“So, what is it you have that’s so damning to me?”
“How about proof that it was you fucking with the Russians?”
Ciara did a great job at schooling her features, though I knew she was shocked to learn about it. It was clear her father was also surprised. I figured the less Ciara knew the better, that way her father couldn’t accuse her of working against him. He didn’t need any ammunition. I just needed him to want us out of his life.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“You don’t remember blowing up their warehouses? Or the hit you put on Maksim’s wife?” I smirked at him. “You did an excellent job of framing my brother. Not only did you make it look like he was working with the Russians, you then made it appear that he double-crossed them, taking all the heat off you and my uncle.”
“You have no proof,” Kieran spat.
“Because my uncle’s dead, you mean.” I nodded. “Yes, that was very convenient for you. The last person that knew about the two of you conspiring together was dead, and you didn’t even have to do the dirty work. And you would have gotten away with it all if I hadn’t just found out that I had killed my own brother out of some manipulative game my uncle was playing. But you know, it just didn’t make sense to me. My uncle was smart, I’ll give him that, but he didn’t have the power behind him to get a job like this done. Which led me to think, who would gain the most from working with him against the Russians?”
I was quiet for a moment as I let him digest that. I watched the sweat bead on his forehead and the way he clenched his fists, trying to figure out his next move. He knew he was caught.
“You see, after I got away I had all this time on my hands, and a shitload of anger. So, I hid out in the city, just watching and gathering information. I even snuck back into the house and went through every last scrap of paperwork in all the rooms. And I had plenty of time with the estate basically tied up in paperwork. I bet you didn’t know that my uncle had his own secret room in the house.” I watched his reaction, the shock on his face as I continued. “Yeah, I didn’t know either. But with the house so empty and all the time in the world, I was able to thoroughly search the house. And guess what I came up with?”
Kieran swallowed hard, his eyes flicking over my shoulder.
“I wouldn’t think about doing that. At least not until you know where all the evidence is.” He gave a minute shake of his head. “Did you know my uncle recorded every meeting? Did you know he had people spying on you constantly? I have hours and hours of recordings, along with pictures of your meetings. With just a simple phone call, I could have it all sent to Maksim. I know he wants revenge for his wife’s death.”
His jaw clenched hard. “What do you want?”
“I want you to leave me the fuck alone. I want you to leave your daughter alone. You don’t come near us ever again, or anyone close to us. If I so much as even suspect you’re coming to retaliate, I’ll send everything I’ve gathered to the Russians, and then you’ll truly have a war on your hands, one that I know you can’t afford right now.”
“And you expect to just walk away with my daughter?”
“She means nothing to you,” I spat. “After years of using her like a whore, I would think she would be easy to forget. You will not come near us. You will not contact us ever again. You won’t look for us or even look for where I’m storing this information. I have copies everywhere.”
I pulled out a file from the inside of my jacket, one of the thicker files I brought with me. “This is a taste of what I have on you, but not all of it.”
He took the file from me and slowly opened it as if it were a bomb. Leafing through it, the slump of his shoulders told me he knew he was beaten. “Fine,” he grumbled, slapping the folder shut. “You win.”
“Oh, but I’m not done yet.” His eyes narrowed at me. “I’m not completely heartless. As a parting gift, I’m giving you a second file.” Pulling it out from my jacket, I handed it over. “As a show of good faith, this is all the evidence I have on my FBI contact. Use it wisely.”
He opened this file also. “Why are you giving this to me?”
“Like I said, a show of good faith. Your daughter and I don’t want to be bothered. We don’t want any enemies. Leave us alone, and I’ll never need to contact the Russians.”
I turned to leave, taking Ciara’s hand in mine. Now was the hard part, where I had to trust that he wouldn’t shoot me in the back. If he did, he was screwing himself over, but some men would rather take their chances than feel they were under anyone’s thumb. Still, I couldn’t resist just one more jab.
“Oh, and Kieran, I’ll be watching you. Step out of line, and you’ll be finished.”
I turned back around and led Ciara to the front gate. Nobody tried to stop us. Nobody even looked in our direction. We got into the SUV, and I momentarily wondered if they had planted a bomb while we’d been talking, but as I turned the key, nothing happened. We’d done it. We were safe.
Carly opened the door the minute we pulled up to her townhouse. The anxious look on her face warmed my cold heart. She did care. Maybe it was more out of concern for her own family, but part of me still believed that she wanted me around, even if she couldn’t express it.
Taking Ciara’s hand, we walked up the steps to her townhouse. I watched her eyes, how she awaited for me to tell her what happened. “It’s done.”
Her shoulders sagged in relief. “You’re sure?”
“As sure as I can be.”
She gave a tight nod. “Come in. You can finally tell me what happened.”
I followed her inside, dragging Ciara behind me. She still wasn’t comfortable around my sister, but with time, she would come to know her and maybe even like her. Given the chance, they could be friends. They had a lot in common. That was assuming that Carly would want to stay in contact with me.
“Hey,” Josh nodded. “So, you’re still alive.”
“No bullet holes today,” I shot back. “But the day isn’t over yet.”
