over the song blasting through the speakers.
“What do you really want in return?”
He didn’t believe me, and maybe I didn’t blame him, but I was telling the truth. “Nothing.”
“I don’t believe that. If you think this little stunt will get you into my sister’s—”
“I’d stop now,” I warned, now standing.
“If anything ever happens to her, I’ll end you.”
“I’d count on it, or you wouldn’t be much of a big brother, would you?”
His forehead tightened, but then he surprised me by turning and walking away.
I approached the bar and motioned for Ola’s attention. “No more shots for her.”
She nodded, but then tipped her chin as a signal to stop talking.
“You really didn’t just do that, did you?”
I hung my head at the sound of Holly’s voice. “You shouldn’t drink so much. Not at my club, at least.”
“I can make my own decisions.”
I turned to face her, finding the tight draw of her angry lips and her squared-back shoulders ridiculously sexy. “Apparently not, or you wouldn’t have let me kiss you.”
“I didn’t let you.” She wrinkled her adorable nose in dispute to my claim. Her embarrassment was cute. “You didn’t give me a choice.”
I leaned in closer and brought my mouth near her ear. “Says the fingernail marks on my back.”
If I hadn’t been wearing a shirt, she would’ve drawn blood, and if the lighting wasn’t shit in here, I’d surely see the familiar rise of heat up her neck and into her cheeks.
She was always so damn confident and collected except around me. I shouldn’t love that fact, either, since I was supposed to stay away from her, but I did.
“Like you said,” she bit out, “it’ll never happen again.”
“Everything okay?”
Reed. “She was just saying goodbye. Make sure she gets home safe.”
“Planned on it.” I could tell he wanted to say more, and so did I, but there were no more warnings to dole out, were there? And so, we had no further reason to discuss Holly.
She wasn’t mine.
I reached into my pocket at the feel of my mobile vibrating.
A message from someone at the Garda—the police. Most Dubliners referred to them as The Guards, the protectors of the city. But without me, I wasn’t sure how much success they’d have in doing just that.
“I have to go.” I held her eyes, and for a moment, her lips parted as if she might protest my departure. But then that full, luscious mouth of hers thinned, forced into a tight line. “Good night.”
* * *
“Thank you.” I gave the officer a nod as Declan shoved past me and started for the exit. “Pretty damn ungrateful considering I bailed your arse out of jail,” I said once we were outside. “What were you thinking?”
“I didn’t know he was Garda!” he hissed.
“That’s not the point. I told you to stop stealing.”
He whirled around and threw an angry finger in the air. “Women! You didn’t say I couldn’t steal from anyone else.”
He was shivering, so I removed my gray wool coat and handed it to him. It was colder than normal, below five degrees Celsius.
“No way!”
“Don’t be a stubborn arse.” I pushed it his direction. “And where’s Samuel?”
“Sleeping.” He snatched the coat and muttered a Thank you, but didn’t put it on.
“Thank you? Did I hear ya right?”
“Yeah, well, it won’t happen again.” He turned, but I caught his arm.
“Damn right. We’re getting your brother, and you’re going to the hotel. You can leave a note for your ma to call me when she comes home.”
He remained still. Contemplative.
“You worried she’ll come home and not care?”
“No,” he yelled.
“Then what?” I cocked my head.
“She’s never been gone th
is long. I-I don’t think she’s coming back.” His voice was barely a whisper.
I pinched the bridge of my nose. “I’ll find her, okay?”
“Why do you care?” His shoulders sagged, and it was obvious he was puzzled. He’d never had help from anyone before, and I didn’t think he knew how to accept it. “I don’t understand.”
“I told you I was once like you.” I let my arms fall heavy to my sides, the cold night air chilling my body, a much-needed change after being around Holly, where I’d almost let the depths of hell consume me with my need for her.
“I need more.” He was back to being the tough guy.
“And I don’t talk about my past, so you’re just going to have to be satisfied with whatever I choose to tell you.” I didn’t mean to lose my cool, but after the night I’d had . . . I was on the edge of control, not a place I was comfortable.
