Chapter 25
ASHA
Showered, changed, and in dire need of caffeine, I trudged out of Rook’s bedroom and found him in the kitchen, scrolling through his phone. He did a double take at my appearance.
I’d chosen my clothes with intent—fluffy socks, charcoal sweats, and an oversize tee with a cute cartoon kitty holding out a bubble tea, asking Does this taste like arsenic?
It wasn’t very Mob wife, so hopefully he’d hate it.
But as his gaze raked over me, an appreciative grin formed on his full lips.
Crap on a cracker. What was it going to take to convince this man not to look at me like I was a juicy steak?
I covered a yawn. “I just need a coffee, and I can get started.”
“Why don’t you rest first? You look wrecked altogether.”
“I thought this was urgent? If I close my eyes now, I won’t open them for two days.”
“Suit yourself.” Rook opened a cabinet and switched on the fancy coffee machine inside.
I sat at the breakfast bar, where someone had wiped away the sex smear marks since the last time I’d been here.
Propping both elbows on the stone counter, I watched as Rook made me a coffee exactly how I ordered one from a barista—a small oat milk latte with one raw sugar.
He set it before me with a knowing look.
My gaze volleyed between the coffee and the smug gangster on the opposite side of the counter. “I’d be impressed if I weren’t so deeply disturbed.”
“You’re welcome. Do you want me to run through the case before I leave for the day?”
I took a sip and moaned. Heavenly caffeinated perfection. “Not yet. I like to start with a clean slate so I don’t have any preconceived notions. There is one thing you can help with.”
“Shoot.” Rook went about making a coffee for himself.
“The records from your brother’s case will be classified. Since you’re so friendly with the PD, can you have them sent to me?”
He nodded. “There’s a hard drive in your desk drawer with all that and more. Anything else?”
“Maybe later. I’m sure I’ll have a bunch of questions for you once I’m up to speed.”
He took a sip from his mug, then set it on the counter. “In case I haven’t already made it clear, your discretion is paramount. No one can know you’re looking into Niall’s murder.”
“But I’ll need to talk to people and ask questions.”
“Not happening. Work smarter. Use your computer.”
My coffee sloshed when I put it down hard. “But that’s only half of what I do. How do you expect me to solve this case with one hand tied behind my back?”
“You’re a clever lass. You’ll figure it out. I’ll send you my hacker’s contact details. Use him. And if there’s anything else you need, you talk to me. Got it?”
I gave him a petulant look. “Yes, Boss.”
“Let me give you a rundown on the apartment’s security before I go. The elevator is private and only shared with the three penthouses above. Those belong to my cousins, Orla and Aidan, and someone I’m sure you’re familiar with. Torin Lynch.”
Good lord, if Daisy caught wind that the billionaire who’d twice been named among GQ’s Men of the Year was my new neighbor, she’d demand an introduction.
And if the unofficial boss of the Beasts of Belfast lived on the top floor, what did that make Rook?
“Where exactly do you sit in the Beasts’ food chain?”
“Torin oversees everything and controls the legitimate side of our business. Aidan and I run the rest. Below us, we have several crews, each responsible for various tasks.”
I snorted. “So you’re like…the vice president of a murdery Fortune 500.”
Rook’s mouth curved. “Aye. Something like that.”
Fantastic. Even my insults inflated his ego.
“The windows in the apartment are bulletproof. Finn will stay with you until I get home and is available to drive you anywhere you want. There are motion-activated cameras in all rooms except the bedrooms and bathrooms. They use facial-recognition software and are programmed to recognize approved visitors. You’ve recently been added.
Anyone else, masked or otherwise, sets off an alarm and triggers a rapid security response. ”
“Wait.” I sat up straighter, dread prickling my skin. “There’s a camera in here?” I tapped the counter, the one where Rook had spread me out, devoured me, then fucked me until I couldn’t remember my own name.
“Aye. You know there is. I already showed you the recording of our wedding.”
Why hadn’t I thought of this sooner?
Oh, right. Because I’d been in jail, plotting murder.
“Rook, we did stuff out here.” My eyes bugged out. “Multiple times.”
“Aye.”
