I laugh, shaking my head. “You meeting me is just a formality. If Aemon told you to be here tonight then you’d best make sure your ass is in the pub.”
Amber smiles, running her hand along her opposite arm. “So, I have the job?”
I nod. “Yes. We should go over the legal aspects. You don’t sound like you’re from here.”
“No, I’m not,” she admits, eyes darting around the room.
I wait for a moment to see if she’ll tell me where she is from but she doesn’t. “Care to tell me what you’re doing in Ireland, outsider?” I try to be humorous yet she goes sheet white, eyes almost bugging out of her head.
“I’m from Alabama.”
I run my hand across my face. “Why are you here, Amber from Alabama?”
She looks at me, tilts her head slightly and takes in a deep breath. “Because I needed a new beginning.” Something in the way she answers my question tells me that there’s more to the story then I know.
“I can understand that. Do you have all your documentation and visas?” I ask, walking away from her and approaching my desk. I need to get her to fill out an application and have Aemon process everything. We run a tight ship in making sure everything is on the book at Maeve’s. It’s one of our only legitimate businesses.
“That’s the thing . . .” Here we go. “I was wondering if there’s any way that you can pay me under the table. I’ll take a pay cut, do whatever I have to. I just really need a job . . . ” She doesn’t even look me in the eye as she asks. There is so much more to this girl then just her needing a new beginning.
“Why would I do that for you, a stranger nonetheless?” I ask, taking a seat in my chair and crossing my arms over my chest.
She bites her bottom lip and stares me deadpan in the eyes. “Because I’m running from something and I’ll be the hardest worker that you’ve ever had, Sir. I just need you to give me a chance to show you.” I’m taken aback by the emotion in her voice. There is much more to her then meets the eye but she wants me to risk so much for her. I wonder if the government has sent her to ploy me into falling for a trap. There are so many possibilities yet I wouldn’t put it past them. They’ve been after us for years but have never been able to catch us in anything. It’s because we’re slick motherfuckers and like I said earlier, we run a tight ship.
“No,” I inform her, watching her face contort in confusion and maybe even a bit of shock.
She opens her mouth but before she can get a word out I’m already speaking.
“You may have charmed Aemon but there is only one way you work for me. You fill out the application like everyone else. You get checks like everyone else. You are just like everyone else. My pub is crispy clean, no one gets special treatment. Not anyone. Do you understand?”
Amber shuts her eyes firmly for a moment before opening them and looking back at me. “I do.”
“What is it that you’re running from?” The question slips out before I even have a moment to think about it. It surpasses what I’m legally allowed to ask anyone in a job interview, and if she does work for the government then, either way, I’ll be getting a citation for this.
“I’m running from many things. From my past, from the future that I was almost forced into . . . I’m running from . . . people who want nothing good to come of my life, from those who only want to hold me back and with all due respect, sir. It seems like you’re trying to hold me back as well.”
“I’m trying to do no such thing. However, I need you to fill out the application just like everyone else. So, again, I will not be hiring you,” I remind her, putting my foot down.
“I’m much more stubborn than you think,” she tells me, those eyes of hers burning right through me. It makes me want to give her a shot, something about those eyes tells me that she is running from a demon or two . . . but the words that come out of her mouth aren’t lining up.
There’s one thing I never do— hire liars.
If I find out someone isn’t being honest with me, they end up in one place— the ground.
5
“Replace excuses with effort. Replace laziness with determination and everything will fall into place.”
~ Anonymous
Caprice
“Didn’t I tell you to not show up?” His voice is grumbled out from behind me. All I can do is roll my eyes. I told him I was stubborn. Not my fault he didn’t believe me.
“No. In fact, you didn’t say that to me at all.” I tell him with a smile, sporting my Maeve’s apron. I’m in an emerald green scoop neck t-shirt that shows off the girls good enough to receive a decent set of tips for my first night here.
