“Gee, thanks,” Kevin mumbled.
In truth, we were all very close in age. Ian and I were both twenty-six, Kyle twenty-five. Kevin just turned twenty-one, which was why Pops brought him back up from the family vacation house down in Florida. Kevin and Stacy were nearly the same age. She turned twenty-one two months ago. And Killian, the oldest, was twenty-nine by his last birthday.
Mom couldn’t have any more kids after I was born, something about an infection that set in only hours after I came into the world. But that didn’t stop her from gathering up kids in her job as a social worker.
“I don’t know why you’re so annoyed,” Kyle said. “He’s just calling you an infant. He’s calling me immature.”
“So it’s not offensive to be called an infant when I just became old enough to drink?”
“You just answered your own question, didn’t you?” Ian asked.
Kevin turned away, pacing just inside the room. His eyes darted down the hall again and again as he watched for some sign of a familiar face. One did come into the room, Brianna, our secret big sister. She was also twenty-six, just six months or so younger than me, a beauty with her red hair so much like our father’s. Mine tended toward orange, but hers was pure in its hue. She was beautiful, and Kevin seemed to feel a special affinity to her after he was on hand when she was rescued from her kidnappers. They huddled there together by the door, his hand resting casually on her hip. I watched, wondering if we might not have another brother-sister match at some point in the near future.
Too many and someone might begin to accuse us all of incest.
I turned back to the window, slipping my phone from my jeans pocket, hoping for something I knew wouldn’t be there. Delaney was pretty angry with me. I knew she would be, but a part of me was still hoping she’d get past it. That she would admit to herself that she was in love with me and my family associations didn’t really matter. But I was afraid that that would never happen.
What would I do if she didn’t forgive me?
I felt less when I wasn’t with her. The weight of the past sank down on my shoulders when I left her. But when we were together? I was lighter than I’d ever been, even before my world was shattered by one single act.
I loved her. And the mere fact that I was able to feel such emotion for her proved that I was still human. I was still capable of emotion. I wasn’t the monster I was beginning to think I was.
I needed her.
But the phone remained dark.
“It’s a boy.”
I turned just in time to watch Killian walk into the room, his face flushed, with Pops’ arm around his shoulder. They were laughing and crying all at the same time, holding each other up like they couldn’t stand without the other. For a long second, it was as if the air had just been sucked out of the room. And then cheers went up and I found myself in the center of a group hug.
We somehow managed to make our way down the hall, still hugging, still laughing, a few tears sliding down manly, chiseled jawbones. And then we were in the delivery room, Stacy exhausted but happy, holding the tinniest human being I’d ever seen. Cassidy—Pops’ new wife—was beside her, gushing over how beautiful the baby was. Brianna moved up behind her mother, gazing at the baby as if he was the most perfect thing God ever made.
And he was. He had dark hair like his father and light eyes that would likely be pale like his mother’s, chubby little cheeks and the most perfect little fingers. I’d seen a few babies in my time, but none I was as interested in as this one.
I stepped back and watched as everyone gushed over him, jokes flying around the room about Killian and Stacy’s relationship—no one could really resist that particular elephant—as well as just about anything else they could think of in their exhaustion-induced euphoria. I glanced at my phone a few more times, this funny little pain shooting through the center of my chest each time I saw that there were no messages. I was trying to be a part of this amazing moment, but finding it difficult.
I was not a good man. I didn’t deserve to feel the sort of joy that I could see on Killian and Stacy’s faces. But I envied them their happiness. I’d thought—for a while—that I would never feel that sort of thing in my life. Ever. But there’d been a little bit of hope with Delaney.
If she didn’t forgive me, I’d be lost.
Chapter 12
Delaney
Alex walked into my office and pointed straight at my face.
“She’s back!”
I ignored him, focusing on my computer screen and the email I’d read three times and still hadn’t fully comprehended.
“What happened? Did Mr. Perfect turn out to have warts?”
“Don’t you have something better to do than to tease me?”
“Tease you? Is that what I’m doing?” Alex settled in one of the chairs carefully positioned at front of my desk for optimal negotiations and studied my face for a long second. “Okay. Tell me what happened.”
“Nothing happened. He just wasn’t who I thought he was.”
“No one ever is, darling. Who did you think he was?”
I shrugged, sitting back in my chair as I realized that I wasn’t getting any work done in the foreseeable future.
“I thought he was a lawyer. A clean cut, little rough around the edges, but straight-laced sort of guy. But it turns out that his family is as deep into this city’s dark side as anyone can get.”
“And that’s a bad thing?”
I shot him a look that told him he was insane and he laughed a little.
“Sometimes being a little dark isn’t as bad as it seems, Delaney. Besides, who wants a guy who is perfect? Isn’t perfect kind of boring?”
“Maybe. But I’ve had enough of the bad guys, you know? Wasn’t Claude enough?”
“But this guy’s a lawyer. How truly bad can he be?”
“You’d be surprised.”
“You love him?”
