CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
Balor
“ S he’s going to kill him,” Lachlan says, holding back his signature cackle.
In the lobby of The Orchid, I watch my sister in a full-length, low-cut, lavender evening gown snap at Trace who’s been, for the lack of a better phrase, up her ass since we arrived.
The idea of him doing anything with my sister’s ass stirs a fire inside me. But Shea’s an adult and knows better than to sleep with one of her bodyguards. That compromises her protection.
And if she remotely likes the guy, she’s putting him in danger, too, because I can’t be sure Lachlan would hold back from taking out a guard who touched her.
Consensual or not.
“Did she talk to you about going to Dunbar to see Cormac?” I ask my brother.
Lachlan’s face turns to granite. “She sure did. And you can guess how that conversation went.”
“You said no . She said please . You said no again. And then she pouted?”
“Three out of four. She said, ‘ Fuck you, I’m going .’”
I laugh, wiping my eyes behind my glasses. “She really does not take gobshite from us anymore.”
“That’s what worries me.” Lachlan’s voice gets low, his eyes on his pregnant wife.
Katya sits on a plush velvet banquette with her sister, Ana, neither of them looking like ice-cold Russian Princesses anymore, but instead, strong Irish Mob wives.
Even if Ana is technically the Bratva underboss.
Priscilla and Isabella, who’ve become close friends, stand a few feet away talking to two other women in gowns. Riordan, Kieran, and Darragh hover at the bar nearby, two other men in tuxes with them, the husbands of those women, I assume.
I can’t help but do a discreet facial recognition scan and learn the men are... Cops. High-ranking inspectors. Hmmm.
My eyes search for Eoghan and Jillian, who are grinding on the dancefloor alone, their hands all over each other. I never got an apology for them fucking on my couch. I don’t expect I ever will.
It’s striking how at this large event, I feel alone. Moreso because it’s my own doing. Fuck, this week without seeing Ella every day hollowed me out.
Wanting my mind off her, I say to Lachlan, “Are you seeing Ma and Da when you’re there?”
“Aye.”
I wonder if I should go with them. Take a vacation. I know I’ll worry about Shea being there, even though Lachlan and Trace’s protection is more than she needs.
“Will you be...all right going back to Dunbar?”
Lachlan’s eyes darken. “Of course.”
“Lach, it’s me. It’s okay if that place will freak you the fuck out.”
He was sent there as punishment for going against Da when he was eighteen and it made him into the vicious killer he is today.
“Nothing freaks me the fuck out.” He stares at Shea and Trace again. “Trace is ex-Defence Forces, you know that, right?”
“Of course I know that. I vetted him.” I don’t get the reference until it hits me.
Dunbar Valley is filled with Irish terrorists.
“I don’t think it’s a good idea for Shea to be there.”
“You tell her that. I’ll assess the situation when I get there.” He narrows his eyes at me. “Do you think for one minute I’d let something happen to Shea-Lynne? ”
“Of course not.”
As much as I worry about her, since the cyber-attack and hiring the terrorist responsible, all while trying not fuck his daughter, I’ve been wrapped up in my own world.
A hand skates over my shoulder, and Lachlan’s eyes widen. My heart soars, thinking it’s Ella. I spin around and my stomach twists.
“Petra.” One of my... I can’t even think of the word because her hand on me feels like acid.
But I’m not rude to women. I gently take the hand off my shoulder and after a squeeze, I return it at her side to remind her: Do. Not. Fucking. Touch. Me.
Not sure why she thought a gala would change that.
“Balor.” She bats jet-black fake eyelashes at me. “It’s been so long.”
And there’s a reason for that. I wasn’t short of female company since the last time we were together. I don’t go back for seconds, and she wasn’t enough for me to break that exception.
Only Ella was.
“I’ve been busy,” I say with a sting in my voice.
Lachlan chuckles under his breath and strolls away, gliding like a goddamn panther. Impressive for his size.
Petra doesn’t give him a second glance, playing her cards perfectly. Women can’t help but stare at Lach, whether it’s fear, lust, or some sick combination of both. He kept many beds warm for years until he developed a thing for Katya. A fascination we never knew about until he crashed her wedding and killed the groom.
“I’ll be done with Ares Zervas at the end of this month,” Petra tells me.
Ares’ name gives me pause. The head of the Greek Mafia strolled in here earlier, but I hadn’t noticed Petra on his arm .
And the way she says done makes me sick. I’m well aware the women I screwed had dicks in them right before and right after me. It was part of the kink, the filthy side of me that I indulged for way too long.
I just got fucking lazy.
Paid sex brought temporary relief to the constant tightness in my chest, and I was always planning my next hooker fix. Until my last ‘lady of the night,’ who turned out to be a complete fabrication, but completely banished that loneliness. Now, all I want is Ella.
I lean in close to Petra and her breath hitches, likely hoping I’ll also break the no-kissing rule for her. “Listen to me and take my advice carefully. When you’re done with Ares, I suggest you stay the fuck away from him.”
Zervas is a brutal psychopath. I don’t like Petra, but I don’t hate her. She played her part and doesn’t deserve to be killed sucking Ares’ dick when someone retaliates for his crimes.
“I’m always careful. In fact, I—”
“I’m done talking to you. Walk away and have a good evening.” I level a glare at her.
Stunned, and her throat bobbing in embarrassment, she strides toward Ares, who doesn’t acknowledge her. I’m surprised he’d bring a... Whore... I almost finished the thought, but what does that say about me?
Petra doesn’t take Ares’ hint and loops her arm in his.
Ares may not object to her touching, but the expressions of the men around him change in her presence. It’s subtle as fuck, but I see it.
