Page 127 of Mob Princess

“I will, but Sean, I didn’t ask Colton to do this because I don’t have faith in you.”

“I know. I know my mom, and I get what you told me and him. I’m sad that it’s coming to this. I can tell Colton doesn’t want this for you, and neither do I. Why’d he train you? And what did he mean ‘capable of’?”

I sigh and look out the window.

“My maternal grandfather used to take me hunting once I turned twelve. We only killed what we could store and eat. It was never for antlers or trophies. I took to it easily and got good at it. Eventually, Granddad taught me to fire a handgun. I had a permit to carry in Quebec only because of who my grandfather is and got one in Massachusetts. When I visited my dad in Boston, one of the few things he’d do with me was go to the range. I met Colt’s dad, Colton Senior, there the year I learned to shoot a 9mm. I was fourteen. Ewan, Colt, and Justin were fifteen. Justin was around, but he had other friends.”

Justin said that’s when he fell in love with me. Colton confirmed it. I never realized. I was completely oblivious all these years.

“Ewan and Colt teased me because they’d never gone hunting with me. It took one round for them to realize I knew what I was doing. They stopped teasing. They also found something else to do because they hated I scored better than them. Colton noticed I was standing alone because Dad was talking to his men, and Colt and Ewan left me behind. I told him about hunting and fishing. He listened to me. I love those things, but no one in Boston ever cared except for Colton. He had his rifle and let me shoot. It didn’t shock him I was good. Like really good. He was proud of me. No one else there was.”

I hate remembering these parts. Or rather, I hate remembering how I felt during those trips. I’m fine remembering going to Boston and even the things I did or people I saw. It’s reflecting on the loneliness and alienation that I’m not so fond of.

“His wife, Daisy, became a second mom to me whenever I went to Boston. My stepmom, Maureen, was awesome to me, but I clicked with Daisy. I know she regrets ever suggesting her son ask me out. She feels guilty despite how many times I’ve told her Colt is his own man and made his own choices. They had a cabin in the Berkshires, and they’d bring me along when they took Ewan and Colt out there if I was in town. By then, the guys drove and went off to do their own thing. I hung back. Daisy loves carpentry, so she taught me woodworking. Colton would take me shooting. The better I got, the more challenges he found for me. The distances increased, the angles got sharper, the targets got smaller. I excelled.”

“He trained you to be a sharpshooter.”

“Yes. I made it more than that.”

Sean’s hand rests on my hip while his other arm is slung around it. He moves his hand up to my ribs and presses me back against him. The only way I can tell when he gets upset is his heartbeat. It’s back to racing. His breathing is even. His body feels relaxed. His touch is light. But his heart is about to pound out of his chest.

“The summer after I graduated high school, I went to Boston for a month. The friends I’d made were my age and just graduated, too. Colton and Daisy let me go out to the cabin with four girls. They’re all mob daughters.”

Let someone call me a motherfucking mob princess. Show me the fucking castle. Show me the lavish excesses. The only thing making me a princess is my very own Prince Charming, whose lap I’m sitting on right now.

“The entire property has invisible fencing and security cameras. The alarm went off while we were in the hot tub our second night there. Each of us had a guard. Mine was Justin’s older brother, Stuart, who was in his mid-twenties. Two of them went out to check while I led the girls to the cellar. I was about to go down with them when a different sensor triggered. This one was way closer than just the perimeter. Stuart knew he couldn’t convince me otherwise, so he ran to the gun locker with me. I got Colton’s rifle—not the one he hunts with—a box of rounds, and the NVGs.”

“He keeps NVGs there?”

“For the same reason he keeps more than a hunting rifle and has invisible fences and cameras. I went up to the loft with Stuart, and we pushed the bed beneath the window. With my NVGs, I had a clear view to the south and east. I saw four men converge on the two guards. The guards took out two intruders, but they didn’t make it either. I waited until the men stepped under a tree with a light sensor. I flipped up the goggles and could see the intruders’ faces. I didn’t know them and neither did Stuart. I picked them both off. I went to the master bedroom balcony, which was on the side where the single guy tripped a sensor. We saw him moving away from the house. I thought he was retreating. He wasn’t. He got a gear bag. He lifted out rope, an ax, and some other shit before he took out what Stuart told me were flash bangs. He intended to disorient us when he broke in. He never took a step toward the house.”

I inhale until my lungs can’t take any more. Then I exhale as though that might be my last breath.

“Were you hurt? Did anything happen to you?”

“No. We told the other girls and guards Stuart took the shots. Once we were back, we let people think it was Stuart and the other guys who died who got all of them. The moment Colton and Daisy got the security alerts, they got in the car. They watched their live feed in the car on their way to us. They both knew there was only one person at the house that night who could take those shots. Neither they nor Stuart ever breathed a word to anyone that it was me.”

“Who were they?”

“O’Briens.”

Pieces of trash. The O’Malleys pushed their sorry asses out of Boston a few generations ago when they thought they could run Boston and take over NYC. They failed at both. Now they’re the O’Rourkes’ lackeys in Trenton, New Jersey.

“Why go after you and your friends?”

“Because they knew Rowan’s daughter was there. I was the target.”

“So those men and Lucy. Anyone else?”

“No. Sean, I’m not proud of what I did if I’m talking about the body count I’ve racked up. But I’m grateful I can protect the people I care about.”

“Cailín, I know. I understand better than most.”

“That’s why I knew I could tell you, and why I could text Justin and talk to Colton in front of you. I definitely wouldn’t be comfortable confessing all of this to anyone else in your family. Even your mom. I could with you with me, but not alone.”

“What did your dad say when you and the girls got back to Boston?”

“Gave each guard a ten grand bonus. Stuart wanted to give his money to me. I refused. He went to the bank and deposited it into my account. After that, I was gracious with anything he offered me.”

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