Chapter 35
Declan
I’ve always known it’s the head of the family’s responsibility to handle any and all problems. Dad was good at that.
He’d shoulder anything that came his way and made it clear that he was always to blame for anything that went wrong and rarely ever took direct credit when his plans went right.
He was humble and direct, and we all respected him for it.
But now I can see how hard that must’ve been.
I remember days like this. Sitting in this exact room, arrayed around the kitchen table with my mother and my brothers as he gave us the straight deal on whatever shit was going down.
He delivered bad news like he was reading a script.
No fussing around it. No trying to dress it up.
Which is how I try to be now. Cormac’s sitting next to Seamus. Finn pours everyone a drink while my mother tries her best to smile like she’s not thinking about Dad standing where I’m standing. It breaks my heart, but I don’t have the luxury of letting that get to me.
“The best way to handle bad news is straight up. No avoiding it or acting like it’s not happening. So here’s the truth.” I meet my mother’s gaze. “Donnell Lynch is working with Senesi against us.”
“That motherfucker,” Cormac snarls, his expression going dark. “That sick fuck. He knows how bad this is.”
“He was around the last time,” Mom echoes, shaking her head. “It’s madness to work with that sick bastard. What’s he thinking?”
“He’s thinking with his fucking wallet,” Finn says, his face aghast.
I hold up a hand for calm. “Senesi is one man. Donnell is one man too. We will handle them both.”
“But Donnell’s got half the families in his corner,” Seamus points out.
“Except for the Maguires. I turned them back, and I’ll do the same for the rest.”
Cormac pushes himself to his feet. “Tell me where to go. I’ll handle the rest.”
“Easy, ghostman.” I wave my brother off. He was the family’s top killer for a long time, but that’s not his role anymore. “You have a wife and children to focus on.”
“This is existential. If Donnell and Senesi really get going together, we may be truly fucked. Together they could be unstoppable.”
“We’ll handle it. I have some ideas. Casey’s got a dossier of information on Senesi we can use, and we know Donnell better than anyone. We’ll find a way.” I take my brother by the arm and push him back to his seat. “Don’t overreact.”
Cormac reluctantly listens. I feel a slight relief at that. I have to be able to manage my family, and if I can’t even get my brothers to listen, I’m fucked beyond measure when it comes to everyone else.
Mother speaks up. “This is unforgivable. Donnell is burning his bridges. That makes him dangerous. It’s all-out war now.”
“I know that. Seamus, put everyone on alert. Full battle footing. Get the men up to strength. Arm them all. Body armor on the streets. Eyes peeled for anyone aligned with Senesi and Donnell.”
“Already on it.” Seamus is typing up a message on his phone. “You know, we’ve been investing in some fun new toys. I’m kind of excited to try them out.”
“I bet you are.” I meet the gaze of each person at the table, one at a time. They look back, hard and determined. “If anyone can handle this, it’s this family. We’ve been through bad times. We’ve handled worse. I trust you all with my life.”
“I wouldn’t want anyone else to lead us through this mess.” Cormac stands and nods at me. “Long live Boss Whelan.”
“Long live the boss,” Finn echoes.
We discuss plans for another hour. Nobody’s happy, but I can tell they’re all feeling better once we’ve got ideas in play. I’m tired when I finally limp my way upstairs, thinking about the present I left myself.
She’s kneeling on the bed, right where I left her.
“What took you so long?” Casey asks, exasperated. She rubs her hands together and flexes her wrists. “You weren’t kidding about these knots.”
“Have you been trying to escape?” I close our bedroom door behind me.
“Obviously! You didn’t tell me you were going to be a full hour when you tied me up!”
“I told you to wait until I got back. I never said it would be soon.” I approach her slowly. God, she looks like absolute perfection. Her wrists are above her head and she’s on her knees. She’s wearing a tank top and a pair of black lacy panties. Her nipples are stiff under the thin material.
“Sometimes I forget you’re still an asshole.”
“It has been a very difficult day, Ms. Brennan. Are you going to make my life even harder?”
Her teeth clamp together as she glares. “No, sir, but—”
“If you open your mouth to argue one more time, I swear I will punish you so badly you’ll scream.”
She clicks her teeth together, clearly pissed off, but the way her chest is rising and falling makes it clear she’s liking this game.
I approach her slowly. She stares back defiantly. I let her watch as I unbutton my shirt and toss it aside.
