Colin
I keep my back flush against a pillar, vigilantly watching both entryways into the strip club. Even with my earpiece in and the men outside giving me the all-clear, I remain in my highly alert state.
Uncle Niall is keen on reminding me that I should relax more now that Tiernan is about to tie the knot, but old habits die hard. If one of our enemies decides to pull out of the treaty at the last minute, then this fucking bachelor party is the perfect opportunity to take us all out in one fell swoop.
Shay was thinking with his dick when he decided to throw his brother this fucking party on the night before his wedding. Not that it surprises me that Shay would pull this sort of stunt. What shocks the hell out of me is that Tiernan went for it.
But as my gaze lands on the Hernandez bastard in our midst and I watch him silently fume in his seat as our men enjoy a few lap dances from The Pit’s finest talent, I’m inclined to think Tiernan only gave the thumbs up to this bachelor party just to get on Alejandro’s last nerve.
Still, I would have preferred he’d come up with a different approach to fuck with his new brother-in-law than come to this crowded cesspool of a strip club. Anyone could easily come in undetected and hide a few well-placed bombs to blow us all to smithereens. At least that’s what I would have done to my enemies if given the chance.
Thankfully, I had ample time to come to The Pit earlier and scope the place out while Tiernan and Alejandro were conducting business back at his office downtown. One can’t be too careful, even if the consensus is that the Mafia Wars will be a thing of the past after tomorrow.
Wars don’t usually end with wedding receptions.
At least I’ve never seen it happen in my lifetime.
From the second-story balcony, I continue to stand guard as I watch most of our soldiers have a grand old time throwing dollar bills onto the stage, while the strippers shake their asses at them like they are in a bad rap video. Shay is making his rounds downstairs, ensuring that everyone is enjoying themselves, while Tiernan, Alejandro, and I sit in our VIP section, watching it all go down. The music is loud and obnoxious to my ears, as the half-naked girls continue to do their job at getting as much money out of our men’s pockets as they can. I guess I should be thankful that the girls handpicked to entertain us upstairs are keeping their dancing to the pole at the corner of the room, not brave enough to come to our table unless called upon.
All but one, that is.
From my peripheral, I watch one of the dancers swing her hips our way. I hold in a sardonic chuckle when she decides to plop her ass onto Alejandro’s lap of all people, thinking she will win brownie points with Tiernan if she does a good job in seducing his out-of-town guest. She has barely even touched him when Alejandro pushes her away, resulting in the striper’s ass hitting the grimy floor with a loud thud while the cartel prince looks down at her with a disgusted expression on his face at her audacity to come near him.
“Excuse me. I’m going outside to make a call,” he utters before getting up from his seat, not even bothering to help the girl up from her knees, leaving her to crawl back to her pole as fast as she can, if she knows what’s good for her.
“You want me to follow him?” I ask, feeling uneasy that one of our greatest enemies is making a quick getaway.
“The men outside have eyes on him, so no need,” Tiernan retorts, nursing his whiskey, his facial features finally showing signs of his reluctance at being here.
We both stay silent, watching our surroundings, but I can tell that tonight he’s uncharacteristically agitated.
And if I’m honest, so am I.
“Little odd Alejandro didn’t bring his entourage with him,” I state, pointing out what has been plaguing my mind since we picked him and his sister up at the airport.
“He’s testing me,” Tiernan explains evenly.
“By making himself vulnerable?” I counter in confusion.
“That’s the thing. He shouldn’t be vulnerable in Boston. By leaving his goons back in Mexico and coming alone, he’s making a statement. That this town is now as much his as it is mine.”
My hands ball into fists at the remark.
“Don’t let him see you look so angry, Colin. It will only amuse him,” Tiernan adds before taking a sip of his drink. “Besides, he didn’t do anything that I wouldn’t have done if the roles were reversed. This treaty is meant to protect us all, so swallow your pride and let the asshole think whatever he wants. We know better.”
“If you say so, boss.”
“I do.”
