Cruel Paradise (Beautifully Cruel Book 2)

by J. T. Geissinger

  Tru smiles at me. She looks tired, but happy. Very, very happy. “Isn’t she, though? I know I’m partial, but I think she’s the prettiest thing I’ve ever seen.”

  Gazing down at his wife, Liam says softly, “Next to her mother.”

  Killian pounds Liam on the back. “Congratulations, brother.”

  “Thank you.” They grin at each other. I jump a little and clap again, because if there’s any time to be ridiculous, it’s now.

  The sound of my clapping makes Maribel open her eyes. She looks right at me, her focus startling for such a tiny little thing. The color of her eyes is startling, too. It’s a pale, clear shade of sea glass green, just like Tru’s.

  She has Tru’s rosebud lips, also. And they’ve pursed into a small, disapproving pink pucker as she stares at me. I can almost hear her telling me that if I make that noise again, I’ll get a smack.

  I put my hand over my mouth and start laughing.

  “What?” says Liam.

  “This is a terrible thing to say, but I think Maribel wants to clobber me.”

  “Oh, for sure,” says Tru, nodding. “You should’ve seen her at the hospital. She came out swinging. She absolutely terrorized the doctor. I think she gave him a black eye.”

  Liam says, “Two days old and she hasn’t cried at all yet, but she definitely lets you know when she’s unhappy.” Looking proudly down at his daughter, he smiles. “She could melt paint right off the walls with nothing more than a glance.”

  Tru says innocently, “Gee, I wonder where she gets that from?”

  I glance at Killian. “It’s a family trait, I think.”

  He grabs me around the waist, grinning, and we all go inside.

  “So are you and Killian staying in Boston permanently?”

  Tru and I are sitting in the living room having tea. The boys disappeared a few minutes ago into the kitchen, probably for a scotch and some guy talk. The countryside beyond the windows is turning bronze and gold as the sun sets over the distant hills.

  “I don’t know. He said he was going to retire from the gangster gig, but not when.” I shrug, trusting that he’ll let me know when he’s out. “He might be wrapping up loose ends. I’m sure it’s complicated.”

  “I ask because we’d love it if you moved down here with us.”

  When I look at her, startled, she smiles. “There’s a reason it’s called Two Brothers’ Ranch. It’s just as much Killian’s as it is Liam’s. They bought it together.”

  “But this is your place. You’ve been living here. Wouldn’t you feel…you know. Crowded?”

  She laughs softly, rocking in her chair. Maribel is asleep in her arms. “I grew up with seven sisters and brothers in a house with one bathroom. Four adults and a baby in a ten-thousand square foot hacienda would not be crowded.”

  I think about it. The ranch itself is spectacular. And spacious, like she said.

  But I think I’m a city girl at heart.

  “We’ll see. Thank you for the offer.”

  Tru smiles. “That’s a no. But you have to promise you’ll come visit a lot.”

  Making a small disgruntled noise, Maribel shifts in her arms. Tru leans closer to her and whispers, “Hush, little bee. Mommy and Auntie Juliet are talking.”

  Maribel makes a face like she just took a big poop in her diaper.

  I drop my face into my hands and laugh, careful to do it silently so the baby doesn’t wake up and kick my ass.

  Liam strolls into the room, leans down, and kisses Tru on the forehead. He glances at me, smiling. “Your man’s asking for you in the kitchen.”

  “Oh? Does he need help loading the dishwasher? Because he recently tried to tell me how I was doing it all wrong and demonstrate the proper technique, and I almost broke a plate over his head.”

  Shaking his head, Liam presses his lips together to hold in a laugh.

  I rise and head to the kitchen, where I find Killian standing at the sink with a newspaper in his hands. He glances up when I enter and looks at me with guarded eyes, his expression somber.

  “What’s wrong?” I ask, instantly worried.

  Setting the paper on the counter, he holds out an arm. I tuck myself under it and against his big body, wrapping my arms around his waist and staring up into his face.