I looked up, unable to hide it from the one guy who knew me better than almost anyone. He smiled, his expression soft and affectionate.
“If you love him, you have to accept him completely, warts and all. Besides, if it’s just a family connection, maybe it’s not as bad as you think it is.”
“He admitted to lying to me.”
“At least he admitted it. Do you think Claude would have done that?”
He had a point. There was no way that Claude ever would have admitted to doing anything wrong, let alone admit to lying outright to me. And he’d lied to me many times, sometimes so blatantly that we both knew it was a lie the moment it came out of his mouth. Yet, he never admitted it.
Sean did. He was actually quite brutally honest with me. But did that change the fact that he lied to me?
“But he lied to me. Everything I thought I knew about him was wrong.”
“Does that change the way you feel about him?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know to be honest. But I don’t like the lies.”
Alex got up and came around the desk, resting his hand on my shoulder.
“I adore you, Delaney, but sometimes you are hard on the people around you. I think you were hurt so much by your mother’s lack of interest and her distraction, that you don’t trust anyone. And you hold the few people you do trust up to an impossible standard. But no one is truly perfect.”
“I know that. I just…”
“You just need to give yourself a break. You were happy with this guy, whoever he was. Maybe that’s more important than whatever he lied to you about.”
He patted my shoulder with as much heft as affection before moving back around the desk and heading for the door. “You have a meeting with tech in about fifteen minutes.”
I watched him go, then sat back and tried to tell myself that he didn’t understand what all this was about. He didn’t know what Sean had done. But there was something about what he said that rang true inside my heart. I picked up my phone and studied the screen, trying to convince myself that I didn’t want to cal
l him and that I didn’t want to invite him back into my bed. But the thing was, the moment he told me he loved me I knew I would cave. I wanted him in my life.
He was right when he said that I was in love with him. I was. I missed him even though it’d only been eight hours. And I knew I would miss him tonight when he didn’t show up like he had every night for the last three weeks. But I couldn’t bring myself to call him just yet.
Not yet. But I was weak. It wouldn’t be long.
Chapter 13
Sean
I watched as Cassidy handed the baby to Stacy, making it so that she wouldn’t have to get up and walk just the few feet to the bassinet Killian had set up down here in the sitting room.
We were once again gathered, this time at Killian and Stacy’s house a few blocks from the house where we all grew up. Pops and Killian were talking, their conversation quite intense from the looks of it. Kevin and Brianna had their heads together out on the back deck. Kyle was still trying to get Ian’s goat, but not having much luck.
It was family. A lot of people take these sort of things for granted, even find them boring and a drain on their free time. But I could see by the look on Stacy’s face that she was appreciative of what she had. There was once a time when she wasn’t speaking to Pops because he indulged Mom’s desire that we kids not know about her cancer until it was impossible to hide it any longer. Stacy thought Pops stole from us kids the final good days of her life because she died less than two weeks after we all learned the truth. But it wasn’t Pops’ fault, and I guess she’d come to terms with that. She hadn’t liked Cassidy, either, because she felt like Cassidy had tried to steal Pops away from the family once twenty-seven years ago and that she’d swooped in again the moment Mom was gone—never mind that it’d been five years after Mom’s death that Cassidy showed up and she only showed up then because her daughter had been kidnapped. But they’d made amends, too, from the look of it.
I was happy for Stacy, really. She deserved a little happiness. But I honestly preferred to be almost anywhere else but here. Every time the family got together, Mom’s absence seemed more acute than other times. I missed her. And the guilt I felt was almost suffocating.
If not for me…
But I couldn’t let my thoughts go there.
I leaned forward, thinking I should probably sneak out of here. I had work waiting for me at the office despite the fact that it was Saturday and the offices were deserted for the most part. But we had this real estate deal that’d just gone through, so there were piles of permits we needed to get before work could start.
I was about to stand when the screen of my phone lit up. It was a text message from Delaney.
It’d been three days. I’d thought hope was beginning to dwindle. But…
My heart was in my throat as I stared at the alert, almost afraid to check the message. What if it was a final goodbye? But then I saw the first words and I was flying.
I’m sorry.
I couldn’t help the smile that burst over my face.
I’m still struggling with the lies and the deception. But I miss you and I hope we can talk about it.
I immediately texted her back.
Of course.
I could almost feel the sigh that came with her next message.
Thank you. Can you come over tonight?
I can be there in fifteen minutes.
There was no hesitation. Her response came immediately.
Tonight. I’ll make us dinner.
I bit my lip, thinking about the first time she cooked for me. I’d wanted so badly to touch her every time our arms brushed, our hips touched. This time…I missed her. I couldn’t even begin to describe the relief I felt to have her reach out to me this way. I wasn’t going to beg, but to have her ask…it was everything.
Once again, I started to stand. At the same moment, there was a pounding on the front door. It wasn’t just a knock. It was a hard pounding, someone determined to be acknowledged.
I glanced over at Killian. His face tightened.
