16. Angie
ANGIE
I’m pacing around the room when Lisa brings me lunch.
“Caesar salad and grilled chicken, exactly as requested.” She takes the lid off the plate with a flourish. “Huh? Huh? Pretty nice, right?”
I have to admit the food looks delicious. “Have you heard about my mom yet?”
“I swear, I’ll tell you the second I do.” She gets me set up near the couch. “Now come on. Pregnant ladies need to eat, right? You’re growing a human inside of you.”
“That sounds so weird.”
“But it’s like the most common thing in the world, right? Humans have been having babies forever.”
“Easy for you to say.”
“You think I’m not going to have kids?”
I wave that away. “You’re young.”
“Angie, you realize we’re the same age, right?”
“Oh.” I hadn’t thought about that, but Lisa doesn’t seem upset.
“Look, I know you’re having a rough time right now, and I’ll try to make you as comfortable as I can, but just hang in there. Connor might seem rough around the edges, but he means well.”
“How much do you know about him? My husband?”
“Oh, god, I mean, we’re not close by any means, but we’ve both been in the same family?—“
“Crime family,” I correct.
She flashes a smile and nods. “We’ve been in the same crime family our whole lives.
Connor’s always been hard. He wasn’t born to lead though, not officially anyway.
There was all this fighting years back, like back when I was little, and he ended up taking control.
The Maguire family’s been so much better off since then, honestly. He changed so many lives.”
“He feels like everything is on his shoulders.”
“That’s true in some ways. But he’s only one man, you know?
From what I’ve seen and heard, Connor’s a fair boss.
He treats his people well. He can be generous, but he’s also tough on weakness and doesn’t tolerate failure.
Everyone respects him. Honestly, anyone else would’ve been abandoned already. ”
“Are people upset? About this war, I mean?”
“It’s split. Some are angry with him. Some think he did the right thing. Others are just happy to get the chance to start killing people.” She laughs like that’s the funniest thing in the world.
“What do you think?”
“I think Connor was put in an impossible situation and is doing the best he can. I think you seem like a really nice person, and I think you’re going to be okay.”
I sigh, spearing some salad. “Doesn’t feel that way.”
“Give it time. Anything else? I should get back?—“
There’s noise in the hallway. My ears perk instantly and my back straightens. I chew hurriedly before jumping to my feet.
The sound of my mother’s shrill, frustrated shouting echoes like gunshots in a tunnel.
“Mom!” I hurry past Lisa to find Dawn struggling against Colm. He’s trying to calmly steer her toward the room set aside, but she’s resisting as much as she can.
“Let me go, you overgrown steroidal lab rat! I want my stuff! My freaking smokes, my clothes, get off me—“ She turns as I rush over, exasperated. “Angelina, there you are, they told me?—“
I throw my arms around her. Dawn Bellandi has never been a very affectionate person and I’m not surprised when she stiffens, but I don’t care. She squirms and it only makes me hold her tighter.
“I’m so happy to see you.”
“Yeah, yeah, it’s okay, hon. You’re fine, I’m fine. This place is wild, isn’t it? Your husband really is loaded, isn’t he?”
I pull back and she’s beaming at me happily. “That’s one way of putting it.”
“This meat pocket here—“ She gestures at poor Colm who silently takes the abuse. “He forced me out of my own home and thinks he can keep me locked in this house for the rest of my life. But that won’t happen. Do you hear me, you tumor-ridden snake fucker? I will not be caged!”
“Sorry,” I say to Colm and steer my mother away, into the room set aside for her. “Mom, please, they’re just doing their jobs. Leave him alone.”
“You’re too nice to people. Honestly, Angelina—“ She cuts off mid-sentence as she looks around her new setup. “Huh. Okay. This isn’t bad.”
It’s not as big as my room, but it’s close.
The bed’s huge, freshly made, and there’s plenty of seating.
I made sure she had a comfortable lounge and a massive TV plus her own private bathroom with a luxurious freestanding tub.
The windows are enormous, let in lots of light, and the ceilings are tall.
“I don’t know how long we have to be here, but Connor says it won’t be forever. There’s some kind of war?—“
“No shit, hon. They talk about it on the news all the time.”
“Not that war, I mean, some kind of, like, mafia war?—“
She rolls her eyes. “God, men can be so dramatic sometimes. Do you know where my smokes are? Can you get me some? Ask that quivering gelatinous ooze back in the hall?—“
“Mom, are you listening?” I’m tempted to grab her by the shoulders and shake her. “This is serious. We really can’t leave this place. Colm won’t let you out the doors at the end of the hall. There’s room service?—“
“You had me at room service.” She flops onto the couch. “Smokes? Please?”
I rub my face, biting back a string of curses. Leave it to my mother to care only about getting her weed. “I’ll ask about it.”
“Thank you, love. I hope this isn’t too long. Dennis probably is stroking his porky little dick thinking about evicting us.”
I sink down beside my mother. It’s annoying but also strangely comforting listening to her complain. I was raised on a steady diet of grievances and axes to grind, and there’s nothing like a rant by my mother to make me feel like I’m back home.
“I’m happy you’re here.”
She squints at me. “Why? I’m definitely not. How do you work this thing?” She jabs at the remote.
I help her get it working. Better she’s alive and bitching at me than dead and happy. Once the TV lulls her back to quiet, I notice a figure standing in the doorway, watching us.
Connor gestures at me with his chin. Come talk.
I’m tempted to tell him off. But the memory of my hands wrapped around his cock—his adorable and desperate attempt at making me feel better this morning—makes it hard to keep hating him. Even when I want to.
“Everything to your mother’s liking?” he asks when we’re alone outside her door.
“She needs, uh… her smokes.” I smile sheepishly. “She’s a hopeless weed addict.”
His nose wrinkles. “I’m tempted to say no.”
“You can deal with her then. She’ll be a nightmare.”
“I’ll have Colm bring her what she needs. Anything else, angel?”
I cross my arms, studying him. “Why are you being so nice?”
“I’m not.”
“You almost are, though.”
“I don’t do nice, angel.” He touches my hip like he’s not thinking about it. “That’s not in my nature.”
I lean into his touch, not sure why. I should put space between us. It’s dangerous, playing this game. Getting close, drawing back, picturing him between my legs?—
“Thank you anyway. For bringing my mother here.”
“Anything.” He hesitates, lingering, breathing me in. A shiver runs down my spine with excitement, and I think he might kiss me before he pulls back.
“Connor?”
He pauses, half looking back. “Yes, angel?”
“Are you going to be in bed with me tonight?”
He nods, eyes half-lidded. “Tonight and as many nights after as I can.”
“Okay. Uh, sounds good.”
He leaves and I watch him go, feeling like an idiot.
Are you going to be in bed with me tonight? Really, Angie?!
I don’t think I’ve ever sounded so desperate before in my life.
I’m about to melt into the carpet when I hear my mother call my name in the other room, asking about her damn smokes again, and it’s back to reality.