Conall

by Reana Malori

  “I could taste you all day.” Kissing her again, he tried to convey what he was feeling in this moment through the press of their lips and tongues. “I need you now.”

  Standing her up from him, he steadied her as he removed the robe from her body, baring her form to his gaze. Shifting himself as well, he removed his bottoms, and spread his legs. “Come sit on my lap. I want you to ride me.”

  “Gladly,” his woman said as she climbed on his lap.

  “I’m so glad you’re here with me,” he admitted.

  “I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else,” she whispered in return. Just then, she positioned her slick channel over his cock and pressed down. Her mouth opened wide as if she’d lost her breath, her eyes closing.

  “Open your eyes. Look at me,” he said in a clipped tone, barely hanging on to his control. “Don’t ever look away from me. See me, Tatiana. I need you to see me, the man in front of you,” he implored as he entered her body. He wasn’t sure what message he was trying to convey to her, but he couldn’t stop the words from escaping.

  “I see you, Conall. The real you. More than you know,” she responded on a sigh as she sank down fully on him. So snug. It was as if she were made for him.

  Moving slowly, they each began to rotate and take from each other what they needed.

  Conall knew that this was an illusion. Until he could resolve this issue with Paddy and her brother, the happiness and peace that he’d found with the woman in his arms was fleeting. Time was running out and he had to gain control again.

  Plunging in and out of her body, he did his best to leave his mark on her. To imprint himself on her body, in her mind, in her heart. As he made love to Tatiana, he knew that he would do whatever it took to have this woman in his life.

  Nothing, and no one, would ever take her away from him.

  * * * * *

  “I don’t give a shit what he said. Paddy O’Shea does not run shit for me. I want it handled now. Call whoever you need to in order to get this done tonight.” Conall was pacing his living room like a lion later that afternoon. He’d gotten word that the old man was trying to make a play against his brothers. It was subtle shit, but it was definitely starting to stink. Shannon didn’t usually get caught up in the bullshit if he could avoid it. So for him to stop by and express that his Spidey-senses were tingling—yeah, that meant shit was getting serious.

  “Boss, I have some other news for you.” Dillon stood to the side of the room, not wanting to get too close. Conall could understand that, especially with how he was feeling right now.

  Today had started so damn good. He’d had his woman in his arms for a few hours and the wolves had been held at bay. At least for a few hours. Once he’d finally agreed to let her go home and get some rest—real rest—the shit had hit the fan. He’d gotten a call from his contacts in Rhode Island that some movement was happening with the Italians. His brother Fionn had called about some shit going down and that he’d be out of pocket for a while. Then Shannon had stopped by, which was the icing on the fucking cake. How could things go south so fast? All in one day.

  “I don’t want to hear any more shit, Dillon. If it’s bullshit, then keep it to yourself,” he huffed, throwing back a swallow of his favorite whiskey. “Damn, that burned like hell. Why do I keep drinking this shit?” he groused. Looking over at his head of security, he noted the serious look on his face. Nope, he wasn’t going to like this one bit. “Fine, spit it out.”

  “The kid, Tony, went to his sister’s house today. Not sure why though. When she wasn’t there the first time he stopped by, he left for a bit to go grab something to eat. Once he came back, she was home. She let him in.”

  Taking a deep breath, he looked out toward the sunroom. Just this morning it had been the scene of their lovemaking. A memory he had tucked away so he could pull it out whenever he needed to. He had a feeling that things were about to blow up in his face. Which was exactly what he didn’t need right now. Although he was raised to be a good Catholic boy, he’d long abandoned God at the same time God had abandoned him and his brothers. But today, he prayed. He prayed that he wasn’t on the verge of losing the one woman who had come to mean more than he ever expected she would. In a matter of days, she’d gotten under his skin and made him feel something he never thought he would. That, in itself, was something special.