We all grew up expecting a knock on the door. Mom would scream at Pops sometimes about such things, describing the knock in detail whenever he made her angry. She was afraid that his association with Jack would either get him killed or arrested. Either way, the cops would come knocking on the door, determined to take him away from the family.
This was that kind of knock.
There was a finality to it that scared the crap out of me.
Killian crossed the entryway of his house, walking as if he was expecting whoever was on the other side of the door. Ian and Kyle came in from the back deck, Kevin and Brianna trailing behind. They stopped just inside the door, watching like a Broadway show was about to unfold in front of them. Cassidy got up and went to Pops, sliding her arm through his. Pops didn’t look upset. He didn’t even seem to understand the significance of such a knock.
All I heard were the words, “We have a warrant…” and I was on my feet, heading off the group of men in dark suits moving around Killian like he was insignificant.
“Gentleman, if I could see that warrant.”
One of the men held up a piece of paper, slapping it into the palm of my hand.
“We’re federal agents. This warrant is for one Brian Daniel Callahan.”
“What?” I heard Brianna gasp behind me. “What for?”
RICO violations. It was all spelled out in the legal documents. They were accusing Pops of conspiracy to commit racketeering. They were fishing, but they must have had enough to hold him for the moment.
Fuck.
The marched over to Pops and pulled him away from Cassidy, who looked like she wanted to lose her lunch.
“It’ll be alright, Pops,” I said, as they marched him toward the door. “I’ll be right behind you.”
One of the federal agents touched my arm, pulling me aside.
“We’re taking him to the federal building downtown. You’d be better off calling a lawyer and then waiting for him to be arraigned on Monday.”
“I am his lawyer.”
The agent’s eyebrows rose, not in surprise but with a touch of irony, I think. He’d probably seen this many times before. But he didn’t say anything. He just nodded.
“Call this number. Someone will tell you what to do.”
He handed me a business card, then walked off, catching up with his buddies just as they pushed my father into the backseat of a dark sedan. Detective Scarsorsi was out in the driveway, watching from his vantage point and leaning against the front of his own dark sedan. He waved when he saw Killian and I standing in the doorway.
“Coming for you next, Killian,” he said.
Killian just glared at him as they took my father away. Scarsorsi followed, a smile the size of Texas spreading over his face.
Brianna came up behind me and grabbed my arm.
“We have to go with him.”
I nodded.
“Get him out,” Killian said softly.
“We will.”
I just wished I was as confident as I sounded. I didn’t know what the hell we were going to do. The feds were notorious when it came to using the RICO statute to do whatever they wanted. If they could prove the person in question had connections to the mafia, then that was basically all they needed to press RICO charges. RICO was so vague that nodding to a known mafia figure could put someone in jail with the right prosecutor and judge.
Pops was in real trouble this time.
***
Brianna was a junior associate with a law firm in Boston. She’d worked with a high-profile firm in Los Angeles before her ordeal last spring. Then she found out about Pops and the rest of us and decided to move to Boston to be closer to the family. The firm where she worked was one Pops had done business with before, but I wasn’t confident they’d want to touch this case. They were known for taking notorious cases, but those cases were always winnable. I wasn’t sure how they’d feel about their junior associate bringing this sort of thing t
hrough their doors.
Not that I was going to let Brianna and her firm take over and cut me out. This was what I’d come home for.
“Protect him,” Mom said to me.
That’s what I intended to do.
We walked into the federal building and were immediately greeted by a couple of big men in suits.
“Building’s closed for the weekend,” one of them informed us. “You can come back on Monday.”
“I was told my father was brought here.”
The two men exchanged a glance. “You related to Brian Callahan?” the other guy asked.
“I’m Brianna Myers. Mr. Callahan is my client.” She held a business card between two fingers. “We’d like to know what’s going on.”
“I’m sure someone explained to you that Mr. Callahan was arrested on RICO charges. He’ll be arraigned on Monday morning.”
“He’s entitled to a phone call.”
“And I’m sure he’ll get it. But, for now, he’s being processed.”
“We would like to speak to our client,” Brianna said.
“That’s not possible at the moment, counselor.”
I’d not spent a lot of time with Brianna since she came to live in Boston. We met and spent time at Pops and Cassidy’s house, but we didn’t speak much. We had nothing in common except for the fact that we shared some of the same DNA. But when she straightened her spine and got into that suited agent’s face, I was seeing a part of her I’d never seen before.
“You might be able to use that line on an inexperienced attorney,” she said, “but I’ve walked this walk before. I know my rights and the rights of my client. You will allow us to see him.”
The agent looked down his nose at her, trying to use his height to his advantage. But Brianna wasn’t a delicate little flower. She stood her ground, meeting his eye just as intently as she had from the moment we walked through the door. Finally, the agent stepped back.
“Wait here. We’ll let you know when he’s been processed.”
“Thank you.”
We watched the two agents walk away, disappearing behind a plain, locked door that was cut into the side of the far wall.
SEAN: A Mafia Romance (The Callahans Book 3) Page 9