Page 13 of Controlling Chloe

“What I’m going to tell you has to stay between us. Like, you can’t tell another soul. Ever. Not even a dog on the street. It goes to your grave. I’ve never told anyone.”

Her eyes bug out, and she licks her lips as she waits for the bone I’m dangling in front of her.

“Pinky swear. To our graves, I won’t tell anyone. Not even the CIA would be able to get it out of me.”

We hook pinkies and kiss our thumbs. It’s our ritual whenever we need the other to keep a secret. There isn’t a single other soul in the world I would trust with this information.

“My brother is in the mafia.”

“The mafia?” she shouts.

“Shh! Oh my God, be quiet.”

She slaps a hand over her mouth and bobs her head, her eyes as round as saucers. “Sorry. Sorry. The mafia?”

“Yes. He’s one of the leaders of the Irish mafia here in the States. His father was in the mob too. It’s usually a family occupation.”

“So, he…like…he kills people? Pulls out their fingernails and shit?”

I laugh and roll my eyes. “I don’t think he pulls out people’s fingernails. But, yeah. He kills bad people. They don’t murder people for fun. They always have a reason behind it.”

Paisley stares at me for several seconds until I’m squirming under her gaze. Maybe I shouldn’t have told her.

“It doesn’t bother you that he does that stuff?” she finally asks.

I shrug. “I know my brother. He has a good heart. He only hurts bad people. They protect women and children and never hurt them. They don’t have anything to do with prostitution or anything like that. There’s been some sort of pact in place for a long time between all the syndicates, so they don’t go to war with each other. It’s like a big corporation that has both legal and illegal businesses.”

She smiles but shakes her head. “I love how naïve you are, Chloe. The fucking mafia? Seriously? They do some bad shit. I’ve read books. We’ve watched mob movies together.”

“Pais, sorry to tell you, books and movies are nothing like it is in real life. I mean, I’m sure there’s some stuff that’s the same, but I think most of it is pretty normal business stuff.”

After a few seconds, her eyes widen. “Does that mean Bash is also in the mafia?”

I bite my lip and shrug. “Yes. He and Kieran are best friends. Bash’s father was the head of the Irish syndicate here in the States, and now Bash’s older brother Declan is the boss.”

Her expression is almost comical. Her eyebrows are pinched like she sucked on a lemon, but her mouth is hanging open, and she’s blinking so fast, I wonder if she’s short-circuited.

“This is… How… I can’t believe you never told me. This is like, holy shit. This is some heavy information, Chloe. I was kind of rude to Bash. He might come kill me now.”

I laugh so hard that tears spring to my eyes. This is exactly why I didn’t tell her. I love Paisley like a sister, but, man, her imagination is wild. It doesn’t help that she loves dark romance books even more than I do.

“Bash isn’t going to kill you. Kieran, Bash, and the rest of them are so protective of women, it’s irritating. I never told my brother I moved here because I knew he would flip his lid about the area and make me get some high-end security system or something. They’re over the top. It’s annoying.”

If hearts could appear in someone’s eyes, she’d have them. Black hearts, of course, because aesthetics are important. “It’s actually pretty sweet. To have someone who cares about you so much. I wish I had a brother like yours. You’re lucky.”

My heart squeezes in my chest. I know I’m luckier than most. I grew up with a comfortable lifestyle and a brother who loved me a little too much sometimes. Unlike Paisley, who had a rough upbringing.

“I’ll let you know how lucky I am when I get back from my brother’s house tomorrow.”

“What do you mean?”

I huff. “Bash is making me tell Kieran all about what happened tonight and that I moved out. He said either I told him or he’d tell him because he won’t keep stuff from my brother.”

She bites her bottom lip to try to keep from smiling, but it doesn’t work. Then she starts giggling. “Sorry. That sucks, but it’s actually kind of funny. I think I like Bash. And your brother, even though I’ve never met him. They seem like good men, despite being gangsters.”

Letting out a sigh, I squeeze Quackers tighter. “Yeah. They are.”

“I hope you didn’t have a date with your vibrator because I’m sleeping with you tonight.”

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