Page 116 of Dirty Padraig: Dirty Dusters

“Jesus Christ.”

“He can’t abide her, Eoin. While they were in Sicily, their unhappily ever after wasn’t noticeable to anyone, but back in New York, it is. Luciano wants them to start behaving like the newlyweds in love they’re supposed to be. To seal the deal, he wants them to produce a Duster heir. He says it’s to encourage family-orientated high rankers to sign on his new organization’s dotted line….”

“He’s simply panicking at Paddy’s refusal to welcome Sophia into his bed. The fact that he’d rather sleep with a bullet in his skull than his sister. He’s now worried that Paddy’s membership in his family may only be temporary, and so he wants a permanentinto ours. The only way to achieve that is for Sophia to birth an O’Connell.”

“That’s the same conclusion I reached. Provided Paddy gets her pregnant, he’ll be allowed to have the marriage annulled on the basis that he was backed into the union.”

“They’ll never let him leave, Dylan.”

I pour myself a fourth whiskey, far larger than the previous ones.

“Again, I reached the same conclusion. Even though it wouldn’t be a divorce, Luciano still wouldn’t welcome the adverse publicity.”

“Once the Ruoccos have the child, they’ll have no further need for Paddy. They’re simply dangling a carrot to get him to do their bidding.”

“In fairness, I think Sophia’s hoping that once they have a baby together, he’ll finally stop pining after Jaine and settle down with her. What she’s not understanding is that Jaine’s not the problem. She is. By all accounts, she’s not a pleasant person to be around, so much so that Paddy would rather have a gun put to his head than spend the rest of his life with her.”

“Jesus Christ. What have we done, Dylan?” I whisper.

“No one was to know, Eoin. Luciano was don. It was seen as a good match at the time. And we can’t change the past.”

“Paddy’s divulged far more to you than he did to me. What’s his plan?”

“This ‘child for an annulment’ business has been drawn up as a new contract. Paddy had a few queries. As they insisted on having their family lawyer handle matters, Sophia headed back to Sicily to have them answered face-to-face. That’s why she wasn’t aware of Paddy’s recent disappearance.”

“I did wonder where she was. The fact that he was missing for a week, and she didn’t notice, is representative of the fact that they live two very separate lives. Had she known, she would have been frantic that the Ruocco plans were potentially about to be scuppered. Surely, Paddy must suspect he’ll never get out of the marriage alive?”

“I’m sure deep down he does, Eoin, but he’s clutching at the very last straw available to him.”

“Have you seen the contract?”

“No.”

“We need sight of it.”

“He’ll refuse. He’ll argue that we signed the last one without him being privy to it. His life. His decision.”

“His death.”

“He already feels like his life is over anyway.”

“But it’s not over. He knows about Fin. He knows he has a son.”

“That will only make matters worse. Sophia knows. Jaine found the proof in Molly’s phone. Paddy will be determined to keep Luc and Sophia away from Jaine and Fin.”

“That’s exactly what he’s attempting to do. He wants me to mend things with her. To get remarried and do whatever is necessary to care for them and protect them because, right now, he’s in no position to do so himself. Right now, he thinks he has nothing to offer either of them because he’s trapped in a toxic marriage.”

“He won’t want Sophia anywhere near Fin. Apparently, they had a plethora of wee ones working on their estate back home, most likely illegally. Her nastiness extended to children, and it was verbal as well as physical. Paddy called her out on it, but instead of it improving her behavior, it just made it worse.”

“And he wants to bring a child into that?”

“She’s his wife. She wants a child. The contract stipulates joint custody and that the child must reside in New York at all times. He’ll be hoping that she’ll treat her own child better than she does the children of others.”

“It’s a bit of a gamble.”

“The child will be an O’Connell. I’m not sure the Ruoccos would be stupid enough to harm a hair on its head.”

“It’s not the physical damage I’d be worried about.”

---