3. Sean O’Sullivan
THREE
sean o’sullivan
PRESENT - O’SULLIVAN FAMILY PLANE
You either kill… or marry her but do it quickly or I’ll make the choice for you.
My father’s personality changed with the wind. He never felt the same about anything or anyone, except us—my brothers and ma.
We were his world, even as grown men.
But when it came to business, when it came to the mob, he wasn’t our father and we weren’t the apples of his eye.
I was Sean, his heir.
And he was Darragh, the boss.
He taught me how to take his place, how to be a man, but my mother taught me everything else—how to love, especially. And that I had a right to be loved back.
But when you mixed all of it with business, shit could get murky. People might get hurt.
I got hurt.
What Blair did, wasn’t the problem.
How she went about it, was.
We made promises and up until now had always kept them. Blair breaking the most important one meant everyone had to suffer for a little bit, including me and her.
“I think you should talk and let her explain,” Aoife said for the thirtieth time since boarding our private flight to New York. “This is Blair we’re talking about.”
Neither Siobhan nor Aoife wanted parts in me and Blair’s drama. And both usually wanted in on everything that brought chaos.
But Blair was loved by my family and none wanted to see her hurt. Even my father had given me an out by offering marriage as an option.
“Besides, I think this was all your guys wicked plan…”
I tuned them out.
Nothing about this was part of the fucking plan.
Blair had gone off course a long time ago, and in a sense, I was playing catch up.
“You two go home when we land,” I said, pushing up from my seat to move away from them. “I want New York quiet for the next twenty-four hours.”
“Did he just…”
“Fuck you, Sean,” Siobhan said without much base in her voice as I took my new seat at the back of the plane.
The twins knew they were a lot to handle. Living in Philly for almost six years had given me the freedom of peace on more days than not.
Coming back to New York had always been in the cards but not in this way. Adjusting would be a bitch.
Exhausted from dealing with… everything, I shut my eyes but that attempt at a quick nap was short lived by a phone call.
I stared at Blair’s name for a moment, annoyed but still needing to hear her voice.
Still needing her.
After swiping the screen, I waited for her to speak.
“You’re upset with me, I know,” she whispered after a while and something in her tone urged me to close my eyes. “I just… I hope you know I didn’t do it maliciously. I was… protecting you and myself.”
Nothing she said made sense.
I’d let Blair run free for too long and had a feeling there was more at play. She was hiding something and now I had to figure that out too.
She sighed; almost as if she were reading my mind. As if there was more to make up for.
“I can’t apologize because then I’d be a promise breaker and a liar, but I am sorry for breaking said promise. I’ll make it up to you, mo ghrá.”
She hung up and it felt like all the energy I’d been holding on to went with her.
What the fuck else had Blair done?
“Hey…” Siobhan slid in across from me. “I need to talk to you about something you won’t like, but we’re about to land so it’s now or never.”
I rested my head in my hand and lifted an eyebrow.
“I got engaged.”
Nothing surprised me anymore, especially Siobhan’s many engagements.
“And I won’t like it because?”
She shrugged and I closed my eyes with a sigh but only for a second.
“I’m married…” she slid a gold band on her finger and wiggled it. “Surprise.”
I couldn’t help but laugh.
“Is that all he could afford?” I asked, reaching out to grab her hand. “What the fuck is this shit?”
She snatched her fingers from mine and I smelled the lie coming before she used it.
“The ring doesn’t matter. You know I hate diamonds.”
Liar.
“Siobhan, you have two diamond studs in each ear. I’m not buying the bullshit. What’s at play? Lay it out for me and do it before we land. I’m running out of patience.”
She leaned forward, elbows to knees with a smile I knew all too well spread across her face.
“We met at that Russian bar in Brooklyn, the one owned by the Ivanov’s. Anyway, he’s been looking for a fake wife to help him get the inheritance his father is holding hostage. I had a little liquor in my system and offered up my services. Plus, he’s cute and mysterious and you know how much I love mysteries. I’m only playing the part of his wife, while he gets his father’s company.”
Interesting.
“And?”
“And…” she sat back, crossed her legs, and tucked a piece of ginger hair—most outsiders thought was dye—behind her ear. “Aoife and I were waiting for the background check and it came in about thirty minutes ago. His name is Ziad Fortune and he’s the son of Raphael Fortune.”
“Raphael Fortune, the CEO of Good Fortune Security?”
“The one and only. He’s retiring and his oldest son is set to take his place.”
“But only after he’s married?”
Another nod but I wasn’t buying it.
“Going into business with the Fortune family might have my attention, but why are you doing it this way? Marrying a random man without telling Eoghan?”
She waved her hand as if her father’s word wasn’t law to her.
“My da knows everything because I still haven’t figured out how to keep him out of my business. He didn’t try and stop it, which tells me we’re on the same page. Do you know what we could accomplish with our hand in their government contracts? I saw an opportunity and took it.”
“You’re hiding something from me,” I said coolly, tired already from the mess her shenanigans would bring to my doorstep. “But, I trust you. Do your thing and if it becomes more than you anticipated, tell me. Not a second fucking late, iight?”
“Understood.”
The women in my life were going to be the death of me. And yet, after deplaning and seeing the twins off, I had my driver take me straight to Blair.
She lived in a renovated eight story building between Brooklyn and lower Manhattan. No one occupied the other units, instead she used them as office spaces for herself and team.
The top floor was converted into a penthouse apartment. Blair wanted the utmost privacy and I gave it to her without revealing my actions.
All I ever wanted was for her to be safe and happy. And I would do anything to make it happen, including giving her a push from the shadows.
“Mr. O’Sullivan, we’ve arrived. Should I wait for you?”
My driver pulled to a stop and I got out on my own.
“I’ll be sleeping here,” I told him as he unloaded the two suitcases I traveled with. “You can go home.”
“You got it…” he rolled the bags inside and I followed. “If you need me, my phone will be on. Liam and Lorcan will start tomorrow.”
Serge handed the suitcases off to the two guards in the elevator and left. Once he was out of sight, I ordered everyone to go home for the night, except two guards to man the security room, then went up alone.
Blair’s normal staff and security team were on the schedule for tomorrow and I wouldn’t stop them from doing the jobs she paid them to do.
The second the elevator doors opened into her darkened apartment, I pulled my shoes off quietly and rolled both suitcases to her room, finding the door open unlike usual.
She’d obviously been expecting me and fell asleep. Everything except the silk bonnet, her eyes and nose were covered by the thick burnt orange duvet.
A simple glance at the woman I’ve loved since sixteen did something to me, something I had to avoid but didn’t have the energy to do at the moment.
Instead, I got in the shower, washed the day off then joined Blair in bed like the fiend I was.
“You’re here, Oisin,” she whispered, eyes closed as she slid close and rested her head against my chest. “I thought you’d leave me waiting forever.”
I closed my eyes and murmured, “Why’d you force my hand, Amoy?”
Not expecting a response, I let myself fall asleep. Tonight we could pretend.
Tomorrow not so much.