22. Hazel
Hazel
“We need another plan,” Marilee announced. “I’m not comfortable sending Hazel in there alone.”
“She won’t be alone, we’ll be with her,” my father reminded her.
“That’s even worse,” she said.
She wasn’t wrong, but we’d been over this multiple times since yesterday. As much as I assured her that I understood the danger, and despite the many times she’d seen me defend myself perfectly well, she was still acting like I was some damsel in distress.
Our time in the safe house last night had been incredible. We’d made love, had dinner with Martha and Allie, then made love twice more. Each time was better than the last one, but as Marilee finally fell asleep next to me, the panic set in.
I’d asked her about the mate thing. Practically insisted that she tell me where our relationship was going.
And I was fine with it. Mostly. A little freaked out but coming around.
But then I’d sat in that conference room and listened to my parents calmly explain all the alliances and double crossing and drama that was their lives, and it had all come rushing back to me.
The way it felt to live that kind of life.
When you were a ‘princess’ of a crime family, a de facto member of the Irish mafia, there was only one way out. A wooden box. I’d thought I could escape and leave that world behind, but I was wrong.
My thoughts turned to my brother, Liam. He was the favorite child, the apple of my parents’ eyes.
The heir to the criminal empire. He was my best friend, the person I loved most, and they’d gunned him down in cold blood.
In our world, when you loved someone, you became vulnerable. Their lives became expendable.
The thought of someone taking out Marilee to get to me…
it was too much to bear. I loved her. Loved her more than I’d loved anyone in my entire life, other than my brother.
But even though she was a supernatural creature – much stronger than a human -- she could still be killed.
I couldn’t lose her the way I’d lost my brother.
That’s why after this was all over I needed to let her go.
I’d rather not have her at all than have her torn away from me the next time someone had a vendetta against my family.
“We’re keeping the plan,” I told Marilee firmly, my voice carrying through the conference room. “And you’re not coming.”
“What?”
“I don’t want you there, Marilee. It’ll be too distracting.”
She marched over to me, her hands grasping my shoulders just hard enough for me to feel her grip. “Where you go, I go. I’m still your bodyguard, and more importantly, I’m your mate.”
“No Marilee, I’m sorry, but you can’t come to Donny’s. I’ve given this a lot of thought, and I don’t want you there.”
“I need to protect you,” she protested.
“Don’t you understand?” I said softly. “This is me protecting you.”
Marilee frowned like she didn’t understand what I was saying or why I was saying it.
My gaze sought out Lois. “She needs to stay here. I don’t want her on the team. I’m the client, it should be my call.”
The wolf shifter gave me a long look, then she nodded once, somehow understanding me.
“Martin, you’re running comms from the command center. Wanda, you’ll take over the truck.”
“I’m going Lois,” Marilee said stubbornly. “I need to be there to protect my mate.”
“You’ll protect her from here,” Lois growled. “That’s an order.”
The alpha wolf inside her came through her voice so clearly that every supernatural being in the room lowered their eyes, including Marilee.
“Apparently people think we’re running a democracy here,” Lois grumbled in her normal voice. “When I want your opinions I’ll ask. Which will be never. Now let’s get this shindig started.”
Marilee stomped out of the room without saying goodbye, then the rest of us headed for the garage. My parents and I slid into the backseat of a Sapphic Security SUV that had been modified to look like a rideshare vehicle. Boris was driving.
“You are ready?” he asked.
“As ready as we can be,” I answered.
“What was that all about with the vampire?” my mother asked.
I ignored her.
Donny was meeting us at a house near Capitol Hill, which Marilee had explained included a street called “Millionaire’s Row”.
He lived in Boston, but the family owned properties all over the country, so I wasn’t surprised that he was able to fly out and meet us somewhere to talk.
The mansion was a little ostentatious, but I expected nothing less from the Murphy family.
“Test microphone before you go,” Boris said, tapping his ear.
“Can you hear me?” I asked, lowering my chin towards my chest where a small microphone lay nestled between my breasts.
Several voices responded affirmatively in my ear.
“Do not lower chin when talking,” Boris said. “Makes obvious what you are doing.”
“Okay, yeah, thanks.”
I got out of the car, smoothing down my dress.
Today I wore a ‘mafia princess’ outfit, which was nothing like my usual choice of attire.
My dress was pink with a floral pattern.
The neckline was conservative, the waistline belted, and the hem fell halfway between my knees and ankles, which did nothing for the shape of my legs.
My mother had already helpfully pointed out that the dress made me look like I had ‘sausage legs’.
I’d paired the dress with ballet flats that had a little strap across the top of the foot so they wouldn’t fall off if I had to run.
