Page 81 of Mob Princess

“I won’t fall apart. At least, not in front of you. I don’t need you comforting me when you’re the one injured. I know your brothers and cousins can protect you. I can’t get past the feeling this happened because of me. I don’t want someone finding you when they’re?—”

“Finish that sentence with what I know you’re going to say, and I will make your sweet little arse burn so badly you won’t sit for a week. Don’t you dare tell me you’d rather be the target. I will lose my shite faster than anyone in my family has ever seen. I’m the patient one. But they will tell you that pushed too far, I have the worst temper of all of us.”

“If they come looking for me but only find you, they will kill you. If they find me, then they’ll just take me.”

“We both know that isn’t true. You know they wouldn’t settle for leaving me alive. And you know for fecking sure I’m not letting anyone take you.”

“Then I should go.”

“Go where? To Jesse’s? To Montreal? You know I won’t agree to that without two of the guys with you. At least two of them. That leaves all of us more vulnerable if we separate. If you want out of this, then I will negotiate with your grandfather to get you home safely.”

“This—if you mean someone trying to murder you, then yes, I want out of this. I want you out of it too. If you mean us, then you’re sending me away. I’m not walking away.”

We stare at each other, our tempers threatening to spike. We want the same thing, and neither of us will back down. I take her hand.

“Give me thirty minutes with the guys. That’s as long as either of us can manage. Come back, and I’ll tell you what I can. I’ll listen to your thoughts, and I’ll try my best to compromise. Then we’ll watch TV together until it’s time to go to bed. You’ll sleep next to me.”

“Good thing I’m skinny.”

“Good thing you’re the perfect size.”

We exchange a quick kiss, then she walks to the door. I hear Seamus offer to take her to the cafeteria, then the others walk in.

Chapter Sixteen

Sean

“Is Dillan with Ewan?”

“Yes.” Finn’s our second in command, and Dillan’s best friend.

It didn’t surprise me to realize Dillan wasn’t with the others. It would be completely understandable if he remained in NYC to oversee our family empire. Make no two ways about it. The O’Rourkes built an empire, and we will die before we see it perish.

But I know my cousin. I know how much he despises Ewan, especially after the shite the turd got himself into when he tried to pick up where his father left off. I remind myself that piece of arse was Lina’s dad too. But Rowan, then Ewan, tried to fuck Finn’s in-laws over. They’re all our family now. That means it’s not just Finn pissed at Ewan. And the little shite knows that.

It brings us right back around to why I was in Baltimore and why Lina was in NYC before that. He keeps trying to assert himself, and we keep swiping his knees out from under him. He’s either going to learn or die failing. For Lina’s sake, I don’t want the latter. Not just because I don’t want my family responsible for another death in hers. I don’t want her to lose another person. Whether she loves Ewan or loved her dad is irrelevant. It’s still a loss.

“Has he found out anything?” I glance at the door even though I’m certain Lina can’t hear anything.

“Not yet. He’s watching him right now. You know he has questionable friends in the city. We want to see if he goes back to them or stays out of our way.”

We are so New Yorkers. The city can only mean one place—Manhattan. On a nice day—since we grew up in Queens—it means all five boroughs. Though, no one means the Bronx or Staten Island.

“Jodidos colombianos.” Fucking Colombians.

I can say a shite ton more than that in Spanish, but that sums it up. Let those fuckers think they can do business with the Boston Irish to piss us off. The more business they do with each other, the more there is for us to steal from both of them.

“Yeah, well, Pablo’s still a pain in the arse.” Finn can barely get the words out without a stream of curses coming with them.

“Que se jodan.” Fuck them.

Pablo and I have a long history that isn’t pretty. About fifteen years ago, I was dating a girl, Mei, who I really liked, but I knew it wasn’t serious. At the same time, Pablo was dating Mei’s cousin. She cheated on me and dumped me for Pablo. He didn’t stop gloating until I started fucking Lian, his ex-girlfriend and Mei’s cousin. She gave no shits about him, but I know he definitely loved her. They were together for a year.

Lian’s father was the head of one of the Dragons—Chinese Triad. Mei and Lian dated each of us for the connections we brought their families. Pablo and I dated them for the exact same reason: the connections their fathers brought us. The difference is, I didn’t fall in love with either of them. Pablo never forgave me.

We ended up in a fight not long after we both wound up single. He tried to stab me but missed. I cut a line from his left shoulder to nearly his right nipple. Talk about a lot of blood. He has tats that cover the scar, but we all know it’s there and why. I beat his arse.

It wouldn’t surprise me in the least to learn Pablo discovered my interest in Lina, and now he’s doubled his support for Ewan. Lian and Lina—such similar names, but they couldn’t less alike. Lina—my cailín—is the only woman I’ll give my heart to.

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