“To answer your question, yes. I do believe in soul mates.” He turns my wrist over and places a soft kiss on the inside, leaving his lips against my skin for longer than usual. “Sleep now, yeah? Everything looks better in the morning.”
I nod, a lock of my hair sliding against my cheek with the motion. I snuggle in closer to him, careful not to jostle him too much, and close my eyes on a deep exhale.
Chapter Twelve
Sully
The smell of peaches and cream invades my senses, and I flex my hands in a stretch—or at least, I attempt to. I didn't account for my arm being pinned down and something to be in my hands already. Or should I say someone.
I've got a handful of the most perfect ass I've ever felt, and I know before I open my eyes who it belongs to. I take my time waking up, savoring the time with Lainey wrapped around me—literally. The girl sleeps like an octopus—all flailing limbs and constant tossing and turning.
In our time apart, I'd forgotten that. I think I'd forgotten a lot of things about her. Or I purposely didn't remember them. At one point, if I let myself remember even one single thing, I knew it would take me down a rabbit hole I'd never see my way out of.
No matter how much pussy I drowned myself in—and fucking hated myself for every goddamn minute of it—I never felt better. I never forgot the way she smelled or the way her nose crinkles when she's concentrating or the way just the sight of her makes my goddamn heart ache.
So, yeah, I'm letting myself enjoy this moment, because the moment I'm awake, it all goes away.
She goes back to being my ex-girlfriend who fucking left without a trace, and after the day I had yesterday, I need not to hate her for a little bit.
I memorize the way she feels in my hands and the way her body curves around mine.
"I know you're awake, asshole. You might as well stop copping a feel and get your ass out of bed. We have shit to do today." Wolf's voice comes from somewhere on the other side of the bed by the windows.
I open my eyes and lift my head up and see Wolf reclining in the chair, gaze fixed on the sprawling city below. The morning light streams in through the blinds.
"What time is it?"
"Time to get up. So kindly remove your hand from my girl before I do it for you." Wolf's voice is somewhere between a yell and a whisper. It's honestly a little amusing, not that I'd tell him that.
"Fuck off with your bullshit attitude, man. I got fucking jumped yesterday, remember?" My anger spikes a little. Not only is it uncharacteristic for him to be this grumpy, it's too early for it.
He turns to look at me, his gaze hostile one moment and softening the next. "Aye, I fucking remember. But today is a new day, and we've got a lot to do, so I need you to get up. And don't wake her, yeah?"
I blow out a breath, careful not to wake Lainey. "Yeah, okay. I need more pain medication first."
Wolf stands and crosses the room to stand at the foot of my bed. He studies us for a moment. "They're on your nightstand. And I'm glad you're okay, brother. It's just this shit has got me all twisted up inside." He runs a hand through his hair. "The sooner we figure it out, the sooner we can get back to normal."
I nod and begin untangling myself from Lainey. It takes me what feels like forever, but I manage to do it without her waking up and without pulling a stitch. I swing my legs over the side of the bed, biting back the groan that threatens to spill from my lips. The skin around my wound pulls with every move I make, but apparently any sort of twist is out of the question for the next week or so while I heal. I’ll have to get the sling we have around here just for this sort of thing.
I swallow two more pills with a swig from the bottle of water from my nightstand and push off the bed. Standing up, I pull the collar of my shirt over to inspect my bandage. I'll have to change the dressing soon, but I'm glad that the wound isn't seeping. That's a good sign.
I wasn't lying to Alaina last night. I have been hurt worse than this before. Two years ago might've been one of the worst nights of my life. Not only did I get practically blown up, that was the same day my girl decided that I wasn't worth sticking around for. So, I had a dislocated shoulder, a broken wrist, and a fucking broken heart.
I glance at the girl in question behind me. She shifted so her face presses into my pillow, her chest rising and falling in a deep pattern. The sunlight highlights the bed, making her hair look like it's glowing. It's just the absolute perfect shade of red, and the sight of it spread out on my pillow like that goes straight to my dick.