My father grabbed my elbow, pulling me to the door, and I wondered for about the hundredth time if he’d really told us everything.
A woman opened the door in an honest-to-God maid outfit, black with a white frilly apron like something out of a movie.
“This way please,” she said politely, carefully avoiding looking at us. “Mr. Murphy is expecting you.”
The years had not been kind to Donny Murphy. Despite the fact that he was only in his late thirties he already had a double chin and a little paunch that his tailored suit did little to hide. He looked soft and weak, but I knew better than to underestimate him.
“Well, if it isn’t the O’Brians and their prodigal daughter Moira,” he boomed.
“Hi Donny,” I said, adopting the meek tone I was taught to use around men like him. “It’s nice to see you again.”
“I’m sure it is,” he said arrogantly.
His attention turned to my father. “Well, I’m here. Tell me what you came to say.”
“Mind if we sit down?” Da asked.
“Of course. In fact, let me get you a drink… Maria!”
The maid came scurrying in. “Yes Mr. Murphy?”
“Whiskey for myself and Mr. O’Brian. The ladies will have water,” he ordered, not bothering to consult any of us.
“Right away, sir.”
We sat down in the sitting room, my parents on the couch and me on the loveseat across from them. Donny settled in an oversized leather wingback chair that looked like a throne. No one spoke until Maria brought the drinks and left again.
“The Rossis double crossed us,” Da started. “They’re playing you, son.”
If Donny was irritated by my father’s informal use of ‘son’ he didn’t show it. “I’m listening.”
Mam and I were silent as my father went through everything that happened, carefully presenting information in a way that showed the duplicitousness of the Rossis, just like we’d planned at Sapphic Security.
I watched Donny carefully, and while his expression stayed carefully blank, I’d spent enough time with him to see that he was getting angry.
His eyes were turning harder, narrowing into slits, and his fingers curled into fists several times.
If there was one thing that men like Donny hated, it was being played a fool.
“You have proof of all this?” he asked when Da finally stopped.
“Of course.”
He handed Donny a large envelope full of emails, text message transcripts, shipping manifests, receipts, and photos. He’d brought some of the documents with him, but Wanda had helped him fill in the blanks, using her hacker skills to gather additional evidence.
The room was deadly silent as Donny looked through everything, and when he turned back to my father, his expression softened for the first time since we got here.
“I should have known you wouldn’t fuck me over, old friend.” Donny’s smile reminded me of a shark.
“Of course not,” Da said smoothly. “As a show of good faith, we’ve brought you Moira. It took a while, but we finally found her.”
“Where have you been, Moira?” Donny’s attention was fully on me.
“I live in Canada now, but when I came to Seattle for work, it seemed like a good time to catch up with my parents,” I said demurely. “But I… when I heard you were here, I wanted to come. I wanted to see you.”
“Why is that?”
Willing myself to look earnest, I turned in my seat to face him directly.
“I owe you an apology, Donny. For how I ended things. I know I hurt you but I… I was scared. So I ran. And I’ve regretted it ever since then.”
“Yet you never reached out to your parents?” he asked skeptically. “Not in all these years?”
I shook my head. “By the time I realized what a big mistake I’d made, I figured everyone was mad at me. So I resigned myself to a quiet life in Canada.”
I subtly dug my fingernails into my thighs to help me fake tears. “Then the bounty hunters found me, and I realized I needed my Da. I needed protection.”
I sent a watery smile in my parents’ direction. “Thankfully they were so happy that we were reunited, they agreed to forgive me. I’m ready to take my rightful place in the O’Brian family again. And to be honest, it’s kind of a relief to be with people who know me and care about me.”
Donny studied me for several long seconds. “I married another after you left.”
“I heard.”
“Did you also hear that my poor wife died last year?”
“How awful for you,” I said with my best attempt at sincerity.
“Indeed.” Donny turned to my parents. “Thank you for bringing this information to me, Colm. I’ll have my underboss contact you to resume our trade relationship, then we’ll come up with a plan to punish the Rossis. I don’t appreciate duplicity.”
“Nor do I,” my father said.
“You can leave us now. Moira and I have a lot of catching up to do. We’ll be in touch.”
Donny stood up to shake Da’s hand, then bellowed for Maria to escort my parents out. They hurried out of the room without so much as looking at me, which was no surprise. They’d gotten what they came for, so their interest in me was over.
Donny’s attention returned to me. “I’ve been very angry with you for a long time, Moira, but I was always fond of you. Maybe if you’re a good girl, I’ll consider taking you back. But you’ll need to prove your loyalty to earn my trust again.”