Chapter 7 Verity
Verity
My phone vibrated on the nightstand, waking me from a deep sleep. The effects of whatever sedative the twins had given me still lingered. A bit like my headache.
"Are you OK, Ver?" Thea sounded concerned when I swiped to accept her call. I had intended to call her, but the moment my head hit the pillow after a long, hot shower, I fell into a deep sleep.
"Fine," I lied.
"You don't sound fine."
"Maybe that's because the twins drugged me before shoving me on a plane."
She swore under her breath. I guess Declan hadn't told her details.
"Why is Dad out of prison?" I dragged myself out of bed, the phone on speaker. Dusk had fallen outside. Rain spattered on the windows overlooking the gardens. In the distance, the ocean roared like an angry dragon.
The sound of waves crashing against the rocks reminded me of the party three years ago, when I stumbled into the water, drunk as a skunk.
A shiver ran down my spine as my stomach churned in response. I really needed to eat something.
With some effort, I forced my mind back to the present. More specifically, my father and his unexpected release from prison.
"It was a mistake, apparently. He's been out for a week now, only nobody told me until yesterday.
Milo's trying to figure it out. But until the Carabinieri tracks him down, it's not safe for you in Italy.
I asked Declan to send the twins because they were nearer than us, and I was worried Dad would discover you were in Naples before we got there. "
"You could have called me. I'd have kept myself out of sight." My apartment had decent locks. Besides, nobody knew where I lived apart from Anton.
Anton.
I reached up and touched my swollen cheek.
Maybe it wasn't so safe. Not after what he did.
With the beating Ronan gave him, he'd want revenge.
"I knew you were working and wouldn't check your phone, so I rang Declan and called in a favor."
I hummed a non-committal response, still annoyed about being kidnapped. As she told me what her lawyer had said, I wandered into the bathroom, only half listening.
My bruised cheek looked ugly and swollen under the harsh LED lights. The purple discoloration had expanded to cover my eye, which made me look like a domestic abuse victim. Oh wait. I was that girl. Had Declan told Thea about Anton?
I hoped not. She'd do more damage than Ronan had if she found out.
"I want you to come here," Thea was saying when I tuned back in. "Clemmie would love to see you. Fergus, too."
The thought of cute little Fergus with his apple cheeks made me smile.
"Is he walking yet?" Thea's second child had turned out to be Landon's bio kid. A fact the Scottish dickhead made sure everyone knew. Fergus was cuteness personified, with his red hair and freckles. Unfortunately, it had quickly become clear that’s where the similarities to his sweet, shy sister ended.
The kid had a knack for finding trouble. And also making trouble.
"Yes, unfortunately. The little shit worked out how to open the front door.
Lan caught him trying to make friends with Mrs. Thompson's Doberman.
He screamed blue murder when the old bitch came out and hauled Brutus away.
Lan said she lost her shit because Fergie stole a steak from our refrigerator and was busy trying to entice her dog back to our house.
The bitch had the fucking nerve to threaten us with a vet's bill when Brutus had explosive diarrhea two hours later! "
Mrs. Thompson was their closest neighbor at the beach house.
One of the many properties my sister and her husbands now owned in the US.
A giggle escaped as I imagined the old crone's face when her precious dog started shitting through the eye of a needle all over her Italian marble patio.
She only let him eat a specific brand of food, citing his 'sensitive' stomach.
"Let me guess, you're only inviting me back to the States because you need childcare." I snorted. There was a long pause before she spluttered,
"Well… no, of course not! Lan is more than happy to take care of the kids. That's not why I want you to come home, Ver!"
"It's not my home," I reminded her. "I don't have a home." My rental in Italy didn't count.
"Verity! You always have a home here!" Shit. She sounded upset, which wasn't my intention.
"I'm sorry. That came out wrong. I didn't mean it like that." Yet another foot-in-mouth moment. My secret superpower.
I tried to organize my thoughts.
"You know I love your home, and I know I'm always welcome. I just… I need to find my place in the world. Living with you and the guys won't help me do that."
