Chapter 61 Stan
SIXTY-ONE
STAN
Playlist recommendation:
Kiss Me - Sixpence None The Richer
“What do you want?” Lucas muttered when he saw me on the intercom. “Aren’t I being forced to spend the next four hours with you at the hockey rink?”
“Figured we could duke it out here first. Cade and I had our… clash, but you and I haven’t. You deserve the chance to beat the fuck out of me for what happened to Kitty on my watch. And I need to ask you something.”
“Smart move. You know I won’t bust up that ugly face of yours when Kitty’ll see the aftermath.” When I just snorted, he studied me through the screen. “Come up.”
I opened the door once he hit the buzzer and the doorman waved me through to the elevator.
Pushing my back into the mirrored wall, I didn’t even grimace as the cream Kitty had applied to my ink squelched as it brushed the glass.
Having her hands on me was never a punishment, but I wasn’t as stringent with aftercare as she was and I couldn’t wait for the fuckers to heal.
Once I reached Lucas’s apartment, for the second time in as many weeks, I braced myself for a fist to the face as soon as the elevator doors opened—if Cade had tried it, there was no reason Lucas wouldn’t too.
But he wasn’t there.
If anything, he loomed by his front door, a bottle of beer in both hands. One, he angled at me.
I studied the bottle, then his expression. “Did you piss in it?”
Lucas poured some beer into his mouth. “Don’t trust me?”
“No. You’re Kitty’s brother. She had to learn it from somewhere.”
He smirked. “I didn’t doctor the beer.”
“Good to know.” I took a sip and, had to admit, it tasted like it usually did. If a little weaker.
“So… you want to talk?”
“Yeah.”
He retreated into the apartment. “Kitty wouldn’t appreciate it if either of us showed up with black eyes or the signs of bruised ribs. I told Cade to leave you alone, but he’s a hotheaded jackass. He deserved that busted wrist for ignoring me. Again.”
“You’re less happy about me seeing your sister than he is,” I pointed out.
“You trying to rub salt in the wound?” He clambered onto a stool at the kitchen counter.
“Look, I can think you two are a disaster waiting to happen, but I can also see that Kitty’s been happier since you showed up.
And that’s saying something considering she’s spent the bulk of your relationship healing from a beating that’s your fault. ”
“I’d do anything to take that back.” I shoved a hand through my hair. “I had no way of knowing that—”
“How traitors work,” Lucas agreed. “I get it. Genuinely, I do. But… I don’t know. I wanted more for her than this life. Before Da died, I knew his plans and I hated them. The girls would have been no better off than Ma.
“Don’t get me wrong, she didn’t hate her life, but the girls deserve a choice.”
“Did you get a choice?”
“No,” he conceded, pulling deeply on his beer. “But that’s fine. I was raised like this, and to be honest, I’ve found a niche for myself in the organization that means I’m not some punk blowing hot air on the streets like my father. I’ve done better than he could have dreamed of.”
“He mustn’t have been too much of a moron. That building of yours must be worth a pretty penny.”
“Inheritance and timing and a lot of scrimping.” His lips twisted. “I’ve long since come to believe that he was on the take with the Five Points and the Ra.”
“The Ra?”
“The IRA.”
“Holy fuck. Seriously?” My eyes widened when he nodded. “Why the hell are you telling me this?”
“Because you’re about to be family, aren’t you? Plus, he’s long gone. So’s Aidan Sr. Jr.’s not the type to blame me for what my father did, and if that changed, I could afford to cover what my da stole.” He tapped his nose. “That’s strictly between me and you. I haven’t told Cade my suspicions.”
“Why are you sharing them with me now?”
“Snakes in the grass are everywhere. Even your own family.” His jaw worked. “You’ll do right by her.”
It wasn’t a question.
“Of course.”
“She’s wading into shit she has no business being involved in.”
“That’s… unfortunate. But, and I mean this, I had nothing to do with it.
Kitty came to the Lobos Rojos’ attention when she befriended Beatriz Martinez.
That’s not on me. The rest, sure. But they trust her because of Beatriz.
