Chapter Twenty-Eight
I wasn’t sure why I’d thought coming home for Christmas this year was a good idea. Maybe I’d felt nostalgic. Seamus would probably blame it on me missing Aislinn. He blamed every mood swing on her. I still vividly remembered our conversation after I’d sent Patrick another very clear message.
“Balor mentioned you sent one of his men over to give Patrick a thrashing after he had a chat with Aislinn,” Seamus said as a way of greeting as he entered my office and perched on the edge of my desk.
I glared at him. “There’s a chair. Why don’t you use it?”
“Is this because officially she’s still yours and you want to make a statement for others, or is this because you still have feelings for her and are jealous of any bloke who makes a move at her?”
I leaned back in my chair. I should have known Balor would give Seamus a call. These two had decided to become the bane of my existence. “Still having feelings would require for me to have had feelings for my soon-ex-wife in the first place.”
“You haven’t taken a single step toward divorce, Lorcan. Maybe others believe this bullshit, but I’ve known you since you touched your first boob behind the fish and chips shop. You had and have feelings for Aislinn.”
He was right. The mere idea of another man touching what was mine made me raging mad.
She was supposed to be mine. Yet, I sent her away.
The only thing I could have done in the shitty situation, except for killing her.
The latter was what I should have done. It didn’t matter why Aislinn had done what she’d done.
She’d talked to the police. End of story.
But my stupid heart hadn’t dropped her yet. It annoyed the fuck out of me.
“Eventually I’ll forget her. There are many more women out there.”
“You haven’t looked at any of them since you sent her away.”
“How about you keep your nose out of my business?”
“She betrayed you. That was a major mistake, but she hasn’t been raised in our world. She views the police through different eyes. Maybe she can make it up to you and prove her loyalty. And if she doesn’t want to or can’t, then you can really let go.”
I thought about Seamus words a lot and maybe that was why I was here.
“Marriage is sacred,” Father began. My brothers, our father and I had settled around the massive stone hearth with a glass of good old Irish whiskey.
Tomorrow was Christmas Eve, and Dad’s housekeeper was preparing a feast. The snoring of Father’s three Irish Wolfhounds filled the room; it was a sound I always associated with home.
I missed having a dog, but New York just wasn’t a place for any dog, least of all an Irish Wolfhound.
I sank deeper into my armchair, and emptied half of my glass. I knew this was coming. Father had called me five times when he found out I’d sent Aislinn back to Dublin.
Balor slanted me a look over his glass. I hadn’t told any of them the truth about Aislinn. Only Timothy and Seamus knew the details of her betrayal, and I intended to keep it that way. But Balor knew something was up. He couldn’t possibly guess what it really was.
Aislinn was my business and still my wife. I would handle her, but if my father and brothers knew about her cooperation with the police, they’d get involved.
“I’m getting old and none of my five sons have considered giving me grandchildren.”
I looked over at Aran but he didn’t say anything to contradict him. He seemed content to let Father drone.
“Many marriages fail. That’s why divorce rates are so high,” I said.
“Divorce!” Father muttered and shook his head in disgust. “In my time, that word would never cross anyone’s mouth. ”
“Even then, people got divorced. You’re not ancient,” I muttered. “Aislinn just wasn’t the right woman for me.”
“Maybe you just weren’t willing to give it time. A good marriage needs work, time, and patience. You gave yours neither and then you sent your wife back like an unwanted package. It’s a disgrace.”
“I’m sure Lorcan had his reasons, Father,” Aran droned.
Father made a dismissive sound.
I had a very good reason.
“You shouldn’t file for divorce,” he insisted. “You should give this another chance.”
“You were against my marriage with a Killeen.”
“I was, but now she’s your wife before God, and that’s a bond you shouldn’t take lightly.”
Gulliver had spewed that same nonsense, said I should discipline her and submit her to my will.
Of course, I could easily break Aislinn in mind and body.
But for what? It wouldn’t make me trust her.
I didn’t want a wife that didn’t have a will of her own, who cowered at my feet.
I wanted a wife who wouldn’t stab me in the back.
Still, I hadn’t found it in me to start the divorce process.
I couldn’t forget what Desmond had said, that Aislinn was useless because she didn’t have access to my office and the warehouse.
Those were the places where he’d wanted the bugs placed.
