Chapter 13
13
KILLIAN
I don’t usually wrap a towel around myself when I come out of the bathroom after showering, but today I do.
Raine’s carrying a “don’t touch me” vibe at the moment, and I don’t want a fight to erupt when things in the house are the way I want them—calm.
The fact that I had my fingers in her pussy an hour ago apparently doesn’t change things between us. One set of rules for the bed. Another set out of it. It’s easy to drop into our old routine. We had a lot of practice compartmentalizing. No one knew about the times we got each other off under her covers.
It’s crazy that they never caught me going into her room after dark. I did it a lot . Even after we traded blood for blood. But those later visits were just to look at her. And to prove, if only to myself, that she couldn’t keep me out.
Back in my room now, the tags from the clothes lie on the bed, and she’s in the red dress. It’s a color that looks great on her, but she never wears it. Don’t know why.
Her back’s exposed, and the impulse to drag my tongue down the delicate little bones of her spine hits me full force. Her arms reach back to try and tie two pieces of hanging fabric. I walk over, push her hands away, and do it.
“I forgot this dress has a satin lining. It’s really comfortable, actually. But I couldn’t wear a bra with it even if I had a clean one because of the reverse halter.”
I don’t know what she’s saying, and I don’t care. I’m close enough to smell her freshly washed skin, and my response is Pavlovian. My cock gets hard and wants to bury itself inside her. My hands want to pin her down on the bed.
With our current fate uncertain, I would’ve fucked her for real this morning if I could’ve. The restraint prevented it. Now, the moment’s passed. At least until she’s back in a bed.
I don’t really have time anyway. The drive to the meeting spot will take forty-five minutes.
Raine starts toward the door.
“No. Stay here. I’ll take you out there.”
She hesitates, tilting her head so wet strands sway. Burying my fingers in her hair and yanking her head back to kiss her is what I’d like to do. That could lead to other things, like hot sex, which would be worth going to my meeting late.
But War would interrupt us. So, a nonstarter.
“I’ll wait outside the door,” Raine says.
“Nah, just close your eyes if you don’t want to watch me dress.”
She turns toward the wall. Such a fucking good girl. I don’t think she’s ever actually seen my cock. Not even the night she had it in her mouth for a few minutes. Everything we’ve ever done has been under bed covers.
I dress in jeans and a sweatshirt. From what I understand, the meeting’s outside, and though it’s sunny, it’s also only fifty degrees right now.
“Okay. Come on,” I say, opening the bedroom door.
Other than a media room, my bedroom, the bathroom, and a small office, the whole main floor is wide open. Since this building used to be a manufacturing plant, we’ve got a lot of space, which suits us.
As big as we are, with the edges to our personalities, being smashed into a dorm room or standard student apartment would not have worked for long. I’m glad the bosses recognized that and put us here.
Renovating and furnishing this place must’ve cost some serious coin. The C Crue bosses have invested a lot of time and money into us. So far, we’ve provided a good return on that investment. I’m glad there were no hitches with the actual kill mission.
As Raine and I emerge from the back area, her gaze shifts to the seating area with the coffee table that has a chunk of reclaimed wood as its base. Sitting on the beveled glass top, there’s a laptop. Not mine, so it must be Jamie’s.
War stands at the massive stone countertop of the kitchen island, wolfing down food. Jamie’s eating too, but he’s sitting on a bar stool. We order in a lot, but sometimes one of us cooks. I can only do a few basic things, like scrambled eggs or whatever. War’s the best of the three of us when it comes to preparing food. Jamie’s second. I’m last.
Funny, that I’m still ranking us on everything. When we spent those summer months training, we always knew the standings among all the guys there. There were ten total, but pretty quickly, I only concerned myself with the three of us. Jamie’s the most accurate with a gun, especially if the target’s moving. I’m next. War’s last. Of course, that was then. War’s competitive, so he goes to the range nearly every day. He may have closed the gap by now.