“I’m not having you on my payroll if you don’t fill out the paperwork I need you to.” Liam strongly tells me.
“I understand that and you’d best understand that I’ll work here every day of the week for just the tips that come in. I’ve been here for six hours tonight and the place has been packed. Every customer I’ve waited on hasn’t complained a bit and you can’t tell me that you don’t need the experienced help.” What Liam doesn’t know is that I’ve never had any bar experience in my life. The only experience I have with making drinks is when my father would order me to make his associates some when they came to the house. What he doesn’t know won’t hurt him. I’ve been doing a great job and he’ll see it.
Aemon pops up from behind me, wrapping an arm around my shoulder. “It’s true, boss. Boys fuckin’ love her!”
I smirk, finally feeling able to breathe a bit easier. I refuse to act like a nervous little rabbit-like I was earlier today. “See, the boys love me!”
Liam huffs, grabs the stack of receipts from Aemon’s hands, and heads down toward the end of the bar. It’s a little past two in the morning and we’ll be closing up shop in just a few minutes. The last of our patrons have left and I’m giving the bar a good wipe down before I head out.
I’ve only been out of my father’s grasps for a few days and it’s amazing how free I feel. I don’t feel like I have to watch over my shoulder, or like I can’t take a full breath and rest easy. I know that he’s a toxic person in my life but maybe I never really accepted how harmful he is. “Do you need any help?” I ask Liam, staring down at the receipts he has riddled across the bar top. He has a pen in his mouth, brows drawn sternly in a focused line. I love math, always have and always will.
“I’ll pass,” he mumbles.
“If you’re so sure, then fine. I’m not too bad with numbers if you ever feel like giving me a shot.” At that, his eyes peer up from the papers in front of him.
“I handle the books. It’s the way it is and what I don’t appreciate is someone telling me how to do my job.”
“You obviously aren’t listening because I didn’t tell you how to do your job. I was offering to help you, jackass,” I snap, taking my apron off in a rushed way. I toss it on the hanger with the others behind the bar and look back over to him. What I find is surprising. The man is smiling at me.
“What?” I ask,
His smirk grows larger. “What happened to the nervous girl I was speaking to just this morning?”
“She decided to grow a backbone.”
He nods, taking the receipts up in a bundle and placing them in a journal he had beside him. He picks it up from the bar and walks toward the front door. I’m heading in the same direction since Aemon had told me a bit ago to leave through the front door and never through the back. “Do you live close by?”
“Yeah, just a couple blocks away.”
“Alright,” Liam mutters, his expression looking like he’s thinking about something. Surprisingly, he holds the front door open for me as we leave and locks the door behind us. There’s a car parked outside, running, with what looks like a bodyguard waiting beside it. “I’ll walk you home,” Liam informs me, and before I have a moment to argue, he’s speaking to the man. “We’re taking a detour, Luca.” The man nods at Liam and gets in the driver’s side of the car.
“How lo
ng have you been here, in Ireland I mean,” Liam asks as we walk down the streets. It’s not raining, which makes our trek a little easier.
“I arrived today actually.”
“I’d say that I’m shocked you took it upon yourself to go job hunting today, but you seem to be rather stubborn. Maybe even a bit bull-headed.”
“Depends who you are,” I joke, but it’s the truth. I would have never had the courage to be stubborn back home. I trusted my gut in fighting the fact that Liam didn’t want to hire me. It felt so odd but somehow, I knew that it wouldn’t turn out bad, that it was something I needed to do.
We wait at the crosswalk for the signal to notify us that we can move forward and once it does, we continue talking lowly amongst ourselves. Suddenly, I hear tires screeching and out of nowhere, I’m thrashed to the ground with Liam toppling over me. My back is on the cobblestone street and his arms are outside of my own, his body protecting me like a human shield. I watch his facial expression, how he’s concerned about what’s going on around us but doesn’t dare move. He doesn’t know that I understand the severity of what just happened, that someone just tried to run him over. I’m sure he’ll try to explain it to me like it was some freak accident, and I’ll play along. I know better, though. I know what being targeted feels like.
