Tristian (The Doherty Mafia Book 5)

by Kasey Krane

  “No, it isn’t. I have no idea how any of this works. I’m just trying to survive.”

  “What is your profession? Do you have a job?”

  He looked me up and down, almost like he tried to assess me—playing a guessing game in his head. I couldn’t help but wonder what he thought I did.

  “I’m an accountant,” I replied, putting a stop to the mystery. “I’m good with numbers and that makes me an asset to Aldo Baron.”

  “An accountant?”

  I registered the surprise in Tristian’s voice.

  So, whatever profession he’d subconsciously assigned to me, an accountant wasn’t one of them.

  He was right when he said I didn’t belong to this world.

  This lifestyle had never realistically crossed my mind. I had a fairly normal upbringing. My parents encouraged me to study hard and I was always interested in my books. Math had been a passion of mine, and especially as a teenager, I found out the hard way how it wasn’t such an acceptable thing.

  I was the nerd. I was the girl who’d never easily made friends. I was the girl whose longtime best friend dumped her when she started going out with their mutual teenage heartthrob.

  My parents seemed normal for the most part. They loved and nurtured me, encouraged me to follow my dreams and passion. I idolized my father. He was a businessman and usually worked late hours. He made it a point to make me see he worked hard. That anyone who wanted to make anything of their lives would have to work hard.

  The kind of money I’d seen around Aldo Baron, and the kind of apartment Tristian Doherty lived in—they belonged to a different world from me.

  Most importantly, they lived on the edge. On the other side of the tracks. What I would’ve so far considered the wrong side of the tracks.

  In the span of just a few months, I was exposed to the kind of violence and crime I had never imagined myself to be a part of. To witness firsthand. I only thought that stuff happened in the movies. It had to be just folklore. Real people couldn’t live that way.

  But there I was, standing in front of a guy who set my body on fire, and at the same time—could snap me into two pieces any time he wanted.

  I had every reason to be afraid of him.

  “So, you’re telling me Aldo captured you? Picked you off the streets randomly because he knew he’d use your skills?”

  Tristian’s eyes narrowed while he studied me closely. Maybe he was trying to figure out if I was lying to him. I had a feeling he’d pick up very quickly if I was to lie to him. He was not the kind of man you lied to because he wouldn’t go light on a punishment. In fact, I didn’t even want to imagine what he was capable of doing.

  I had already witnessed what Aldo Baron was capable of.

  “No, there was nothing random about it,” I replied.

  I needed a moment.

  It’d been a few months since everything unraveled. Since my life came tumbling down around me and I lost all control. But it hadn’t been long enough. Everything still hurt.

  I wrapped my arms around myself like I had a stomach ache. I almost doubled over with the pain. Tristian watched me closely. Did I detect concern in his eyes? Why would he be concerned about me? Why would he care?

  “My father…he had known…been associated with Aldo for a while,” I began.

  Tristian clenched his jaws. It was like a light bulb went off in his head, and he finally made sense of it.

  “So your dad has been a part of this world.”

  I had to look away. Talking about my father now, knowing everything I knew—made it even harder. Even more painful.

  “I still don’t know to what extent he’d been involved with Aldo. But he had always kept me away from it. I never had an inkling, growing up, that this was going on in the background.”

  “How was he involved with Aldo?”

  I shook my head.

  “I don’t know. Nobody has given me an honest answer. I don’t believe anything Aldo or his men say. All I knew was Dad ran a moderately successful business.”

  “What kind of business?”

  “He had a pawn shop,” I said.

  Tristian sat down on the couch with a thump while I stood at some distance from him. Every time he moved and I saw the way his muscles moved under his clothes, I felt an obscene tingle between my legs. A wave of desire washed over me and I was filled with guilt.

  I couldn’t understand it. How could I be attracted to this man? This man who was so dangerous to me. Who’d kill me. That’d solve all their problems, right?

