Captivated: A Mafia Romance (Carfano Crime Family Book 6)

~ Chapter 23 ~

Cassie

I don’t cry over boys.

I don’t cry over boys.

I repeat the mantra to myself despite the fact that I’m crying because I let a man make me doubt myself.

What Nico texted…

How did he know where I was tonight?

And to just attack me like that?

I don’t want to be made to feel like I’m doing something wrong for doing whatever is necessary to keep my brother alive.

Am I glad Nico overstepped his place by gifting me a car and refused to take no for an answer when I said I didn’t want it? Yes. But he needs to know I was never going to ask him for money.

Do I want to be dancing for cash? No. But I’m going to do it because I’m good at it and I know I’ll be walking out the doors with more money than any ‘regular’ job I could’ve gotten.

And how dare he assume I’m getting naked and letting men shove bills in my ass crack.

I haven’t gotten naked at all yet, but now I want to just to spite him.

I toss and turn for the rest of the night, only managing to doze off for a few minutes before my alarm wakes me.

Groaning in protest, I drag myself out of bed and get ready. I go with a comfortable outfit of yoga pants and an oversized crewneck sweatshirt. I’m sure as hell not dressing up for them, and I’m not going to show any skin for them to look at or get any ideas with either.

I knock on Sean’s door. “Are you ready?”

“Yeah, one second,” he calls back, then opens the door. “Are you still sure you want to come?”

“I already ordered our ride. It’ll be here in five minutes.” I don’t bother answering his question. I just turn and head downstairs.

I counted all the cash I made at the clubs, plus what little I could spare from my accounts, and I only have an additional $3,000 to offer on top of the $85,000 I got from selling the Range Rover.

It’s a lot, but it’s not $100,000.

I know I wouldn’t have anything if it wasn’t for Nico, but he chose to come at me swinging and be an asshole before I could finish all this, tell him everything, and thank him for his gift.

Now, I’m not doing any of that.

* * * *

The Irish pub we pull up to in Woodlawn Heights reminds me of the place our dad used to take us to back in Boston. He always had to leave us to go and talk to someone after we ordered our food, and didn’t come back until Sean and I were almost finished.

Sean’s face still holds the markings of the assholes we’re about to meet, and I take a deep breath on the sidewalk before stepping inside. I need to be the confident Cassie that takes no shit from anyone so we have a chance of making it out of here in one piece.

I was used to being looked at as an extension of my dad back in the day. Someone to also respect and be spoken to like I was important. So, I pull my shoulders back and walk in there like I know who I am even when I have no idea who I am or where I belong anymore.

Right now, Sean needs me, and I’ll pretend to be whomever I need to be if it means we’re alive in an hour.

“Sean!” a guy who looks to be just a few years older than me shouts as a greeting, acting like they’re two old friends reuniting. He’s flanked by two other guys who look like they only speak when ordered to.

“Liam,” my brother replies, his face neutral.

“Tell me you have something for me,” he says, then looks at me with a crooked grin. “Let me guess…you don’t have the money and you’re here to offer this lovely woman as payment? You must be good if Sean thinks you’re worth $100,000.”

“She’s my sister.”

Liam shrugs. “Doesn’t answer my question.”

“I’m not payment,” I sneer, “I have the payment.”

Laughing, Liam looks to the guys beside him. “Looks like Seany-boy needed his big sister to bail him out. Tell me, sweetheart, where did you get that kind of money?” His eyes travel down my body, which is exactly why I dressed like this.

“I have my ways,” I tell him. “But I don’t have all of it.”

He throws his head back and laughs harder. “That’s too bad for your brother then, sweetheart.”

“I have $88,000. I can get the rest in a few weeks if you give me time.”

“Where is it?” His eyes drift over my empty hands.

“I’ll transfer it to you when I have your word you’ll give me time for the rest.”

“How can I trust you’re good for it? Your brother is a degenerate gambler and your father was a conniving bastard who thought he could kill his way to the top and still be respected. And I don’t know you at all to trust you. Your family doesn’t exactly exude trust.”

The air leaves my lungs and I manage to only whisper, “What about my dad?”

Why is he bringing up our dad?

“You didn’t know who your dad was, did you? Your brother didn’t either,” he says smugly.

I look at Sean and he’s looking at his feet. “What is he talking about?”

“When I asked my dad about yours, he knew all about him. He said Finn Connelly was an arrogant man who was a trusted captain in the Boston family until he got greedy and decided he wanted to be boss. He took out everyone in his way.”

“What are you talking about? He was in FBI custody when the family killed him for turning state’s evidence.”

All three guys laugh. “No, sweetheart. There was no FBI. Your dad was a ruthless son-of-a-bitch who only had one goal. To be boss.”

“No.” I shake my head. “You’re lying.”

