She scoffs and heads back toward the living room. I scan around and see Bishop’s holding the bags and speaking to Rafael. If anything, I don’t want Caprice to be exposed to him more than is absolutely needed. “Will you stay here, love? I’ll have Bishop take you upstairs and stay with you while I handle something.”
“Sure,” Caprice replies. As soon as she does I head into the dining room, approaching Rafael and Bishop. Tapping on Bishop’s shoulder, he turns toward me.
“Hey, boss.”
I lean in close to his ear and whisper, “Caprice is in the foyer. Please take her upstairs and stay with her until I get up to the room.”
“Yes, sir, of course.” Bishop immediately exits the room and heads toward Caprice, leaving me alone with Rafael and one of our house staff members who’s behind the bar, prepping drinks for those who want them.
“Liam, it’s been far too long. How have you been?” Rafael asks.
If this were any normal situation I’d bite my fucking tongue and play nice with him. However, things have drastically changed in my life and playing nice is no longer an option. “Let’s cut the shite, shall we?”
He looks appalled. “Why, I don’t know what you mean.”
“You’re about to know, and you’ll know quite well. I’m not sure if my father told you I’m married.”
“Yes, he did in fact,” Rafael smirks, giving me the vibe he knows more than he’s letting on.
“My wife is Caprice Mackenzie. But, you, of course, knew her as a DiGiovanni and took advantage of her in such a way. Let me be very clear with you, Rafael. I know exactly what you did to her, and I know everything about you taking the child.”
He does his best to feign being innocent as if he doesn’t know what I’m talking about. “I’m confused, Liam. What child?”
“Don’t play coy, old man. You know everything I’ve said is true. You’re only trying to pretend it isn’t so your ass is safe. Let me make it clear for you. The only reason you’re still breathing right now is that I don’t know where the girl is. The second I do there will be blood and lots of it.”
“Liam, now, why are you getting so offensive? You haven’t even asked me my side of the story, and you haven’t heard about how that promiscuous girl of yours came after me, watching me in her home, teased and taunted me from far away. She was begging for my dick. Although, I can’t help but think your hostility toward me has something to do with her not wanting yours. Do you need me to come upstairs and give it to her again? Maybe I’ll let her keep this one.”
I pick the metal candleholder up from the décor table sitting against the wall and slam it into his head, knocking him back on the floor. The hit causes him to lose consciousness as his body lands with a thud.
Placing the candleholder back on the table, I look to our employee who makes sure to shift their eyesight back down the bar. “It’s a shame Rafael got shitfaced. Isn’t it, Moira?” I ask her, who then looks back up to me.
“Yes, sir. He had a bit too much tequila, fell and bumped his head. Hopefully, he’ll be alright after he sleeps it off.”
“Fingers crossed nothing worse happens,” I say in a completely sarcastic tone. The snake better pray he isn’t here when I get back from the gala tonight. If he is, I may just kill him myself and hire men to search for the child. The hit should knock him out for a few hours and even then he’ll be too disoriented to do anything.
I head back upstairs to the bedroom I share with Caprice and walk in on her in the gold dress, holding it on in the front. She’s staring in the mirror I have in one corner of my room, moving her hair in various ways.
“What on Earth are you doing?” I chuckle, shutting the door behind me as I venture toward her.
“I’m trying to decide what I want to do with my hair. But I can’t zip myself up. Who doesn’t have a hanger in their closet?”
“What do you need a hanger for?”
“Ugh,” she huffs out. “You wouldn’t understand because you aren’t a woman. You take the hook of the hanger and put it through the hole in the zipper, pulling the hanger up. It’s how we ladies zip up dresses like this if we don’t have anyone helping us get ready.”
“Ah,” I nod, looking around. “Where’s Bishop?”
“I told him to stand outside the room. You likely passed him. I didn’t feel comfortable changing clothes with him in here. Plus, I doubt you want anyone else seeing what belongs to you.”