I square my shoulders and look straight ahead, trying my best to relax my features so I don’t show how much I hate the fact we have to play host to this asshole. It’s a travesty we have to endure his presence and play nice with his family in the first place.
“You know that if you wanted, you could enjoy yourself tonight. I wouldn’t mind,” Tiernan says, trying to get my mind off the desire to kill the Hernandez prick on the spot.
“I’d rather stand guard if it’s all the same to you, boss.”
“Are you sure? The Pit went all out tonight. Might as well take advantage of it and pick a girl or two to entertain yourself with.”
“Don’t need any entertaining, boss. I’m fine right here.”
He lets out a strained chuckle under his breath.
“Shay is sure of a different mindset. I’d swear he was the one getting married tomorrow. Trying to sow as many oats as he can before the clock runs out on him.”
My eyes land on my younger cousin, and I see him laughing away with some of our soldiers, drinking his fill while two dancers rub themselves up against his sides. Sometimes I envy his carefree nature. When people look at Shay, they don’t see the marks of a killer. The same can’t be said about me, though. One look at me, and everyone knows what kind of evil lies underneath. It’s marked all over my face as a reminder.
“Shay was never one to turn down a party. I’m not as inclined.”
“No. Neither am I, I’m afraid. Those days are over for me.”
My forehead wrinkles at the melancholy in his voice. But then again, I wasn’t the one who just shipped my baby sister on a plane to be married to Bratva pigs, so I sympathize with his turmoil.
“Iris is tougher than she looks. The Russians are no match for her,” I announce, knowing that’s where his mind is tonight.
“I hope you’re right. I’ve got this bad feeling that won’t go away,” he says, rubbing at his chest to drive the point home.
“Maybe what you’re feeling is just wedding jitters.”
He turns to me with his brows arched up high to his forehead.
“Did you just make a joke, Col?” He smiles, amused.
“Humor was never my forte, boss.”
“It sure sounded that way to me just now.” He laughs, his broad frame relaxing a tad, his gaze falling once again downstairs where the action is.
There is a pregnant pause between us until Tiernan decides to break it with his own curiosity.
“Is it true what Shay said earlier today? That my bride is a right little dinger?”
“He shouldn’t say such things to you.” I scowl.
“Please. We both know that Shay could never hold his tongue. Especially when it comes to pretty girls. I just want your impression of her to see if he’s pulling my chain.”
“Shay isn’t lying. The lass is very beautiful.”
“Beautiful, huh? Not exactly a word I’d ever think I’d hear come out of your mouth.”
“Doesn’t make it any less true. But she’ll never fit in with us,” I state poignantly.
“How so?”
“She’s… well, boss, she’s not like the women you usually surround yourself with.”
“You mean she’s not a whore. No surprise there.” He scoffs, taking another pull of his drink.
“No, boss. It’s more than that. She’s…” I struggle to find a word that does justice to the woman I met this morning. “Sophisticated.”
“As opposed to the illiterate brutes we are? Is that what you’re saying?” He levels me with a stare.
“I’ve spoken out of turn.”
“You’ve hardly spoken at all. Right now, all that I know of my bride is my brother’s pornographic remarks of what a knockout she is and you telling me that she’s a stuck-up snob.”
“I didn’t say that,” I quickly rectify. “I don’t think she looks down on us. I just think she has been… sheltered. She looks like someone who has spent most of childhood with her nose inside a book rather than being tainted by her upbringing.”
“I very much doubt she isn’t aware of how her father paid for such books.” He scoffs again, this time with a repulsed edge to his voice.
“That’s not what I meant either.”
“Then what is it then? Is she a sexpot like Shay proclaimed, or is she a shy, virginal bookworm?”
“No, not that.” Fuck, why can’t I find the right words? “Not shy. Just… cautious.”
“Cautious is good. I can deal with that. And she should be.”
A frown crests my lips, uncomfortable with how my cousin was able to coax out of me my own impression of his future wife.