In hand-to-hand combat, War’s top dog. I’m not an easy takedown, even for him, because I’m big and strong, too. But he knows more moves and with his size, he always eventually wins. I’ve been going to a jujitsu gym because I’m competitive, too. I still couldn’t beat him, but one day…
When Raine steps out from behind me, both of the guys stop eating to look at her. I stiffen. I knew this was coming, but I still don’t like it.
“Well, that’s an outfit you should be buried in,” Jamie says. When she pales, he quickly goes on. “I just meant it looks perfect on you, not that bad fortune’s coming.”
Bad fortune? What the fuck? Sometimes he talks like we’re in an Irish folktale. I can’t believe anyone our age fucking speaks that way, even in Ireland .
War scoops more lasagna onto his plate without commenting. Good.
I grab two plates and fill one for Raine and hand it to her. She sets it in front of the middle stool, next to Jamie. I don’t want her there, so I slide the plate in front of the stool at the opposite end, between where War’s standing and where I’ll sit.
In the long dress, it takes a little effort for her to arrange herself on the tall barstool. She actually puts a foot on a rung to climb up. Sometimes, I forget she’s not very tall. Before this week, I hadn’t stood or sat next to her in over a year.
I take the middle seat, moving close enough to her that her arm brushes mine when she puts dressing on her salad. The smell of vinegar and oil and pasta sauce are strong enough to make it hard for me to smell her anymore. Nothing against a well made dinner, but it’s been too long since I inhaled the scent of chestnut-scented shower gel on her skin. I lean a few millimeters closer, trying to see if I can catch it.
“So… are ya fucking kidding?” Jamie says, breaking the silence. He leans forward to look down the island at the rest of us.
Raine’s forkful of salad freezes halfway to her mouth. “What?”
“You’re not going to tell me you’re as quiet as these two Neanderthals, are you? Because I was looking forward to having some dinner dialogue, for once. In this place, carrying the conversation always falls to the pretty ones. Tonight, that’s you and me, sweetness.”
Sweetness? My fist is seconds from smashing into his face and knocking him off his fucking barstool.
Raine glances at me.
“Och, don’t look at him,” Jamie says. “You don’t need his permission to talk, do you?”
My gaze cuts to him. “Sit back.”
“Are you serious right now, mate?” His Irish accent sounds like he just set foot in America yesterday. My recollection is that he’s been here almost two years.
“You call yourself a ‘pretty one’?” Raine asks, the corners of her mouth curving like she’s trying not to laugh.
“Well, who wouldn’t?” he says, stroking his jaw. He’s sporting enough fuzz that I wonder if he’s gonna try for a beard. Be interesting to see whether he could grow a decent one.
When War doesn’t shave, he’s practically got a full beard by sunset. And I’m not far behind. Ranks on that are clear.
“So me, I’m from Ireland, as you can tell. You don’t have the Boston accent I hear sometimes from Killian. So, what part of the States are you from originally, Raine?”
“The Midwest.”
“The middle west? That’ll be where? Utah, Idaho area?”
Raine laughs softly. “No. I was born in Ohio. The Midwest is like Michigan, Ohio, Illinois, Wisconsin. I don’t know why it’s called the Midwest actually. Maybe that area was named when the US had less territory?”
It’s good that Raine’s acting normal. Her chill attitude, as though nothing crazy happened earlier, will help convince the other two we don’t need to kill her. And of course, Raine’s good at pretending there’s nothing unusual going on, even while keeping secrets and living under threats. Because of me, she’s had years to perfect the technique.
Flicking the edge of her plate with my index finger, I say, “Eat.”
I’m almost finished with my food because I’m shoveling it down. War and I are going to need to head out soon. Before we go, I want her sequestered in my room. Maybe I’ll lock her in my wardrobe.
Raine goes back to eating, and Jamie stands and tosses his dish in the sink before going to the living room area with the tree-trunk coffee table. He sits on a black couch and puts his feet up on the glass and then opens his laptop.
War steps back from the island. “Time.”