Josh held out his hand to Ciara. “I know we haven’t really been introduced. I’m Josh, the guy this idiot called when he needed relationship advice.”
Ciara grinned at him. “So I heard. It’s nice to meet you. And thank you.”
“For what?” I asked.
“Well, he got you to be nice to me. I figure that’s a win.”
“I did tell him that he had to treat you differently,” Josh grinned. “He was behaving like you were one of his whores instead of a girl he wanted to date.”
“Can we move on? Yes, Josh saved me from being an asshole—”
“I wouldn’t go that far,” Ciara said with a grin.
“I can take you back to that woman’s shelter,” I threatened.
“Yes, but then who would warm your bed at night? I’m pretty sure the dogs would still get laid more than you.”
“They still do,” I muttered under my breath.
“I really don’t want to know what that’s about,” Carly sighed, sitting down on her couch. “Are you going to tell me what happened?”
Sitting down across from her, I dreaded what I needed to tell her. I hadn’t spoken the whole way to Carly’s, even though Ciara had questions for me. After I ignored the first two questions, she stopped asking. I figured it was only right that Carly get to ask questions first. After all, this had to do with her brother.
“I had information on Kieran, and I told him if he didn’t leave Ciara and I alone, along with anyone close to us, I would use it against him. I left your name out of it. I think it’s best if he still thinks you’re dead. But if he does find out about you, he knows not to go near you.”
Her brows furrowed. “What was this information?”
Taking a deep breath, I finally told her what I should have told her the minute I found out. “Kieran was working with Giuseppe.”
She sat back, stunned by that revelation. “Wait, I’m confused. I thought Giuseppe was helping the Russians. Wasn’
t that what he set Alessandro up for?”
I nodded. “He wanted it to look like Alessandro was helping the Russians, but he was also working with Kieran to take them down.”
“Okay, I know I’m new to the whole mafia lifestyle,” Josh cut in, “but isn’t that a dangerous game to play? Double-crossing someone in the mafia sounds like bad business to me.”
“It is, and I’m sure Kieran would have eventually turned on Giuseppe, but Giuseppe was killed first.”
“So, why didn’t Kieran take them down on his own?” Carly asked.
“Do you remember after the last time we met, you told me to go live my life?” She nodded. “I couldn’t do that until I found out everything Giuseppe was hiding. I mean, he was manipulative, but he was never going to command the respect needed to run the Family. Killing all of us to get the inheritance and run the Family wouldn’t have been enough. The men would have never respected him. I knew he needed an ally. Giuseppe had the money, but Kieran had the influence to get done what was needed. If I hadn’t found out what he was up to, he might have continued to use me to get what he needed. But when I took over for Alessandro, Giuseppe must have seen that I wasn’t going to bend to him the way he wanted. So, he continued his alliance with Kieran. Giuseppe was an asshole, but he was smart. He had a secret room in the house, and after you left, I went back to the house and tore it apart until I found what I was looking for. There were tons of recordings and photos of them meeting, conversations of their plans to take down the Russians.”
“And you showed that to him.”
I nodded. “All I would have to do is send it to Maksim. Kieran would have the biggest war on his hands, and he wouldn’t survive.”
Josh frowned. “Why?”
“Because Kieran and Giuseppe put out a hit on Maksim’s wife, all to throw him off and gain the upper hand in the territory. If Maksim ever found out, the city of Chicago would bleed red. There wouldn’t be a single Irishman left standing.”
“Why not just give it to Maksim anyway and get rid of your problem.”
I looked at Josh, but squeezed Ciara’s hand. “Because he wouldn’t stop until he killed Ciara also. He wouldn’t care if she was involved or not. An eye for an eye, and all that.”
Carly looked conflicted as she glanced at Ciara. I knew she wanted me to just hand over the information anyway and put us all out of danger, but I just couldn’t do that.
“Carly,” I pleaded, “you said you wanted me to move on and live the life we were meant to. If you meant that, then you can’t expect me to do something that would put the woman I love in danger.”
“You love me?” Ciara’s voice rose in a high-pitched squeak.
“Christ, you haven’t even told her you love her?” Josh threw up his hands in exasperation. “You and I need to have a talk about how this whole relationship thing works. You don’t tell her you love her for the first time in front of someone else.”
“Technically, he didn’t tell me. He told you,” Ciara said.
“But you love him too,” Carly said almost threateningly. “Because he’s my brother, and whatever he did in the past, he’s my family, and I will kill you if you hurt him.”
“Calm down, Tiger.” Josh put his hands on Carly’s shoulders and started rubbing. “We can’t go around killing everyone. Remember, we’re in a small town now.”
“And there are plenty of places to hide a body,” Carly said, her eyes boring into Ciara. “Just remember, I won’t always be pregnant.”
Not wanting this cat fight to get out of control, I decided to get out of Carly’s hair. Standing, I held out my hand for Ciara. “Anyway, it’s done now and no one should bother you. We’ll get out of your hair.”
“You’re leaving?” she asked, getting to her feet.
“I think that’s best. You have this great new life, and I really hope it’s everything you ever wanted.”