Shay wasn’t bullshitting when he told Tiernan that Rosa was stunning to look at. I, for one, have never seen her equal. However, I’ve always known that true beauty is never skin deep. There was something in her gaze that told me she was so much more than the designer clothes she was wearing, or the immaculate hair and makeup. Like the true cartel princess that she is, I’m sure she’s been used to the high-life for most of her life, but it was the elegant poised way she conducted herself in front of us that gave me pause. Rosa didn’t seem fearful about meeting Shay and me, which is saying something since who knows what lies her brother fed her about us. Nothing good, that much I know.
However, what bothered me most about Rosa was that there was resolve in her spine. Almost like she was unbothered by her fate since she had forged a plan on how to see it through.
And a woman with a plan is never a good thing.
If I thought her a threat to Tiernan’s life, I would have let Shay slit her throat right there and then. But I didn’t get that feeling from her, though. Her whole demeanor screamed determination of a different variety, not murder, hence why she’s still breathing.
When Alejandro returns, I go instantly rigid and push all notions of his sister away from my mind.
“If it’s all the same to you, I’d rather go back to the hotel and check on Rosa,” he announces, pretending to flick imaginary lint off his shoulder.
“Fair enough. Colin will see you get there.”
“Is this your way of telling me I need a bodyguard while I’m here?” Alejandro asks, his features a blank, unreadable canvas.
“This is my way of lending you my best man to make sure you don’t get lost in my town. I would expect the same care if I ever decide to visit Mexico.”
This takes Alejandro aback, inflicting a crack in his stoic demeanor.
“Do you have plans to come to Mexico in the future?” he asks, his tone both incredulous as well as suspicious.
“I don’t see why not? My wife’s home is my home, is it not? I’m sure, from time to time, she would want to visit her brothers and see her family.”
“I have to say you’ve surprised me, Kelly.”
“And why is that?”
“Most men wouldn’t like to leave their turf to enter enemy territory willingly,” Alejandro connotes plainly.
“But we’re no longer enemies now, right?”
“Not after tomorrow, no.”
In other words, only when Rosa officially becomes a Kelly will our feud be laid to rest.
“On that, at least, we are in agreement. Colin will show you out,” Tiernan dismisses, not even bothering to look Alejandro in the eye.
I start to follow the man in question back downstairs when he surprises me by halting his step and turning around to face Tiernan once more.
“She’s not like us, Kelly.”
“Who isn’t?”
“Rosa. She may be used to this life we lead and might even be a little bit jaded by it, thinking the way we do business is the norm, but she’s held on to something that we made men have no room for in our lives.”
“And what’s that?” Tiernan retorts with practiced boredom, his gaze fixed on the stage below.
“She still sees the good in people. Even when they don’t deserve it.”
Tiernan shifts his attention back to the cartel prince after that loaded statement.
“Are you telling me this because you think I’ll steal the noble attribute away from her?”
“I know you will,” Alejandro proclaims in a somber tone. “All I ask is that you ease Rosa into her misery. Let her hold on to that pure part of her heart a little while longer, if you can.”
“I’m not a monster, Alejandro,” Tiernan rebukes with an offended snarl.
“We’re all monsters, Kelly. I’m just alerting you to the fact that my sister is used to one breed of evil. It will take her some time to get accustomed to yours.”
“Goodnight, Alejandro,” Tiernan brushes off his rival, obviously having had enough of his insightful advice on his sister for one night.
Alejandro gives him a clipped nod before turning his back to leave. I follow the kingpin down the stairs, keeping my eyes glued on his retreating form. I only stop when Shay shouts out my name, loud enough to be heard over the noisy rambunctious crowd of horny drunk men.
“Go on ahead. Our men are outside, so you’ll be well-protected while waiting in the car.”
Alejandro doesn’t so much as say a word in complaint to me, eager to escape through The Pit’s doors and be done with this night.
“Tiernan’s got you on babysitting duty, huh?” Shay asks when he reaches me, slurring a bit of his words, proof that he’s having way more fun tonight than either his brother or I are.
