13. Killian
13
KILLIAN
I picked the lock to her room.
Wasn’t this familiar?
Soon, I wouldn’t need to pick the lock. I would have the key. And soon after, it wouldn’t fucking matter because I was taking her back to the Tiernan mansion, and there would be no locked doors for her from then on.
She had kissed her privacy goodbye when she decided to run away from us, from me.
The man behind me shifted a little, reminding me I wasn’t alone.
I took in a deep breath, trying to keep from losing control. I had invited the man over, so I couldn’t exactly kill him for what he was about to do, about to see, about to touch .
My fists clenched.
I didn’t bother to be quiet when I pushed the door open. The drug I had given her by crushing the pill into her glass of water would ensure she slept through the night. Slept through what was about to happen.
Frederick followed behind me. I pointed to the dresser, indicating where he could put his bag while I took in the small girl in the middle of the queen-sized bed, the covers thrown over her.
I let my hand run through the soft strands of her hair before trailing my fingers down to the soft, delicate skin of her cheek.
Movement caught my attention, and I scowled at Frederick when I noticed him looking at Mila longer than he should have.
The man was smart enough to turn away.
I let out a sigh. I was feeling too fucking volatile. Perhaps I should have Maverick or Silas in here with us to make sure I didn’t do something stupid like kill a loyal man simply for looking at my girl.
“Let’s just get this started,” I said.
Frederick unzipped his bag and started pulling out his things. I didn’t bother looking at him. I moved to the foot of the bed and pulled the blanket up slightly until her feet peeked out. I grabbed a foot with my hands, taking in the size of them. She wiggled her toes slightly, and I resisted the urge to smile in front of Frederick.
Fuck, but she was cute.
Every- fucking -thing she did was cute.
I shook my head, gently placed her foot back down on the mattress, and reached into my pocket for the small gold chain.
There was a small heart pendant hanging from it, and hopefully, she’d think it was pretty, considering she was going to be wearing this piece of jewelry for the rest of her life.
The clasp to close and open the chain was uniquely designed.
I had it made the day after we realized she left and had someone as psychotic as Zoe cut her open to take the tracker out. She wouldn’t let me insert another tracker under her skin—at least, not for a long while, so this was a better alternative.
I closed the clasp around her ankle, smiling at the sight.
I was shackling her to me, and the only way to open the clasp would be with a key that only I owned. Satisfaction made my heart light. I put her foot back down and covered it with the blanket.
Frederick moved to the side of the bed, catching my attention. His face was impassive. He didn’t care that what I asked him to do might not be sane or ethical. I gave him a job, and the man was just here to do it. It was fortunate that aside from looking at her a little too long when we first got in, he hadn’t glanced at her again. I wouldn’t have to kill him.
I nodded, and he carefully placed his tools on the bed around her body. I gritted my teeth as I pulled the blanket off her and sucked in a sharp breath when I pushed it off a little too far, showing me exactly what she’d decided to wear to bed. She was wearing an oversized shirt with some sort of cartoonish design on it and gray pajama shorts. And these fucking shorts? They were short . They accentuated her legs and brought attention to her fair skin. Fucking hell. I pulled the blanket back to cover her legs and pulled her shirt up slightly, exposing one side of her ribs.
“Right here,” I said, letting my fingers run over her warm skin there.
He nodded and pulled out the stencil he had drawn up already.
I was going to tattoo my girl.
Make sure the rest of the world, along with her, knows that she belongs to us and no one else. Now and for as long as the last of us stayed breathing.
I sat down on the bed close to her and watched Fredrick get to work.
I watched him clean the skin with alcohol wipes before placing the stencil on her rib.
When he pulled away, I could see the blue ink it had left behind. I didn’t react to the sight, but fuck me, if it wasn’t worth it, even with another man seeing her skin—seeing what was mine.
“Let’s get this done,” I said when it looked like Frederick was hesitating.
He nodded once and silently got to work. I stayed by her the entire time.
She didn’t wake but frowned slightly when the tattoo needles pierced her skin, but quickly relaxed her expression when I whispered to her.
The tattoo didn’t take long. Twenty minutes later and the buzzing noise stopped.
“Clean up and leave us,” I told him.
“Yes, sir,” he said quietly.
I didn’t look at him while he did it, keeping my eyes on Mila’s sleeping face. She would be mad when she woke up tomorrow morning, but that was a battle I was prepared to fight.
I looked up when Frederick left for the door, closing it quietly behind him. I would have to get up and lock the door, but not at this moment.
