THE CALLAHANS (A Mafia Romance): The Complete 5 Books Series (79 page)

Mia

I was alone in the room Stacy had kindly offered to me, sitting on the window seat, looking out over the beautiful land that surrounded this old, comfortable home. She told me how Killian brought her here when they were running from one of Kevin’s schemes, how they married at the little church down the road and conceived their child in the master bedroom down the hall. It was sweet. Romantic, even. But I couldn’t stop thinking that this place we’d come to for refuge might be the place I’d be when I learned my life had ended with the death of my husband.

I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was going to go wrong. Kevin would get the better of them again and they wouldn’t come back to us. It was a stupid, illogical thought, but the more time went by, the more I was convinced I’d never see Ian again.

Imagine my surprise when the door opened and he was kneeling beside me, his head in my lap. Tears of relief and pure joy began to flow, choking me as I struggled for my next breath. I ran my hands over his skull, searching for injuries, checking for substance. It was really him. It wasn’t some sort of mirage or a dream. It was Ian.

He moved up the length of me and kissed me, the taste of dust and dirt on his lips. I didn’t ask, I just threw my arms around him and held as tight as I could. He lifted me and carried me to the bed, laying me down on the lovely quilt, his hands sliding under my shirt, seeking out my breasts with a determination that would have amused me under different circumstances.

He pulled back, ran his hand lightly over the bruises on my cheek.

“I’m sorry he did that to you.”

I shook my head. “If I’d seen him coming, I would have given back as good as I got.”

He smiled. “I’m sure you would have.”

“I’m a Callahan. I don’t suffer fools lightly.”

“I know you don’t, love.”

He kissed me gently, nibbling at my bottom lip. It hurt because of the injuries Kevin had inflicted, but it felt so good that I really didn’t care.

“I love you,” he said, growing so serious that I thought I saw the light film of tears in his eyes. “I will never allow anything like that to happen to you again.”

“I know.” I touched his face, drew him closer. “And I won’t let it happen to you.”

“That’s a deal.”

He rolled onto his side and pulled me with him, his hands under my shirt again. We made out like a couple of teenagers, touching each other without the need that had consumed us before, but with curiosity that refused to be sated. I lifted his shirt away and peppered his chest with kisses, sliding my hand over his hard belly, my lips tracing scars and tattoos that I hadn’t been given the time to memorize before now. I wanted to know everything about him, about these markings, but there was plenty of time for questions. Now, I just wanted to feel his hands on my skin, his teeth on my flesh. I wanted him inside of me; I wanted his kisses and his caresses. I wanted him…

He pulled my shirt over my head, managed to undo my bra with one hand—he was quite talented!—and bury his face between my breasts, breathing in the scent of me, making me glad I’d taken a shower when I got here. At the same time, his hand wandered down my hip, his fingers pulling at the zipper of my jeans, tugging it away so that he could explore the delights hidden inside. He slid his hand over my ass, his fingers parting my folds and sliding into places that were never meant to be seen by anyone but him. My clit screamed for attention, and he finally offered it, moaning for me as my body let him know just how exciting his touch was to it.

He climbed up on his knees and tugged my jeans from my body, laying me bare and then simply kneeling there to take in the view. I blushed, turning slightly to keep hold of some of my virtue. But then his hand slid between my thighs and my need overcame any desire to avoid vanity. I opened to him and watched the pleasure in his eyes as he finally had a full view of everything I had to offer him. He pressed his face to my belly, breathed in my scent, and worked his way slowly down until I was writhing against the mattress, begging him for release.

He settled behind me after a time, pulling my hips back against him and filling me from behind. His fingers played with my clit, as his cock filled my cunt, sending an unending supply of pleasure up and down the length of my spine. I knew I was going to go insane; I knew that this would be the last thing I’d remember before my mind left me completely. I pressed my hips back against him, ground myself against him, and made him cry out as he charged toward his end. And then he filled me with life, and I couldn’t help but bite down against his arm, losing any semblance of control I might have had at that moment.

**

The reception hall was twice as big as the one we’d originally chosen because the party was twice as big. We’d waited a month, out of respect for the dead. But now…it just felt like the right time to celebrate and rejoice.

The street war was officially over, with both sides wholeheartedly accepting the truce that Jack and my dad had worked out and held to even in the darkest hour. And now they danced together and sang, sharing glasses of champagne and heavy plates of chicken.

“Congratulations,” people whispered in my ear as they pressed twenty, fifty, even hundred dollar bills into my bride’s bag.

Happiness oozed through the room, even on Jack’s face, despite the loss that showed in his eyes. He was struggling. Despite his reputation for taking anything with two legs to bed, he missed the routine and the comfort of a long-term marriage. I saw him looking around for her from time to time; I saw him struggle to finish a sentence that she might have finished for him once upon a time. He seemed lost.