“I’m supposed to take him back to his hotel,” is my cold response.
“Well, that sucks ass. When will you be back?”
“I won’t. Tiernan will head out in a few after we leave, so I’m just going home afterwards.”
I know my older cousin well enough that The Pit isn’t where he wants to spend the remaining hours of his freedom. He accomplished what he set out to do with Alejandro tonight. So as soon as we leave, so will he.
“Are you sure? I’ve got some party favors all lined up for us.” Shay tilts his head at the two dancers that are on stage currently fucking their stripper pole while their lips are glued to each other’s faces.
“Take them for yourself. I’m not in the mood tonight.”
“Not in the mood? You do know it’s my brother who is going to be stuck with a ball and chain tomorrow, not you? Hardly a cause to become celibate all of a sudden.” He snickers mockingly.
“Just because I don’t want to get my dick wet tonight doesn’t mean I’m entering the priesthood.”
“If you say so,” he taunts. “More for me.”
Instead of debating with my whoremonger of a cousin any further, I leave him be and go on with the task at hand.
When I get outside, I try to hide my surprise at seeing Alejandro sitting in the front seat of the car waiting for me. His kind is known for being chauffeured around, so him sitting shotgun is not something I’d ever consider him doing. I mask my disbelief with indifference and get behind the wheel of the car, so I can drop his ass at the hotel and be done with it. I don’t bother turning the radio on or instigating mindless conversation since I know he’s not one for small talk. Wasting words on me would be futile in his mind.
And if his mindset is still on the discussion he had with my cousin a few minutes ago, then he knows well enough that only Tiernan can show his sister any type of leniency. I have no influence on the matter.
However, I might have misjudged the cartel prince somewhat.
I was under the impression that Alejandro was as heartless as his father, Miguel. But the way he asked for a sliver of mercy where his sister was concerned, showed me that under his rude and cold exterior lies someone that at least cares for his family, if little else. And a man who has heard more than his share of his enemies’ last muttered words, that he can still hold family as sacred, can’t be too bad in my book.
I doubt my uncle and cousins will be inclined to see it that way, though.
For them, the Mexican cartel will always be a sore spot.
An enemy that callously took something precious from them.
Someone that can never be replaced.
And I fear for all her beauty and good breeding, Rosa will take the brunt of their hatred.
When we get to the hotel, I breathe easy at seeing my best four soldiers alert and guarding the penthouse doors like their lives depend on it. They all refuse to make eye contact with Alejandro when he passes them by but offer me their acknowledging nods in respectful greeting.
“The limo will pick you both up tomorrow morning at ten to drive you to the church. If you need anything before then, tell one of the guards, and they will procure whatever is necessary,” I tell Alejandro at the door.
“Thank you,” is his short reply.
I’m about to turn around and head out when he stops me.
“Won’t you come in and have a nightcap with me? There is something I’d like to discuss with you.”
My brows pull together, knowing his offer to come in isn’t a polite request but a command. I refuse to be ordered around by anyone that isn’t Tiernan, but I won’t be the reason why this wedding starts on a sour note by offending Alejandro by turning him down.
I follow him inside and watch him take off his jacket and place it neatly on the back of one of the couches in the lavish penthouse living room. I stand rigid at the entrance of the room as he walks over to the bar in the corner. I watch him fill only one tumbler with two fingers of expensive whiskey, not even bothering to keep up pretenses by offering me a glass of my own, knowing full well I wouldn’t drink it if he had.
“Let’s not beat around the bush. I won’t insult you by trying to persuade you to be my man on the inside. I know your loyalty to Tiernan is unshakable, and it would only make me look the fool to insinuate otherwise,” he starts, before taking a sip of his drink and sitting down on a nearby settee facing me. “Please, have a seat.”
“I’m fine right here.”
“As you wish.” He lets out an unaffected breath. “Tell me, Colin. Do you think Tiernan was being sincere when he said he’d bring Rosa home from time to time?”