  “Nothing,” he murmurs, cupping my jaw in his hand. He sweeps his thumb over my cheekbone. “Everything is about as right as it could be.”

  “Then why do you have a face like someone died?”

  “Someone did die.”

  My heart skips a beat. “Who?”

  “Me.”

  I blink an unnecessary amount of times. “Is that code for something?”

  He turns to the newspaper and slides it across the counter with one finger until it’s in front of me. It’s the Sunday edition of The New York Times.

  The headline reads: “Is This the New Face of the Mafia?”

  Below it is a picture of a handsome young dark-haired man. It’s taken from the side as he’s getting into a big black SUV. He’s looking into the distance with a secretive smile, buttoning his black Armani suit jacket.

  “Wait,” I say, looking closer. “Is that…?”

  “Diego,” Killian says, nodding.

  “He was the one who brought the roses and necklace to me at work. Your delivery boy.”

  Killian chuckles. “Not any longer. Read the article.”

  My heart beating faster, I snatch up the paper and start to read.

  Made infamous by movies that glamorized their violent lifestyle, the gangsters of yesteryear are all but extinct. From crackdowns at the federal level to dissent within their ranks leading to a string of murders that wiped out the main bosses, the mafia in America has lost much of its power.

  But not all.

  The Sicilian mafia, La Cosa Nostra, still operates within the shadows, as does the Irish mob, its main rival in the United States. According to reliable sources, the two fractured groups have recently reached an agreement to join forces to reclaim what they’ve lost.

  And a twenty-seven-year-old Latino man is their new leader.

  I read on until the article ends, then look up at Killian. He’s watching every nuance of expression that crosses my face.

  “It says that the assumed head of the Irish mafia, Liam Black, is rumored to be dead.”

  “Aye.”

  “Killed by the assumed head of the Italian mafia, Antonio Moretti.”

  “Aye.”

  “Who is also rumored to have died of his injuries during the same gun battle that killed Liam Black.”

  “Aye.”

  “So…you and my father killed each other in a shootout. Allegedly.”

  “Aye. It had to be rumor and conjecture, otherwise there would have to be bodies to identify.”

  After a moment, I say, “Does my father know he’s supposed to be dead?”

  “He’s the one who suggested it.”

  After another moment, I say, “I feel like I’m missing some important information here.”

  “Well, you remember that I said I met with him.”

  “Yes. You said it was cordial. That he only tried to shoot you three times.”

  “And that I asked him permission to marry you.”

  “And he told you to go take a flying leap off the nearest tall building.”

  “And that I showed him all the evidence I had of his criminal activities and told him I’d give him a choice of going directly to prison or stepping down from his position as capo and retiring from the mobster life.”

  I wrinkle my forehead. “Step down? No. You left that part out.”

  “Did I? Hmm.”

  I push at his chest. “That was on purpose!”

  He grins. “I wanted it to be a surprise. Your father said the only way he’d agree to retirement is if he got to kill me. I said I’d be happy to let him shoot me. On paper, you know, not literally. Then we negotiated some more, and we decided the only real way it would work is if we were both
dead.”

  “The only way what would work?”

  “Diego taking over the entire operation. Both his and mine.”

  I stare at him in disbelief. “And he agreed to that?”

  When he hesitates, I demand, “What?”

  When he makes a face, I groan. “Oh god. Oh no. What did you promise him?”

  “That he could call you on your birthday.”

  “What?”

  “He misses you. He wants to apologize. He said he has many regrets.”

  I stare at him. My eyes couldn’t blink, even if they wanted to.

  “And I mean, if the cost of replacing the head of the New York mafia with someone who’s going to be subverting the entire organization is one short yearly phone call—”

  “Yearly?”

  He studies my face. “Is this going well? I can’t tell.”

  I’m about to search for something to smash over his skull, but he sidetracks me by saying, “Because if not, maybe this will help.”