“True,” I confirm. Taking a couple of steps closer, I extend my hand, place it on the zipper, and slowly secure her dress for her.
“Thank you,” she says, still staring at herself in the mirror. “I’m going to keep it simple and curl my hair a bit. Not in a tight, ‘I’m hot-stuff’, sort of way. I’m thinking loose and free.”
“Sounds beautiful,” I respond as she walks off into the bathroom, shutting the door behind her. With my luck, I’ll be sitting on the couch waiting for her. Caprice and I haven’t had moments like this, although I’m betting she’s just like every other woman when it comes to hair and makeup.
29
It doesn’t get easier. You just get stronger.
~ Unknown
Caprice
“You’re being awfully quiet. Is everything okay?” I ask Liam, who’s driving the SUV to the event venue in downtown Dublin. He hasn’t said anything to me since I started putting my makeup on and curling my hair. I hope he isn’t angry I took a bit longer than I intended getting ready.
“Yes, I’m only thinking about the chat I had with Rafael before I left.” At hearing his name it feels like I just received a punch to the gut.
“You spoke to h-him?” I ask, afraid of the answer.
“Yes. More like I told him what was what. I made sure he understands as soon as we find your child, his blood will be spilled. He’s gotten away with too much for far too long. He isn’t someone we need. In all honesty, he’s disposable and is of no value to our family. The only reason he’s been alive this long even with his transgressions is because of his relation to my sisters. Now, the only reason he’s alive is that he knows where the child is and when we tell my father, he’ll fully support the decision I’ve made in going after Rafael after the baby is with us.”
“I . . . I don’t think it’s necessary to tell your father,” I say, hoping he won’t take offense to what I’ve said.
“It is. He’s the head of our family and the Irish mob. Unfortunately, we don’t have the luxury of keeping this from him, love. We’ll have to tell him at some point.”
“Wow. I never thought I’d have to . . . ”
“I’m not saying we’re going to tell him today, but we will very soon. We have to get his support before I act. If I don’t . . . I could be hunted for going after him. While he doesn’t have many supporters, he does have a few.”
“The few who need their own heads examined,” I retort in frustration. Anyone who supports Rafael is just as insane as he is.
“I’d have to agree with you. I wanted to give you this under more romantic circumstances, however, I don’t want anyone seeing you without it. If Gaia or Giovanni makes a remark, tell them we picked it back up from the jewelers on our way to the gala.” Liam pulls a small black box from his suit jacket pocket and hands it over to me. I open the box, and another box is inside. So, I open that one and a beautiful rose gold ring with diamonds and emeralds is revealed to me.
“Oh my God,” I breathlessly whisper, never seeing a ring with this much beauty.
“I hope that’s a good reaction. I can’t look at you right now, so you’ll have to tell me what you think.”
I try to put my thoughts into words, to tell him how gorgeous this ring is and then I remember I’ve seen this ring before. In the photo at Father O’Sullivan’s house. This is the same exact ring Sofia was wearing. Jesus Christ, it’s a family heirloom. “It’s amazing. Thank you so much.” I leave it at that, not wanting to embarrass myself by rambling on.
Liam takes his left hand off the wheel. �
��I can’t see what I’m doing so I’ll need you to help me out here.” I believe he wants to put the ring on my finger for me, so I put the box in his direction, pressing the ring up to his fingers and he takes it out, holding it for me. I slide my wedding finger in through the hole and he holds my hand. “I truly hope you like it.”
“I do. I wouldn’t have lied to you. It’s more than I deserve, honestly.”
Liam tears his eyes away from the road, looking at me sternly. “Caprice, stop saying things like what you just did. You, of all people, deserve everything good this world has to offer. You’ve experienced far too many horrors and I’ll be working as long as I can to show you how amazing life can be.”
Moments like these make me happy I chose to come here. To pretend and be some southern woman named Amber hiding under the mafia families’ nose. Hell, he probably could tell I wasn’t really from the south because my accent was atrocious, but I’m satisfied with every decision I made which led me in this direction— to him.