I freeze when she sighs, but all she does is snuggle into my pillow a little more. Thankfully, she doesn't wake up. She needs the rest.
I follow the sound of my brothers talking and the smell of coffee until I'm in the kitchen. It's been a few weeks since I've been in this apartment, not since the night I walked in on my brothers and my girl getting cozy at my house. I stayed in the city a few extra days to help Matteo when his shit went south. Which reminds me, I need to call him and thank him for carrying my ass all the way to O'Malley's yesterday.
"Oh, look, brother, sleeping beauty has decided to get up after all." Wolf gestures toward me with a goofy smile on his face.
I flip him off in response, and he only laughs. I pull out a chair at the black and white table in the kitchen and sit down with a groan.
Rush slides a cup of coffee in my favorite mug in front of me. "You doing okay?"
I take a sip before I answer him, the bold coffee sending a shock of caffeine to my system. "Aye, I'll be fine. I've had worse before."
He nods before turning back to the kitchen, grabbing a platter of food, and bringing it back to the table. Wolf follows him with plates, silverware, and napkins. My brothers lay everything on the table, and I nod my thanks.
We each dish up, leaving some of everything for Lainey when she wakes up. My brow wrinkles as I take in the platter of food in the middle of the table. "Is that . . . is that all of her favorite foods?" I look between Rush and Wolf.
Wolf shrugs a shoulder. "What can I say? I'm observant. Plus, our brother's been stalking her for a year, so he—"
"I never stalked her," Rush says before he takes a sip out of his favorite mug.
Wolf rolls his eyes. "What else do you call going to O'Malley's every Friday night for a year? Don't think I forgot that you installed all those security cameras around O'Malley's. That was for her, right?"
My gaze ping-pongs between the two of them, eyes narrow.
Rush places his mug on the table with careful movements. He looks Wolf right in the eye, and says, "I'm not going to apologize, Conor. I'm not sorry, and I'd do it again."
"I'm not even that mad. I just think it's fucked up that you made some big production about going to the city every Friday night—wait a minute. She's the little bird you had stashed in the city?" He throws his hands in the air and stares at Rush with wide eyes.
Rush tilts his head and shrugs his shoulders in a forced nonchalance. "In a manner of speaking, yes, but it wasn't like what you're thinking."
"What about what I'm thinking?" I say over the rim of my mug.
Both of my brothers turn to look at me, but Rush is the first one to speak. "And what are you thinking, brother?"
"I'm thinking we need to have this conversation with Lainey. Especially if it involves her, yeah? She's had a lot of secrets lately."
Wolf blows out a breath. "You don't even know the half of it, brother."
I set my mug down and give them my full attention. "Then fill me in." And for the next thirty minutes, they gave me the cliff's notes version of events. Everything they could remember, the rest had to come from Lainey herself.
Chapter Thirteen
Sully
Staring into the dredges of my coffee, I try to make sense of all the information swirling around. "So let me get this straight. Lana left Da, somehow showed up at the diner I stupidly left her without backup at, and she and Lainey both followed that motherfucker who took her from O'Malley's to some warehouse."
My head whips toward the doorway where Lainey stands, leaning against the wall. Still dressed in a borrowed white tee that hangs almost mid-thigh, face and eyes soft with sleep, and hair mussed. She takes my breath away.
Wolf jumps to his feet first, ushering her to the empty seat next to me. He holds out her chair like some goddamn gentleman, and I fight the urge to roll my eyes at him. "Layin' it on a little thick, yeah, brother?"
Okay, so I didn't curb my sarcasm after all.
Lainey sits down, and Wolf pushes her chair in. Rush slides the platter of food, so it's in front of her, and I find myself pouring her a cup of coffee from the carafe on the table before I even decide to do that.
"Oh, wow. This is"—she looks at each of us with a small smile—"unexpected. And really nice."
I add the sugar and cream just how she likes it and set her mug in front of her plate. She shoots me a small, private smile, reaching for it first.