“I can’t repay you, though. I—”
“Work at the club, remember?”
“That doesn’t seem fair.”
“Life isn’t fair, so if someone gives you something, don’t turn it down. Don’t be stupid.” The rage cut through my tone again no matter how much I tried to crush it. “I don’t give out third chances.”
My own regrets bled through my words.
“If not for you, do it for your brother.” If he was anything like me, he’d stop at nothing to protect his family the way I’d once desperately tried to do.
I may have failed, but with any luck, his story wouldn’t turn out the same.
Chapter Eight
Paris, France - Four and a Half Years Ago
Sebastian
“Alessia Romano is your sister, am I correct?” The abrupt switch from French to English didn’t throw me, it was his words that were like daggers to the heart.
I stood from the other side of his desk and braced a hand in front of me for support as I wrapped my head around Édouard Moreau’s words. Moreau, the leader of La Ligue des Frères in France, knew my secret. And now I knew why he’d really summoned me to his office in Paris.
“The wealth you inherited. You lied to me, Sebastian.” He unbuttoned his jacket, removed it, then began working at the sleeves of his dress shirt. “You’re like a son to me, how could you?”
More knives to the heart. I was going to be butchered at this rate.
He’d been the man to bring me into the organization. To take me off the streets and give me a new home. A cause to believe in. A reason to live.
I’d stolen his Ferrari out of his garage when I was eighteen. His fortress-like mansion had been dubbed impenetrable, but I’d gotten into his garage without breaking much of a sweat. Of course, Moreau had his men find me, but instead of hurting me, he made an offer.
“Anthony Romano was your father, am I right? The American billionaire.” He looked out the window that had a perfect view of the Eiffel Tower in the distance. The tops of the trees down below filled my line of sight when I joined him to share the view.
Paris. Ma’s favorite city. Then again, she’d never traveled much to see the rest of the world. But she’d loved the air of romance in the city she claimed wrapped her up like a comforting blanket on a cool night. Of course, her obsession with France began after my biological father broke her heart, so it was quite possible she needed to find a new love to fulfill her, and that love had been for me and this city. And then for pills, and those damn things won in the end.
Anthony Romano. No, he wasn’t my father, just blood.
Édouard Moreau had been the closest thing to a father I’d ever had. He was caring, compassionate, and he’d been a loyal husband before his wife was murdered. He never had children. Never married again. He’d chosen to devote his life to his work as leader of La Ligue des Frères after his wife was killed on the streets in a mugging he couldn’t stop.
“One of my men saw you with Anthony Romano’s daughter,” he explained when I’d yet to speak. “A few times.” He slowly faced me, and my pulse raced. “She calls herself Josie McClintock.” His pale gray-blue eyes tightened. The deep lines on his face aged him more than his sixty-five years.
I knew we should have been more careful about being seen in public together. We’d scrubbed her previous life from the Internet the best we could, but even a new name would be ineffective if photos from her life as Alessia Romano still existed.
Cole McGregor had taken the ones down from his Facebook profile recently, and I wasn’t sure if he’d been pissed she left, or the pictures were too painful of a reminder of her absence. I actually felt sorry for the guy. Alessia had been as vague about their relationship as I had been about the organization I worked for and supposedly quit.
“I’m sorry.” What else could I possibly say to make this right? “I was trying to protect her from our enemies.”
“And does your sister know who we are?” Still no anger like I’d expected given my lie. Luca usually got scolded like a petulant kid when he messed up, and what I’d done was worse than any of his antics.
“I told her I once belonged to a group of sorts.” I kept my voice low. “I was vague.”
“She thinks you quit?” he asked in surprise, and I nodded.
This conversation was going to get worse, wasn’t it? And I deserved whatever he threw at me given my betrayal.
“And is this what you want, to leave The League?” His tone dipped lower, nearly void of emotion, and it had the hairs on my arms standing.
