Tristian (The Doherty Mafia Book 5)

by Kasey Krane

  I grunted under my breath and headed for the door.

  “Are you just leaving?” she asked, gaping at me with trembling lips.

  “I have stuff to do.”

  “But you haven’t eaten anything,” she insisted, in a weak voice. It was almost like she had run out of all the things she could’ve said to make me stay. I just stared at her like she’d suggested something outlandish.

  It was.

  That statement was too domestic.

  “I’ll eat when I’m hungry, not when I’m told to,” I growled, leaving the apartment, banging the door shut behind me.

  And now that I wasn’t looking at Elsie anymore, I was relieved the spell was broken, at least temporarily.

  I had to figure out how to keep the spell broken permanently though.

  Thirteen

  Elsie

  I’d hoped we had turned a corner last night.

  Not only was the sex unexpected and amazing, but he held me afterwards, in a way that told me he may have actually cared about me. That he cared what happened to me and my safety. That I was more than just a task his family had given him.

  Even though he abruptly went to sleep, leaving me on the couch, I hoped by the morning he’d had made a decision.

  And it looked like he had made a decision. But it was one that wasn’t going to be in my favor.

  Tristian wanted to have nothing to do with me.

  He hadn’t even noticed how I’d cleaned up his place. How I made breakfast and had the coffee ready for him. He just woke up, showered, changed and left.

  I didn’t know what I thought. Once again, I was rejected by him and once again I felt like I had pushed too hard.

  I shouldn’t have trusted him, I should’ve put myself and my priorities over everything else. Just like my father had taught me to.

  He may have made some mistakes and some poor choices, but he’d given me a few lessons that’d remained true for the rest of my life.

  I couldn’t eat the food I prepared. I put it all away after Tristian was gone, battling the tears threatening to fill my eyes.

  While I was in the middle of draining all the coffee down the sink, there was a knock on the front door and it opened.

  I was startled at first, but then I saw Isabelle standing in the living room, looking at me with a warm smile. I didn’t really know this girl. I’d barely even call her a friend—but boy was I glad to see her!

  “Hi, Elsie!” she exclaimed cheerfully. I saw she had a bag of sweet treats and three paper cups of coffee in her hands.

  “Your brother…he left,” I stammered.

  Isabelle shrugged and handed one of the coffees to me, abandoning another one on the kitchen island.

  “Even better. It means you and I can catch up in peace,” she said.

  I watched while she made herself comfortable on one of the kitchen chairs, proceeding to pick out a danish pastry from the bag. When she offered the rest to me, I refused. I had no appetite. Tristian’s behavior had left me feeling cold and sick to my stomach.

  Being heartbroken had a physical effect on me that I hadn’t expected.

  “Are you doing okay? You look shaken up. Did something happen?” Isabelle asked when she finally paid attention to the ashen complexion of my face.

  I shook and nodded my head at the same time—whatever that was.

  The last thing I wanted to do was badmouth her brother behind her back.

  “Is it Aldo? Did he try something?”

  “No. I’m fine. I haven’t heard or seen him since I escaped.”

  Isabelle searched my eyes, sighing.

  “Did you and Tristian argue or something? I know he’s a hot head. All my brothers can be difficult to live with. They have their own issues, you know? And most of the time, they don’t know how to deal with it.”

  I said nothing, and my silence was all the answer she needed.

  “Their mother was murdered when they were kids.”

  “Both my parents were murdered by Aldo a few weeks ago,” I said.

  Tristian and I shared similar histories, but that didn’t compel me to push him away. In fact, it seemed to have the opposite effect on me.

  Isabelle sighed again.

  “I’m sorry to hear that, honey. I’m really, very sorry for you.”

  I sat down at the kitchen table, feeling my lip tremble as I tried to regain some composure.

  “I don’t know if I can stay here anymore,” I confessed. Those were my innermost thoughts—thoughts I couldn’t make myself confess to Tristian because I didn’t know how he’d react.

  “But you can’t leave, not yet. I mean, I don’t know exactly what’s going on with you and what kind of danger you’re in, but all I know is that you shouldn’t be messing around with Aldo Baron. Whatever your situation is, you are safest here where Tristian can keep an eye on you.”

  “I’m sure there’s somewhere else I can go and stay safe,” I insisted.

  “Maybe there is, but you should discuss it with Tristian or someone from the family first. Maybe Aidan would be able to help you, maybe even Dad might be open to it.”

  I said nothing. I didn’t want to admit to her I’d already doubted trusting the Dohertys. Not that I mistrusted them. I had witnessed their core values and warmth. They trusted me, so I trusted them. But placing my safety in Tristian’s hands had been a bad idea. Especially since I was so attracted to him.

  Isabelle watched me closely, like she tried to read my thoughts.

  “Hey, Elsie, look at me, honey,” she said in a calm but stern voice. When I met her eyes, she gave me a warm smile. “Don’t do anything stupid, okay? Don’t do anything that could put you in real danger, okay?”

  I nodded.

  I didn’t even know what that was supposed to mean. What was real danger? Wasn’t that all just subjective?

