Chapter 15
Chapter Fifteen
“ A urora, why does it feel like forever since I’ve seen you?” my grandfather asks, pulling me into his arms.
“It’s been a week, Nonno. I was here last Sunday and the Sunday before that.” I laugh. “And every Sunday of my life.”
“A week is too long. You should visit more often. I’m not getting any younger, you know. Soon I’ll be dead and you’ll wish you’d visited more,” he says, laying the Catholic guilt on thick.
Which then has me thinking about last weekend when I was at the church with Connor. Not something I need to be thinking about when talking to my grandfather.
“How are you feeling after the Idaho incident?” he asks.
“Fine,” I tell him. “Does this mean I can become a made woman?” I already know the answer.
Women in the family don’t get made. It doesn’t mean they can’t be useful or work for the family.
My Zia Izzy is probably more lethal than any of my uncles combined.
And she learned from her mother, my nonno’s sister, Angelica.
Nonno laughs. “If ever there was a woman who’d take over this family, I have no doubt it’d be you, sweetheart,” he says, kissing my forehead. “But as long as I’m alive, that is not happening. I want a better life for you.”
“Better? Or lamer? I don’t want to be kept,” I tell him. “I don’t want to just marry some guy and have him take care of me.”
“What female in this family gives you that impression?” He lifts a challenging brow.
“None,” I admit, because all the females in this family are strong-willed and don’t take kindly to being ordered around.
“Exactly. You can be whatever you want to be, Aurora. I just wish you’d choose a safer path. I’m too old to be worrying about my grandchildren.”
“You’re not that old, Nonno, and I’m not the one you need to worry about. I’m the good one.” I give my grandfather the most innocent smile I can muster.
“Yeah, and I’m the fucking Easter Bunny.” He laughs. “I got you something to celebrate. But if you tell your mother, I’ll deny it.”
“Celebrate what?” I ask, curious as to what he could have for me.
“Your first kill,” he says casually, then adds, “And hopefully last,” as he passes me a white box with a pink ribbon on top.
“You got me a gift? I should kill people more often.” I grin.
“I can take it back.” Nonno reaches out a hand to grab the box, and I pull it away.
“It was a joke. Jeez, you kill one guy and suddenly everyone thinks you’re unhinged,” I mutter.
“Yeah, that’s why people think that.” Nonno shakes his head.
I peel the ribbon off the box and lift the lid. “You got me a stun gun? I love it.” I smile up at my grandfather while swiping up the sparkly pink device.
“It won’t kill anyone, but it will give you time to get them down and walk away,” he says.
“Yeah. Okay, I’ll just walk away.” I smirk.
“Now, let’s go eat before your grandmother sends a search party in here,” Nonno says.
When we walk out to the dining room, everyone is already seated. I pull out the empty chair next to Mabilia and pick up the wine glass in front of me. “Hey, you’ve been oddly quiet this week.”
“Quiet? You’ve seen me every day at school? That’s when you’re not sneaking off to the library,” she whispers.
My cup pauses midair, and I turn to look at her. “I’m studying. A lot. You know, final year.”
“Is that what the kids are calling it these days? Studying?” She laughs. “Just so you know, I know . And I’m not telling you what to do, but be careful with that one.”
“I am,” I say. “I know what I’m doing.”
“No basket tonight, Nonno?” Enzo asks. My grandfather has made it a habit of having everyone empty their weapons into a basket before family meals. It’s not like we’re out to kill each other. Stab? Maybe, but definitely not kill.
“No,” Nonno replies while looking at me.
“Okay, tell me how school’s going?” my grandmother asks, changing the subject. “Dante?”
“It’s school. It’s almost done,” my cousin says. “But don’t worry, Nonna. I’ll be sure to graduate top of the class.”
“I don’t know. That new kid is pretty smart,” Josie tells him.
“What new kid?” Zio Romeo asks.
“Connor fucking O’Malley,” Dante groans. “He’s an ass, but what can you expect from those Irish fucks?”
“Language,” Zia Livvy scolds.
“O’Malley… Stay away from him.” This comes from Antonio, my cousin Tilly’s fiancé. He’s also the Don of one of the five families.
“I can tell my own damn family who they can and can’t mix with, Antonio,” Zio Theo says. “Dante, stay away from O’Malley. They’re up to something. And whatever it is, it isn’t good.”
“Well, really, are any of our families up to any good in this city?” I ask.
“Compared to them? Yes,” Zio Theo replies.
Right. I fight the urge to roll my eyes. I don’t know what Connor’s family has up their sleeves, but it can’t be that bad. And I’m certain they are no threat to us. I mean, they could try to be, but it won’t end well for them.