Maybe it was good that he’d decided to retire. He handed the reigns of MCorp over to Brian with the promise that Brian would leave the other stuff—the Irish mob business—to the younger guys. And he handed the reigns of the mob to Sean, which surprised just about everyone, because Sean had always been sort of on the outside and he’d expressed a desire to join a proper law firm and be a proper citizen. But this thing with Kevin had changed a lot of people’s minds about a lot of things.

I’m not sure how Delaney felt about it. But she had other things on her mind right now. Sean had finally proposed, and she was planning the perfect wedding, one that I dearly hoped would far surpass mine.

“Dance with me.”

Daddy came over and held out his hand. I followed him to the dance floor, glancing over my shoulder at Ian. He followed, my mother’s hand tucked in his.

“You look beautiful.”

I glanced down at the simple white gown I was wearing. I hadn’t wanted to wear my wedding dress again—I wasn’t sure I ever wanted to look at it again. But it felt as though the occasion required a white dress, so I’d bought a lovely white chiffon gown that made my waist appear smaller and my bust bigger than it ever had before—as if I needed help in that department. Ian loved it—big surprise there—but some of the male guests at our little party were having a hard time keeping their eyes were they belonged. I was contemplating borrowing a sweater from my Aunt Mary, the nun.

“You would say that if I was wearing a burlap sack.”

“Because you’d be just as beautiful in a burlap sack.”

I laughed, leaning my head back as my daddy caught me in his arms. I couldn’t begin to express how wonderful it was to finally get this dance with him.

“Thank you,” I said.

“For what?”

“Without you, I never would have met Ian. I never would have gotten to know him or fallen in love.”

“You wanted to kill me when I first told you what I wanted to do.”

“I know. But I’m glad I didn’t.”

He kissed the tip of my nose. “Me too.”

Then he twirled me around. For a big man, he was quite light on his feet. He pulled me back in and held me close for a moment.

“I adore you. You were always my favorite.”

“Just don’t tell Seraphina, right?”

“Exactly.”

I laughed, a full gut laugh. And then Ian was there, slipping me from my dad’s arms as he slid Momma over.

“My turn.”

He danced me away, holding me tight even though the music had changed to something a little more upbeat. I ran my hand over the back of his neck.

“Do you think we should tell them?”

“Not yet. I want to keep it to myself for a little while longer.”

“You like your secrets.”

“No. I just know that when this little peanut is born, everyone will want to hold her and love her. And I want to be the first to do it without any interference.”

“How do you know it’ll be a girl? Right now it’s just a blue line on a stick.”

“I just do.”

I reached up and kissed the tip of his nose. “I love your confidence.”

The cake came out a few minutes later. We cut it amid calls for him to smash a piece into my nose. But he was nice. He only wiped a little bit of frosting across the end of my nose.

And then we were rushing off to the airport, old cans clanking off the back of his Mercedes. It was such an archaic tradition, but it was funny just the same. The flight was long, but we rested our heads close together and giggled over the stupidest things.

“I love you,” he whispered late that night as we lay under the Italian stars, waiting for our hearts to slow to a normal beat.

I kissed his shoulder. “Not as much as I love you.”

“Is everything a competition to you?”

“Must be the Rossi side of me.”

He just laughed. “I hope our daughter is just like you.”

“There you go again….making assumptions.”

Brian

I tugged Cassidy against my chest and wrapped my arms around her.

“Just one more.”

“Don’t rush Brianna. She’ll find love when she’s ready.”

“Don’t look now, but I think maybe…”

I gestured toward the back of the reception hall where Brianna had been talking to Sam for the better part of an hour. Cassidy groaned a little, but it was a happy sort of groan.

“I hope he’s good to her.”

“If he’s not, I’ll let him know about it.”

Cassidy turned in my arms and looked up at me. “It’s been quite a ride these last couple of years, hasn’t it?”

“It has. And I’m sorry for my part in it.”

She shook her head. “Don’t you know? I’ve loved you since the moment you came up to me at that bus stop. I couldn’t stop loving you, even when I wanted to. When you chose Abigail over me, there was this part of me that hated you. But there was this little part that respected you for it, that loved you a little more because I knew why you did it.”

I brushed a small piece of hair away from her face and kissed the tip of her nose. “Despite everything, despite how much I loved Abigail, I never forgot you.”

“I know.”

“And I’m looking forward to growing old with you.”

She slapped my arm. “Who said anything about getting old? I feel younger now than I did in my teens.”

I laughed. “Okay. Maybe we’ll just find a way to grow younger? How’s that?”

“Exactly.” She reached up and kissed me. “As long as we do it together.”

“Always.”