Not now when I have her in my arms. And I doubt anyone would come in here and interrupt my time with her. Anyone who valued their life, that was.
Anyone who wasn’t my brothers, but both Maverick and Silas had left and headed back to Chicago. Dealing with Lorenzo Cadorna, the newly appointed, nineteen-year-old head of the Cadorna Famiglia. A tinge of guilt settled in my chest. Things wouldn’t have been so fucking busy had I not given into my murderous urge and killed the Cadorna fucker. And I didn’t fucking regret it one bit. In fact, the only thing I would have changed about the entire thing was prolonging his death a little longer. Way I saw it, he got mercy from me.
But this meant Maverick was dealing with this shit. I could deal with my own shit, but Maverick thought it would be better if I didn’t show my face around the Cadorna men for a while, especially since they were having such a hard time controlling everyone with Lorenzo trying to take on a leadership role.
Not that I could fucking complain. After all, it gave me this time with Mila.
I wrapped my arms around her soft, pliant body and pulled her in closer to me, turning her so that her face was buried close to my neck. So close, I felt her lips on my skin.
Electricity pulsed throughout my body from the simple contact. I pulled her in even closer to me, taking in her sweet scent.
My phone beeping brought me out of my musing, and I thought it might be Maverick but found Finley’s name on the screen instead.
What the fuck did our cousin want with me?
I opened the messaging app and quickly read the message there, my blood boiling. Slowly, I pulled away from Mila, trying to control my emotions.
I looked down at her, wondering how I would be able to protect her by myself if we were suddenly attacked.
Fucking hell.
I reached behind me for the gun I had tucked there, pulled off the safety, and carefully moved to the door, trying to control my heartbeat.
The door barely made a sound when I opened it, and Finley came face to barrel with my gun.
“Jesus Christ, put that away before you accidentally shoot me.”
I kept the gun aimed at the fucker’s face. If his men surrounded the motel, I would take him hostage to ensure Mila’s safety. A quick look around told me he was probably alone, but I could never be too careful.
Finley schooled his expression when he realized I wasn’t putting the gun away, his sharp green eyes assessing me. Finley was younger than Maverick and me. He was only a couple of months older than Silas and had already created a name for himself in Las Vegas. His short, dark blond hair was shaved close to the scalp, adorning a few nasty scars close to his hairline that should have ended him, but I knew the fucker wasn’t easy to kill. He was about as tall as Maverick and a little wider than Silas. His grotesque frame helped him win some of the most brutal fights hosted in the underbelly of Sin City, but unfortunately for him, I fucking play dirty. I wasn’t one of those pussies he fought in the cage.
“Are you gonna shoot me, man? Never mind that we grew up together?” he asked.
“You think that’s going to save you?” I responded, cocking the gun closer to him. He didn’t look concerned. He should be. The only blood I ever really cared about was my brothers. Maverick might hesitate to kill him, under the sense of family and loyalty, and Silas might hesitate because Finley was closer to him than he was to either Maverick or me, but I wouldn't hesitate—especially to protect something so infinitely precious to me.
“No, of course not,” he said. “But I know you won’t kill me because I haven’t done anything to deserve it.” One side of his lips tilted in an arrogant smirk. “And I’m not easy to kill.”
I ignored the cocky statement, even if I had just thought it, especially since it was me he was saying that to. “That’s still to be determined. How many men do you have with you?”
“None.”
I narrowed my eyes, trying to decide whether I believed him.
He let out a sigh and pulled his gun out from behind his suit jacket. I tensed, readying my hand, but he only threw it to the ground and kicked it away. “You can search me for weapons if you want.”
He might be bluffing. I didn’t care. I reached out with one hand and patted him down, and when I was sure he didn’t have any weapons on him, I straightened and kept my gun pointed at him for two long seconds before lowering my hand.
“What do you want? And how the fuck did you find me?”
“Well, I was hoping to talk about this with Maverick. Hell, even Silas would do, but you’re fucking closer. And if I weren’t a hundred percent sure my bastard old man tapped my phone, I would have just called. Maverick told me to come here.”
I didn’t say anything to that. Still didn’t tell me why the fuck he was here.
Finley looked past me and toward the closed motel door where Mila was sleeping off the drug I’d given her. He couldn’t see her, but that didn’t stop from pissing me off.
“Careful. You keep looking, and I’ll fucking start shooting, family or not.”