“That means you filmed us.”
“Not intentionally.”
Intimate moments from our night together recorded in high definition? This was a problem.
“What did you do with the footage?”
He frowned like my question was strange. “I watched it, of course. A couple of times, if I’m being honest. I got bored while you were in jail. It’s fantastic viewing.”
“Oh my God.” I pinched the bridge of my nose. “That’s not okay.”
“Seemed a shame to waste it. Do you want to see?” He pulled his phone from his pocket.
“No!” I thrust my hands out. “Did you show anyone? Send it to your friends? If you did, I swear to God I’ll cut your—”
“No, Asha,” he said firmly. “I’m a bastard, but I’m not the kind who passes around a sex tape of his wife. All right?”
“Give me one reason why I should believe you?”
He braced his palms on the counter and stared me down. “Because I’d sooner saw off my hand and eat it raw than share you with anyone.”
There was a roughness to his voice I hadn’t heard before. It made me think he was telling the truth.
“You promise?” Not that I could trust him, but a reassurance might help relieve my anxiety.
“Aye. I promise. If it’ll make you feel better, I’ll ask Finn to give you access to the security console, and you can delete whatever you like.”
“Really?” I cocked my head. “You’d let me poke around your security system?”
He shrugged. “I’ve got nothing to hide from you.”
I doubted that but still appreciated the opportunity to wipe that footage from existence. “Thank you. And you’ll get rid of your copy, too.”
“Not a fucking chance.”
“Rook!” I growled.
The elevator doors opened, and a tall man with wide shoulders exited. Buzz cut, black suit, shiny shoes. His tanned skin made his pale-blue eyes pop.
Our visitor smiled brightly, and it was one of the kindest I’d seen from someone so intimidating. “What’s the craic, Boss?” he asked with a cheery Irish accent.
“Finn, come on over. I’d like you to meet my wife.”
Finn. Rook had said he’d be my bodyguard. He closed the distance between us with confident strides.
“Your wife?” Finn’s jaw just about hit the floor. “Shite. Where are my manners? I mean, congratulations to you both. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. O’Connell.”
It took me a second to realize the Mrs. O’Connell Finn referred to was me. Why the hell was Rook insisting on telling his gangster buddies that I was his wife?
Rook aimed an arched brow at me. Guessed he expected me to go along with the charade. Fun times.
I mustered up a fake grin. “Pleasure to meet you, too.”
Rook faced my new babysitter. “I need you to keep her secure when I’m not around. No visitors unless I approve them. Aidan, Torin, Orla, and Neve are the only exceptions.”
“Copy that.” Finn nodded.
“Who’s Neve?” I asked. It was the only name I’d not heard mentioned already.
“Aidan’s daughter,” Rook replied. “Which technically makes her my cousin, but I’m more like an uncle to her.”
Finn smiled. He seemed to do that a lot. “It all makes sense now. Aidan mentioned you’d been seeing someone. And now, here she is.”
Rook had a girlfriend?
Perfect. To top off this shit show, my husband was a lying, cheating son of a bitch. The night of our hookup, he’d told me he was single. Ugh. I didn’t know why I had any expectation that an Irish mobster who’d forced me to marry him and had me thrown in jail would have even one redeeming quality.
If I had to stay in this house and listen to Rook screw some skank all over his apartment the same way he’d done with me, I’d lose my shit. Seriously, fuck my life.
I aimed a scowl at Rook.
“Something the matter, Wife?”
“Just thinking about how sad I’ll be with you gone all day. All those hours without you.”
“I’m sure you’ll find an important task to keep you busy.” He gave me a pointed stare before glancing at Finn. “I’d better get out of here before the wife drags me back to bed. Can’t get enough of me, this one. Insatiable.”
Heat flared up my cheeks. God, could he be any smugger? I forced a laugh for Finn’s benefit, even as I imagined strangling my husband with his fancy designer necktie.
I wrapped both hands around my coffee and aimed a sweet smile at Finn. “What can I say? He has a talented mouth.” I redirected my grin toward Rook. “I just wish he’d shut it once in a while.”