  “So how did you find out what was really going on? How did you become involved with Aldo?” Tristian continued.

  “It was when Aldo decided my father wasn’t doing enough to pay back the money he supposedly owed. I don’t understand how…why…he’d been so foolish to owe money to a man like Aldo. My father was not a stupid man. He may have been a liar and a deceiver.” I spoke in a feverish jumble, more to myself now, than to him.

  I was just trying to make sense of the thoughts in my head. Trying to straighten out all the things I felt for my father.

  “Why do you keep referring to him in the past tense? Where is he now?”

  That caught my attention. I looked up at Tristian who waited for an answer. Maybe he’d figured out the answer before I even said the words. I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to get them out. They were stuck in my throat.

  “Aldo…he killed my father. He murdered both my parents right in front of my eyes,” I said.

  I went to stand by the window again. I needed to look out because I craved the distraction. The view of the river calmed me a little. It reminded me of the summer we had spent by the lake that year. Rivers and lakes would always have that effect on me. They’d forever remind me of Dad.

  “I was back home, visiting my parents for their anniversary. I’d just graduated college and had been hunting around for jobs. I’d even been offered a few positions, good jobs. I hadn’t decided which one to accept yet and wanted to go spend some time with my parents before diving into a new chapter in my life.”

  I had my back turned to Tristian because I didn’t want to see the reaction on his face while I narrated the story.

  “Anyway, so I was back home for a few days. Everything was normal. Nothing seemed suspicious. Mom baked and cooked all day long. All my favorite meals, you know. Dad said he took some time off work so he could spend time with me. I was happy to be home.”

  I stopped and looked over my shoulder. Tristian hadn’t said a word, he’d barely even moved, so I didn’t know if he was still listening.

  He was. In fact, he sat on the edge of his seat, staring at me.

  “And then one night after dinner, without any warning, there was a knock on the door and a stranger walked in with an entourage of intimidating men. Well, he was a stranger to me, but not to my Dad. Not even to my mom. Turned out, she’d been in on it too. I was the only one who had no idea about my Dad’s involvement with the mafia.”

  I had to hold out my hands and grip the glass window for support. I wasn’t sure I would’ve been able to stand on my own. The memories of that night flashed through my head and I closed my eyes. It was unbearable. I saw everything. Every last detail of Aldo’s face as he smiled at us. The gold signet rings on his fingers, the strong scent of whiskey on his breath as he shook my hand.

  “Their argument was brief. Dad tried to convince Aldo to leave, he said he’d talk to him the next day in person. That he just wanted to spend the night with his family. At that moment, I heard it in his voice, he’d begged for all our lives. He must’ve known what was coming.”

  Tristian stood up. I sensed him walking towards me. If he touched me right then, I would’ve shattered into a million pieces. I had to get to the end quickly before I couldn’t go on anymore.

  “But Aldo wasn’t in the mood to forgive. He gave a nod to one of his men. I saw it and I gasped, even though, naively, I didn’t know what it meant. The man shot my father in the head, then my mother
in the head too. Then he pointed the gun at me and I screamed so hard I didn’t hear anything. I thought I was going to die. But Aldo stopped him, told him to leave me. That he had something I could help him with.”

  Tristian put a hand on my shoulder and it felt warm and heavy. Tears rolled down my cheeks. The kind I couldn’t just blink away.

  I struggled with the need to fall into his arms.

  Four

  Tristian

  Maybe I shouldn’t have touched her at that moment. She was still supposed to be under surveillance, right? Not to be trusted.

  Yet, the story she told me about her parents and how Aldo killed them felt real. Elsie slowly turned to me. Tears streaked her cheeks and I wanted to brush them dry.

  She looked beautiful with her wet eyelashes fluttering, the tip of her nose red, her lips quivered.

  “I’m sorry you lost your parents. I’m sorry he did that to them,” I said.

  Elsie couldn’t make herself say anything now. She’d spoke for a while, telling me a story—which sounded like it had to be true. You couldn’t make this stuff up.