  “There’s another thing. The Italians got wind that the kid was in hiding. They think he stole their stash from the old man. I heard they went to the old man asking around. The old man’s been asking them to replace what he lost and they’re not having it. Plus, he’s been nosing around, trying to find out who their distributor is. He’s pushing them and now they’re pushing back. I’m not sure if they have a tail on the kid yet. I didn’t see anything, but then again, we were trying to stay in the shadows ourselves.” His stoic gaze didn’t change as he dropped this bombshell on Conall’s lap.

  Blood boiling, he slammed his glass on the marble counter. “What the fuck? What do you mean, they’ve been talking to the old man? What the hell did he say?”

  “I don’t know. All’s I know is, they’ve been sniffing around the kid. So if they’ve been checking on him, then they know who is. Who his family is. Including his sister,” Dillon said in a voice that was usually meant to calm him, but only made him more pissed off.

  “Fuck! Grab the car. Now! We need to get back to her house,” he yelled as he grabbed his coat and ran out the door. Opening his phone, he dialed Shannon. “Yo, Shannon, I may need your help. No, Fionn’s got his own shit that has him tied up. Just be ready for my call.” Ending the call with the press of a button, he pressed the button for the elevator, gritting his teeth the entire time. Deciding to call Tatiana to tell her to leave the house, he dialed her number. After three rings, her voicemail picked up.

  “Tatiana, I need you to listen to me. Something’s happened and I need you to meet me at Irish. You know the place. Whatever you’re doing, stop. Leave the house now. I’ll explain everything when I see you.” Praying she picked up the message and did as he bid, he finally made it outside of his building and into his car. Dillon sat with him as Al sped off down the street. Time was not on his side, but he needed to get to her before anyone else did.

  Losing Tatiana just as he’d found her was not something he was willing to do.

  Chapter Eight

  “I don’t believe you, Tony.” Tatiana sat in front of her brother in shock at the words coming out of his mouth.

  “You have to believe me, Tati. I tried to keep this to myself and not say anything, but the word on the street is that they’re coming after me. But I didn’t do anything. I didn’t steal their package. I don’t even know where their package is. The one person who knows it wasn’t me is Conall O’Shea. He was there. I saw him.”

  Her heart felt as if it were going to burst out of her chest. This wasn’t happening. Could this be true? No, it couldn’t. Tony had to be mistaken, “You’re mistaken. It wasn’t him. Your memory is all messed up.”

  “No, it’s not, Tati,” Tony yelled at her. “I saw Conall O’Shea kill that man in cold blood. Why do you think I was running? Why I’m so afraid of the O’Shea brothers? If they found out what I’d done, they’d kill me. Don’t you understand? I need to get the hell out of town. I have no other choice.”

  Looking over at her phone as it beeped, she saw that it was Conall calling her. Her hands itched to pick up the phone and beg him to explain. But what her brother was telling her was just too much to handle right now. A sudden thought hit her. “Oh no,” she said as she sat down on her couch. With stricken eyes, she looked up at her brother. “They already know.” Oh gawd, what had she done? That’s why he asked those questions about what if the issue couldn’t be resolved with her brother.

  Jumping up from the couch, Tony glared at her in shock. “What do you mean, they already know? Tatiana, what did you do?”

  Dropping her head into her hands, she thought back on everything she’d said to Conall. N
ot once had he given any indication that he knew what she’d been talking about. Could he not have known that her brother had seen him? Was he just as bad as his brothers? The man that pursued her and made love to her so sweetly, who begged her to see the real man that he was. Was he also a cold-blooded killer?

  “I went to see Conall O’Shea,” she finally admitted.

  “You did what? Why?” Tony screamed, a panicked look in his eyes.

  “Because. I needed to find out what was going on. To know why you were so afraid of them. So, I confronted him,” she said in a low voice.

  “Tatiana, do you know what you’ve done? Do you even realize who they are? Why would you do something so stupid?” he asked as he stormed around the room gathering his things. “I have to get out of here. If he knows that I saw what he did, you’re not safe.”

  Thinking quickly, she tried to remember all the things they’d said to each other. Could he have known? Was she being played this entire time? Better yet, did knowing that he was no better than his brothers change anything?