If my comment pissed Rook off, he didn’t let it show. The small twitch of his lips reminded me that he liked our sparring. I really needed to stop reacting to him and feeding his appetite for friction.
“Ah, newlyweds.” Finn sighed. “So much fire and passion.” He clapped his hands. “Right. Don’t worry about me today, Mrs. O’Connell. You won’t even know I’m here.”
“Please, call me Asha.”
The men shared an uncomfortable look before Rook said, “Actually, we have protocol for this situation. Finn will call you by your proper name.”
“My proper name is the one I was born with, so I insist that Finn ignore your ridiculous protocol.”
“No.”
“Yes.”
“We’re not doing this right now.”
“Oh, I think we are.”
Finn cleared his throat. “Ma’am, if it’s all the same to you, I’d really like to keep my job.”
“Yes, Wife. Finn’s one of my best and in line for a promotion. Don’t screw it up for him.”
I glared at Rook in a way that hopefully conveyed how much I wanted to smother him with a pillow in his sleep. Or while he was awake. I really didn’t care at this point, and I probably wouldn’t be the first Mob wife to off her insufferable husband.
I dropped the death stare, then turned to Finn. “I’m really sorry your boss is being an unreasonable jerk. But don’t worry. You and I are going to get along just fine.” I reached across to give my bodyguard a friendly pat on the arm since he seemed kind of uptight about his new role.
Across the counter, Rook stared at my outstretched hand as if it’d somehow offended him. And Finn—eyes wide as tennis balls—went completely still. The poor guy looked like I’d clamped jumper cables to his balls and held the other end an inch from a car battery. His audible swallow sounded painful.
Rook held a palm up. “It’s okay, Finn. She doesn’t know.”
“She doesn’t know what?” I spat.
“How to behave around men who aren’t your husband.”
The nerve of this fucking guy.
My heart pounded. Heat radiated from my face. Each finger in my clenched fist itched to grab something and squeeze. Rook’s throat seemed like a worthy target.
He nodded toward Finn. “You have your orders.”
“Aye, Boss.”
“And give Mrs. O’Connell full access to the security console. She’d like to review some footage.”
“I’ll get right on it.” Finn headed for the hallway like the starting gun had just gone off for an Olympic event. Couldn’t imagine why he was in such a hurry to leave.
Once he was out of earshot, I folded my arms and confronted Rook. “What did you mean I don’t know how to behave around men who aren’t my husband? I barely patted Finn on the arm, and you both freaked out.”
“You’re the wife of a Beast, and no one touches what’s ours. To do so is a disrespect punishable by death.”
“But Finn didn’t touch me.”
“And he never would unless it were necessary to keep you safe, but you just put him in an awkward situation. You need to understand that if you’re forward with another man and he returns the gesture, I’ll kill him.”
I blinked fast as I digested his threat. “You can’t be serious.”
“Do I look like I’m joking?”
“You’d murder a man for flirting with me?”
“Aye, and if things go further than that, I’ll make his death last a month.”
“But I’m not even your real wife.”
His jaw clenched like my words had angered him. I wasn’t sure why. “Care to test me and find out?”
Holy shit. He was serious.
Fucking psycho.
“And what would you do to me? Would I get a bullet to the head, too?”
“For adultery?” His expression darkened. “No, love. I wouldn’t kill you. But from that day on, I’d ruin every man you looked at with even a spark of interest. I’d burn their lives to ash and leave you to live with the guilt, with knowing it was your mistake that destroyed them.”
My breath caught, but I refused to let it show.
“For flirting?” A wicked smile curved his mouth. “I’ll turn your pretty arse so red you won’t be able to sit for a week. How do you like that?”
“I think your rules are bullshit.”
He shrugged. “I don’t make them.”
“Yes, you do. You’re literally standing here telling me you’re a violent man with poor impulse control and I should adjust my behavior to protect your precious ego; otherwise, people will get murdered.”
“Hmm. I suppose I am. Well, I imagine it’ll take years of therapy to work through my issues. In the meantime, be a good wife.”
I seethed in silence, biting my tongue hard enough to bruise.
Play your part, find the Soul Collector, and get an annulment as fast as possible.
But every single rule Rook laid down made that harder to achieve.