  He takes the paper from me, flips it a few pages forward, folds it in half, and holds it out.

  I snatch it from his hands and look at the headline of the article he gestures to.

  “An Anonymous Donor Gifted the Red Cross One Hundred Million Dollars.”

  My heart stops. Then a line in the article jumps out at me and my heart starts to pound.

  An unsigned note included with the donation contained four lines from Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare:

  My bounty is as boundless as the sea,

  My love as deep; the more I give to thee

  The more I have, for both are infinite.

  Liam murmurs, “I know you said one million, but I wanted your engagement gift to be special.”

  He holds out his hand. In his palm sits a ring.

  It’s an eternity band composed entirely of diamonds.

  The newspaper flutters to the floor. I clap my hands over my mouth. Tears instantly spring into my eyes and begin to slide down my cheeks.

  His voice husky, he says, “Since I’m dead, we won’t be able to live in Boston anymore. I’m thinking Paris. You and your merry band of thieves can take your operation international.”

  I sob, looking up at him. His eyes burn with a dark, beautiful fire.

  The most beautiful fire I’ve ever seen.

  Thank you for reading! To get new release notifications, please sign up for my newsletter.

  Acknowledgments

  First off: I swear I don’t have anything against man buns. It’s only fiction. I like a good top knot just as much as the next girl. (For a really impressive example, visit Brock O’Hurn on Instagram. Rawr.)

  I hope you read the first book in this series, Beautifully Cruel, before picking up this one, because otherwise you were probably confused much of the time. If you’d like more of Killian, you can get it in the Dangerous Beauty series. (That series takes place before this one in time, but isn’t related to this one. He’s more of a mysterious side character than the main event. Still kicking ass and incinerating panties, though.)

  Crossover characters from the Dangerous Beauty series are also in the Bad Habit and Wicked Games series. My reader group on Facebook, Geissinger’s Gang, will have strong opinions on the proper reading order of these books. Come join us.

  Thank you to all my readers who showed such amazing enthusiasm for Beautifully Cruel and demanded I give Killian his own book. I wasn’t going to, but you forced me. I love you for it.

  As of the writing of these acknowledgments, audio production of the series has begun. This is also because you demanded it. You’re so bossy! And, again, I love you for it. Casting the voice of Liam/Killian will be daunting, but I know it will be awesome. If you’d like to have a listen when they’re available, sign up for my newsletter or join my reader group. You’ll hear it there first.

  Thank you to Letita Hasser, Social Butterfly PR, and Jenn Watson.

  Thank you to my writing buddy, Zoe the rescue cat.

  Thank you to Jay for everything. If you’d stop telling me how to properly load the dishwasher, that would be great.

  And thank you, dear reader. I love you. Take care of yourself, and be kind to others. We’re all in this shit show together.

  About the Author

  J.T. Geissinger is a #1 internationally bestselling author of emotionally charged romance and women’s fiction. Ranging from funny, feisty romcoms to intense, edgy suspense, her books have sold millions of copies and been translated into nearly a dozen languages.

  She is a three-time finalist in both contemporary and paranormal romance for the RITA® Award, the highest distinction in romance fiction from the Romance Writers of America®. She is also a recipient of the Prism Award for Best First Book and the Golden Quill Award for Best Paranormal/Urban Fantasy.

  She’s a Southern California native currently living in Nevada with her husband and rescue kitty, Zoe.

  Join her reader group, Geissinger’s Gang, for sneak peeks at works in progress and access to exclusive giveaways.

  Find her on the web at www.jtgeissinger.com

  Also by J.T. Geissinger

  Dangerous Beauty Series

  Dangerous Beauty

  Dangerous Desires

  Dangerous Games

  Slow Burn Series

  Burn for You

  Melt for You

  Ache for You

  Bad Habit Series

  Sweet As Sin

  Make Me Sin

  Sin With Me

  Hot As Sin

  Wicked Games Series

  Wicked Beautiful

  Wicked Sexy

  Wicked Intentions