Chapter 3
I heard what my green-eyed beauty said. I don’t know who she knows, but she sounded pretty damn convinced she could make the arsehole disappear. I watched her as I named the other three families. There wasn’t a spark of recognition. There wasn’t any when I said the leaders’ names or when she heard their voices. She’s not affiliated with the Cartel, the bratva, or the Cosa Nostra. But she is affiliated with something. If she’s a doctor or a nurse and promised to do no harm, I’m guessing she’ll do no harm. Doesn’t mean someone else won’t on her behalf.
She doesn’t watch her ex-boyfriend as my brother tosses him out. Shane gives him a strong shove, and he stumbles, then falls. He lands hard. His knees are the least of the pain he’ll wake to. The bruises we gave him won’t show because we hit him where his clothes will hide them. We also made sure we nailed him in places that didn’t hurt as badly as they will tomorrow. No one needs proof we roughed him up. Though, I bet half the people here assumed we would.
“Are you okay?” I almost put my hand on my mystery woman’s lower back. Yes, my.
“I am. I didn’t thank you last time for defending me. Now I owe you double. Thank you.”
“I can tolerate a lot, but not shite like that. I won’t have a racist thinking he’s cool to drink here, and I won’t serve someone who speaks about women like that and thinks they’d still be welcome here.”
“I—” She looks like she doesn’t know what to say next. I get the sense she feels foolish standing with me. She should have broken up with Tony after the fucker’s last confrontation with me. I told her it was bad enough I wouldn’t repeat it. After hearing what she did, I think she gets why.
“Would you like a drink?”
“A gin and ginger, please.”
I look at her for a moment, my head slightly tilted before walking behind the bar. She looks shy now.
“I know it’s not everyone’s idea of a good combo, but I like it.”
“That’s not what I was thinking. That’s my go-to. I don’t know anyone else who drinks it.”
She slides onto a stool as she watches me mix the drink. I don’t put in as much gin as I could. What I say surprises her.
“You look exhausted. You did when you came in. I’m guessing anything stronger than this will put you to sleep. I’m Finn, by the way. I didn’t hear anyone say your name.”
“I’m Althea.”
I reach across the bar. She accepts my hand. Mine is warm and calloused, while hers is smooth and cool. Mine dwarfs hers, so I’m gentle. It’s a firm handshake, but only because I can wrap my hand all the way around hers. I could crush hers. I hope it’s obvious I’m being careful not to. I don’t want to let go, and neither does she. I have to release hers first, otherwise, she’ll have to pull it free. I don’t want to, but I let go.
“Are you hungry? The kitchen’s open. You didn’t get to eat here last time. The food’s delicious. All my nana’s recipes.”
That makes her smile. “What do you recommend?”
“How hungry are you?”
“Actually, pretty hungry. I can’t remember back to lunch.”
“Have you ever had steak and kidney pie? It’s better than it sounds. I promise.” Another one of those stick to your ribs meals as my nana called them.
“I’ll trust you.”
Of all the people she knows, I’m probably the last person she should trust. But I want her to. And that means more to me than I can explain.
“Kate, can you put in an order for steak pie, please?”
My phone vibrates in my pocket, so I ease it out far enough to see it’s a text. Shite.
“Sorry. I have to answer this.”
“Don’t worry. You don’t have to babysit me. I’ll just sip my drink until my food comes.”
Our gazes lock before I lean over the bar. “Nothing about you makes me think you’re a child. Just the opposite.”
Her cheeks darken, and I want to see what other reactions I can get out of her. But first, this text.
Heidi
What’s the deal? Are you coming?
I’ve known Heidi since we were kids. We’ve been fuck buddies for years. She’s in an open throuple, so when we want to hook up we do. The woman she’s with joins us sometimes, and we were all supposed to get together tonight. I don’t have to look at Thea to know that’s the last thing I want right now.
Me
Sorry something happened at the bar that I had to deal with. I’m not going to make it.
Heidi
Tomorrow?
I look at that text, and I realize something that practically knocks me over.
Me
No. You and Louisa shouldn’t count on me anymore.
