Chapter 12 #2
I have a penthouse apartment in Hamilton Heights, which would have been much closer, but since marrying, I’ve preferred to keep my family out of the thick of it.
Much like Dominic and Roisin have done. Straddling the line between the Irish mob and the Italian Cosa Nostra since their marriage has brought the families closer together - whether they like it or not, and the jury is still out on that one - the couple have relocated to the West Village, a neutral territory in between both enclaves.
As we pull up at their traditional townhouse, I tell my driver to circle until I call him to pick me up.
Things don’t get any better. My initial relief to find both Roisin and Dominic at home, quickly wanes as Roisin stares at me and screeches. “What do you mean, she’s missing? What the hell did you do now, asshole!?”
I growl deep in my throat and narrow my eyes at her. Nobody speaks to me like that.
Unfortunately, Dominic is equally protective of his wife, much more so than I am of Emylyah, in fact, since theirs is a love match. He glares and steps between us, his eyes never leaving my face.
"Easy, Niko,” he says with deceptive calm before turning to Roisin.
I force myself to take a deep breath, reining in my temper. He's right, of course. Lashing out at Roisin won't help matters.
“Let’s keep things civil, shall we, Tesoro ?" he tells her, his voice holding only the mildest rebuke, but his features stern.
Surprisingly, the redheaded spitfire listens, and I have to wonder what kind of magic he wields over Emylyah’s outspoken friend. But the way she surreptitiously rubs her butt gives me a clue and for the first time in the last forty-eight hours, I suppress a smile.
"Have you heard from her?" I ask, cutting to the chase. "Has she contacted you at all?"
Roisin's fiery expression softens slightly, worry creeping in. "No, I haven't. Not since... when did this happen exactly?"
I clench my jaw, hating to admit my failure. "Two nights ago. We had an argument and I... I told her to get out. I didn't mean it literally, but she left in the middle of the night."
Dominic's eyebrows shoot up. "And you're just now looking for her?"
The accusation in his tone makes my hackles rise, but I force myself to remain calm. "I was... indisposed. When I came to my senses, she was already gone."
Roisin scoffs. "Indisposed. Right. She told me you didn’t want the baby, but I thought you’d changed your mind. I guess you changed it back again and were too busy wallowing in your own indignation to notice your pregnant wife had vanished?"
I bite back a harsh retort, knowing she's right. My silence is admission enough.
"Christ, Niko," Dominic mutters, shaking his head. "What the hell happened between you two?"
I hesitate, not wanting to air our dirty laundry, but aware Roisin might know something since they’ve been friends forever.
"She lied to me," I finally admit, the harsh words tasting bitter on my tongue. "About everything. Her past, her age…"
Roisin's eyes widen in surprise, but there's something else there too. A dawning suspicion that tells me she knows something.
"What do you know?" I demand, taking a step towards her.
She shakes her head. “I’m not sure it’s anything,” she says, furrowing her brow and biting her bottom lip looking away as if remembering something.
“Tell me!” I demand, reaching out towards her.
Dominic tenses, ready to intervene, but Roisin holds up a hand.
"Her mother - Lenka - was batshit crazy. She always seemed to be running from something, but I don't know what, and I don’t think Lyah did, either. She never told me anything past being thankful to be in school, so they weren’t constantly moving around and changing names. "
I run a hand through my hair, frustration mounting. "Did she ever mention anything about a forced marriage? Or an organization called Red Scorpion?"
Roisin shakes her head, confusion clear on her face, but Dominic’s fists curl at my mention of the name, and I know he’ll demand an explanation.
"No, nothing like that. What's going on, Niko?"
I pace the room, debating how much to reveal.
These are allies, but allies only remain so for as long as it suits them, although Roisin and Emylyah’s friendship always served to keep things stable with the Irish…
Dominic is Cosa Nostra, though. A new player and so far, a relatively unknown entity, despite proving he’d do anything for his wife. Even sacrifice his life.
"Our marriage is invalid. It seems Emylyah is legally married to someone else." I say finally, exerting every bit of control I have to keep my voice even. I can’t afford to alienate Roisin or let her think I might be a danger to Emylyah.
Roisin gasps, her hand flying to her mouth.
“What!?” she exclaims, her shock convincing me she didn’t know.
“Lyah is no bigamist!” This she says with righteous indignation, her Irish accent becoming broader with her incredulity.
“And I would know! We’ve spent all our time together since she was ten years old.
There’s no way this happened without me knowing. ”
“Well, something you didn’t know is that your dear friend is actually two years older than she says she is.
” The cynicism is creeping into my voice again, and Roisin’s eyes narrow to slits as she glares at me.
“And she was married when she was twelve years old. Likely before you started school together.”
Roisin cocks her hip and folds her arms over her chest belligerently. “She still would have told me something that massive,” she replies, mutinously. “And what the hell do you mean… she was twelve years old? That’s…’
“All true,” I finish when she pauses, apparently lost for words for once in her life. “I have the marriage certificate to prove it, and yes, I’ve checked it’s genuine,” I tell her when she opens her mouth to argue some more.
Apparently being lost for words doesn’t last long for Roisin.
Her face pales as the implications sink in. "Oh my god," she whispers. "Is this something to do with why they were always running?"
I nod grimly. "It seems likely, but I need to know more. Anything you can remember about Emylyah's past will help, Roisin. I need to find her. She’s out there all alone without protection."
Being born into a crime family, she knows exactly what that means and her lips quiver as tears well in her eyes. Dominic moves to her side and slides his arm around her shoulders, pulling her close, and for a moment she buries her face in his chest before taking a breath and looking back at me.
“The one thing that stood out above all the other stuff she told me was about an incident that took place shortly before she started school.”
Disentangling herself from Dominic, Roisin crosses the room to sit on the couch and he and I follow suit.
When she’s wrapped up in his arms again, Roisin continues. “She was still freaked out about it, and although we didn’t know each other well at that point, I think she needed to talk to someone… it’s what cemented our friendship, in fact.”
She pauses, like she’s thinking back on it, then tells me the story.
“She was involved in some kind of shooting. Lenka had taken her to a courthouse, but Lyah didn’t know why.
She said there were several adults and a boy there.
He was sitting on the other side of the room, while the adults talked but no one introduced her to anyone, so she didn’t know who they were, except she knew one was a judge, because he wore robes. ”
She stops to take a breath, but I’m impatient. “And?”
Roisin shakes her head. “She told me all hell let loose. Gunmen rushed the chambers, shooting anything and everything. Her mother grabbed her and pulled her out of there, and they ran. There was no explanation, and Lyah was too shaken to ask questions. It was the first time she really felt like there was any real danger, but Lenka enrolled her into my school soon after, and from there, everything settled down. She told me she wasn’t sure it even had anything to do with them, but was just some random altercation they accidentally got caught up in. ”
The dots connect, and I realize this is the incident Emylyah mentioned the night I accused her. She told me…
“That happened on the same date that’s on her marriage certificate, which is signed by a judge because of her age. I think that’s why she was there,” I say, almost to myself.
“If nobody knew, how did you get this information?” Dominic asks curiously.
I’m still lost in thought, trying to piece things together, so I answer him absently. “The guy she’s married to managed to contact her sister, Gabriella Mountbatten. At first, I thought…”
Dominic’s harsh exclamation pulls my attention back to him. “Shit!" he exclaims. “I think I might know something about this.”
Roisin and I both turn to face him in surprise. I didn’t come here for him, so he’s the last person I expected to help. Not that I’ll turn down free information, even though it means I’ll owe him. There are worse things.
Gotta say, though, I didn’t see this coming.