Fearless Sinner (Empire of Sinners #3)

Chapter 4

Cillian

Chapter Four

“Please don’t tell me you saw the girl and got pussywhipped.” Jaxon frowns at me when we get into my Bugatti and pull out onto the road.

“She didn’t know anything.”

“She could have been lying.”

“She wasn’t lying.”

He glares at me and I know the reason he didn’t insist on staying at Chloe’s house is because of my rank in the Creed.

I hold the third seat, while he’s still an underboss. So when we’re on missions like this, my word overpowers his. This is just us talking as friends now.

“How do you know she wasn’t lying, Cillian?”

“I just do.” I saw it in her eyes, but I won’t tell him that. He’ll definitely think I was pussywhipped.

The thing is, he’s not entirely wrong. A man doesn’t go around a woman like that and not think of her pussy.

That said, despite the fact that I want to fuck her, we have serious matters to worry about. It’s past midday and we have nothing to show for our efforts.

“I’ll keep eyes on her at the house and put a man at the hospital. Something will turn up.” I blow out a frustrated breath. “It has to.”

“I fucking hope so.”

“Maybe when Harlan’s wife wakes up we’ll have more information. Although, something tells me he left her out of this. I don’t think she knew what her husband was up to.”

“I got that feeling from the reports.”

My additional searches uncovered that Harlan had been taking money from the restaurant for years to fund his gambling addiction. He borrowed to pay debts then balanced everything with the money he took from the restaurant's earnings.

When Harlan and his wife came to me for the loan, she looked excited to expand the business and like she wasn’t worried that they wouldn't be able to pay the monthly repayments. That was a month ago. Now they have nothing.

“That restaurant has been in his wife’s family for eighty years. There’s no way she would risk her business the way he has. It’s her sole source of income. And then her home on top of that.” I will own both come next week if I don’t get my money back. The house by itself is worth two million, so I’d be compensated. But I stand to lose more from everything else Harlan has done.

“If he’s screwed her over, too, there’s no way he’s going to show his face at the house. He’ll know we’re watching the place.”

“Of course he will, but I’m hoping he’ll go back there at some point. It’s something out of the nothing we have. More importantly, Harlan knows what Lance Polinsky looks like.”

Jaxon stares at me, realizing the gravity of that one key fact. That one little fact is worth holding on to. Right now Harlan is my only link to Lance.

“Then we just have to keep looking and keep our eyes open.”

“Yes.” I hate to say it but continuing what we’re doing is all we can do.

I speed down the road and my mind drifts to the beauty I left behind.

That picture of Chloe Ricci did not do her justice. She was more beautiful in real life even though I could see she’d been through something.

She possessed the type of striking beauty that would make a man bend his rules to claim her.And she poured out her heart to me, telling me things she probably would never tell a stranger.

She told me to look up the Nathan Ferrera case. I will.

She got me curious.

Women are women to me these days, pretty faces and bodies to indulge in, but that one got me curious.

It doesn’t matter. She doesn’t have the kind of money her mom owes to pay me back. So if I take everything her mother owns, she’ll still think of me as a monster.

That won’t change and I don’t want it to. Then we’ll know where we stand.

I gaze ahead at the open road and try to figure out my next step.

I make my way up the garden path of Virgo’s home.

Night has fallen again, ending one of the most horrendous days I’ve had in a long time.

My leads led me nowhere. All l got from my efforts was blood on my hands from the motherfuckers I had to kill when they tried to slice me up.

I also looked up the Nathan Ferrera case and, of course, I looked Chloe up as well. It wouldn’t be like me not to do that.

I found out she’s a ballet dancer. One who never seemed to fully take off.

That, too, was linked to the Nathan Ferrera case. The moment I looked it up, I saw exactly why she told me to find it.

Nathan is her ex. Now he sits in California State Prison for murder. He’ll be there for the rest of his life without the possibility of parole because of the way he killed.

Nathan was one messed-up motherfucker, but I got the impression that Chloe told me to look up the case for more than just information on where she’s been.

It was about her. She testified against him and sent him away. In the process of doing so, it came to light that he nearly killed her, too. One of his charges was for grievous bodily harm. On her. She spent weeks in the hospital with broken bones. He also literally held her captive. That explained why she didn’t know about her mother and Harlan.

What I didn’t get was her mom. Why didn’t she check on her? Their bust-up must have been huge for that to happen because I’ve met her mother. She didn’t seem like the kind of woman to disown her daughter. But you can’t tell what a person is like just from looking at them.

I tried to do that with Chloe when I met her earlier, and I think I failed.

She doesn’t look like the kind of girl who would be with someone like Nathan Ferrera. I guess perhaps I’m seeing a version of her who’s learned a hard life lesson.

Today was just too much hell to digest. I’m only at Virgo and my sister’s home now because I promised them I’d join them for dinner.

I open the door and walk inside the house.

The moment I turn down the hallway, I hear talking and laughter in the living room. Everyone is here. The loudest voice I pick out belongs to my sister, Olivia. Then I hear Virgo and my uncle Seamus.