"Can you, uh—maybe after you've eaten, you can fill us in a little more?" I ask and immediately want to shove the words back in my mouth. I sound like some prepubescent boy instead of the hardened criminal I am.
She slides her hand in the handle, palming the mug and sighing after her first sip. "I can tell you now. It's fine. I think . . . I think it'll be good for all of us to talk today." She looks me in the eye. "About everything."
Wolf returns to his chair and serves himself another helping of French toast. "Aye. Since everyone's up to speed on O'Malley, Rush's stalker tendencies, and—"
“Not a stalker," Rush says on a sigh at the same time Alaina giggles.
"Wait a minute." Wolf turns to look at Alaina with a raised brow. "Why didn't you tell us you knew him?"
"I told you I knew him. I just didn't give details on . . . how, exactly. And I didn't, know him, I mean. Not really. I'd only properly met him right before I met you," Alaina explains, looking at Wolf.
"Okay. That doesn't really explain why you kept it a secret. Either one of you.” Wolf’s tone is deceptively casual as he leans back in his chair, his eyes throwing accusations at both of them.
Alaina exchanges a knowing look with Rush, one filled with heat. She looks between the three of us. "For this to, uh, work, there has to be a delicate balance of trust and communication. While some things might stay between just two of us, we should all agree that all other lines of communication between us should remain open."
"That's assuming all of us are in this relationship." I couldn't stop the retort from leaving my lips, but it lacks any real heat and everyone knows it.
Alaina shoots me a smile like she thinks I'm being cute. I'm not. I mean, I want to have her, but I don't know if I can trust her.
How can I trust the person who's at the root of my trust issues?
Okay, so that's not entirely fair. I had abandonment issues long before Lainey stepped into my life. But that's to be expected when your mother just drops you off at some random dude's house when you're a baby.
A fucking baby.
Jesus Christ, what kind of fucked-up parent does that sort of thing? And then she just bails, never to be heard from again. A few years ago, Rush asked me if I wanted to know what happened to her, that he would find her for me. In the end, I decided that she’d had nineteen years to find me—I was right where she left me. So if she couldn’t be bothered, then neither could I.
I made a promise to myself after that—I’d never become a parent if I couldn't guarantee that I'd be there for that kid. And that's one I intend to keep. No matter what.
Not that I'm planning on having kids any time soon. My life is much too dangerous right now. I'd never bring a kid into this chaos. We're in the middle of war, for fuck's sake.
And holy fuck. Why the hell am I thinking about having kids and babies?
Sweat beads on my brow and I glance around in bewilderment. I shake my head; it must be the pain meds. I'm probably just having a weird reaction like Lainey did.
Yeah, yeah, that must be it.
I look up, realizing I missed something when they're all looking at me. I take a sip of my coffee just to give myself something to do, so I don't blurt out some stupid shit again.
"Okay, so back to the diner. And my, uh, mom." She stares at the table, tracing a random pattern in the wood grain. "She told me a whole lot of things in a very short period of time."
"It's alright, baby girl, just take your time, okay? And we're here for anything you need," Wolf tells her as he reaches across the table to place his hand on hers.
She lifts her hand and places a kiss on the back of his. "Thank you."
"Why don't you just give us the facts as your mom gave them to you? That might help."
She licks her lips and nods. "Yeah, that's a good idea, Rush. Okay, so she said that my father is dead, which we already knew, but she also said that he was the heir to this company, Gallagher Industries. And she thought her wedding engagement in the paper somehow led these Gallagher Industries people to me. That's how they found me. Apparently, she’d been hiding me all these years—ever since dad left. Or was killed, I guess. Only . . ." She runs the tip of her index finger along the top of the mug, head tilted as she stares into the kitchen without really looking.
"Only what?" Rush prompts. He's leaning forward in his chair, eyes focused on her.
She turns her attention to Rush. "Only when Mom said something about Gallagher Industries to Liam at the warehouse, he said they didn't send him. But . . . but maybe I'm not remembering it correctly. There was a lot going on."
"Aye. What else happened at the warehouse? How did Maddie come into this?" I ask as I palm a fresh cup of coffee.
