Page 4 of Dearly Betrayed

“I don’t blame you for being angry.” Adler’s voice is calm. He’s always so damn calm, it drives me crazy sometimes. “If I were in your position, I’d be pissed too. But if you marry the Grady girl, we’ll bind our two families together forever. Think about the opportunities. The Gradys have international connections we’ve only ever dreamed about. Picture the markets we could penetrate. Scotland, Finland, the Netherlands, deeper into Italy and Poland. This could be good for everyone if we find a way to set aside the bloodshed.”

I know he’s right. That’s the worst part of all this. If I were in Adler’s position, I would’ve made the exact same decision. War’s bad for business, and ending the war’s a smart move.

Only that end involves shackling me to some strange girl I don’t know and I’ve never seen before, the daughter of the man I helped murder, a member of the family I hate the most in this world.

“They killed my best friend.” It’s childish and petty to keep coming back to that, but Jackson bled out in my arms, and I’m supposed to forgive them for it.

I’m not the kind of man to forget a brother.

“I know.” Adler puts a hand on my shoulder. “But this is what we do. It’s what the family asks of us. You know what my life is like. Everything I do is for the family. Every waking hour is devoted to family business, even when I’d rather be doing a thousand different things. Go ahead, ask Casey, I’m sure she’d love to complain about how much time I spend at the office. Sometimes I feel like my children are growing up without a father, and that kills me the most.”

“You’re a good dad and you know it.”

“Maybe. That’s not my point. I’m trying to say I’m sorry it has to be this way.”

“Yeah, I know you are, but that doesn’t change anything, does it?”

“No, it doesn’t.” He drops his hand away. “Take some time to think about it. I won’t force you to do anything you don’t want to do. If you’re really against marrying the girl, maybe there’s some other deal we can strike.”

I grunt at him as he turns to leave. Anger rises again, rage at myself for being so weak, fury at the Grady Clan for putting me in this position. For murdering my best friend.

But other people come to mind. Other friends overseas, my soldiers, my employees, their family and friends. I think of my nieces and nephews, and imagine them growing up in a world where the Costa family is constantly at war.

I don’t want that for any of them.

“I’ll do it.” I don’t look at Adler as I speak. I feel sick, and I don’t know what I’ll do if I see something in his expression that I don’t like, whether it’s really there or not. “You know I’m going to do it. If it means saving the lives of my soldiers, I’ll make it happen.”

A short pause. “I knew you would.” He doesn’t sound triumphant. Only sad.

“Only I’m going to keep wondering how much more you’re going to ask. How much more is the family going to take from us?” I turn to stare at my older brother. The Don of the Costa Family.

He shakes his head, shoulders slumped, like he’s worn down to a nub. “It’ll ask everything. You know that.”

He leaves me alone on the balcony.

I return to my whiskey and the ocean.

Chapter3

Fallon

The Oceanview Hotel in Atlantic City is an opulent absurdity. Lots of marble, gaudy paintings, caught somewhere between Greek and medieval Italian architecture. It’s a mishmash, a total mistake in judgment. Whoever designed the hotel was either drunk or just had terrible taste.

“It’s lovely, being back in America,” I say to Rian as we walk through the casino together. Lights flash, folks shout. The place is a maze, designed to disorient and confuse, but mostly to fleece patrons of all their hard-won cash. America in its purest form. A few seconds of bliss then ruin.

“Did you really miss it?” he asks.

“Sometimes. College was fun, you know? I made some decent friends. I’ve been thinking that while I’m in the States, I might as well try to see them again, right?”

“Right, you should.” Rian doesn’t add that I’ll have plenty of time to do it, seeing as I’ll be living here for the rest of my life.

Coming here for university, or college as they say, that had been my dream ever since I was a little girl. I’m not sure why America seemed so incredible to me, but it felt like there was so much opportunity and excitement in the new world.

Ireland’s always been a drab place full of sheep, beautiful views, and crappy little villages. We love our pints, our football, and our poets, but that pales compared to the insane capitalistic nightmare that is a major American metropolis. It’s like there’s so little history here and anyone can become a part of this place’s mythology.

I spent most of my childhood begging Papa to let me attend school overseas, and by some miracle, it actually happened. I did all four years at Barnard, a little liberal arts school for ladies, and earned a beautiful Bachelor of Arts degree in English Literature, which Papa found amusing.

That feels like forever and a world away. Even though I graduated only four years ago.

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