“Why would I lie about that? It was ten years ago and in a different city. The lore of your father has been used to teach all of us to watch our backs, even with those who we think we can trust. Which is why I don’t trust you, sweetheart.”

This whole time I thought my dad was finally going to choose my brother and I. I thought he had enough good left in him to choose his real family. I thought he was trying to keep us together.

He lied to me.

Those weren’t FBI agents?

He just hired men in suits to trick me and Sean when they were probably just hired muscle to keep him safe from the rest of the family coming after him.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” I ask Sean, and he rubs the back of his neck. “How long have you known?”

“They told me after we met.”

“And you decided you would use that to try and get an in with us. Isn’t that right? As if we’d let the spawn of a man like your father back into the family. His blood runs through your veins.”

“Hey,” I bark. “Shut the fuck up.”

“Ah, she has claws.” He smiles. “I like my women with fight in them.”

My lip curls in disgust. “Never going to happen.”

“Really?” Liam pulls a gun from behind his back and aims it at Sean. “Don’t look down on me, sweetheart. Not when I hold the fate of your dear brother.”

I grind my teeth together to keep from saying what I really want to. “I’m not sleeping with you.”

“I never said anything about sleeping. And it wouldn’t be with just me.” He winks, and it takes everything in me to hold back from gagging and rolling my eyes.

“You’re not touching my sister, Liam,” Sean says fiercely. “I’ll fucking kill you.”

“Big threats from a guy who’s still recovering from his last beating.”

“Look, here’s $3,000 cash.” I take the envelope out of my purse and slap it down on the bar. “And if you give me your account information, I’ll transfer the other $85,000 that I have.”

“Now we’re talking. Be right back.” Liam disappears into the back of the bar and comes back with an older guy who’s wearing a tweed flat cap, a white button down with suspenders, and tan trousers. He reminds me of my grandfather who passed when I was young. He always wore that kind of hat and smoked cigars in his recliner.

“Use this account, little lady,” the older gentleman says to me, handing me a slip of paper and a laptop.

I sit at the bar and turn the laptop away from everyone so I can log into my bank account and initiate a transfer.

“There.” I log out and clear the browsing data. “You can check your account if you’d like.”

The older gentleman does just that and nods. “She’s good.”

He disappears back behind the bar and I step closer to Sean.

“Alright,” Liam says, “you’ve earned yourself another week to pay the remaining twenty grand.”

“Twenty? It’s twelve.”

He shrugs. “Interest.”

I grind my teeth together again to keep my string of curse words and rage from spilling out. “Let’s go, Sean.”

“Wait a second.”

“What?” I ask, annoyed. I just want to leave.

“Just so you remember what’s at stake,” he says, then waves his fingers forward. His henchmen step forward and grab Sean by his shirt, dragging him away from me.

“Wait! What are you doing?” I shout, and Liam grabs my shoulders to keep me from interfering.

“He’s going to stay with us until you bring me the money.”

“But–”

“The sooner the better,” he interrupts. “I don’t like unpaid debts, but I don’t like dealing with dead bodies more. Messy business.”

“If you kill him, you won’t see a dime, and I’ll make it my mission to see that you don’t live another day either.”

He grins like he likes the idea of me trying to hurt him. “That’s a pretty big threat.”

“It’s not a threat. It’s a promise.” One of the men punches Sean in the stomach and then face as he struggles to break free from their grip, and he instantly slumps in their arms. His ribs are still broken.

“Hey!” I yell, and Liam just laughs.

“He’ll be fine as long as you bring me my money.”

“Fine!” I shrug him off and push him away from me. “I’ll get you the money. Just don’t hurt him anymore.”

“I can’t make any promises. It all depends on how he behaves.”

I stare after where they dragged Sean off to, then turn on my heel and leave the bar as quickly as I can.

Once outside, I burn off my suppressed anger by walking for a few blocks.

What am I going to do?

How am I going to get twenty grand before they do something terrible to Sean?

I just…

I want to scream, cry, and throw up, but none of those things are going to help my situation. None of those things are going to get me twenty grand.

I’m alone in this, and it’s up to me to save the only family I left.

I’m so desperate, I might have had the courage to tell Nico everything so he could at least give me a hug, if nothing else. I can’t do that now, though. Not after what I did to him, and not after what he said to me.

I’m sure he doesn’t want anything to do with me now.

I was all in with him yesterday.

I had never felt happier than I did yesterday with him. I let my guard down so he could see I’m falling in love with him, but I fucked it up. In the moment, I thought it was more important to just keep my head down and continue to do what I was doing, not taking his feelings into consideration. At least, not seriously.

I knew he’d be pissed, and I still did it.

I don’t deserve him, and I don’t deserve his forgiveness. I just hope when this is all over, I’ll have the courage to ask for his forgiveness anyway.