Heidi
What? You’ve never said that. Not even the few times you’ve gone out with someone. You always knew it would end. You always come back.
Me
I’m not trying to hurt your feelings.
Heidi
You didn’t. I’m just shocked. It’s cool, Finn. Really.
I believe her. She loves her partners, and I know she doesn’t love me. We’ve just always been sexually compatible. It’s never been romantic.
Me
Thanks nite
Heidi
Nite
I slip my phone back into my pocket as Katie comes out with Thea’s food.
Thea. Where did that come from? I heard her friend call her Ally. That’s way too generic for a woman like the one sitting across the bar from me. She’s just as stunning now as she was the first time I saw her. Her hair’s in braids, pulled back in a thick ponytail. Her eyes are translucent, even lighter than before. It makes me wonder if it’s because she’s tired. Or could it maybe, possibly, just a tiny bit be because she’s aroused? I sure as fuck am more than a bit. It’s a good thing the bar is hiding my hard on.
“Can I ask you something?”
She hesitates before she nods.
“How long were you with him?”
“Two months.”
That’s not very long. Maybe that’s why she didn’t know he was a douche. Or is that her type?
“I never would have gone out with him once, let alone dated him if I knew that’s what he was thinking. He and I have been friends for nearly a decade. I didn’t want to believe someone I’ve known that long would say something so hideous about me. I brushed it off last time as you being overly sensitive or blowing whatever he said out of proportion. Now I realize you restrained yourself to only toss him out.”
I didn’t restrain myself this time. I keep a dozen socks with bars of soap in them for a reason.
“Do you work directly with him? Will it be awkward?”
“No. He’s a nurse anesthetist, working primarily in oncology. I’m a neonatologist.”
“You save babies’ lives?”
“I try to.”
I rest my forearms on the bar as I lean forward. “Today wasn’t a good day even before you got here.”
She stares at me for a moment then nods. “How’d you know?”
“You tried to sound optimistic. But you glanced down for a moment. It’s a tell.”
“It was a twenty-four-hour day, and I had to break some horrible news to a couple. It was the hardest day I’ve had in a long time. Probably since residency. Since the first time I had to tell parents whatever birth defect their child had was inoperable and terminal.”
I’ve had to tell plenty of parents that their son isn’t coming home. It’s horrible being the bearer of that bad news. But it’s always news about an adult. I can’t imagine what it must be like for Thea or for those parents when it’s a baby. I don’t catch myself before my hand covers hers on the bar. My thumb slips between her thumb and forefinger. She turns hers over beneath mine. I give it a soft squeeze. Just like last time, she doesn’t pull away. We’re trying to figure each other out. Our gazes remain locked as she takes a bite of her food. She takes four more, and neither of us has moved our hand.
I have the strongest urge to ask her out. But a) I don’t date. Ever. It’s way too fucking complicated, and b) she just broke up with a guy thirty minutes ago. I’m not looking to be her rebound, and I sure as fuck don’t want to come across as a creeper. But, God, it’s tempting. It’s only when Katie looks in our direction that we both seem to come back to Earth. We don’t snatch our hands away like guilty teenagers, but we’re close to it. Katie’s been trying to catch my eye since she started working here a year ago. I’ve never considered her. She’s pretty, and smart, and funny, and nice. But she does nothing for me.
Thea, on the other hand, does all the things. Like make my dick ache right now. I’ll be jerking off to the thought of her again. Yeah. I’ve already done that twice. I’ll be doing it a lot more now that I’ve touched her, even if it was only her hand.
“Finn?”
I turn toward the kitchen and watch Mair step out. She must have come in through the back. I won’t say anything to Dillan, but I am going to say something to her. I smile at Thea before excusing myself to speak to Mair. We hug and exchange a kiss on the cheek.
“Did you drive, or did Joey drop you off?”
“I drove.”
I just look at her. She huffs and rolls her eyes.
“Your brother was coming in at the same time. You can check in the kitchen. Shane’s eating you out of house and home. Rather here than my place.”