And it sickens me to think if anyone saw me with Petra or any woman like her, that was how they looked at me when I didn’t notice.
With the cocktail hour winding down, the flow of guests slows to a trickle from the entrance. A shock of dark hair and a thick white beard catches my eyes and I smirk.
Corvin took the bait. Not bait in the way that I plan to out him, but he’s soaking up the royal treatment. I’m laying it on thick to get him comfortable, so he lets his guard down.
I briefed my brothers that I sent him an invite and passed around a photo of what he looked like. I asked them kindly to not only hide the shock of seeing him on their faces, but also not to lunge for the guy.
That request was directed at Lachlan mostly and my exact words were: Don’t shoot the fucker on sight.
They have to trust me. Shane’s specialty team is tracking everything he does. If Shane, who’s as good as me, maybe even better in some areas, is making sure this guy doesn’t fuck with anything of ours, I sleep better at night.
Not that I’m sleeping again. Despite what I take. It’s torture dragging my ass out of bed because Ella isn’t there. I’ve grown so reliant on her.
The best I’ve felt and the most productive I’ve been recently was waking up every day to her gentle nudges on my shoulders. The instant shot of energy made me soar every morning—but along with that, I had the burning need to pull her into bed and fuck her.
One day this week, my housekeeper found me passed out in my bed at noon. Which startled the fuck out of me, and her, because the sheets were gone. I was naked and hard.
I’m ready to greet Corvin when I spot a slender figure in a pale green satin gown on his arm.
Ella.
I didn’t recall Snow’s invite having a plus one.
She gatecrashed this event. Her fiery spirit turns me the fuck on.
God, I missed her this week, and seeing her loosens the knot in my chest.
I glance at my brothers and for the first time feel this soul-rattling chasm between us. Even a little pissed off that their brutal, savage ways are keeping me from what I want. Ella.
Before I can do anything, I feel the weight of my brother’s green-eyed stare. Kieran. The boss. Our king. His stare wrecks me, a faint smile lifting from his lips.
It’s gotten back to me here and there that my brothers fear me for what I can do to them. The way Kieran regards me, I see respect in his eyes. He’ll listen to me when the time comes to decide Corvin’s fate. Unlike the other developers and hackers who work for me, Corvin sits in a league of his own. A dangerous intersection of knowing our sins as a Mob organization and having the technical ability to obliterate us.
It never mattered to me who my family killed. It’s not indiscriminate. There’s always a reason. Lachlan isn’t as insane as people think. He’s calculating and precise. But he wants Corvin’s head when this is done. Taking Ella as my own changes my trajectory about Corvin.
There has to be a way to control him. Find that intersection in the Venn diagram where he can live and be trusted.
Lachlan wants to gut him because he’s a menace. Something I’m struggling with because of one little wrinkle. I’m falling hopelessly for his daughter.
If Lachlan gets his way, Ella will be alone in the world and at the mercy of some psycho fucking cop.
I’m the one who can protect her.
Right now, I have to address what happened earlier this week.
Damn, I miss her.
I finish my drink and hand the glass to a waiter before striding over to greet them both .
Ella catches my eye and the hitch in her breath does me the fuck in.
Getting closer, I see the dress has a gently-scooped neckline with a tempting glimpse of her ample cleavage. Dainty straps with beads contrast the definition of her shoulders. And that thigh-high slit heats my blood. I’ve never seen her wear anything revealing. Jesus, that slit makes her legs look like they go on for days. She’s a stunning beauty in that dress with her soft waves of dark mahogany hair cascading past her shoulders.
Corvin sees me and smiles, clutching Ella’s hand in his elbow. “Mr. O’Rourke. I hope you don’t mind, I brought Ella.”
“I actually bullied my way in here,” she confesses.
“If you need me to pay for her plate,” Corvin offers.
I hold my hand up. “We always buy full tables. It’s fine.”
My gaze collides with Ella and the room feels like it’s on fire.
“Thank you, Mr. O’Rourke,” Corvin Snow showers me with this syrupy admiration that has to be an act.
Or he could be grateful not to have been caught for the cyber takedown of the century and is now happy to hide behind my fucking skirt for protection.
“My pleasure ,” I say with my eyes right on Ella.
Pleasure...
“We will get out of your hair and mingle,” Snow says and sweeps Ella away from me.
Anger floods my veins, but I smile through it, determined to keep an eye on her.
“She’s here?” A feminine voice whispers in my ear from behind.
Closing my eyes, I face my sister. “Aye.”
“And her father works for you, too?”
“They came as a package deal before I realized who she was. And considering what I did to her...”
“Do you think her father would object to you dating her?”
“Dating,” I scoff and wave to my brothers. “Have you not figured out that O’Rourke men don’t date? They possess .”
“So be different.” She nudges me. “I can tell you like her. You didn’t blink an eye approving her shopping spree. And I saw just now how you looked at her.”
“Why are you watching me?”
“Maybe looking for the signs.” She shrugs.
“Signs?”
“Of how a man who’s crazy about a woman is supposed to look at her.” Her tone worries me.
She’s isolated working in East Hampton. She can marry whoever she wants. Kieran refuses to arrange a marriage for her. But her last name must give many men pause. And those who want to marry her because of who she is, is not someone she would want.
I don’t tell her that I know all about her and Archer Crest because she’ll never forgive me for spying on her. And that I know it’s over between them and he broke her heart. Something else I can’t share with anyone because I really only talk to my brothers, and they’ll kill him.
“It will happen, Shea. When you least expect it,” I say, wanting her to have hope, and then I kiss her on the cheek.
Smiling, her eyes widen as she lets out an, “Uh oh...”
“What?” I follow her gaze, and fury consumes me seeing Ella in the arms of another man.