"There's something else at play here. Something I don't quite see yet." Her words are slow and measured, as if she's searching for the missing pieces as she speaks.
"What do you mean? Did Maddie say something?" Wolf tilts his head to the side.
"Hmm? Oh, no. I called her and Mary before I came out here, but neither one answered. I'll try again soon though. But, uh, something else happened. Two somethings." She takes a sip of coffee. "So apparently Mary met someone online, and they became close quickly. One thing led to another, and he started asking about Maddie. And me."
As one, all three of us stiffen in our chairs, matching scowls on our faces.
"Before you say anything, I know. But when he got aggressive, she shut it down. Not, uh, not before she shared some personal things about me." Alaina winces and looks at the table.
"Personal like what?" Wolf growls out, his hands steepled on the table in front of him.
Alaina shrugs. "I'm not sure. Likes, dislikes, and . . . my schedule. Said he'd distribute her personal photos if she didn’t keep the info flowing.”
I set my mug down and look at Alaina. “Listen, we might joke about Rush being your stalker—"
“Still not a fucking stalker," Rush chimes in with a smirk, his tone almost conversational.
I ignore him and keep going. "But that courtesy only extends to him. Who the fuck is this guy? Why don't we just go take care of it?"
"I'm not sure. Max something. And apparently, Benny already took care of it. And then he asked for payment for his chivalry in the form of a date. With me. According to Mary, said he’d take it one way or another.”
"Benny from O'Malley's?" Rush sits back in his chair, head tilted as he looks at the wall. He looks deceptively calm, like he’s holding himself so tight, one move is going to ignite him.
Lainey nods. “Yep.”
Everyone is silent for a moment.
Rush clears this throat. “I don’t want to tell you what to do—"
"Fuck that. I will. Our girl is not going on a date with some motherfucking prospect who's blackmailing her," Wolf yells.
"Calm down, man. I wasn’t going to say she should do it. I'm just saying I'm not trying to tell her what to do." Rush stares at Wolf, furrowed brows as he leans back in his chair.
Wolf, Alaina, and I look at each other
before matching smiles tip up our lips. That asshole loves to tell people what to do, but I don't need to tell anyone here that.
“Are you sure it’s the same Benny?” Rush asks.
Lainey nods as she looks between the three of us. “Benny, the bouncer from O’Malley’s. I’m not going to go, obviously. And I appreciate your help with that. I can try to get more information when I talk to the girls today. Which brings me to Maddie. And why she was there." She sighs. "This part is a little strange, so I'm just going to go with it. My mom was dressed like me—like in my clothes, like me—when I saw her outside the diner. She knew that someone was looking for me, so she was going to pretend to be me and get taken. Only Maddie looks a lot like me, especially from behind. So when they saw her at the diner where I should’ve been, they grabbed her instead."
"So who texted us that photo?" Wolf runs his hand through his hair.
"I—I don't know. Oh!" She slams her hand against the table. "We need to see my Aunt Sloane."
"All the arrangements can be made from here, baby. We don't need to leave here for a few days, at least."
Her smile dims a little. "No. I mean, yes, I know I have to contact her to talk about arrangements for . . . Mom. But that's not the only reason I need to talk to her. Mom told me that I need to tell her 'it's time.' Whatever that means. Acted like It was a matter of life or death."
"Okay. So we go see your aunt in a day or two then. You can rest, and then we’ll figure it out. Hopefully, get some answers for you.” I know if I suggested today, she’d jump at the chance, but honestly, I need some more downtime. And I think she does too.
"And now I want to know how you know Matteo?" she asks as she nibbles on a piece of bacon.
"He's been a sort of friend for many years.” I scratch my chin, the stubble prickling against my skin. “Actually, I think you two met at Mama Rosa's one of the times we were there together. And how does he know Maddie again?”
"They had an on again off again thing in high school, until she found him hooking up with another girl right before homecoming dance." Lainey rolls her eyes and huffs.
Sully: An Irish Mafia Romance (The Brotherhood Book 3) Page 9