If he was affected by my threat, he didn’t show it. Instead, the fucker shook his head, looking amused. “I never knew you to be so possessive over a woman before.”
My fist clenched, and I debated whether or not to punch him. Instead, I let out a sigh. “What do you want?”
He crossed his arms over his chest. “I’m doing you a favor. I came with information. Something I’m sure you’ll be very interested in.”
“Stop bullshitting around and just spit it out.”
Face serious, he pointed to Mila’s motel room. “Are you pretty serious about her?”
“Deadly.”
He nodded as if expecting that answer. “Good. Then hold on to her. And don’t let her go.”
I frowned. “What does that have to do with you?”
“My dad has been busy. You know the paranoid bastard is only looking out for himself. He took you guys in twenty years ago because he saw the potential you had. He wanted to invest in you.”
I didn’t say anything. He wasn’t telling me anything new. Dear old uncle had been pissed when we got into the business and managed to turn a bigger profit than he ever had. And when we were able to get into contact with our father’s men and their heirs, we began to build our army.
It now far surpassed anything the Las Vegas family could even dream of.
“He’s meeting with some interesting people,” Finley added.
I tensed, getting a bad feeling. “What interesting people?”
“A man who hates your guts more than anything in this world. And all for the girl in there.” I didn’t miss the hint of curiosity in his voice. My brothers and I weren’t exactly known for commitment or monogamy. That all changed now with her. But I wasn’t going to explain myself to anyone, not even my cousin.
“Sebastian Cline?” I guessed.
Finley nodded. “Sebastian Cline. He really wants your girl, and he’ll stop at nothing to get her.”
“Why?” I mused out loud.
It didn’t fucking make sense. I could understand the man becoming obsessed with Mila and wanting her to be his. Fuck, did I understand it. But it didn’t align with what I knew about Sebastian Cline. He should be focused on getting the club back to its glory days. And to go against us when he no longer had the manpower to do so? Hell, his men had died trying to get Mila back.
I turned to Finley. He had been quiet. I narrowed my eyes on him and waited.
The fucker offered a small smile I wanted to punch off his face.
“Why?” I asked, this time to him, and I expected a direct answer.
“Your girl is made of gold. She’s worth billions .”
“What the fuck are you talking about?”
“Have you ever heard of Gunnar Rhinelander?”
“No.”
“Figures. He was before our time. But my dad knows who he is. He was Daniel Hayes’ father-in-law. Also the sole owner of Stocken Isle for the last fifty years until the old man kicked the bucket and left everything to his only granddaughter. Mila Hayes.”
I opened my mouth, but when nothing came out, I shut it and took in Finley. The fucker was enjoying my shock, but he was serious. He was fucking serious. “Fuck.”
Finley laughed. “Isn’t it ironic? That you guys spent so much time combing through the billionaires of Chicago, hoping to find the owner of Stocken Isle, and she ended up falling right into your lap.”
“Does she know?” I asked.
I didn’t think so, and Finley confirmed it when he shook his head. “No, her granddad died when she was seven, and Daniel Hayes had been determined to keep this from her. But there is a stipulation to the will.”
“And that is?”
“It doesn’t go to her until her twenty-fifth birthday. Right now, it’s being managed by a lawyer. But no one knows who that lawyer is. And she must remain unmarried until then. Because if she married before her twenty-fifth birthday, then that fortune would go to her husband.”
Had I been a weaker man, I might have staggered back. I remained standing, but fuck if all the blood didn’t move up to my ears, making it hard to hear.
“That’s why Sebastian Cline wanted her so badly.”
Finley smiled, but it wasn’t one with any humor. “And that’s why my father wants to help him. I came here as an ally, Killian. I’ll ignore the fact that you pulled a gun on me earlier since you were probably trying to protect her.”
I didn’t say anything to that. “And what would you get out of this?”
He laughed. “Can’t I just say I am doing this for my family?”
Maybe so, but he wanted something as well. Otherwise, the heir to the Las Vegas Tiernan Syndicate wouldn’t have risked his father’s wrath and traveled to Chicago.
He shot me an amused look when I didn’t say anything before he straightened, his face turning serious. “I want my father gone.”
“That was going to happen anyway. The moment he decided to work with Sebastian Cline and go up against us, he signed his death certificate.”
“And I need your support, you and your brothers, when I take reign. There are still men loyal to my old man, so I need to be the one to kill him, not you, not Maverick or Silas. Me. And once I do, I’m going to need your support.”