I thought the guys left after they escorted arselick out. I should have known Shane would come back since there’s fresh bread and butter in there. We get the butter from a dairy in Jersey. The soda bread is the same recipe my dad’s family has used for like ten generations. However many back to the potato famine. My dad taught us, and I taught our cook who’s my cousin Angie from my mom’s side. It didn’t thrill Da to know I’d let the secret out, but she’s family.
“What’re you doing here?”
“Sean called and said you sacked a waitress today. Something to do with the guy you banned the other day. I offered to come in. You know I’m capable.”
She’s definitely capable. She went undercover as a waitress at one of our strip clubs to write an exposé. That’s how she and Dillan met. Needless to say, there were some tense moments when we realized she’d set out to ensure we lost money. But her family history is nearly as complicated as ours, and they intersect. Once we understood her rationale, we actually came to admire her even more.
“The aprons are in the back. All the tips are yours.” I wink as I turn away.
It’s at that moment I realize Thea’s been watching us the entire time. Feck me. She has no way of knowing Mair is my cousin’s wife. I hugged and kissed her right after holding another woman’s hand.
“Finn?”
I turn toward Shane, who’s walking toward me with basically a loaf of bread. There have to be only crumbs left in the kitchen. And that has to be half a stick of butter slathered on it. How he doesn’t have high cholesterol and high blood pressure is beyond me. How none of us have high blood pressure is inexplicable considering we live under constant stress.
“What?” From his expression, I’m certain I won’t like what I hear.
“The douche called the cops. We slipped them some cash, but that was out of my pocket. I need to pay my gardener today.”
We’re all the picture of domestic tranquility when we aren’t engaged in our illegal business ventures. I’m the only one who lives in Manhattan, and my place is a converted warehouse made into luxury condos. It has exposed walls and overhead piping. It’s my reprieve from real life and my favorite place. But it definitely isn’t everyone’s taste. I have overstuffed furniture and a library of books to rival most small-towns’, but the walls and ceiling are rough. I like the contrast. The rest of the guys are spread out among Brooklyn, Queens, and Harlem. No one wants to live in the Bronx or Staten Island. Can you blame us?
“Come back to the office. I’ll get some cash from the safe. How much?”
“A grand each.”
“So, two?”
“Yeah.”
“You’re lucky I haven’t hit the bank yet. I wouldn’t have the cash if I hadn’t gotten delayed with fuck nuts.”
“And the beauty with the eyes.”
Shane pretends to peek around me. My left eye narrows. It’s my sign I don’t find my brother’s joke funny. It only makes him laugh harder.
“Leave off, Shane.”
“There goes another one.”
“The feck does that mean?”
“You know damn well what I mean. When are you asking her out?”
“I’m not. I don’t date. I fuck. Rough. She just broke up with her boyfriend thirty minutes ago. And if that guy is any sign of what she values, we aren’t compatible.”
“Bullshit. Look. She’s talking to Mair, and they’re both looking over here.”
Do I dare turn around?
“You know the code. Get what you need.” I jerk my chin toward the hallway leading to my office.
“Why can’t you do it all of a sudden?”
“Because I have other shite to deal with.”
“What’s her name, anyway?”
“Althea.” Thea. It comes to mind every time I think of her.
“Kinda old fashioned.”
“You’re one to talk. All our names are old-fashioned, even if they’ve only become popular again in America in the last thirty years.”
“Sure. But my name doesn’t make someone assume I’m eighty.”
“No. But your name is the equivalent of an Irish Chad.”
“If I’m a fecking Chad, then you’re a damn Irish Brad.”
We look at each other. We are hardly either of those. We might be white and started out middle class, but that’s about as far as we resemble mediocre frat boys still trying to live out college glory days from a decade ago. No dad bods among us. No dads among us. Though, with the way Dillan and Mair are, it wouldn’t surprise me if we aren’t throwing a baby shower in a few months. It’s a good thing she’s Protestant, and we’re loose Catholics. Birth control is a must.
“Hello?” Shane snaps his fingers at me.
“I have more important things to think about than your gossiping. I need to sort out how much to pay our agents to make a move on Marco sooner. I want this done within the month.”
“It will be. Chill.”
“Get your money, little brother.”
