Page 5 of Dearly Betrayed

We pause beside a forest of slot machines, their lights flashing like maniacs, the people sitting at them prodding at the button as though it held their salvation. Screens click, letters and numbers appear as if at random, it keeps on going that way. None of it makes any sense. The place reeks of beer and sweat and cigarette smoke. Feels like home.

I try to picture Quinnie. Little innocent Quinnie. What would she think of a place like this, a foreign country, a real casino? The barely concealed sin, the danger? Papa used to say Quinnie was one of the good ones, which always bothered me since I thought I was a good one too.

Tried to be good, anyway. My mouth got me into trouble. Papa would always say too pretty and too smart for my own good. But Papa never had real trouble from me. I was too busy trying to be one of the guys when I was growing up, then focused on making my father happy and proud as I got older. That’s how I’ve never had so much as a serious boyfriend, which in retrospect was a damn shame, a lot of wasted time.

Now the first man I’ll ever sleep with will be a man I hate.

“I want to meet him,” I say and have to repeat myself louder when Rian doesn’t answer right away.

“That’s not part of the deal.” He seems uncomfortable. “We have a strict timeline.”

“Easy for you to say. You’re not the one getting married.”

“I know, Fallie, I know, but this is delicate.”

“Delicate how? Sorry, are you going to be expected to perform on your wedding night?”

“Don’t be crass.”

“Don’t be a dick then, Chim.”

“There are people who don’t want this to happen.” He gives me one of those sidelong looks then glances at our protection. The soldiers lurk nearby. His men, in theory at least, but I’ve heard the rumors too. The Grady Clan was held together by Papa’s charm, but Papa’s dead and it’s Rian in charge now, and my older brother isn’t my father.

Yes, Rian’s clever, he’s strong, he’s even vicious when he’s got to be, but he isn’t the type of man who can lead an army into a meat grinder with absolute obedience. Papa had that gift. The charm, I used to call it. Some indescribable trait that draws people in and keeps them.

“Those people are in Dublin,” I tell him.

“Maybe they are or maybe they’re here and they’ll make a move if you put yourself in a bad spot.” Rian shakes his head. “It’s bad enough asking you to marry the Costa man. I don’t want to get you killed, too.”

“The Costas can make sure we’re safe. Rian, I want to meet him before I marry him.” I pause, feeling like an absolute fool, but I push on. “I could have an actual marriage to this man. I don’t like it, but I’ll be stuck with him, right? I might as well give it a go, and that means speaking with him at least once before I take the plunge. I want to know him.”

He softens at that. “That’s a good attitude.”

“Fuck you, Chim.” I grin and nudge him with my elbow. “Come on. I just want to meet the lad before I pledge my stinking worthless life to him, alright?”

“Alright,” he agrees but doesn’t look happy about it. “I’ll set it up.”

“Thanks.” I take a deep breath and blow it out. That’s a relief. I can feel a terror deep inside my chest at the idea of kissing a man I’ve never met before, and it’s taking all my willpower to hold it at bay. “Ah, hell. What do you know about Jayson Costa, anyway?”

“He’s not so bad for an American gangster.” He starts walking, hands behind his back. I keep pace, trying to focus on our conversation, but the casino’s more than a little distracting. The place is a nightmare for my short attention span. I want to bounce around like a squirrel on meth and it’s taking all my focus to stay still.

“Elaborate, please.”

“I don’t really know too many concrete details. From what I heard, he cares about his soldiers, but he’s also a vicious killer. Fought on the front lines a few times himself. We got close to hitting him once, but he shot two of our best assassins before they could finish him off. He’ll be good to you, Fallie, that’s part of the deal. No abusive shit. No knocking you around. We have some systems in place. You’ll video chat with me at least once every few days to make sure.”

“Lovely,” I say. “You’re looking out for me, you really are. But here’s the thing. You’ll be back home in Ireland, and I’ll be here in America. How are you gonna make sure he’s not kicking me down the steps?”

“For one, I’m pretty sure you’ll cut his dick off if he tried it.”

I gesture assent. “Obviously, but I’m a relatively small woman, and he can do other things to me.”

“We have people in the States I can call on. But even if Jayson’s an asshole, his older brother Adler’s the one in charge, and I trust the man. He’s been nothing but up front and fair since we opened negotiations. They’ll treat you well.”

“Great. I can rely on your mysterious goons and an American Don to make sure my husband’s not a raging dickhead.”

Rian takes my arm and holds it tightly. He stares at me, eyes narrowed. “Fallie, I mean this. I won’t let him hurt you. Especially not if you really want to make it work. If you’re serious about it. Giving it a real try will go a long way with these people.”

I let out a long breath and shrug him off. “I’m serious about it. What else have I got to do?”

---