“So that’s it? You want your father's empire? Why kill the old man for that and run the risk of angering his men? You’re already set to inherit everything.”
“No. He’s trying to conceive with his new wife, and he has been obsessed with the idea of getting another son. I don’t need to tell you the reason for it.”
“He is looking for a new heir.”
Finley nodded. “Guess I haven’t done such a good job hiding my hatred for him. This syndicate is mine. I fucking bled for the organization. Sold my soul to the fucking devil without a thought, and he thinks he can just take that from me?”
“Then why not let us kill him now? We can make it quick and painful,” I promised. So fucking painful.
He shook his head. “Because when I take over, I want everyone to know that I was the one who impaled his head on a pike.”
“Ah,” I said, now understanding. Finley was so good at hiding his feelings that I was almost convinced he didn’t hate his old man for killing his mom. But then again, his mom had been an unfeeling, cold-hearted woman. I didn’t think there was any love lost between them. “You want to avenge your mother? How typical.”
He let out a small, cold smile. “You think so?” He shrugged like he didn’t care what I thought. “I have some conditions.”
“Of course you do.”
“I want us to work together. The Las Vegas Tiernan Syndicate now has control over the southern territory, and you guys have it over the east. Imagine what we can do once I take over.”
“Of course,” I said lightly. But he should know these weren’t things I could just agree on. I would have to run it over with Maverick and Silas, but hell, I didn’t see anything wrong with that. I’d much rather work with Finley than good ole Uncle Fionn any day. The plan had always been to work with Finley once he inherited, but no one knew when that would be. His old man would probably outlive us all out of spite. And we were about to leave the old fucker alone, not out of loyalty, but to return the favor for harboring three orphans nearly twenty years ago. Not anymore. The timeline for him to meet the maker he spent the majority of his life praying to had just been moved up.
“And the next condition.”
“You help me break off a marriage arrangement.”
“A marriage arrangement, huh? Who's the unlucky girl who’s caught your eye?”
“Cara.”
It took me a moment to realize what he had said. Then I threw my head back and laughed. The fucker looked like he wanted to punch me in the face. I almost dared him to, considering how fucking restless I had been feeling this past week.
I shook away the urge and finally took in my cousin. “Do you have the hots for your stepsister now? Tell me, is the girl still untouched?”
The Las Vegas Tiernan Syndicate was made up of traditionalists who valued the virginity of their daughters above most things. Especially since most of the made men were Catholic, it was safe to say they guarded their daughters and wives with some of the best strongholds. Arranged marriages were still happening, and the women were expected to remain pure until then. That was unless you were widowed before, which was exactly how Fionn’s second wife was, bringing along her daughter from her first marriage with her.
“How about you don’t say anything before I forget all those years of friendship and fucking stab you in the heart.”
I tutted. “I’d like to see you try, pretty boy.”
“Killian.”
I let out a small sigh. He wasn’t fun to fuck with. “Fine. When is the girl set to marry?”
“Three months from now.”
“And the lucky groom-to-be?”
“Ivan Balakirev.”
“The heir to the Balakirev Bratva? My, hasn’t your father been busy? Setting up arranged marriages with the bratva. I heard little Ivan has a propensity for knife play. In and out of the bedroom. And the fucker’s father hadn’t had any success arranging a marriage for his son because even their men fear offering their precious daughters up to him. And your father decided to just throw Cara at them?”
Finley didn’t say anything, but I could see a muscle twitching on the side of his face. And I finally realized why he needed our help. And why he risked so much coming to Chicago. It wasn’t to avenge a mother who didn’t know how to love him.
It was for her.
Everything he was doing was for her.
And I could understand that. Fuck me, but I could.
And I could respect that.
“Okay,” I said. “I’ll have to discuss everything with Maverick and Silas, but yeah. And thank you. For letting us know.”
He nodded. “Let me know. I have to get back home, and you need to get back inside the room before she wakes up.”
I didn’t tell him Mila wouldn’t be waking up until morning. I placed my hand on his shoulder and squeezed. It was all I would be giving him, and he knew it.
He met my eyes for two long seconds before grabbing his gun on the ground and pulling away, pulling back to the shadows, disappearing completely. I stayed where I was, watching the space he had vacated for a beat before walking back inside the motel room. I hid the gun in one of the small dressers and stripped down to my boxer briefs before climbing back into bed and pulling Mila close to me, thinking about all the words Finley had said.
Fuck me, but I was holding the heir to Stocken Isle, and she didn’t even know it.