I asked Connor to meet me before school. I’ve been here for half an hour. Ever since dinner last night, I’ve been wondering what his family is doing in New York. And what impact whatever the hell they’re doing will have on mine…
I’m literally in bed with the enemy. Okay, it’s usually a desk, or a wall, or the floor. You get the point. But I’m not stupid. If Connor is hoping to get me to let my guard down, give him some deep-rooted family secrets… well, that’s not going to happen. Ever.
I’ve never been in the school library this early. The staff isn’t even here. It’s eerie. The whole place is quiet. Besides the footsteps coming from just outside the room.
The handle twists open and Connor saunters in with a smile on his face. I lift my arm and aim my gun center mass. “Close the door,” I tell him.
He tilts his head to the side, never dropping that stupid smile, the dimple in his cheek twitching. “Is this your new version of foreplay, mo mhuirnín ? I didn’t think you were bored yet,” he says, closing the door and securing the lock.
I don’t move, my hand steady. “Why are you here?”
“You called me, asked me to meet you here?” he says as he tosses his bag onto the ground.
“No, here in New York. Why did your family come here? What are they planning?”
Something flickers. His eyes darken and his face hardens. “What makes you ask that?”
“Call me curious.”
Connor steps towards me. And before I know it, he snaps the gun out of my hand and points it at my head. “Aurora, you really trying to kill me right now? Like I said, if this is just foreplay, I can be down for that.”
“I want to know why your family is here, Connor. What they are planning and how it’s going to impact mine. I should warn you, though: If your father is going up against the Italians, it’s a fight you don’t want to be involved in.”
“Why? What makes you think the Valentinos are all that, Aurora? You have no idea what the Irish are capable of,” he says. There’s a proudness in his tone I’ve never heard before. He’s barely spoken about his family and when he has, it’s never like this.
“You really think your family could take down mine?” My arms fold across my chest, and I sit my ass on the table. He can keep the gun. He’s not shooting me. “The Valentinos built this city before the O’Malleys even crawled out of whatever whiskey-soaked gutter they came from.”
Connor shakes his head. He narrows his eyes and his brows furrow. Guess he didn’t like the insult. Tough, because there are plenty more where that came from.
“You mean the Valentinos bribed, bled, and backstabbed their way through the cracks in someone else’s empire.
” He takes a step towards me, stopping when he’s pressed between my open legs.
“The O’Malleys? We earned our territory.
We held it. And we didn’t have to hide behind gold fences and Gucci suits to do it. ”
I laugh. It’s true. We are flashier. And it’s not because the Irish don’t have the means.
His cousin drives a Ferrari. They can be flashy.
Most of them choose not to be. Me? I’m not ashamed of liking the finer things in life.
“Please. Your grandfather ran protection rackets for the Russians back in Boston, Connor. My grandfather made senators kneel.”
“You think that makes you royalty?” The barrel of the gun presses into the side of my head. “It makes you a target. It always has and it always will.”
“Then pull the trigger already,” I dare him. And judging by the look on his face, he’s either going to kiss me or shoot me right now.
We stare into each other’s eyes, the decision weighing heavy on our shoulders. Then, his free hand wraps around the back of my neck, tangling in my hair and pulling my face upwards. His lips descend onto mine and his tongue pushes its way into my mouth.
Connor breaks the kiss, his eyes much softer now as he stares down at me. “We shouldn't be doing this,” he says. “It’s going to end in disaster.”
“Then stop,” I whisper, my fingers reaching into his belt and dragging his body closer to mine.
“I don’t think I can,” he admits.
“Then don’t.” I shrug. “Some disasters are beautiful.”
“Yeah, name one?”
“ Romeo and Juliet , greatest love story of all time.” I smile. “Bonnie and Clyde.”
“Joker and Harley would be more fitting,” Connor suggests.
“Doesn’t Harley dump the Joker? She goes on to live a full life of crime, while he falls apart without her?” I ask.
“Sounds about right then,” he says before slamming his lips back down onto mine. The gun lands on the table beside us. My arms wrap around his back, gripping his ass as I pull him even harder against me. I’m starting to think we are in serious trouble if we’re both this turned on after an argument.
He had a gun to my head and all I can think about is how quickly I can get his pants off, how fast I can get that cock of his inside me. I’m sure a shrink would have a field day with our relationship.
“Do you think we’re only doing this because we’re not supposed to?” I ask Connor.
“No, I’m doing this because you’re fucking smoking hot. And I happen to like your crazy ass. Even when you point a gun at me before breakfast.” He smirks. “I’m taking you to Boston by the way. My friend’s throwing a party this weekend.”
“You want me to come to a party with you? In Boston?”
“Mhmm.” Connor’s lips move along my collarbone.
“Okay,” I agree, while trying to silently figure out how I’m going to leave town for a whole weekend without anyone knowing.