“Update, Luca!” Liam hisses, bringing his eyes back to mine.
Footsteps scramble around us. “I have B and C after them. They won’t get far, boss.” B and C, I giggle to myself. It’s ridiculous how similar every branch of the mafia is. We all use the same security measures. It’s a wonder that we haven’t capped each other yet.
“Are you alright,” Liam asks me, eyes scanning over my body.
I nod quickly. “Yeah, just a bit winded is all.”
He runs his hand across my face, scanning my features. “What are you doing?”
“Making sure you didn’t get hurt.” He says it so sternly like he actually cares. For a second, I wonder if he does, but then I remember that we’ve only known each other for one day. He doesn’t care about me. Not at all.
Liam takes my hand and pulls me up from the ground, not letting go as we walk in the direction of my apartment. “I will have someone outside your place tonight.” I glance over to him and see how soft his eyes are with the worry that is spreading through him. “It’s just a precaution. Not all of my business associates are . . . the pleasant type. I just want to make sure you’re safe.”
I was right in coming here to Ireland and I know that now. Everything I’d heard about the Irish is spot-on. They are kind and caring people.
“Why are you looking at me like that,” he asks. I don’t even realize that I’m staring at him. I must’ve zoned out.
“Sorry. I’m just surprised, I think.”
“Why would you be surprised?”
“I’m just not used to people . . . being so . . . protective.”
“We protect things that are precious to us, Amber.” The moment he finishes speaking, we both seem a bit shocked. I’m shocked that he spoke like I’m a precious thing to him, and maybe he is that he said it. I’m not quite sure.
“Is this you,” he asks, distracting both of us. I’m only now noticing that I’ve stopped.
“Yeah, just down the alley,” I comment, turning down the darkened alley. He’s still holding onto my hand as he walks with me until I’m at the door that leads up to the apartment.
“I’m sorry about what happened. If I had known . . . I would have insisted we take the car.” His voice is soft, words full of regret.
“It’s not your fault, Liam. Freak accident and all,” I say, knowing better but trying to ease his concern. I give his hand a good squeeze and start to pull away. At the same time, he pulls me toward him and I slam straight into his chest as he kisses the top of my forehead and whispers something to me in Gaelic, I assume. As he finishes, he switches to English. “I’ll see you tomorrow night, Amber.”
At that, I’m released and head toward my door, smiling like the Cheshire cat.
6
“Watch carefully the magic that occurs when you give a person just enough comfort to be themselves.”
~ Atticus
Liam
I walk into the house and no sooner do I see my father standing at the bottom of the stairwell, staring at me like I’m a ghost. “Word travels fast,” I comment. Taking off my jacket I set it on the rack right next to the doorway.
“It always does. This is our home, Liam. I find out everything that happens here.” I give him a slight nod, knowing that there is no keeping anything from my father. He is right, he finds out everything that happens here.
“Did anything come of it?” I ask him, knowing he has some information. I can see it across his face. He’s never been able to hide anything from me.
“B and C chased him out of the city. Long story short, he was run off the road and went straight into a tree. Bloody bastard lived through it from the looks of it, but by the time they got to his vehicle, he was gone. It wasn’t from the accident. He shot himself in the head, so whoever he was working for must be high up on the food chain.” I bring my hand over my mouth, thinking of who the hell is behind this. Things have been pretty quiet on our end as of late. Volkolv is a constant threat but we’ve learned to deal with him in our own right. “Luca informed me that you weren’t alone when this happened.” I turn my face and look at Luca, my right-hand man, and traitor from the looks of it. “Who’s the girl?” my father asks me.
I turn my attention back to him. “A new bartender I hired at Maeve’s.”
“Why were you walking with her this late at night?”
“She’s new to the area and I saw fit to walk her home. Is it a crime to be chivalrous in this family?” I ask, waiting for the smartass response he’s bound to throw at me.