Which makes no sense to me because I doubt she’s Beatriz’s favorite person anymore. ”
“She always could sniff out trouble.” He heaved a sigh. “Somehow, despite your inauspicious beginnings, you have most of the family on your side.”
“Not Raisin. Or Cade.”
“Cade and I are duty bound to dislike you. Raisin has trust issues.”
I considered what I knew of her past that Lucas didn’t. Couldn’t exactly blame her, could I? Not when she and Kitty had killed Neev’s teacher to protect their baby sister from her groomer.
“So, we’re okay?” I inquired before amending, “Well, as okay as two men can be when one of them is dating a younger sister?”
“Precisely.” Lucas tilted his beer at me.
I leaned over and clinked my bottle with his. “Look, I won’t beat around… I want to ask you for her hand in marriage.”
He squinted. “Figured that rock she wears told its own tale.”
“It started as protection and morphed into something else. I just never asked for it back.”
“So you haven’t popped the question?”
“No. I wanted to do it right.” I glanced down at the bottle in my hand. Then, much as I’d told her father, I continued, “We come from different waters but we’re both traditional as fuck. Only right that I ask you before I speak to her.”
“She wouldn’t appreciate it.”
“I know.”
He smirked. “So, I have dirt on you from the start. I like it.”
I rolled my eyes. “Do I have your approval?”
“No.” When I gaped at him, his smirk became a bark of laughter. “I won’t ever approve of any dipshit Kitty or my sisters bring home, but I won’t stop you from asking her to marry you.”
“That’s a relief,” I mocked.
Soon found out that his beer was nonalcoholic, a fact I learned when he drove us both to the arena where I’d managed to score the family New York Stars tickets thanks to my in with Star. Everyone was going, including plus ones.
When Kitty saw us together as we walked toward the line, her brows lifted but she didn’t comment on it until we were taking our seats in the stands.
Star told me I was crazy for not scoring them a box, but I knew Kitty would enjoy this so much more.
She leaned into me, pinning me with all her focus until something caught her eye. Not a goal, but her sister.
After yanking on Neev’s arm, Kitty hissed, “Sit down.”
“But he’s so pretty,” Neev whined.
I glanced around, trying to figure out who Neev was ogling, then grimaced when I realized it was Matteo—one of Rory’s Camorrista guards who’d agreed to secure the crowd for me when Luigi had asked for the night off.
“She’s like a magpie for shiny mafioso types,” Kitty berated after a good couple minutes of telling her sister why dating a mobster was a bad idea.
I smirked at her when she finally graced me with her attention. “Think you might be a hypocrite, duci.”
“She’ll thank me later.”
“She might. He’s snap happy.”
“What does that mean?”
“Good at snapping necks.”
Her eye-roll told me how far we’d come. “Of course she’d like the crazy one.”
When I noticed Raisin had calf eyes for the Camorrista foot soldier too, I decided not to break the news to Kitty. She already had enough on her plate without the sensible sister also turning whacko.
“Anyway, did you and Lucas fight?” She scanned my face for bruises. “You were gone long enough for a brawl.”
I stole some of her Dippin’ Dots. “Think I put on your concealer to cover up the proof?”
“I never know with you. You’re a constant surprise.”
During the first intermission of game five of the Cup finals, I proved that I was more than a surprise.
With some of the family having absconded to the concessions out front, I snagged a hold of her hand.
“What are we doing?” she asked around a laugh as I hauled her from her seat and guided her away from the stands and into the outer corridor.
Through the large crowd of people, we ducked and dived—I knew she was enjoying herself because every now and then, I heard giggles.
Until, finally, she gasped.
Yanked on my fingers.
“No. Freakin’. Way.”
“There has to be some perks to being with a Valentini.” I winked at her as a man, waiting outside the administrative area, straightened at the sight of us.
“Mr. Valentini, welcome,” he greeted. “I’m Andrew.”
I shook his hand when he held it out. “I hear you have a surprise for my partner.”
Said partner was bobbing around on her toes like a demented Tinkerbell.
Andrew opened a door that led onto a winding corridor.
Kitty, however, took my hand and tugged on it. “No.”