They sound so much like a normal family. No matter what is going on, I know Virgo and Seamus will hold on to that semblance of normalcy for Olivia. And I will do it, too.

Olivia has only been back in my life for less than a year. Before that, she was missing for over two years. She was presumed dead like our parents.

The case was one that mystified everyone because no one knew what happened to them. Virgo never stopped looking for her until he found her. She’d lost all her memories, so she didn’t know any of us.

After some time in therapy and various other things, she remembered who she was and who we were. But she also remembered what happened to her.

And that our parents were killed.

She identified the people behind the plot to kill them and led me to Lance Polinsky.

He wanted my father dead because my father wanted to ruin him after a business deal fell through.

My father took information from Lance. The kind that puts a target on you and your family.

I’m the head of the family now, and the clan here in the States and in Ireland. To me that means I can’t rest until that asshole is buried deep in the ground, where the light of day will never touch him again.

I walk into the living room and leave the day I had behind me. I even make myself forget the beautiful Chloe, who’s been lurking in the corners of my mind.

Olivia smiles when she sees me. She’s standing in the center of the room while Virgo and Seamus are sitting on the sofa.

I focus on Olivia. The only thing similar about us is our eye color. She has Mam’s white-blonde hair, her petite figure, and her face. I look like our athair— father in Irish.

“Cillian. I’m so glad you’re here.” Olivia flies across the room to hug me.

I hug her back, feeling grateful again to have her home.

She’s been back in our lives long enough for me to have gotten past that feeling of relief, but I still feel it every time I see her. My baby sister is the only person in this world who can instill such emotions in me.

“Come sit. I’ve been dying for you to get here. I have news.” She takes my hand like when we were kids and leads me over to sit with Virgo and Seamus, who also looks pleased to see me. That will be for reasons to do with the company and my recent leadership, which I know he’ll try to discuss with me later.

“Everything okay?” Virgo asks and Seamus looks at me waiting for an answer.

The question may seem rhetorical because they both know I’m far from okay and they’ve been updated with the new shitty developments regarding Harlan.

“It’s all good.” Translation: I’m alive. Seamus dips his bald head, but his pale eyes display his worry. I ignore it. “So, what’s this news?”

“I’ll confess now that I guessed what it was,” Seamus says in his hearty Irish accent.

Olivia laughs, glances at Virgo with love in her eyes, then back at me. “I’m pregnant.”

I didn’t know anything could make me smile right now and truly be happy, but this news has proven me wrong.

“Oh my God. This is the best news.” I get up and rush toward her, picking her up and spinning her around.

“I’m so glad you're happy.”

“Of course.” I set her down and look her over. She’s so thin it’s hard to believe she has a baby inside her little stomach. The child that will come to be seen as the union between the Antonovs and the O’Ridians. The Bratva and the Irish mafia. “Congratulations.”

“Thank you so much.”

I look at Virgo. He’s smiling at me like a proud father.

There was a time when I was completely against my best friend having any relations with my little sister, but I grew to realize that she couldn’t be with anybody better than him.

I walk toward him to shake his hand. “Congratulations, laddie.” That’s what my father used to call him.

Virgo stands and takes my hand. “Thanks, man. I’m gonna be a father. It feels good.”

“It suits you already, old friend.” I’ll have to talk to him about this news. I don’t want him putting himself or Olivia in danger by helping me.

“We’re due in December,” Olivia chimes in, leaning into Virgo. He slips his arm around her and pulls her closer.

“Well, I can’t wait to be an uncle.”

“And this is an even better reason to have you here with us.”

She’s saying that because I never planned to return to live in the States. I was raised here for the majority of my life, but my heart was always in Ireland. It’s a different sort of life there.

I know I can always travel there whenever I want, but it’s different when you live there.

“I’m happy to be with my family.”

Seamus likes that answer.

“Let’s go eat. Eden prepared a wonderful feast for us to celebrate.”

I don’t bother to point out that Eden makes celebratory feasts nearly every day. She’s the head maid here, Virgo’s assistant, and she absolutely adores Olivia. I’m sure she’ll be ecstatic with this baby news.

We head to the dining room where the feast awaits. I’m glad that Eden joins us.

The evening wears on and when Eden takes Olivia off to the kitchen, Seamus, Virgo and I head out onto the terrace to talk.

“I need you to stand down,” I say to Virgo the moment we sit. “You can’t help me anymore with Lance.”

“Like fuck. You need my help.” Virgo glares at me as if he’s about to fight me.

“We’re dealing with a volatile madman who’s managed to stump me with one of my own workers.”

“That’s even more reason to get my help.”

“He’s right, ceann roghnaithe,” Seamus agrees, calling me chosen one in Irish. My father used to call me that because I’m his only son and I was destined to take over everything after him. It was a great honor to me. Seamus uses the title during moments like these when he wants to reach me.

“Seamus. I will not leave Olivia without a husband. This fucker we’re dealing with is something else.”

“Which is why you need all the help you can get.”

