Page 149 of Bloom: Part 2

“You’re right. But we lost your brother. I only have you and Emil left. Is it so farfetched I would want to repair the damage?”

“And if it’s not repairable?”

“At least I would have tried.” Silence stretched between us again, the tension easing slightly. Then he spoke, his tone softer. “I heard you’re getting married.”

I sucked in a deep breath. “I am.”

“To a man.”

I doubled my fists. “It’s none of your business who I marry.”

Pop smiled. “You’re hotheaded. You’re a lot like me, more than you’d want to admit. But you also got your mother’s self-control. What is he like?”

“Excuse me?” I didn’t know how else to respond. How did someone describe Bloom? Words weren’t enough. Bloom was a person you had to experience to understand him.

“Joel says he’s quite a looker.”

“He is.”

“But the most interesting part is that he is an enforcer of a notorious biker gang.”

I sat up straight, heat radiating over my face.

He’s going to call me a hypocrite. I left the Mafia only to end up with a notorious gang.

“They’re nothing like the Mafia. They’re good people.”

“I’m not questioning your choices, Keegan. From what Joel tells me, you’ve made an excellent choice.”

I folded my arms, rocking back in the chair. “Did you hire Joel by chance, like he believes?”

“What do you think?”

I’d been right all along. Joel working for my father was indeed too much of a coincidence.

“I’m going to miss working with him,” Pop said. “He’s smart, that one.”

“Miss him?”

“Yes, he’s decided after he finishes his contract with us, he’s moving back to Ohio.”

“Oh.” Joel had mentioned returning to Smoky Vale, but I hadn’t expected it to be so soon. Not when he was at the height of his legal career. He stood to make a name for himself in New York more than a small town in Ohio.

I shook my head. “There’s something else you should know about. I heard about your… errm, relationship behind bars.”

His face reddened, and he shifted in his seat. “What about it?”

At least he wasn’t pretending or defending himself that he had no option in prison. “He’s not who he claims to be. He was working with Uncle Mickey, and he had orders to kill you.”

“I know.”

I blinked. “You do?”

“He confessed to me,” he said with a sigh. “Told me everything.”

“And you didn’t—”

“We… sorta fell in love,” he admitted, his cheeks darkening further.

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