“Sometimes I forget how willful you are, Ms. Brennan. If you are going to be my employee, you have to learn how to follow orders.”
“I understand, sir, but I’ve been trapped here for so long.”
“You think you deserve some kind of reward?”
“That’d be nice.”
“I see. Interesting.” I move closer to her, right next to the bed. “And what do you want?”
She’s breathing hard now. Her cheeks are flushed with excitement. I’ve never seen anything so beautiful before in my life. “I want you to touch me.”
I love the way she says it. Both afraid and excited. “That’s very forward, Ms. Brennan. I’m your boss. This isn’t appropriate.”
“I’m tied up on your bed. Screw appropriate.”
“Good point.” I step closer and brush my fingers between her legs. “Is that what you want?”
“Yes.” Her mouth opens and her cheeks turn pink.
“Do you like this?” I graze across her pussy with my fingers. She’s already wet, her panties slick and damp with her excitement.
“Yes.”
“How much?”
“A lot.”
“You want more?”
“Please, sir.”
I reach forward to grab her hair tightly. I pull her panties down over her gorgeous thighs, but I don’t touch her bare cunt. “Beg first.”
“Please, Mr. Whelan. I need it.”
“Need what?”
“Your fingers. Between my legs.”
“What else?”
“In my mouth. Inside of me. Please.”
Fuck, I can’t deny her, even when we’re just playing a game.
I tease her pussy, stroking her and spreading her lips.
She shivers at my touch, moaning and panting lightly.
I press my other fingers into her mouth and order her to suck them as I continue to tease and touch, stroking back and forth, circling her swollen clit.
She grinds against my hand, and I sink my fingers into her pussy while she sucks and licks greedily.
“Look at you, filthy fucking girl. You love this, don’t you? You want to be filled to the brim.”
“Mmmmmm!” she moans with my fingers in her mouth.
“Grind your pretty pussy against the heel of my palm. That’s right, baby.
” She’s moaning and moving harder, my fingers buried in her pussy.
She’s so wet she’s dripping down my wrist. “You’re so fucking messy, baby.
Look at you, it’s so pretty and filthy. You’re all mine, tied up on the bed like you’re on a pedestal. I worship you, Casey. You know that?”
“I know,” she gasps, pulling back. I keep fucking her with my fingers, gushing in and out faster, and her eyes roll back as she grips onto the rope connected to the ceiling. “Oh my god, Declan, I’m so close. I’m so fucking close.”
“You’ve been such a good girl, you’ve earned this.” I lift up her tank and suck her hard nipples as I keep fucking her with my fingers. “You deserve to break for me now, baby. Go ahead, when you’re all done making a fucking mess, I’ll let you down.”
“Oh, fuck.” Her eyes roll back and all her muscles tighten.
She comes like heaven, and I watch her break.
I could do this every day of my life and never get tired of it.
She’s so beautiful when she shatters on my fingers, all her control lost, the orgasm washing through her in waves.
Her pink cheeks turn crimson as she slowly comes back down, and when she’s finally done, I release her from the ceiling.
She collapses back to the bed, gasping for air. She groans, rubbing her stiff shoulders and wrists. I join her, pulling her against me and holding tight.
“Did you like that?” I whisper in her ear. She knew how long she’d be trapped the whole time. Leaving her was just a part of the game, a way to heighten her pleasure when I finally came back.
“It was really hard,” she says, grinning like an idiot. “And totally worth it.”
I kiss the back of her neck and breathe her smell. “I love you, Casey Whelan. I swear, every inch of my body and every ounce of my soul is all yours.”
“I know you do.” She turns to face me. “And you know I do too. Even with all this bad stuff happening, it’s like—” She touches my chest and kisses me. “I love you. It’s weird finding that while the world falls apart.”
“Nothing will fall apart. I won’t let it.” I pull her tight against me. “I swear. I’m yours.”
“If anyone can keep that promise, it’s you.”
And I know it, without a doubt in my heart, I’ll find Donnell and kill him. I’ll hunt down Senesi and rip out his throat. I’ll do it all for Casey, no matter who gets in my way, no matter how much I have to ruin to do it.
Life is going to get more dangerous soon. There are more risks to take. I consider telling her about it but can’t bring myself to say the words. Better she doesn’t know. Better if she keeps on going.
Because in two days, I’m going to smoke them out.