  Did it change how she felt when she was with him? When he was inside of her? His darkness had called to her from that very first moment their eyes had met. Now that she finally knew what he was fully capable of, did it make her ache for him any less?

  No. It didn’t.

  “Tony, calm down. Let’s think about this.” Standing up, she began pacing in front of her brother. “What exactly did you see again?”

  “I saw Conall shoot that motherfuckin’ dude in his head. That’s what I saw,” he snapped.

  “Don’t come at me, Tony!” she yelled. “You got yourself into this shit. I told you to clean up your act, but you couldn’t stop running the damn streets. Now, not only are you afraid of the O’Sheas, but you think the Italians are after you as well. This is your mess! I’m just trying to help you get out of it alive and in one piece.”

  “I know, sis. But damn, this is some crazy shit, right?” he said as he took a deep breath. “So, tell me again how you managed to meet with Conall O’Shea and tell him about my issues.”

  “Well, I went to his office the day after you stopped by. You know me, always trying to fix shit. I asked him why you were afraid of him, but he said he didn’t know.” Turning to look at him, she added, “Honestly, I don’t think he saw you, or knew what you had seen. Not until I approached him.”

  “Fuck, sis. This just keeps getting worse.”

  “No, it’s even worse than that. Um…well, me and Conall. Well, we struck up a friendship.” Yeah, that was too tame a word for what had transpired between the two of them, but her brother didn’t need to know the sordid details.

  “What do you mean, a friendship? Tati, I swear, please tell me you’re not involved with this guy. This is all my fault,” he lamented.

  “Just listen to me. Conall is…well, he’s not like you think,” she began.

  “Yes the hell he is. Do you know who his brothers are? Do you really think they won’t do whatever is necessary to protect their secrets?” Real fear could be heard in his voice.

  “Yes. And so will we,” she responded. Maybe now was the time for her to take a stand. They’d both grown up seeing the bullshit around them. Neither of them was innocent, and acting as if they were wouldn’t help the situation. “Tony. Stop. Listen to me, little brother. What we’re not going to do is sit here and act as if we’re the innocent party. You were in that warehouse for a reason. You’ve done things in your past that I know about, and wish I didn’t. And I’m sure there are things you’ve done that I’ll never find out, which I’m okay with. You knew the risks you were taking when you entered this life. Don’t act as if you didn’t realize the day would come when the chickens would come home to roost.”

  “Yeah, but fuck, Tati. I knew the risks. You didn’t.”

  “Yes, I did. Tony, how do you think I was never fucked with in our neighborhood? How I never got caught up in the crap that happens in the Manor or the Heights?” she asked.

  “Everybody knew not to mess with you. They knew better than to cross that line,” he boasted.

  “You think it was because of you? Oh no, little brother, you had nothing to do with it. Don’t let the college education and fancy job fool you. Your big sister was running the streets when you were still wet behind the ears. I had my own thing going on and there are things about me that you will never know.” Grabbing his hand, she gave him a quick squeeze. “You fucked up. Then I went right behind you and fucked it up some more. But, we can get out of this. Here’s what I need you to do. Go home. Don’t tell Mom and Dad what’s going on,” she told him.

  “As if I would. They would never understand this.” He sighed.

  “No, they wouldn’t. And we need to keep it that way. Here’s what we can do…”

  Just then a loud banging sounded on her door and they both looked up. “Stay here, Tony. I’ll get it. No one knows you’re here, right?” she asked.

  “No. No one,” he said as he stood up.

  Just as she got to the door it burst open and she was pushed back landing hard on her ass. Three guys walked into her apartment. Two of them had their guns drawn, one did not. But the sneer on his face told them that he was the one they should truly be afraid of. “Tatiana Barbosa. Nice to finally meet you,” he said in a cold, calculating voice. As one of the guys closed the door behind them, he walked into the living space as if he owned it. “Did your brother tell you that he has something that doesn’t belong to him?”

  “Man, I don’t have your packet. It wasn’t there when I arrived,” Tony yelled out, his arms up to show that he was unarmed.