Thea grumbled as I rooted through the bathroom cabinet, searching for some painkillers. If I didn't take something soon, my head might explode.
"I get it, Ver. If you'd rather stay in Ireland for now, that's OK, but we're your family, and this will always be your home too, if you want it to be." She went quiet.
A packet of migraine tablets came into view, and I almost cried with relief.
"I'll fly back soon."
Once I'd recovered, I'd make some plans. Message the girls I'd met in Italy who'd flown to Thailand. Perhaps a few weeks sunning myself on an exotic beach would help shift the low-grade depression that clung to me like pollution these days.
"Promise me you won't go back to Italy, Ver," Thea urged. "It's not safe."
"I won't." I hated being told what to do, but she made a good point about Italy. With our father on the loose, it was safer not to go there.
Most of our father's former associates were in prison, dead, or in the wind, but a few men still loyal to him might could be lurking. There were always soldiers willing to do his dirty work in return for a bite of whatever business he cooked up.
"Declan and his brothers will keep you safe while you're there in Ireland."
I hummed in a non-committal way before dry swallowing two pills.
"Look, I have to go." I pushed the pill packet back in the bathroom cabinet. "Dinner's ready. Catch you later, sis." Thea tried to protest, but I ended the call. I loved my sister, but she needed to stop micro-managing my life. It wasn't healthy for either of us.
"Ver! Are you awake?" Saoirse flung my door open when I didn't respond immediately. She stormed into my room, beaming from ear to ear, red curls bouncing. "Oh good. You're up. I was worried you'd died or something."
"Nope. Still here." Kind of.
"Glad to hear it, bestie. I ordered pizza, and it's due any minute now. I got your favorite ham and pineapple." She shuddered. "Why anyone would willingly put fruit on a pizza is beyond my comprehension."
"Um, because it's delicious?" I pulled on some leggings and a loose sweater. My hair looked like a crow's nest, and my legs would give a werewolf a run for their money, but I figured I may as devolve into a slob. It wasn't like anyone would care what I looked like.
The voice in my head tried to argue that looking disgusting was not the way to the twins' heart, but I silenced it.
The twins saw me as a kid sister, not a love interest. And besides, I was in no fit state to form an attachment to another man.
Not when the last one had beaten the shit out of me less than 24 hours ago.
Saoirse muttered something about uncultured heathens as she led me downstairs. My stomach growled like a bear as we followed the scent of cheese, tomato, and basil into the large farmhouse kitchen.
When we walked through the double doors, Declan stood talking to a glamorous brunette with perfect teeth and a flawless face that belonged on the pages of a magazine.
They both turned to look at us. His smile slipped when he saw my bruised face, and I flushed with hot embarrassment.
"Hey." I stared at the stack of pizza boxes. Exactly how much did Saoirse expect us to eat? There was enough food here to feed at least 20 adults.
When I finally found the courage to look up, Declan still watched me with an inscrutable expression on his handsome face.
It had been three years since I last saw Declan Kelly, the youngest ever head of the Irish mafia. The man had charisma in spades, with his sharp suits, designer stubble, and sexy-as-fuck grin.
He'd always behaved like an over-protective big brother. If only my feelings were more sisterly and less sex-starved slut.
"Sit down, Verity. You need to eat."
I bristled at the commanding tone of his gravelly voice. "I'm fine." OK, so I wasn't fine, but I did not like him telling me I had to eat.
"We're gonna take the pizza to the movie room and watch something," Saoirse announced breezily, ignoring the thick tension in the air. The brunette glued to Declan's side like a limpet scanned me from head to foot and pursed her lips.
"I thought we were going out for dinner, darling?" She squeezed Declan's arm possessively. "Let's leave your sisters in peace. I have so much to tell you about New York."
Declan didn't correct her assumption I was also his sister.
"I'm not in the mood for eating out, Bridget. Let's join the girls and watch a movie. There's a vegetarian pizza in the stack for you."