***

Killian

David bounced against my knee, struggling to get down on the floor. I would have let him, but Stacy had already made it clear that she didn’t think it was a good idea.

“Too many people.”

But the poor kid had just learned to crawl after much trial and error, and now she wanted to tell him no? What a confusing message for such a smart kid.

“Maybe we should slip out. Ian and Mia are gone, so there’s really no reason to stay.”

“That might be the best idea you’ve had all day.”

There was exhaustion in her voice, and I could see it in the lines of her face, too. I reached over and ran my thumb over the curve of chin.

“You look like you could use a nap. Keeping up with this rascal is a full-time job.”

Her eyes fell to the baby and lit with such complete joy that it was hard to miss. She was so in love with David that sometimes I wondered if I should be jealous. But then she turned those eyes on me and I knew there was nothing to be concerned about.

I leaned close and kissed her. “Love you.”

She patted the side of my face lightly.

“So, am I ever going to see you now that your dad promoted you to CEO of MCorp?”

“Probably more than before since Sean put his foot down against me acting within the mob. He’s decided that now that he has most of the Italian mob at his disposal, he doesn’t need any of us to work protection for him like Jack did. So it’s just MCorp now.”

“Good. I can’t say that I’m sorry to see that happen. I’ve had my fill of late nights, wondering where you are and what you’re up to.”

“I would have quit before if you’d asked me.”

“I know. That’s why I didn’t ask. I wanted it to be your choice.”

“Well, it was more Sean’s than mine, but…”

“Technicalities.”

I tugged at her chair and slid her closer to me. “What are we going to do with all the free time we have on our hands now?”

“I think we’re going to be quite busy. There’s David here.”

“Yeah, he’s a bit of a handful.”

“And then the new baby.”

“Yeah, I suppose…wait? What did you say?”

There was amusement in her eyes as she looked up at me. “You haven’t noticed the signs?”

“What signs?”

“The nausea, the sleepiness. The crankiness?”

“I just thought—”

And that’s when I realized that anything I said would be the wrong thing. “A new baby,” I said instead. “That’s incredible, babe.”

“Yeah? You don’t think it’s too much?”

“I told you, I’d be happy with a whole houseful of babies as long as they all look like you.”

She kissed me, and there was real passion in her kiss. I drew her close and kissed her back until the baby began to squirm and forced me to let go.

“It’s going to be okay,” I promised her. “As long as we’re together, we can handle anything.”

She nodded in agreement. “Until I get fat and ugly…”

“Never.”

***

Sean

“We’ll have to talk to the caterer tomorrow,” Delaney said, tugging at my hand to get my attention. “Make sure they have those little sandwich things that you like so much.”

“Sandwiches for a wedding reception?”

“Why not? It’s going to be outside. We’ll just have an old-fashioned Southern picnic theme.”

“We don’t have to dress in top hats and canes, do we?”

She sat back a little and studied me as though she was considering it. Then she laughed. “No, babe. You dress however you feel most comfortable.”

“Jeans.”

“No. A suit. One of those light, casual things.”

“Look out, Sean,” Carmine called from down the table, “she’s already calling all the shots.”

He laughed, but I could feel the tension rush through Delaney.

“Don’t worry. I like it when you call all the shots.”

She groaned, smacking me lightly on the shoulder, but she didn’t turn away from my kiss. I pulled her close and kissed her firmly, making it clear to anyone watching that this was my woman and this was my moment. Then I picked her up out of her chair and walked her to the dance floor.

“As long as I get to dance with you at our wedding, I’ll wear anything you want and eat whatever you set in front of me.”

“That’s a deal.”

I twirled her away from me, then pulled her back, holding her close, my forehead resting against mine. I’d never imagined myself finding happiness in a long-term relationship. But I couldn’t imagine my life without Delaney.

Sometimes, late at night, I still thought about that night in the hospital room.

I still thought about the moment I pressed the pillow against her face, about the look in her eye as she saw it coming. I imagined fear and panic there, but I knew it hadn’t been. There was just overwhelming relief. She was glad to have it over with, glad that the pain would be gone. She was grateful for my help.

I hated myself for what I did. I hated that I was capable of such a thing. But Pops’ forgiveness. Killian and Kyle and Ian, even Stacy, each telling me they understood and that they wished I’d told them sooner, eased the guilt a little. But it also increased it just a touch. I wished they weren’t so quick to accept what I’d done.

It was a terrible thing to be placed in that position. Momma shouldn’t have asked me. But she shouldn’t have had to suffer in such pain either.

I pulled Delaney closer to me, wishing Momma had lived to meet her. I wished she’d be here for my wedding and for life we had yet to live. But I was grateful to have found Delaney at all, grateful that she wanted to spend the rest of her life with me.

You take what you can get out of life. I had my family. I had Delaney. What more did I need?

