Page 59 of My Irish Mafia King

“I know about… the other side of his life. I know he wanted to keep me out of it. But the not-so-funny thing is, that side of his life found me with no help from him. He’s the one who saved me…”

“You sound like you care about him,” Nora whispers.

“I do,” I tell her. “A lot. I’ve cared about him since…”

“Lucy?”

“I don’t say this to him. I don’t think he likes to think about me the first time we met, the real first time, when we were in Ireland and I was lost and he found me. But the truth is, I’ve cared about him since then. Lost, crying, thinking the world was ending… and then he appeared like a figure from a fairy tale, like something magical. He was my savior. In my innocent, obviously immature way, I cared so freaking much about him then.”

“It’s fate,” Ellie says. “I’ve been trying to tell Killian that since the start. What are the chances you’d reconnect after so many years? One in a million? Ten million? More? You weremeantto find each other.”

“There was a time when I would’ve laughed at that,” I murmur.

“And now?”

“Now, it’s the truest thing I’ve ever heard. I…”

“What, Lucy?”

“I haven’t even said this to him yet, but I love him.”

“He loves you too,” Ellie says excitedly. “He’s been too scared to say it, but I think he loved you the moment he walked into your bakery.”

My heart swells as I think about his note. Love crossed out, because he can’t let himself feel it until he knows we’re going to live our happily ever after.

Twenty-Four

KILLIAN

Isit in the car at the end of the lane, looking at the large estate in the middle of nowhere. It was a three-hour drive just to get here. Forest borders it on all sides, and the walls are tall. The gate is thick metal. No way is this car going to ram through it.

“Do you trust this guy?” I ask Colm, speaking about his contact, who’s working as a guard for my uncle and Owen.

“Nobody wants to be tied to Frank and Owen when the dust settles,” Colm replies. “He knows he’s got a better chance at a future in the Family if he works with us.”

“What’s the mood like with the other men? The few Frank and Owen have clung onto?”

Owen moves one tattooed hand over the other, thinking. My mind tries to drag me back to the city, to Lucy. Leaving her in bed was one of the most difficult things I’ve done. All I wanted was to fall beside her, wrap her in my arms, sink close to her warmth, and forget about all this crap.

“Uneasy,” Owen says after a pause. “I can’t say they’re ready to abandon them, but they’re not loyal, either, not like our men.”

Our men are waiting in the surrounding forest, tooled up to the eyeballs, ready for a gunfight, ready to do what’s necessary to topple the murderous bastards and set this city on a decent course.

“Owen killed my grandfather and my father,” I growl. “You heard the tape; you heard what he said to my woman… what?”

Colm’s smile wavers. “Nothing.”

“It’s not nothing,” I grunt.

“I know we need to focus on this job, but I can’t lie. Hearing you call her your woman is a damn fine thing. I can’t wait to tell Ronan about it. He’ll be so happy. He’ll probably spring up from bed and forget all about his wounds.”

I laugh gruffly. “I can’t exactly deny it now, can I? She was my woman the first day I walked into that bakery, and for half a year, I’ve been trying to lie to myself. But I can’t. She’s my woman; she’s my queen. It’s an unfair burden to put on her, but it’s the only way to be together.”

“I heard that tape, Killian,” Colm says. “She’s stronger than most women in this life. If anybody’s capable of being queen, it’s her.”

I’m grateful for his words, but I need to focus. “I’m going with Plan C,” I tell him.

He flinches. “Boss…”

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