Dammit. Now it would be impossible to relax.
"You know I don't eat gluten, darling," she huffed through gritted teeth. "Or dairy."
Saoirse snorted. "Guess that rules out dick, too." I fought to contain my giggle and ended up choking on saliva.
Declan immediately grabbed a glass of water and thrust it at me. "Here, drink this."
I took the glass and swallowed a few mouthfuls of cold water while trying not to think about Bridget sucking Declan's dick.
"I'll head back to my apartment for the evening." Bridget sighed, making it clear she really didn't want to go.
"That might be for the best," Declan agreed. "I expect you're jet lagged. A good night's sleep will do you good."
"The bags under your eyes are pretty massive," Saoirse piped up. "My friend Ellen's sister runs an aesthetics clinic in Dublin if you need any tweakments? She has a good deal on Botox right now. It might knock a few years off your face."
The look Bridget threw Saoirse’s way was enough to immolate her on the spot, but my friend just smirked.
"Thank you for the kind suggestion," Bridget forced out, making it very clear she thought Saoirse's helpful suggestion was anything but kind.
The kitchen door swung open, hitting the wall with a bang, much to Declan’s irritation. Ronan's amused gaze snagged on me while I tried not to stare at his broad, shirtless torso or the way his joggers hugged his thick, muscular thighs.
Color crept back up my neck and hit my cheeks in a blaze of fiery red as I looked at the stone floor and prayed for divine intervention.
"Are ya coming to the dance, Bridge?" Ronan's voice boomed across the kitchen. He sauntered across to the refrigerator and snagged a beer. Bridget beamed, apparently now over being insulted.
"Of course! That's why I returned early from the Vogue shoot in New York. I wouldn't want to miss such an important event in Declan's social calendar."
Declan ground his teeth but stayed silent. I peered at him through my bangs, surprised by his lack of enthusiasm. Surely he'd want his girlfriend there? It was an important event, after all. Saoirse had mentioned Aoife was on her way back with her boyfriend, Chris, in tow.
Lots of big names would be there. Local dignitaries, influencers, members of the criminal fraternity.
I planned to stay in my room. The memories of the last Kelly extravaganza were still too fresh in my mind.
"Amazing, eh, Dec? How sweet of the lovely Bridge to pop back early. I bet you're delighted." Even I could tell Ronan was taking the piss, but Bridget elected to ignore it. She just leaned into Declan, marking her territory.
Declan scowled at his brother.
"Yes, very. Now let's eat these pizzas before they get cold. Go choose a movie, girls, while I escort Bridget out."
Ronan scooped up the mountain of boxes and winked at us.
"No shite romance movies - are we clear, girls?"
"We're not watching Alien Vs Predator again!"
"But it's my favorite movie!" Ronan groaned dramatically when Saoirse thumped him before leading us downstairs into the basement home movie theater.
I took a seat at the back of the room, hoping to eat some pizza and stay out of the conversation.
Except Ronan picked up the box labeled 'Hawaiian' and another labeled 'extra hot, meat feast' and dropped into the chair next to me.
"Oy! I'm sitting next to my bestie! Move your fat, ugly ass!" Saoirse tried to wrestle her brother out of the chair next to me, but he gave her a middle finger salute and smirked.
"You're such a fucking useless dickhead," Saoirse spat as she slid into the next row with her pizza.
My stomach groaned loudly when Ronan opened my pizza box. The smell of hot cheese made my mouth water.
"Here, eat, Pixie girl." I took a thick slice of pizza from him and bit into it. A moan slipped out as I inhaled the decadently sweet combo of ham, pineapple, and tomato. God, the pizza from Romano's was amazing.
"Good?" When I looked up, Ronan's gray eyes had turned almost black. He stared at me as the lights dimmed.
"Mmm." Damn, it was sooo good. I almost wished I’d visited more in the last three years.
"Then eat it all because you've got way too skinny, and it doesn't suit you."
And just like that, my mood sank like the fucking Titanic.