***

Kyle

The moment Ian and Mia left, I grabbed Amelia’s hand and pulled her to my car. I needed air; I needed to get out of that place. I needed to hold my wife in my arms and pretend that this was all the world consisted of.

“Promise me that it will always be like this.”

“I promise I won’t leave you. And I promise I won’t let anyone come between us. But that’s about all I can promise.”

“That’s enough.”

I kissed her, and then I drew her closer and kissed her like my life depended on it.

There were only a few things in my life that I was sure of.

Abigail loved me.

Pops was proud of me.

Killian and Sean accepted me as their brother.

Ian would always have my back.

And now this.

Amelia was the love of my life.

There was nothing more I needed.

***

Abigail…seven years ago

I lay alone in that hospital bed and listened to Brian speak to Sean outside the door. I heard him give the same speech to each of our children, warning them how thin I was, how sick I looked. Warning them that the bag of bones on which they were about to rest their eyes was not the fat, cheerful mother they’d known most of their lives. And each one responded differently.

Killian nodded—I could see the shadow bounce up and down on the linoleum floor. He was stoic, my oldest child. I could remember when he was two and he fell on the steps outside our crappy little apartment, cutting open his knee. I cried more than he did, because Brian wasn’t there and he should have been. Cried because I knew Brian was practically living with that woman when he should have been at home with Killian and me—despite the fact that I was the one who kicked him out. Crying because I knew it wasn’t just a fling and I wasn’t sure I’d be able to convince him to come back to me this time.

Killian was witness to all the ups and downs of my marriage. I never meant to burden my children with my problems, my adult problems. But, somehow, it was unavoidable.

And then he came into the room, this big, strapping man, and all I could see was that gangly two-year-old boy falling on the front steps.

I was going to miss so much. I would never see him get married. I’d never see him hold his own child in his arms. I’d never whisper the same lullaby to that child that I used to whisper to him. It killed my soul just to look at him and know that.

Then Stacy. She sobbed before Brian could get the first words out. I’d tried so hard to hide my illness from her for the longest time, but I hadn’t realized how well I’d succeeded until now. Sweet Stacy, the blonde-haired child who’d been abandoned in a flea-bag motel after her drug-addicted mother took off with another of her johns. Who could resist that angelic face or her sweet, sweet voice? I saw it on Brian’s face. He fell head over heels for her the moment he set eyes on her—even though she wanted nothing to do with him. She’d had enough of men who used her for things little girls should know nothing about. But she warmed up to him.

She would always be a Daddy’s girl. They would stay close, I knew. And she would marry.

Maybe Killian. I saw the way he looked at her. Killian loved her in a way he would never love anyone else. I wanted to pull him aside and assure him that it was okay, that she needed him as much as he needed her. But he wasn’t ready to hear that just yet.

They’d make beautiful babies together; they would have a lovely life. The one Brian and I might have had if I’d been a little more accepting and he’d been a little more patient. Maybe Killian and Stacy had gotten enough of our good qualities and fewer of our bad.

Kyle was next. I worried about Kyle. Even though he was just as stoic as Killian on the outside, I knew he was soft as jelly on the inside. He struggled with the past, struggled with the things that had happened to him. He carried around a lot of guilt, too, a gift from his biological mother. He’d need a strong woman who would refuse to allow him to push her away. I prayed he’d find one.

Ian. Ian was broken in ways that he refused to allow anyone to see, even me. I ached inside for him and worried every day that something would set him off and he’d head down the wrong path. I tried to get him help, but therapists can only do so much if he refused to talk to them. It was something Ian would have to learn to deal with on his own someday.

He cried when he sat beside my bed. We talked about school and the future. Talked about the possibility of him falling in love and marrying. He was convinced it would never happen, but I knew he was wrong. No one could be alone permanently. We, as human beings, are designed to seek out others like ourselves. Ian was no different. I could only hope that he would find a woman who could love him despite all his quirks.

Then Kevin.

Of all my children, Kevin was the one I feared for the most. I knew my death would be a terrible blow for him. I tried to tell him how strong he was. I tried to reassure him that he could survive. But he wouldn’t hear me. He kept talking about holistic cures for my cancer, with hope in his eyes that he knew we didn’t have. I was dying, and I welcomed the release. I just wished he could understand.

Brian didn’t get it either. He thought I should fight. He thought I should live with the pain and continue to survive no matter what that survival meant. But I couldn’t. I wasn’t that strong. I wanted to be strong for him, but it simply wasn’t in me.

“I will always love you,” I told him late one night, weeks after we knew of my fate. “Promise me you’ll go on with your life. You’ll move on to some pretty young thing.”

He kissed my cheek and laughed. “You know you’re the only pretty young thing I want.”