“Is the girl okay?” His question surprises me. I expected him to respond with something witty. It’s not like he’s a callous man but to ask about her shocks me.
I nod. “She seemed to be okay when I left her. I made sure she got safely in her home and informed her I’d have someone watching her place. It didn’t feel right to simply leave her alone after what happened.”
“Good on you. You did the right thing, son.” My father approaches me and smacks me on the back. “I have more news. Gabriele confirmed that his daughters are missing, publicly announced it.”
I raise my eyebrows, surprised that Gabriele would do such a thing.
“Sergei offered a reward for his bride-to-be of over one hundred million dollars. I’m taking bets that hunters across the world will be looking for this girl. She’s a real stunner, in that natural sort of way.” He pulls his phone out of his pants pocket and swipes a few times on the screen. “She’s a looker, isn’t she?” he asks, turning the phone in my direction.
I take a look at the beauty before me and see someone who I had just last seen not even an hour ago. Amber, my ass. Caprice DiGiovanni chose an interesting place to flee, an interesting place indeed. So many things run through my mind right now. I could tell my father exactly what it is that I know, but I won’t. He’d want me to toss Caprice back to Gabriele without so much as a care in the world for what happens to her in Sergei’s or her father’s hands. She doesn’t know that I know who she is and I can use this to my advantage.
My father and I speak for a few brief moments before he decides to go to bed. I head in another direction, toward the only woman I’ve ever been able to talk to— my stepmother. She may or may not be able to hear me, but I still find comfort being in her presence. What my father has done to her . . . hooking her up to all these machines that keep her alive, it makes me sad. I pity her and him both.
I walk down the hallway and place my hand on the knob of her door, taking a deep breath and contemplating if I want to sit next to her for a bit. I hate looking at her, seeing what Volkolv has done, and what my father is doing, but I twist the knob and enter her room. It’s dimly lit and I hear the machines doing their j
ob, keeping her alive. Closing the door behind me, I approach her, taking a seat in the chair by her bedside.
I don’t know why I do it but every time I’m here, I have to. I take her hand in mine and hold it tight, wanting her to feel my presence. “I wish you could talk to me right now. God knows I need it,” I tell her. She’d know exactly what to say at this moment. Even when I was a small child, she knew the right thing to say in every situation. She was a ray of light, every single person she met adored her like no other.
“There’s this girl, er, woman, rather. Tonight, I’ve discovered a bit about her and I know what I can do . . . what I have the power to do . . . and then I know what I will do. You know I’m not the horrific type of man, but what I may do could horrify her. There are things that I need to do, Mum. Trials of life that I need to go through in order to take my rightful position. Father has told me about them, told me everything that he wants from me.” I sit in silence with nothing but the machines filling the void. “She may not know it yet, but she has two options. I just hope she doesn’t choose the wrong one.”
7
“She was everything real in a world of make-believe.”
~ Atticus
Liam
I stare at her, wanting to confront her about what it is I know. I want to know what her reasons are, to find out exactly what it is that she’s doing here. Did she come to Ireland because she thought she’d be safe? I’ve seen her, but where is her little sister? A week has passed and I haven’t treated her any differently than I did the first day I met her. Part of me wonders why. Then again, I don’t want her to know what I know, at least not yet.
Every night I’ve walked her home. I think that now I realize what danger she is in. Truthfully, I can’t live with myself if something happens to her. After my father showed me the photograph, I was concerned that he’d stop by the pub. Luckily, I’ve been able to keep him at bay. If he saw her, he’d just cart her right back to the Italians. I didn’t make up my mind on what I wanted to do until last night. I had a lot of time to think about it, almost talking myself down. I won’t do that, though. Because I don’t really have a choice. The other alternative would only send her to her deathbed, of that I am sure.
Forbidden Love: Book 1 in the Mackenzie Series (Leave Me Breathless World) Page 3