“Sure, capitaine.”
The mob doesn’t have the same structure as the other syndicates. At some point way back when, someone thought nautical terms would be a good way to distinguish rank. Dillan fucking loathes being called Skipper. He says it reminds him of Gilligan’s Island.
I look over at Thea. If we’re on Gilligan’s Island, then she’s definitely Ginger. I watch her talking to Mair, and I remember Dillan saying his wife reminds him of Mary Ann. I try to appear casual, like I have a reason to be behind the bar again. I pull some bottles out and get the Sharpie from the till. We have the modern touchless payment processors, but the cash register is a holdover from Nana’s days. It’s more memorabilia than functional.
I stand a few feet from where the women are chatting, and I busy myself marking the liquid lines on the bottles. I like to see just how much liquor goes every night. Shannon should be doing this. It was these markers that told me the liquor was going down too fast from her heavy-handed pours.
That reminds me. I have to pay her dad a visit. He’s still actively working for us. He drives a garbage truck and hauls large items people put out at the curb. If it’s worth anything, he sells it and tithes to us. If it’s not, we take it as a charitable contribution. If he’d like to have a job tomorrow morning, he’ll make sure his daughter understands how it goes when you work for the O’Rourkes. We aren’t tyrants… As long as you obey.
I catch part of what Thea says to Mair.
“They seem really close. You said you’re just filling in for today. Are they always together?”
Mair laughs. “More often than not. My husband and Finn are best friends. You’ve seen Sean and Shane, the twins. And I heard you met Cormac and Seamus, who are Irish twins. Dillan, my husband, and Finn are the ones without a matched pair. They became each other’s pair when they were kids.”
“Your husband?”
I can see from the reflection of a mirror across the bar that she turns her head slightly to see me. I pretend to be absorbed with my task. Thea’ll clam up if she knows I’m listening. I’m certain Mair knows I have the same keen hearing her husband does.
“Yeah. Finn and Dillan are cousins. Dillan and I got married about two months ago.”
“So, you and Finn never…”
“Good God, no. He’s hot like the rest of them, but he’s like a brother. Besides, my husband would throttle Finn if he came near me like that. They might share most things, but not women.”
At least, not these days. Mair knows about a girl from the block who we’re all intimately acquainted with. It was back in high school, but she worked at one of our strip clubs until she picked a fight with Mair, and Mair kicked her arse. Maybe that’s an exaggeration. But Mair had Maureen pinned to the floor until Dillan and I and the others rushed in. Considering how Mair handled things the next time she had to defend herself, Mo was damned lucky she left with all her teeth.
“That’s sweet. The part about you being close to your husband’s family and how he sounds just the right amount of possessive.”
“He is. He’s the hottest of the six of them, though none of them agrees with me. He’s wonderful.”
“You really are newlyweds.”
Mair laughs. “Have you been married before?”
“No. But I have married friends. I remember going through the bridesmaid circuit about five years ago. All my friends sounded like you.”
“Do they still sound like me?”
Thea’s cheeks darken in that adorable way I’ve noticed a few times. It’s not a full blush. It’s just at the apple of her cheek. I still want to know what she’d look like flushed right after she comes on my tongue or my cock.
“Some. From what I’ve seen of this family, I have a feeling you’ll always sound like this. The men are— charismatic.”
Mair giggles. “That’s putting it mildly. If my in-laws are a clue, then we will be.” She beams.
Three sisters married three brothers. Soulmates are real. Neither set of grandparents were, but they loved each other. My parents, aunts, and uncles are just different. Mair and Dillan are the same. I’m confident they’ll be just like my parents and Dillan’s. Just like Seamus and Cormac’s parents. Mair might be blissful right now as she talks about her husband, but she’s not blind to who and what Dillan is. She pushes back when she wants, and he listens.
“I need to get going. The food is amazing here. I wish I could have it again.”
“You wish you could? Why can’t you?”
“After tonight, I doubt I’ll be welcome back.”
Mair glances at me. She leans forward to whisper to Thea. I can read her lips.
“I guarantee you’re not only welcome back, but you’ll probably get an invitation.”