Sometimes when I can’t sleep I think about what might’ve happened to Alessandra and me if I had chosen to run somewhere else. At first, I didn’t think anything would go wrong. I thought I was smarter than the rest of my family, but even though Alessandra trusted me, she still has the mentality of a child and wanted out. Now she knows she was wrong in making the choice, but regardless she would’ve called Francesca and our evil sister would’ve ratted us out.
Marrying these men was the only thing that saved us. Maybe our guardian angels were watching over us. I’d like to believe so anyway.
Liam pulls into a parking space outside of a hotel. “He rented out the entire hotel for the gala tonight. We have a suite upstairs, and considering the company at the house . . . I’m sure you’d rather stay here.”
“Oh, yes. Please.”
Liam and I get out of the car and head inside to the front desk. He checks us in and we both get our keys. He hands one to me and I slide it into my clutch, slipping my hand in his as he leads the way. It’s obvious Liam has been here a few times, weaving in and out of rooms as if he knows the hotel like it’s the back of his hand.
He pushes open a door and we walk inside to a room filled with at least two hundred people. Music blasts through the speakers. Various people are on the dance floor with their dates, while others are over at the bar or buffet table.
Even though the room is distracting enough my eyes land on someone who has a pair of perilous ones, begging me to start the war we know is coming. I just happen to call that man ‘father’.
30
I’m not in danger. I’m the danger.
~ Unknown
Caprice
Most women would smile sweetly at their father from across the room, thrilled by merely having their presence in the room. Although, I can’t relate. At the sight of him, I feel vomit rising in my stomach as anxiousness spreads throughout my entire body. Sweat beads on my forehead and my heart picks up its pace.
Liam leads me into the center of the dance floor as Ella Henderson’s Yours comes through the sound system. “I have to confess, I’m the type of dance partner who will step on your toes,” Liam tells me with a wink, causing me to laugh.
“I’m not much better, so we’ll take it step-by-step,” I declare. Sliding my hands around his neck, I intertwine my fingers together and weave with him.
The soft piano playing in the background pairs beautifully with Ella’s voice. She tells a story of her love for her boyfriend, from the smallest moments of sharing a bed with him to wearing his coat. Though, throughout the song, you can hear the emotion behind her fear of telling him she loves him. But she continues on, explaining how she’s ready to let her feelings burst out despite how terrifying it is.
“One day I hope you share the same feelings,” Liam murmurs against my hair as I lean my head against his chest.
“Huh?” I ask, looking up at him.
“As the woman who’s singing. I genuinely do hope we fall into this deep, riveting type of love. I’m not fucking around with you when I say I want you, Caprice. I didn’t think I would at first, but you’ve grown on me.”
“Like mold on bread,” I joke, wanting to break the mood into something more humorous. Truthfully, I don’t know how to react when Liam is so open about his feelings. I haven’t experienced anything like it before, nor am I used to it. Where I come from, men are strict, specifically hiding their feelings. You have to dig, and deep at that. Here . . . men are so vocal.
“Sure, whatever you say, love.”
Pulling my head from Liam’s chest, I peek around his arm to see if I can spot my father. He’s still there with eyes on the two of us. My father is only a few inches taller than myself, with darker skin than anyone in my family. He’s hardly ever indoors, always insisting on conducting his business outside. The sun has kissed his skin many times over, causing it to be a deep caramel color.
Standing next to him is my brother Gio. Until now, I didn’t realize how similar they look. They have the same sense of style, wearing fitted suits with deep sapphire blue shirts. My father has a pair of gold glasses on since his eyesight is horrendous, whereas Gio prefers to wear contacts.
Liam suddenly shifts and looks behind him, then back to me. “Are you three having a staring competition?”