  “I lost my mom too. She was murdered by a rival family when I was very young,” I said.

  Elsie gasped and forgetting herself, she reached for me, grabbing my arm. When she tried to pull away, I grabbed her hand. For a moment, I was close to bringing her fingers up to my lips and giving in to the thing I wanted to do from the moment I laid eyes on her.

  Kiss her.

  But I dropped her hand like I’d touched a ball of fire.

  “I’m sorry, Tristian. I feel your pain. Did he do it? Did Aldo kill your mother too?” she asked.

  “No. The people who were involved have been driven out of the state. My family made sure they paid for what they’d done to her.”

  “I wish I could avenge my family’s death too, but I can’t. I am nobody.”

  Elsie ran her slender fingers through her shiny dark hair. I pictured her lying on a pillow with her hair spread out around her face like a halo.

  She was angelic.

  And she could be a spy.

  I took a step back.

  “You need to tell me the rest of your story.”

  That seemed to snap her out of it. She licked her lips quickly.

  “He told me I worked for him now. That I didn’t have a choice if I wanted to live. He said he needed someone to cook his books and launder money, and he didn’t have anyone else who was qualified for it, or had any knowledge or experience.”

  “So you agreed.”

  “Do you think I had a choice?” she snapped. Her eyes were bloodshot with tears and fiery at the same time.

  “He would’ve killed me. He will kill me now if he finds me. Can you deny it?”

  No, I couldn’t, if she told the truth about what had happened to her, then yes, Aldo had every intention of killing her. Elsie was a dead woman walking, as far as the Barons were concerned.

  But I wasn’t sure I could defy my brother’s instructions to treat her as an outsider, to treat her suspiciously. I was still a Doherty and my loyalty lay with my family.

  Elsie shook as she stood there. I noticed it after she’d told me everything she could possibly say. I felt a tinge of guilt—which I knew I shouldn’t have felt. I felt bad that maybe I’d pushed her too hard to reveal everything.

  “Why don’t you sit down,” I offered.

  The thing was, I wasn’t an expert at consoling someone. Especially not a crying girl. I didn’t have the necessary tools or experience to make someone feel better.

  She looked up at me with her big wet eyes, sitting down on the couch. I looked around the room, wondering what else I could offer her.

  I knew how it felt to lose a mother. She’d lost a father too. Her life had been turned upside down. For now I’d assume she’d told me the truth, at least for the sake of her tears.

  “Want another beer?” I asked and she shook her head vigorously.

  “I don’t really drink much.”

  “Welcome to our world. You’ll need it,” I said.

  We smiled at each other faintly before she wiped her cheeks with her fingers.

  “Sorry, look, I’m not trying to make you feel sorry for me. I don’t want you or anyone to pity me. I just want to…survive.” As she spoke, Elsie’s voice shuddered.

  How could I blame this girl for doing what she had to do to survive? Weren’t we all guilty of that?

  “If everything you’ve told me today is the truth, then you’re in more danger than you realize,” I said.

  Elsie nodded. “I think I have some idea.”

  “It’d be a matter of honor and pride to Aldo to finish what he started with your family. Especially now that you’ve escaped him and because you rescued Davey and returned him to us.”

  Elsie gulped. Her cheeks flushed and I saw my words had frightened her. I wasn’t trying to scare her, I just wanted her to know the real deal.

  “I’m not going to sugarcoat it for you,” I added.

  “You don’t have to. You’re forgetting that I saw my parents getting murdered with my own eyes. I know what Aldo Baron is capable of, and I know what might end up happening to me. I don’t know where to go or where to hide. I need help.”

  Elsie staring up at me like that, with her quivering beestung lips and big brown eyes, made me feel things I hadn’t known I was capable of feeling. And not just in my cock.

  I was tempted to promise her I’d keep her safe, but it wasn’t in my hands.

  She stood up and asked if she could use the toilet.