I glance at the clock. Yeah, we need to get on the road. The place we’re going is between Foxgrove and Boston, but closer to the city. The drive could be shorter if we were taking my Corvette, but War doesn’t like sports cars. Too cramped for him.
Standing, I draw in a breath. Then I pull Raine’s barstool back. She’s startled, and her food drops off the fork and onto the counter. It nearly fell on her dress, which neither of us would’ve liked.
“I’m coming with you?” she asks in surprise as she sets her fork down .
“No. You’re going to eat the rest in my room.”
“Oh. Okay.” She gathers her plate, napkin, and fork.
I grab her glass of water.
“Seriously?” Jamie says as we pass him. “There’s pistachio gelato. When I break it out, should I leave her bowl outside the bedroom door?”
“She can have dessert when I get back. Don’t bother her.”
“Mmm. I see how it is,” he says.
“Good.”
Once she’s in my room, I say, “Stay in here.”
She glances around. “Jamie still has my phone. There’s no television or tablet in here. What am I supposed to do while you’re gone?”
I lick my lips. “The media room is next door. You can go in there, but close the door. If he shows up, you come back to this room.”
Raine sighs. “This is because you think he’ll be tempted to hurt me? Or because you don’t like me talking to other people?”
I contemplate lying, but I doubt she’d believe it. She knows I’d never leave her behind with him if I thought he would try to force her to have sex with him.
It’s the same old thing, but more intense. I don’t want anyone close to her, but Jamie in particular could be a problem.
When the three of us go out to a bar, Jamie can’t hit the restroom without four or five women putting themselves in his path. They all try to talk to him. And if he brings a girl home, no matter what he tells her is in store for her, she dives into his bed without a second thought. If the assignment were to charm women out of their fortunes, Jamie would come out on top of not just me and War, but probably the whole fucking male population of Massachusetts.
“Old rules,” I finally admit.
Her lips push out, forming a pout that makes me want to bite them. “I think being friendly would be better, Killian, considering they don’t trust me. Wouldn’t that make more sense if the goal is to keep me alive?”
She doesn’t understand how cold-blooded these guys are. Friendly or not, they’ll kill her if they think it’s necessary. But since we’ve got hours left until anyone will miss Raine, War and Jamie won’t make a move without provocation.
“Just stay in the room, Raine.”
She sighs, sounding harassed.
“We’ll talk strategy when I get back,” I say, walking to the door. I’m not sure that’s true, but I want her to believe it so she stays put.
Too bad Jamie’s not coming with us. But he wasn’t invited to this meeting, and someone needs to stay behind to ensure Raine doesn’t take off.
Jamie says nothing as War and I leave. I don’t care, but it feels strange. He’s the talker, and he often gets us talking, too. The fact that we can communicate when it comes to work is part of the reason we’re a good team. As soon as the bosses saw us eating together and separating ourselves from the older Boston guys, they put us in the same house and started training us as a trio. Apparently, that’s how the bosses came up the ranks in the first crime family they worked for.
Two of my older half brothers are in organized crime, and they have the same rapport I see in the bosses. I’ve always been a loner. Never thought I’d have roommates. When this arrangement started, I expected to hang out in my room alone most of the time. But that’s not the way things have gone. Until now.
Raine always shifts my orbit. I don’t even try to resist because I prefer her over everyone.
My feelings aren’t conventional or romantic. I’m not suited for that. But there’s an unconquerable physical, and probably chemical, attraction between us. I’d bet money she’s got some super sweet, irresistible pheromones. Because whenever anyone else tries to get near her, I want to fight. Or more precisely, I want to kill them.
Sure, my instincts are selfish, pure and unadulterated. But there’s an entire world of people who can have each other. They can leave one girl alone.
Outside, the smell of the river is oily this afternoon as we cross the parking area. I prefer diesel to fish. I glance out at the water, thinking about the old gangster expression, “he sleeps with the fishes.”
I’ve chosen a deadly life, which suits me. But not her.
Possibly a fatal error on my part.