“Boston is her home,” I tell him without missing a beat.
“As of tomorrow, that might be true, but for tonight just indulge me and answer the question.”
“If Tiernan said as much, then there is no reason to think him false.”
“Hmm,” he mutters, running his thumb over the edge of his glass. “My sister will be pleased. I haven’t been the best brother to her, so it’s not as if she will miss me much. But Rosa has always had a soft spot for our brother, Francesco, and him towards her. If they both know that they will see each other soon, then maybe I can spare them a bit of their heartache.”
This is the second time tonight that he has shown concern for his siblings, and I’m not sure what I should do with this information. By doing so, he’s put himself in more of a vulnerable spot than when he decided to come to Boston without his men. He must know that if we were still at war, then I’d use this information to hurt him. I’d go after his brothers and sister, torture them on camera, and send him their burnt, cut-up flesh in small packages accompanied by the videotape so he could see my handiwork in HD.
His unexpected transparency is clawing at my insides, making me wonder what his endgame is.
“He’s testing me,” were Tiernan’s words earlier tonight, and something tells me Alejandro is doing the same to me.
Alejandro continues to stare at his tumbler in deep thought, raising my hackles.
“Is that all?” I ask after a frustratingly long bout of silence.
“Just one more question,” he utters. “Will you watch out for my sister as fervently as you protect Tiernan?”
My knee-jerk reaction is to blurt out no, but by the look in his dark eyes, that is exactly the answer he expects. I take a beat and think about how Tiernan would respond.
“Rosa is to be a Kelly, and we protect our own.”
“Hmm,” he mumbles, unsatisfied with my reply. “A Kelly she might become, but she’ll always be a Hernandez here. Much like my future bride will always be a Moretti. Some scars never heal, Colin. No matter how much we want them to.”
I straighten my spine and stare him in the eye.
“Unlike you, we don’t take pleasure in hurting innocent people.”
“Don’t you?” He cocks a brow. “Can you honestly stand there and say that no innocent lives were lost when your family sought out to avenge your parents and siblings’ deaths back in Ireland? That you didn’t cheer for your enemies’ demise with the full knowledge that they weren’t the only ones to perish? How many bear the same scars on their frail and broken bodies that you now wield so proudly on your face as the reminder of how you were able to escape death’s cold grip? Do not talk to me of innocence since there is no room for such a useless word in our world.”
I swallow down my rage at him bringing back those gruesome memories that I’ve tried my best to lay to rest over the years. When he sees the burning fury in me, Alejandro places his glass of whiskey onto a side table and stands up. He then proceeds to eat up the distance between us, staring me dead in the eye.
“This treaty we all have sworn to uphold is to ensure that no more lives will be lost, innocent or not. But I’m not naïve in thinking that everyone will yield to it. So, I’ll ask you again, Colin. Will you protect my sister from any harm? Will you ensure that she is to be given the respect and protection that is fit for her role as Tiernan’s wife? Think long and hard before you answer me. I’ll know if you’re lying.”
I do as he says and think about the implications of my answer.
If I say no, then I run the risk of him sneaking Rosa off to Mexico tonight on his private jet before she has a chance of officially becoming a Kelly. Although, by doing so, the other mob families will deem him enemy number one and won’t bat an eye at waging war on the cartel. Even with all the unlimited financial resources at his disposal, Alejandro will be no match for the combined forces against him, certifying his death notice before the month’s end.
But would he risk it, though?
For one woman?
For his sister?
My thoughts go back to Tiernan and how he was unable to stop thinking about Iris all night. How my cousin will always be worried about his sister and that if he had the means to do so, he would have spat on this treaty if it meant he could keep Iris safe and as far away from the Bratva as possible. If Tiernan had gone to Vegas with her, wouldn’t he have tried to find someone there who he could count on to safeguard his sister’s wellbeing?
Suddenly I realize that the answer to Alejandro’s question can only be one.
“On my life, no one will ever hurt a hair on her head. You have my word.”
“Then that is all I can ask for.”