  Currently, I was in danger of losing my mind because of Tristian and wasn’t that even more frightening?

  “Now, drink some of that coffee and eat a pastry. An early morning sugar rush always helps me get things in perspective,” she added, handing me the paper bag again.

  I forced myself to smile and took one, just to placate her for now. I didn’t know what I’d do, but I knew I couldn’t tell Isabelle about it. As much as I trusted her, I knew her loyalty would always lie with the family. She’d have to tell Tristian everything I told her. So, whatever I decided to do next, I’d have to act quickly.

  Fourteen

  Tristian

  I told Elsie I had shit to do when I stormed out of the apartment earlier, but that was a lie. I didn’t actually have anything to do or anywhere to be. I just wanted to get out of there so I wouldn’t be tempted by her again. Because the only thing I wanted to do when I saw her in my kitchen cooking me a big hearty breakfast was throw her over the kitchen counter and spread her legs out for me.

  So I went to see my brother Nolan instead.

  He took ages to come to the door. If I had to guess, Isabelle probably had a key to his place though. She had a key to all our places.

  “Yo!” Nolan exclaimed when he finally opened.

  “I’m coming in,” I growled, pushing past him.

  I saw the naked chick in the kitchen right away. She was wearing literally nothing while she sat on top of Nolan’s breakfast bar, eating cereal out of a big bowl.

  “Right. Okay. Tristian, this is…” Nolan struggled with her name and I wasn’t surprised by it. Nolan wasn’t the type to ask a chick her name before he banged her.

  The girl twisted her face up bitterly. I saw she was insulted by my brother’s lack of real interest in her.

  “My name is Cheryl,” she said sternly.

  “Cheryl, this is my brother, Tristian.”

  She rolled her eyes and continued eating her cereal. I clenched my jaws in irritation and turned to Nolan, who grinned. He thought this whole thing was funny.

  I should’ve gone to see Brendan instead. Nolan was too…young and inexperienced. He was our bab
y brother. The youngest in the family and we all treated him as such. Never burdening him with our stuff.

  But Brendan had a new family now. In fact, all my brothers had women they were committed to. None of them would be glad to see me banging down their doors early in the morning.

  So Nolan was my only option right now.

  “We need to talk,” I said. Almost threateningly.

  Nolan shrugged while he grabbed a carton of orange juice off the counter.

  “Shoot.”

  I looked back at the naked chick who continued eating her cereal.

  “You need to leave,” I snarled at her.

  “Is that absolutely necessary?” Nolan asked.

  “Now. You need to leave now,” I added.

  The girl looked at Nolan for support but he just shrugged in response.

  She rolled her eyes again and then got off the table and walked away.

  “What’s going on with you? Ever since that chick started living with you, you’ve been acting up,” Nolan said.

  Well, maybe he did know more than I thought he did. He’d hit the nail right on the head.

  The chick in Nolan’s apartment seemed to take ages to put on her clothes and leave. As she was going, she went over to Nolan to try to hug him or kiss him or something, but my brother grabbed her by the elbows and led her in the direction of the front door.

  “You have good timing. I wasn’t sure how I was going to get rid of her,” he remarked once he shut the door behind her.

  “You’ll figure out ways,” I said.

  “So what do we need to talk about? I’m surprised you want to talk about anything with me,” he said, grabbing the orange juice again.

  Nolan always had a way of turning everything into a joke, but I sensed he was probably being serious about this statement.

  “What are you talking about, man?”

  He shrugged. “I’m usually left out of the conversation. Nobody wants to bother me with anything half-serious,” he commented.

  “You’ll get there in time.”

  “You’re not that much older than me, if age is a factor.”

  He got me there.

  “Okay, I’m here now.”

  “And what’s the problem? Your bike needs fixing or anything else equally trivial?”

  Nolan looked pretty darn serious now and I just realized he’d given this some thought. Maybe this was a grievance that’d chipped away at him over the years.

  “Hey, man, none of us ever did it intentionally. We never tried to make you feel left out of the circle.”

  “So you admit I’ve always been left out of the circle.”

  “You have a bone to pick with me in particular?”

  “I don’t have any bones to pick,” he snapped.

  I glared at my brother, trying to work out what I was doing there at his apartment in the first place. I should’ve just waited a while and gone to Brendan, who would’ve given me some real advice.

  “Anyway, you’re not here so you can listen to me bitch and moan. Tell me what you’re here to say.”

  “I need some advice,” I admitted.

  I wasn’t sure Nolan would know what to say, but I was here now and he expected to hear it.

  He dusted his hands together. “I’m all ears.”

  “I fucked her,” I admitted.

  “Her? Who? The Harlow chick? Elsie Harlow?” Nolan’s first reaction was complete shock, yet he grinned like he was about to burst into laughter. Then he caught the expression on my face and knew I was serious.

  That was when he put the juice carton down and drew in a deep breath.

  “Well, I can’t say I’m totally surprised. We all saw it, even though we didn’t gossip about it behind your back. You made the decision to trust her and believe her story from the moment you met her. You were protective of her. You wanted to keep her safe like she’s a little wounded bird. So I’m not surprised by the fact that you wanted to bang her too.”