“It is,” she said, a slight hint of emotion clogging her throat.
I held out my hand to Josh. “Thank you for taking care of her when I didn’t.”
He chuckled and shook my hand. “No one takes care of your sister. She took care of me and kept me alive for seven years. I’m pretty sure I would have died that first year if it wasn’t for her.”
“Still…I’m glad she has you.”
I looked at Carly one more time, wanting to hug her, but not knowing if she would allow it. Our relationship was tenuous at best, and I doubted that this had changed any of this. Still, it killed me to walk away, even if I knew it was best for both of us. We had lived too long under someone else’s thumb. Now it was time for us to lead our own lives.
“Where’s Jo?” I asked, ready to get out of here before I ruined everything I had just accomplished.
“She’s out back with the dogs.”
I nodded. “Well, I’ll just get her and be on my way.”
“Oh, you’re taking her with you?”
“If she wants to come. I thought…”
Carly shrugged. “She’s not bad, and I like her attitude, but if she decides to go with you, I get it.”
“I’ll ask her what she wants to do.”
I walked past my sister, heading for the back door. It felt so wrong to just leave her. I swallowed past the lump in my throat and opened the back door.
“Antonio,” Carly called out. I turned slightly, not able to look at her, afraid that I might actually start fucking crying if I looked at her.
“Yeah,” I croaked out.
“Maybe…you could stick around. I mean, if you wanted.”
I quickly looked up at her, hoping that she wasn’t fucking with me. Her eyes were sincere though, and the only thing I saw on her face was hope.
“Do you want me to?”
Her shoulders lifted slightly, like she was having a hard time telling me what she wanted. “You didn’t even really meet your niece. And you have another niece or nephew on the way.”
God, I wanted that. Just to start over with the family I made, not the one chosen for me. But I wasn’t sure Carly could ever truly forgive me for what I had done, and I didn’t know if I could live with myself day in and day out with someone that hated me so much.
“After everything that’s happened…are you sure…I don’t want to mess things up for you.”
Josh rolled his eyes. “This is fucking painful. Alright,” he said, stepping forward. “Since you two are the most emotionally stunted people on the face of the planet, let me help you out here. Carly wants you to stay. You’re her brother and despite what happened, she still loves you and wants a relationship with you.” Then he turned to Carly. “Antonio wants to stay so desperately that I can feel his need rolling off him in waves. But he’s scared you can’t truly accept him. That’s what this all boils down to. So, give each other a proper fucking hug and remember what it’s like to just have a family member around. Neither of you are going to kill the other, and hopefully not anyone else. You’ll live in this town together, growing old with your kids running around together, and you’ll never have to be part of the mafia again. Okay?”
I looked at Carly with a smirk. Her husband really had a way with things. I glanced at Ciara. “I don’t know. I guess that depends on if Ciara wants to do the whole baby thing with a guy like me.”
Ciara grinned. “You mean an emotionally stunted asshole that needs relationship advice from his brother-in-law?” She nodded her head side to side in thought. “I mean, I guess I could get used to that. But I have one stipulation.”
“What’s that?”
“I want a TV.”
I burst out laughing, pulling her in for a hug. I held her tight against me, thankful that she was willing to stay here for me. When I released her, I took a few hesitant steps toward my sister and held out my arms like I might attempt to hug her.
“That’s right,” Josh prodded. “Just a few more steps. Then what you want to do is wrap your arms around her. That’s what makes it a hug.”
I smirked at him, but Car
ly punched him in the shoulder before finally stepping into my arms and giving me a hug. “It’s good to have you back, brother.”
“It’s good to be back.”
“Mommy!”
I stepped away as Carly scooped up her daughter in her arms.
“Did you have a good nap?”
“It was too wong.” She looked over at me and frowned. “Why is dat man back?”
Carly turned to me, smiling slightly. “That’s your Uncle Antonio. This is Alessa.”
I smiled and stepped forward, surprised when she leapt out of Carly’s arms and into mine. She grabbed my cheeks between her hands and stared me down. “You have candy?”
I smiled and felt my heart melt just a little more. This was going to be good for us.
42
Ciara
“What about this place?” I asked Antonio as we walked around the house in the country. We’d already looked at three places, and in a town this small, there really weren’t a lot of houses for sale.
He shrugged. “It’s the same as the rest.”
“But do you like it?”
He wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me against him. “I’ve already told you,” his voice rumbled through his chest, “I don’t care where we live as long as I’m with you.”
“Then I want this one.”
“Done.”
His lips crashed down on mine in a hard kiss before he turned to the sales woman. “We’ll take this one.”
“Perfect,” she beamed. “I’ll call the office and have them get started on the paperwork. Have you already been pre-approved for a loan?”
“I’m paying in cash.”
“Oh, well, that’s not usually how—”
I watched with wide eyes as Antonio took a menacing step toward the woman. Reaching out, I grabbed his hand and held him back.
“We’d like to pay in cash, if it’s alright with the owner,” I said gently, hoping that would smooth things over.
Dead Man's Hand: A Small Town Romance (A Good Run Of Bad Luck Book 1) Page 28