“No, of course not.” I don’t know what we’re doing. There’s not a doubt in my mind the tension in our family is thicker than ever. My actions have rippled the tides in the DiGiovanni household, but they gave me no other choice. I bet they don’t view it the same way, though. “Did you know he was going to be here?”
“No, however, I’m not surprised. Your family has always loved to make some sort of dramatic stance. It appears it's his mere presence this time. Come, let’s go get a drink before we dance with the devils.”
I walk alongside Liam to the bar which is packed with people. I need to give props to Desmond. He sure knows how to throw together a party. After about ten minutes, Liam and I finally have the opportunity to get our drinks. He orders me a glass of sangria and a scotch on the rocks for himself.
Liam has his arm around my shoulder and I feel him deviate from where we stand. Turning to see what’s going on, I’m blown away at the sight unfolding before my eyes. My father has his hand on his shoulder, sneering as he looks to both of us. Obviously, this is why Liam moved.
“I thought your marriage was an elaborate joke,” he states. If I know anything about my father, he’s only said this because he wants to gauge our reactions.
“The only joke was thinking you could pawn this lovely gem off to Kolosov,” Liam tells him, pulling me closer to his side. I take this moment to sip on my sangria. It’s much needed at this point. While these two men appear to be acting cordial, they aren’t whatsoever.
Father blinks, obviously taking offense. “And you went and stole my daughter, the woman who wasn’t promised to you, a forbidden love of sorts. If there was any doubt you were Desmond’s son, it’s apparent now. What’s the saying? Like father, like son?”
Liam takes my father’s insult with haste, chuckling. “I suppose you’re right. We Mackenzies can’t help but take the path our heart leads us down.” He looks down at me, beaming in a way I’ve never seen before. “While our road might not have been easy, I wouldn’t trade any of it for the world.”
Now that was one hundred percent real. There wasn’t a spec of fakeness in those words.
I ponder what I should say but slowly realize I don’t need to say anything. What I have to do is show him, so I do. Thankfully, my heels give me a couple added inches of height and I’m quick with bringing my lips to his. I take my free hand and rub the side of his cheek, kissing him with a softness that I’ve never experienced before. Warmth spills into the middle of my stomach and I realize I’m getting the butterflies, like a schoolgirl.
It feels like the entire room grows silent and we’re the only two here. While I’ve loved in the past, I’ve never been in love. I’m not a naïve woman and I
know I haven’t fallen in love with Liam Mackenzie. Not yet, at least. But I will say I’m slowly starting to fall for the man who threw himself on the line to not only keep me safe but Alessandra as well.
Liam gently pulls his lips from mine, whispering, “Mo chloch lómhar.” I don’t know what he said, but man if it doesn’t make these butterflies of mine even more apparent. He curves toward my father. “As you can see, my relationship with your daughter isn’t an elaborate deception.”
“You seem determined to prove your point,” my father replies with a hint of malice in his tone. He slides his hands into the pockets of his pants, eyeing my husband.
“In a sense I am, but only because I know you, Gabriele.” Again, I feel the tension grow thicker in the air.
My father smirks, chuckling before he replies. “Liam, you only know me when it comes to business. Unfortunately for you, though, this is personal.”
“Right back at you, old man. Caprice here is my wife, which means she’s a Mackenzie, but I don’t have to spell that out for you, do I?”
My father takes a step forward, pressing his chest up against Liam’s. My husband has a foot or so on my father, but I feel the intimidation technique he’s trying to use. “I’m not the one you have to worry about, Mackenzie. Surely you should know that. You wanted my daughter and now you have her. It’s on you when you regret your choice. You’re the one who made the decision to take damaged goods after all.” I shut my eyes for a split second at hearing the hatefulness spilling from his mouth. No one ever wants to hear someone in their family speaking like this about them.
My father cautiously backs up, keeping his eyes on Liam who’s currently turning blood red. “Do you honestly think you’ll be able to walk out of here after speaking about her in that way?” my husband seethes, taking a step toward him.
Leave Me Breathless: The Black Rose Collection Page 57