“Cillian.” Virgo draws my attention back to him. “I’m the fucking Pakhan of the Kuznetsov Bratva and hold the second seat on the Creed. I will help you whether you like it or not.”

I raise my hands in resignation. “Fine.”

“What else happened today with you and Jaxon?”

I quickly fill them in on the additional events. “My problem is I have a whole load of nothing, just pieces of shit in the air.”

“Maybe the girl, Chloe, will call you about Harlan,” Seamus says. “She doesn’t sound like she has any allegiance to him, whether he’s married to her mother or not.”

“I hope so. As it stands, she’s my only connection to him while his wife is in a coma. I’ll be keeping my eye on her.” I wish those last words didn’t have hidden intentions behind them. After the day I’ve had I’m actually looking forward to the distraction of a beautiful woman. I’ll see her at some point. Whether I find her or she finds me.

“I might be able to track the weapons shipment.” Virgo speaks up.

“If you could do that I would give you a million dollars just to find it. I feel like shit that it got taken. I’ve just developed this business relationship with Jaxon’s family and I don’t want to taint it.”

“Leave it with me. Every weapon is made with a unique serial number. Because of the type of technology used to create the weapons, I might be able to figure out where they are. It might take a while, though.”

“Whatever you do in that respect will be better than what I can do.” I release a labored breath. “Jaxon will still help me track Harlan. He won’t stop until Harlan’s head is on a spike for stealing from him.”

“I would do the same.”

“As for Lance, I have to rethink what to do. Maybe go over a few things.”

“I’ll do the same.”

“That sounds like some sort of plan,” Seamus cuts in. “Sorry to add to the load, but we need to talk about your succession.”

“Then I’ll take my leave.” Virgo nods. He never feels comfortable sitting around while we talk about Irish mafia business. I guess I would feel the same if he was talking Bratva business. “I’m sure that wife of mine needs me.”

“Talk later.” Virgo leaves us and I straighten to hear why Seamus feels he needs to add to my load. “Why, Uncle?”

“Because you need to find a wife in six weeks.”

God in heaven, I don’t know how many more shocks I can take in one day. “What the hell are you saying to me?”

“I told you about this several months ago. You automatically became the leader of the clan after your father died but you won’t receive everything until you get married.”

“I know. But six weeks?”

“Yes, six weeks. The full legal transfer of your position in the clan and your father’s final assets demand that you find a wife in six weeks.”

I bite down hard on my back teeth. “This is not the time to find a fucking wife. I’m trying to find the psycho who murdered my family. The man is trying to ruin me, Uncle.”

“I know, but it is what it is. You know how the Gallaghers would love to take your position.”

Those motherfuckers are our biggest investors at the bank, but if given the chance they would kick me into an open grave and cover me with acid.

They’ve been after the leadership position for years. They’re second in power to our family so if anything were to happen to me or I couldn’t fulfil my duties for some reason they’d take over.

“The Gallaghers can keep dreaming.”

“With that said, I think you should meet with Jessica Riley. I have spoken to her and her father.”

I try to stifle a groan but fail. For a moment all I can do is stare at Seamus. I love my uncle to death. Family means everything to me but, fuck, he didn’t need to meddle like that.

The subject of marriage is a difficult one for me anyway because I’ve only ever known one girl I would have considered marrying. One of the reasons I believe she killed herself was because she thought I cheated on her with Jessica Riley. Her twin sister. Jessica set me up.

“I hate that woman.” The venom in my tone is as unmistakable as the moon in the fucking sky.

“Cillian. It’s time to put the past behind you. That was ten years ago, and Erika was sick.”

Just the mention of Erika’s name fills me with guilt and despair. Yes, she was sick. She had an inoperable brain tumor that became unresponsive to treatment and the doctors gave her a year to live, but that didn’t excuse Jessica’s evil actions.

Her goal was to break up my relationship with her sister. She always had her eye on me, but she wanted to be the wife of the new leader. AKA me.

“Not her.” I won’t give her what she's always wanted. She made sure her sister was out of the way, but she never got me. She won’t get me this way.

“Cillian. The two of you make sense. Her family is part of the clan. They also have their hedge fund company. You own the bank. That’s a match made in heaven. Sometimes you just have to do things for business.”

“I understand that.”

“Then listen to me and consider her as an option. Just an option. Meaning that if you find a suitable choice in the timeframe, then go with your choice. Also bear in mind that you only need to be married for six months. You can consider that in whatever way you want.” He sits forward to rest his elbows on his knees. “I think that given the circumstances with this Lance Polinsky, you should do whatever you can to make things easier for these sorts of matters.”

“Just let me live through this week, please.”

“Alright. It’s my job to advise you in the best way I can. I don’t want to see you lose your position.”

“That’s not going to happen.”

“Good, because your father would never forgive me if I allowed such a thing to happen for something so small. The O’Ridians have been in charge of the clan for over a hundred years.”

“And they won’t stop now.”

I stare out to the moon and promise myself that I’ll figure everything out. Once I do, I’ll focus on being the leader I was born to be.