Aislinn had been to my office and the warehouse after their fateful meeting and yet she’d never planted a bug there and even lied to the police.
To some degree, she had protected me. The police had played on her greatest fear: that I was involved in her sister’s death.
I was still pissed that Desmond didn’t know who had informed the Miami contact about my visit on Maksim’s yacht.
Someone on the Russian side must have spilled the beans.
I wanted to kick myself because I still hadn’t moved on.
The fact that Aislinn was only a two-hour drive away didn’t help either.
It was her birthday today. I’d tossed the necklace with a clover-leaf pendant into the Hudson in a fit of rage after sending her away.
I had half a mind to pay her a visit in Dublin.
“Father, eventually you’ll have to accept that it’s over.”
I could feel Balor’s eyes on me. One of his men was keeping an eye on Aislinn and reporting back to me directly at the end of each day. Balor didn’t approve of it. He probably suspected something more than her flightiness was the reason why I had sent her away.
Maybe I’d keep an eye on her the day after Christmas. I knew it would be a mistake but I wouldn’t be able to resist.
On my way to the bedroom, Balor stepped in my way.
I sighed. I could only assume what this was about. “If this is about Aislinn, drop it. Father has been talking about the holy bond of marriage enough for one night.”
“You obviously haven’t quite given up on your marriage yet either, or why do I have to give you one of my men.”
I gritted my teeth. Balor had enough men. Having one of them watch Aislinn did hardly count as a bother.
“Let my marriage be my problem. And we both know we sometimes hold on to women for longer than is healthy and clever.”
His expression tightened like it always did when someone mentioned his first love.
“My man noticed someone watching Aislinn. He couldn’t find out who it was, because the person was too careful, but it seems someone else has an intense interest in your wife.”
“Why didn’t you tell me sooner? This isn’t a new discovery, is it?”
“He noticed two days ago but we wanted to confirm this was a common occurrence. She’s being watched 24/7 by at least one of my soldiers. No reason to worry.”
Fuck. Was this about Imogen? I wouldn’t put it past that bitch to sell her own sister to the Russians if it benefitted her.
But what if someone was interested in Aislinn because she was my wife and now away from my protection?
“Dad expects you to attend Christmas Eve dinner tomorrow. If you disappear, he’ll want an explanation and the only one he’ll accept as an apology is you going to Dublin to talk things through with your wife.”
“Then that’s the lie you can give him,” I muttered. “I’m leaving for Dublin now. I want to know who’s watching my wife. This could be related to my new business with Sergej. I won’t let any other players ruin the game for me.”
“Sure,” Balor drawled. “It’s all about business.”
I entered my room and closed the door in his face before I began packing a couple of things for a few days. I’d catch whoever was on Aislinn’s trail. Maybe Balor’s men hadn’t succeeded, but they didn’t have the same motivation as I did.
I reached the Merchant’s Arch around two in the morning.
The pub was still open and crowded. The chances of Aislinn’s mother working a shift were high so I didn’t go in.
Instead, I went to a quieter part of the alley where I ran across a guy I remembered from Kenmare.
He gave me a nod, not the least bit surprised.
Balor must have told him about my arrival.
“Anything happen tonight?”
He shook his head and pulled his coat tighter around himself. It was freezing, but my anger and worry kept me warm. “Nothing. Aislinn entered the apartment with the boy around four in the afternoon and hasn’t left since then. Her mother went to work around five.”
“Anyone enter the house apart from Aislinn and Finn?”
“Just an old woman who also lives in the place.”
“You can go now. I’ll give Balor a call when I need someone to relieve me.”
He nodded and walked away. I leaned against the wall, which gave me a good view of the front door.
Due to the Merchant’s Arch, there was quite a bit of come and go, but no one came close to the front door, except for a drunk guy who pissed against it.
I had a feeling that happened quite often, and I hated that Aislinn and Finn lived in a place where they had to step over people’s piss.
None of my fucking business.
Nothing happened that night, and when Aislinn and Finn left the apartment in the morning for a walk to a playground, I followed them at a distance to make sure they didn’t notice me.
I also glanced around for anyone else who might be watching.
Thanks to Balor, I now rented a tiny one-room apartment across from Aislinn’s home, so I could watch her door from the window there that evening. Christmas Eve.