“I don’t know,” I admitted. I couldn’t risk another lie. I didn’t want to further hurt him as I knew I had with my omission of the truth already.
“Why’d you lie? Why break the rules? We would’ve protected her like family, same as you.” No change in his voice and it had me on edge as to what he was thinking, what he was planning to do.
“I wanted to keep her away from this life. Keep my worlds separate.” I faced the window again, bringing my palm to the glass, focusing on the Eiffel Tower. The last time I visited was when I’d had a picnic with Ma at the foot of the towering structure. That lunch had been a week before she died. “I didn’t want her to know who I am.”
I’d admitted to Alessia when we first met I was a killer, but she never asked more, and I didn’t feel compelled to explain it to her. A fresh start, she’d said. And I wanted that, too, but if I left The League, what would happen?
“And what? You think you’re a bad person?” he asked, surprise in his tone, his question forming a knot in my throat. “You’re now worth one point eight billion dollars,” he went on when I couldn’t get the words out. “You do understand what that means?”
I blinked, not sure I fully comprehended what he was suggesting. “Are you serious?” Was he offering me a second chance, one that came with a reward?
I slowly turned, my heartbeat kicking up higher at his unexpected words.
“You know how I feel about you.” He brought a fist over his blue dress shirt, covering his heart. “I am more of a father to you than whatever some DNA test would suggest. This is what I’ve always wanted for you.” His lips drew together as he paused for a moment. “I’d always thought that I’d turn my inheritance—the leadership position of France—over to you, but now there’s no need to wait. Say the word. If you want Ireland. It’s yours.”
Ireland. Mine. It was too hard to believe.
Pierce Danforth, the leader of The League in the U.K., had attempted to control the Republic of Ireland as well, but he’d been stretched too thin. My country had become even more vulnerable lately, especially to the vultures of The Alliance, a criminal network that spanned all of Europe and Russia.
The League in Ireland needed its own leader, and it’d been a dream I’d never thought I’d be able to obtain.
“The League of Brothers in Ireland. Me in charge,” I said first in English, then in French. My statements broken like my thoughts.
“I will overlook this lie about your sister, for you, my son. I will forgive you.”
Forgiveness. How could he after I�
��d lied to him?
I wanted to believe it was true, but there had to be a catch. I didn’t deserve this.
“The League assembles next week to discuss a pact with The Alliance. We can vote the leadership position then.”
The idea of any type of pact with our enemies had my blood heating.
“I know how you feel about that. But you’d no longer have to worry about The Alliance coming after you.” He paused. “Or Alessia.”
Alessia’s safety was everything to me, but the cost would be high. We’d be aligning ourselves with the very men we’d been going after for years.
“We may be able to work something into the deal, perhaps a promise they’ll curb their activities in our cities.” He closed his eyes, remorse cutting across his face. “C'est une trêve.”
“How can we trust they won’t break a truce? Send their assassins after us when our guard is down?”
His lids slowly lifted. “I don’t think we have much of a choice.” He wrapped his hand over my shoulder. “And if you take the position in Ireland, it’d make us stronger.”
I blew out a breath and turned away from him, and he retracted his hand. “I need time to think about it.”
“You’re one of our best men. The best man. Even The Alliance fears you. You belong at the top. Money does not bring you power or security. We provide that. Without us, you’d be a powerless man in a suit like I was when my Diana died. Are you sure that’s what you want?”
“I didn’t say I want to leave The League, I just don’t know if I can accept this position.”
His mouth pressed into a firm line as he assessed me. “You have until Sunday.”
* * *
“You missed the grand opening. You knew how important this was for me, and you didn’t show.” Disappointment slashed through Alessia’s tone and brought lines across her forehead.
She collapsed onto the chair across from me inside the bar. We were at our hotel in Paris.
I glanced at my watch. Eight p.m. I had four more hours to provide my answer to Moreau. I still wasn’t sure what in the bloody hell I was going to do.
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