Page 17 of My Irish Mafia King

“What do you want?” I ask.

“Killian sent me to keep watch on your apartment after what happened and to answer any questions you might have.”

“Where is he?”

“I don’t know,” Ronan replies. “I imagine he’s handling whatever business he started earlier today. All he told me was that he needed to make sure that you were safe.”

“Why wouldn’t I be?”

“I gather there was some violence. Sometimes, violence breeds more violence. Can you buzz me up?”

There’s no way this man could know about that exchange in the cave unless he spoke to either my mom or Killian. I’ve never talked about that specific part of it to anybody else. I press the button, then return to the couch with Clover.

A minute later, a tall, thin man walks in. He has dark, searching eyes as he looks around the apartment. He gestures to a chair. “May I?”

“Sure,” I mutter.

When he sits down, his jacket shifts and I see that there’s a pistol on his hip. He sees me looking and says, “It’s just a precaution.”

“Shane knew him,” I say. “When he saw Killian, he used his name. And even when Shane had his gun aimed at him, it was like he feared Killian. But Killian’s just… he’s the funny, charming guy who swings by for his virgin Irish coffee every morning.” My hand strays to the pendant around my neck. “He’s my savior who gave me this for good luck and he calls mebeautifulin Gaelic. He’s not somebody who would savagely beat a man within an inch of his life.”

“If Killian did that, I’m sure Shane deserved it.”

“He deserved it,” I hiss. “Shane’s been robbing me for months. He had a freaking prisoner who looked terrified of him. But I just never thought Killian would have it in him to do something like that. If I hadn’t seen it… Whoishe?”

Ronan sighs. “He’s asked me to tell you anything you want to know. He thinks you’re owed that.”

“Answer my question, then.”

“I will, but I think you should remember, people can be more than one thing. Killian is still all those things you thought he was. He’s still the charming, caring guy who swings by for his coffee every morning.”

“Don’t defend him. Just tell me.”

Ronan sighs. “Shane, the man who was extorting you, is a heavy for the Callahan Crime Family. He works specifically for Frank Callahan, the current Don. Killian is Frank’s nephew… he was the prince of the Family, but he gave up the crown because he wanted to live a normal life. He hasn’t been involved in the mob for over ten years.”

My head spins as I try to process this information. “Killian is a mobprince? He works with the man who was extorting me? Does that mean he knew what Shane was doing?”

Ronan looks disgusted. “No. He had no idea. That’s probably part of the reason he reacted like he did. Killian doesn’t get involved in the day-to-day of the Family. It’s a little complicated?—”

“Don’t patronize me, please,” I snap.

Ronan smiles tightly. “Fair enough. Frank, Killian’s uncle, is the Don of the Family. But his consigliere, his second-in-command, is a man named Owen who has been in the Family since the beginning… He was a high-ranking member when Killian’s grandfather ran the Family. Many men are loyal to Frank; many are loyal to Owen. The ones loyal to Frank are more violent, crueler, take cruder measures.”

“Who are you loyal to?”

“Killian,” Ronan says. “But I have to be political about it.”

“So Killian doesn’t work for the mob. He gave up his crown.” When Ronan nods, I go on, “But the way he tore into Shane, the sheer violence of it, that didn’t look like somebody who’d left the mob life behind them. That looked like somebody who’d done violent things before.”

“In his late teens and early twenties, Killian worked in the mob. I think he did it for his dad… before his dad died in a car crash. He worked as an enforcer to earn his stripes. He’s not unfamiliar with that side of things. But like I said, it’s been over ten years.”

“His late teens,” I murmur, thinking back to that day when I was lost, walking across the rolling green hills.

Then he appeared, a serene smile on his lips.“Hey, kid, relax. I won’t let anything happen to you…”That man who made me feel so safe… He was working for the mob, then.

“What you’re saying is I don’t know him, and I never have,” I murmur.

“No,” Ronan says fiercely. “The Killian you know is the real him. There’s just another side. That’s all.”

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