  The man spoke again. “Is that right? Well, that’s not the word on the street.” Looking down at his hands, he removed his gloves and turned his steely gaze back to Tony, “So, what happened when you showed up at the meeting spot?”

  Although he had not raised his voice, Tatiana knew better than to think he was calm about this situation. No, the guy was bristling and chomping at the bit to make someone pay. Looking over at Tony, she shook her head no, pleading with him to not give away what he knew. It would be the only way to save them both.

  “Uh, there were all these cars there, but I couldn’t tell who was in the warehouse. I snuck inside to the place where we were supposed to meet, but nothing was there. The guy was nowhere around. I waited a few minutes and then I left.” Although a bold-faced lie, she thought it just might work.

  “No. I think you’re lying,” the head guy said.

  Or not.

  Thinking quickly, she stood up and went to put herself in between her brother and the thugs that had just burst into her home. If she could get to her phone, she knew exactly who she would call. But would he make it in time? Better yet, could she get to her Walther P99 handgun stored in the cabinet near her bedroom door? Yeah, she had her own secrets and preferred to keep it that way.

  “Listen. I don’t know why you’re here, but if my brother says he doesn’t have your packet, then he doesn’t have it. You should just leave. This is my home and I don’t need this shit happening here.” She tried to inject a bit of female hysteria in her voice to keep them off-guard.

  “Oh, Tatiana, I have a better idea. I think we need to encourage your brother here to come clean. Not only did he steal from Paddy O’Shea, but he has our names on the street. I don’t like that one bit. So, I think we need some leverage to help him remember what he saw in that warehouse. Don’t you think?” Nodding his head toward her, the two goons pointing their guns at them walked toward her and Tony.

  Her brother grabbed her arm, trying to pull her back, but she stood firm. Never in her wildest dreams would she expect to be in this type of situation. After today, she would kick her brother’s ass if he got involved in anything else shady. Her blood pressure was probably through the fucking roof right now.

  One guy stormed over to her brother and smashed the butt of the gun against his head, dropping him to the ground as blood began to pour from his head. The sight almost b
rought up her lunch, but she held it back. “Keep your hands off of me. No! Don’t touch me,” she screamed out. Maybe one of her neighbors would call the police if she yelled loud enough.

  Just as the guy reached for her, the front door slammed open again. Damn! She was going to have to replace that and she knew these fuckers weren’t going to pay. Ducking down at the noise, she watched in awe as Conall stormed in. Another guy was at his back with a gun in each hand, one pointed at each of the goons that were standing in front of her and her brother. Conall’s weapon was dead to rights on the guy that had done all the talking.

  “Paulie, Paulie, Paulie. Tsk. Tsk. What are you doing here in my girlfriend’s home? You should know better than this. You don’t come to Boston and we don’t come to Providence. You broke the rules,” he said in a smooth tone.

  What the hell? Conall just came into her apartment with guns blazing. She should be upset. She should be screaming her head off right now. At least some crying, right? Taking stock of how she was feeling at the moment, she shook her head.

  All she could think of was that her man looked so badass right now.

  Was it wrong of her to be dripping wet right now? When this was all over, she was going to fuck the living shit out of that fine-ass Irishman. Well, after she got him to promise to leave her brother alone. After all, she still had to keep her promise to keep Tony safe. The fact she was beginning to fall in love with an Irish mobster had no bearing on the situation.

  While everyone’s attention was focused on Conall and his one-man hit squad, Tatiana was busy trying to low-crawl over to her brother. Reaching him, she put up a finger to her lips, telling him to keep quiet. Looking back and hoping beyond hope that the attention stayed squarely on the men pointing guns at each other, she slowly opened the drawer that held her 9mm and lifted it out. She was not a victim. Never would she allow someone else to dictate what her response should be. She would go down fighting if need be to save her life, and the life of her brother. Shaking so fucking badly in fear, she hoped and prayed her mettle wouldn’t be tested. This was the kind of thing she would be happy to leave to the goon squad over there. Right now, she just needed to get her brother out of here and make sure they were both safe. She prayed like hell that Conall had a plan.