Page 10 of Killian

“Enzo.”

“No, please, let me finish.” He holds up his hand, taking a breath. “I worried about you, Cat. You put on a brave face, but your eyes were sad. I worry that if you jump back in with O’Reilly and it ends badly, you won’t come out of it again. I know you’re hesitant to let him in, but if there is one thing I know, it’s that you can only deny what you want for so long before it slowly kills you. And that is the last thing I want for you,” Enzo says, bringing tears to my eyes as he walks toward me. “Think about what it is you want, Cat. Whatever it may be, I will support you. You know my loyalty lies with you and solely you.”

“You can’t say those things. You know that,” I hiss at him.

“I don’t care. Bash should have never assigned me to you if he didn’t want me to become loyal to you. I’ve been guarding you since you were fifteen years old. I watched you grow into the woman you are now. As much as I love the family, I will always protect you over all others. It’s why he picked me, knowing I would protect you. If he finds out that loyalty has grown stronger than the loyalty to himself, then I’ll take those consequences with my head held high.”

“Thank you,” I rasp, trying to keep my emotions intact.

Enzo is more of a brother to me than Bash ever has been. He’s fifteen years older than me, but he has always been there to guide me. He’s the one who taught me how to defend myself, how to shoot, and how to handle a knife. He taught me it’s okay to want more from my life. To want better than the hand dealt to me. I know that if I asked him to, he would help me disappear without a thought or care for his own life.

“You must get some work done. I’m sure there are evil men that need to be brought down a notch or two.” He pats my shoulder, urging me into my room.

“They are never in short supply,” I joke.

“That’s the problem with the world. No matter how much good there is, the bad will always be waiting around the corner. I’ll be in my room if you need me,” Enzo says, leaving the room.

Turning on my heel, I walk into my room, shutting the door before falling on the bed.

He’s not wrong. There is always bad hanging around. Even my brother is a bad guy. He may have reasons for doing what he does, but he is still a murderer. Not only that, but he’s a crime boss who has a laundry list of crimes committed.

Killian’s no different.

Maybe that’s why I was drawn to Killian. To the sense of freedom he has. He is his own boss, answering to no one. He has this air of freedom that is intoxicating. I envy him.

Killian and I are like two magnets, drawn to each other even when we shouldn’t be. My phone vibrates with an incoming text in my back pocket. Fishing out my phone, I see a picture of Killian on the screen, instantly taking me back to the second day we met.

I pick up my biscotti and pop it into my mouth as I read. Once a week I come into town to the little café and enjoy a good cappuccino and pastry as the locals go about their day. Even after all these years, I love the cobblestone streets and everything that makes up our village.

So engrossed with my story, I don’t notice right away when he sits down. Only when I reach for the last piece of biscotti and realize it’s not there, do I look up and come face to face with him. Killian O’Reilly. His whiskey-colored eyes twinkle with mischief as he takes a bite of my pastry.

I glance over to Enzo, seeing him making his move, but I give him a curt shake of my head. He pauses, looking unsure, but after I give him a small smile, he settles back into his seat.

Looking back at the man in front of me, I take him in. He looks just like I remembered.

“You should pay better attention to your surroundings,a ghrá.” He smirks.

“There are always eyes on me, I don’t really need to worry now, do I?” I tease. “I guess I should be flattered you took the time to not only seek me out but travel all this way,” I say as I close my book, giving him all my attention.

“Greer Catalini, younger sister of Bastiano. Leader of the Catalini family.”

“Easy enough to find with a simple Google search,” I say as I take him in. He looks relaxed in his white shirt, dark blue jeans, and biker boots.

God, I want him.

“That may be.”

“What made you come all this way?” I ask as I lean forward onto the little table separating us.

“I want your attention. Let me take you out.”

“You only want what I represent. An in with my brother,” I say, brushing a flyaway hair out of my face. “You don’t want me.”

“I don’t need an in with your brother. I couldn’t care any less about him. What I need is to take you out.”

“Take me out?” I laugh, a little surprised.

“Come on, spend some time with me. Get to know me. If you don’t like what you find, then you can walk away. No questions asked,” he teases, biting his lip. “You know you want to.”

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