  “You don’t need my permission to use the toilet,” I said with a grin. Elsie gave me a sheepish look and walked away.

  I figured she’d just asked out of habit. The habit of being held captive by the Barons. I hadn’t yet asked her for the details on her captivity and how difficult that experience was for her. I figured she didn’t want to discuss it right away.

  While I waited for her to return, I rooted through my fridge and found a big tub of mint chocolate chip ice cream. I didn’t remember buying it—I must’ve been drunk.

  But I brought it back to the living room with two big spoons.

  Elsie looked visibly surprised to see the ice cream when she returned. I’d already dug into it, tapping the other spoon on the tub.

  Without a word, she joined me on the couch and took the spoon from me. We both took scoops of ice cream and ate them in silence for a while.

  I was aware of her sitting there beside me, our legs touching, her hair carelessly falling on my shoulder.

  She took another spoon to her mouth and this time, a greenish layer of mint ice cream remained on her lower tongue. I wanted to lick it off so bad my cock throbbed with desire for her.

  Elsie turned to me and caught me staring. She looked into my eyes like she knew exactly what I was thinking.

  “Is there something you’d like to say to me?” she asked.

  I put my spoon down.

  “No,” I replied. My voice was like a deep groan while I battled my need for her. “But there’s something I want to do to you instead.”

  I heard her breathe in sharply as I leaned into her. She turned her face up towards me like she expected it. She knew exactly what was coming. I framed her face with my hands and tipped her head backwards, covering her mouth with mine.

  My tongue pushed in, tasting the mint ice cream on her tongue. She kissed me back just as fiercely as I kissed her. My fingers crept up, weaving into her thick silky hair while I took possession of her mouth.

  My cock was out of control, and she reached for it while we kissed. Grabbing me, stroking me, making me come alive.

  I wasn’t expecting it from her. I wasn’t expecting Elsie to be so bold, but she was.

  In almost every way possible, Elsie Harlow surprised me and I wasn’t yet sure if that was a good thing or not.

  Five

  Elsie

  I really shouldn’t have kissed Tristian. I should’ve pushed him away, resisted his tongue
sliding into my mouth and taking complete control of me. But instead of pushing him away, I actually kissed him back harder. I reached for his cock because I’d fantasized about it since I met him.

  Seriously, one of us should’ve put an immediate stop to the whole thing as quickly as it started. But neither of us did. In fact, I held his cock, stroking him, feeling him get harder and stronger, throbbing between my fingers.

  He was just as big as I’d hoped.

  He kissed me rougher right then, twisting his hand in my hair, wrapping it tightly around his fist so he kept me frozen to the spot. Attached to him by my mouth.

  I loved the taste of him. Beer and mint ice cream. I lost myself in him. This was a chance for me to forget about every horrible thing that had happened to me in the past few months. This was my chance to leave it all behind…even if temporarily.

  Now that I was smack in the middle of leading a life full of danger, why shouldn’t I have kissed Tristian Doherty? What else did I have to lose?

  Most importantly, he made me feel good and after everything I’d been through, that was exactly how I wanted to feel.

  When he grabbed me by my hips and lifted me up, I gasped with surprise. Our mouths were pulled apart. He was so strong, he made me feel so delicate and precious in his hands. He plonked me straight back down on his lap.

  “You’re fuckin’ hot,” he groaned, pushing his hand under my top. His large warm fingers on my skin were like fire. I rolled my hips, pushing myself down on his thighs, rubbing up against him.

  I wanted him to do more things. Everything he could to keep making me feel like this.

  His hands found my breasts. My nipples were taut and sensitive to his touch and he squeezed them deliciously, then pulled my top off.

  I didn’t feel the cold air on my bare skin. My bra was still in the way and Tristian reached for my breasts again, kneading and caressing tenderly at first before he got rougher, tugging my nipples out of the bra. I rolled my hips wilder. I wanted to feel him inside me. Just as big and strong as his hands.