I frowned. “What?”
“You…” Her cheeks gusted out. “That way’s the locker room, right?”
“Yeah. I have a—”
“Then, no.” Her expression turned pained. “I thought you were taking me to the merch store. I can’t go to the locker room. I want to. God, do I. But no. It’ll fuck with their juju and I want to win more than I want to see—”
“Donnghal and Lewis,” Andrew supplied.
She moaned. “Oh, my god. Donnghal.” Her gaze drifted toward the corridor again then her expression resolved. “Andrew, later. Please? Yes. After the game. After we win.”
Andrew peered at me in question and I shrugged. “Of course, ma’am. I’ll be waiting in the same spot after the game.”
“Are you sure, Kitty?”
“No,” she moaned again. “But I have to be. We need to win!”
Andrew promised, “I’ll tell them it’s an order.”
“Please do.”
When he stepped into the corridor and the door closed behind him, she launched herself at me with a kiss that made me resent our very public location.
By the time she’d given me a semi, she pulled back. I grinned, wide and proud that I’d gifted her something that caused such joy even if she hadn’t actually received the gift yet. That was all I wanted for her—happiness.
I propped her up by cupping her ass when she devoured my mouth in thanks, only breaking contact to pepper kisses all over my face.
Each interspersed with: “You.” Kiss “Are.” Peck “The.” Kiss “Best.” Peck “Boyfriend.” Kiss “Ever.”
Not for long.
Fuck that boyfriend shit.
“I should probably be jealous,” I joked when she let go of me.
“Nah. But DONNGHAL. No. 35.” Her gaze turned dreamy. “He’s the best C in the league. I don’t care what anyone says.”
“Shouldn’t tell you that he’s Jen’s half-brother, huh? At least he’s taken. You can’t run away with him.”
Her eyes widened. “Shit. You’re right! Please tell me she invites him to family events?”
When I just grinned, she leaned into me. Forehead on my pecs. And repeated, “Best. Boyfriend. Ever.”
Upon our return to the stands, Neev demanded, “Where the fuck did you go?”
“Stan got me an invite into the locker room,” she admitted, her eyes bright with delight.
“No way! You’ll have messed with their heads!” Lucas growled.
I glowered at him. “She never went in. She’s going to meet them after the game.”
“Oh. That’s okay then.”
“What a kickass gift,” Neev cheered before elbowing her elder brother in the gut. “You’re such a jerk, Lucas.”
As shit had a way of happening in families of this size, the conversation shifted from Kitty’s almost locker room meet and greet to the many and varied ways that Lucas was, indeed, a jerk.
This spanned the three decades of his existence—Patricia threw in a couple points too.
Until, of course, the game kicked into high gear. It was fast enough to hold my attention, but my knee bobbed and jostled in time to the music and the roars from the crowd. When Jen’s brother scored, Kitty leaped up and started doing a happy dance.
It was then I decided I’d beg, steal, and borrow from Conor and Star to get season tickets in a box—it’d be worth whatever favor I owed them because there wasn’t much I wouldn’t do for the sight of that ass, jiggling in time to the beat of a song that appeared to consist of one word—goal.
Once the next intermission hit, the family laughed and joked around when the kiss cam turned on us, as I’d arranged with Star.
Immediately, I retreated into the aisle. A flash of hurt creased her expression until I dropped onto one knee. A ring box in my hand. A band of emeralds in an eternity setting my unorthodox offering because, hell, she already wore my engagement ring.
She jerked upright then plunked back down. To the crowd of cheers and jeers as well as “Kiss Me” by Sixpence None The Richer, I called out, “Liunissa, will you rule over this jungle with me?”
A smile hit her eyes in a way that gave me my answer before she whispered, “Se.” She rushed to embrace me, mouth hovering above mine, denying me her kiss until she imparted, “You might finally have convinced me.”
As the girls cheered around us, her ma screeching and sobbing, the crowd’s screams entangled with the moment, making this a memory she’d never forget, I asked, “What, duci? To take on this broken man you made whole?”
“Nah.” Her forehead pushed into mine. “That I was born with your kiss on my lips.”