Chapter 5
CHAPTER FIVE
Malachi
“Do not take your eyes off those stairs,” I say to Milo. “Even if she threatens you, don’t let her leave. Remember she’s in danger out there.”
“Understood,” Milo nods, a serious look on his face.
“Did Josh and Lucas arrive?”
“Yes,” he says. “While you were upstairs. They’re each in their spot, guarding the property. And Jake returned to Eden.”
“Good,” I feel a small wave of relief wash over me. “If anything happens, call me immediately.”
“Will do, boss.”
With that, I leave my house, heading to Eden to meet with my brothers. Eden is the polished jewel of the Kavanagh empire. An elite gentlemen’s club that serves as our primary facade and the front through which our cleanest money flows.
I assigned my most trusted men to take care of the out-of-town property where I’ve taken Jade to, but even with them there, I still don’t feel at ease leaving her when Nolan is hunting for blood.
While I could have taken her to the villa where I spend most of my time, I wanted to offer her at least a grain of privacy amid the chaos.
So, I took her to the house where I go to when I need to be by myself.
I love my family and I my primary residence is the base for our most private operations.
Still, sometimes it feels more like a shared war room than my own space, so I recently renovated a smaller house just outside of New Orleans and turned it into a private sanctuary of sorts.
I don’t even have servants there. I don’t want anyone around.
And because it’s not on the radar of anyone who knows my family, linking it to the Kavanagh name, it’s easily the safest place I could have hidden Jade.
By the time I arrive at Eden, my brothers are already gathered around the table in the conference room. Most of them have a glass of liquor in hand as I sit down with nothing stronger than a cup of decaf.
“You’re late,” Levi teases, leaning back with the easy, lazy charm that makes most people forget how dangerous he actually is. “We almost started without you.”
“You’re early,” I respond, my voice entirely flat as I take my seat.
“Maybe,” he rests his elbows on the table, dark eyes sharp despite his grin. “We were just dying to hear how the show went.”
“Fascinating,” I say, opening my laptop without looking at him.
“How did it go, Mal?” Zeke asks. Being the Boss, the weight of the family sits square on his shoulders, and judging by how tense his jaw is, I’m sure he’s already calculating how vulnerable we are.
“He took the bait,” I respond. “Precisely as calculated. Nolan opened fire in front of the entire party.”
I omit the detail about the bullet graze on my shoulder. Pain is a distraction, and my brothers don’t need unnecessary variables. But as I lift my arm to adjust the screen, the burn beneath my suit jacket reminds me of the cost.
“If that doesn’t ruin the alliance with the Moretti’s, I don’t know what will,” Elijah speaks from his seat at the end of the table. As our fixer and intelligence head, he’s already processing the political fallout.
“Nolan is a fool,” Levi sighs, taking a sip of whiskey.
“He’s impulsive and impatient,” I correct. “Regardless of his intellect, he gave us the exact leverage we need to sever the Morettis from the Devlins. That’s our focus.”
“If he fired at you and Jade in the middle of a party at the Moretti’s estate, I’ll stick to my original statement.”
“Is Jade safe?” Zeke asks, his hands resting flat on the wood. He hates collateral damage, especially when it involves women dragged into mafia feuds.
“She is,” I nod. “She’s at the estate outside the city.”
“So she agreed to marry you?”
“She will,” I say, pulling up the local media feeds to check if anything that happened tonight made the headlines.
“Tell me you didn’t take her by force, Malachi,” Zeke says.
I meet his stare. “I don’t waste energy on kidnapping, Zeke. I moved her to a controlled environment so Nolan doesn’t execute her to cover his embarrassment.”
“After you put her in danger yourself,” Zeke points out.
“It was the only way,” I say, finally finding an article covering the shooting. “And the idea is to prevent anyone else from going after her.”
“So she’s willingly staying at your house?” Zeke raises an eyebrow.
“We agreed she’ll stay there until tomorrow morning,” I explain. “I’ll set up a meeting with her father and we’ll meet with him to talk things through once she agrees. If she chooses to say no, I will not force her to live with me.”
“But you think she’ll say yes,” Elijah comes to a conclusion, having the ability to read my micro-expressions.
“I do,” I say. “Because Jade is a smart woman and she knows her father will force her into another marriage, if not with Nolan himself, if she says no to my proposal.”
My brothers don’t need to know the rest. They don’t need to know that I offered her a white marriage or that she has this raw, dark pull on me. Those details are strictly classified.
“Who’s watching the property?” Elijah asks.
“Milo is in charge,” I respond. “Lucas and Josh are there too.”
“Good,” Elijah nods, satisfied with the security layout.
“Want me to come with you tomorrow morning?” Cain speaks for the first time since I arrived at Eden.
“That’s a good idea,” Levi agrees. “Devlin’s men might be there just waiting for you to show up.”
“They won’t,” I respond. “There’s no way the Morettis would allow more blood on their steps again. They want to remain neutral.”
“That’s what worries me,” Zeke explains. “Neutrality can make them unpredictable.”
“And hand you over to him on a silver platter,” Cain agrees.
“That wouldn’t work,” Elijah jumps in. “They’d have to answer to us immediately after and the Morettis know better than to provoke us.”
“So they’re caught between choosing which family to make angry,” Levi concludes. “I don’t like that.”
“They know we’re far more lethal than Nolan Devlin,” I explain. “And look, the news are already referring to Nolan as unstable and not being good enough to carry on his family’s business.”
“He must be fuming,” Levi bursts into laughter. “But it will make him even angrier at you, big bro.”
“I can live with that,” I smile, taking a sip of decaf coffee, and regretting it instantly. It tastes bad.