  Even though I didn’t want to admit it, Nolan was right about everything.

  I’d decided on Elsie from the moment we met. There was something about her that drew me in immediately. And it was more than just her big brown eyes and olive skin. It was more than the fact I wanted to claim her.

  “So what is the problem? You fucked her. It looked to me yesterday like she wanted to fuck you too.”

  “I don’t know what she wants. I don’t know what she really wants.”

  “What the fuck is that supposed to mean?”

  I glared at Nolan who looked at me suspiciously. Then he understood what I was trying to get at.

  “You think she’s hiding something?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “Has she done anything? Slipped up?”

  “No.”

  “Then why don’t you buy her story?”

  “I don’t want to believe her because she seems to be just too good to be true.”

  Nolan tried to work it out in his head.

  “Is this about the Christie chick?” he finally asked.

  “Maybe, yeah, I’ve been thinking about her lately. Ever since Elsie came into my life. I don’t want to fall for that kinda bullshit again.”

  “Bullshit?”

  “I don’t want to be an idiot.”

  “You were a kid, and they manipulated you. You were too young to know what you were up against.”

  “I don’t need a lecture on that. I know I was a kid, but the lesson I learned from that isn’t something to be taken lightly.”

  “And what lesson is that?”

  “No beautiful woman can be trusted.”

  Nolan breathed in deeply. At first I thought he was just getting impatient with me, but then he came over and put his hands on my shoulders. He looked straight into my eyes and I had no idea what he’d say. There was a part of me that realized my brother had grown up and maybe I didn’t have him figured out at all.

  “I’m going to tell you two things, and you can take it or leave it.”

  I waited for him to continue.

  “Firstly, not all beautiful women in this world are going to be bitches like the Christie chick who tricked you. They’re not all going to try and get you nabbed. Most importantly, you are now a man who knows how to protect yourself from shit like that. Nobody fucks with you.”

  It wasn’t the best advice, but it was something. So I shrugged in response.

  “Secondly, why don’t you go find this chick? Christie. I know you don’t want to ever see her again, but she can’t be difficult to find. You could track her down. Talk to her. Figure out what the story was with her. You could finally put an end to all of it. Get some closure or whatever the fuck they call it,” he continued.

  Now, that was advice I wouldn’t have gotten anywhere else.

  Fifteen

  Elsie

  Isabelle left soon after we finished our coffees. She said she needed to get her hair done and she’d check up on me soon. I told her she didn’t need to and I’d be fine, but I figured she’d check on me anyway. She was just that type of person.

  I wondered if the Doherty brothers even knew how lucky they were to have a sister like her in their lives.

  As much as I was grateful she'd stopped by, I was also happy to see her leave. I knew I had to make a quick decision on what I’d do. Isabelle would tell Tristian eventually that I had my doubts about staying, so if I was going to leave—it had to be now. Before anybody from the family stopped me.

  I had nothing to pack and nothing to take with me. I didn’t even know where I’d go to get far away from Aldo. Was he even looking for me anymore?

  It had been several days and there wasn’t any sign of him or his thugs anywhere. Maybe he had bigger fish to fry than me. Maybe they wouldn’t even notice if I slipped out of this apartment, and eventually slipped through the cracks.

  If I could go somewhere. Maybe even get to a different state. I’d have to get a new identity, get a job or find some way to make some money. It could be
done.

  I didn’t need the Dohertys. I didn’t need Tristian. Maybe I was just kidding myself by believing I’d be safe with them.

  I felt bad about looking for money in Tristian’s apartment, but I knew I had to take some cash with me. Even just enough to get me across state lines.

  I found very little of it in his bedroom, but I stuffed it into a jacket pocket. I also felt bad about taking Isabelle’s clothes she’d so generously lent to me, but I only took the ones I wore.

  I gave myself a quick once-over in the bathroom mirror and then I was gone.

  My heart thudded in my chest as I ran down the stairs and out to the street. Maybe, if everything went right, I’d never have to see another Doherty ever again. I’d never see Tristian again.

  The man I’d allowed myself to almost fall in love with.

  I blended into the busy streets of New York. Pretty soon, I’d become nameless and faceless. I should’ve felt free. I should’ve finally felt like I had my life back, but that wasn’t the way it felt.

  I was sad to go.

  It ached my heart to realize I’d never see Tristian again. In his own way, he’d been good to me.

  I kept my head down and headed in the direction of the nearest subway. Honestly, I didn’t know where I was going. New York confused me, even the suburban towns like this one. I didn’t belong here and I hardly ever visited these places until Aldo brought me.

  But it was busy and that gave me some comfort, knowing I’d easily hide amidst the myriad of faces.

  I probably wasn’t headed in a helpful direction because I hadn’t come across any sign of a subway yet. And I was too afraid to stop and ask for directions. What if someone recognized me? From what I could tell, everyone around here knew the Dohertys. I didn’t know who worked as a spy for them and who’d tell on me.

  So I just kept going, hoping I’d eventually get somewhere I could take a bus or a subway from.

  But then I felt eyes on me.