Chapter 23
Chapter Twenty-Three
Excitement courses through me. We’re going out to a pub.
We’re doing something normal eighteen-year-old couples do.
I really need this. More than that, though, Connor needs this.
He hasn’t said it, but I know he’s stressed out.
The burden of running his family’s organization is taking its toll on him.
We really thought a long-lost sibling was going to be Connor’s way out. Now, I’m not so sure. Especially when he’s adamant he doesn’t want to meet his brother.
I couldn’t imagine life without my brothers. They’re pains in my ass and way overbearing, but I wouldn’t want to have grown up without them. I need to call Dante and check in.
I’ve been meaning to ask Connor how long he thinks we have to be here.
I haven’t though. Because I don’t want him to have to deal with the added pressure of me being homesick.
Besides, he is my home now. Wherever he is, is where I’ll be.
I’m sure this feeling will wear off soon. I just have to stick it out.
I pick up my phone, find YouTube, and put on a playlist. I need the distraction while I get ready for tonight. I want to wow Connor. I want him to see me like he used to see me. Put together and not the mess I’ve let myself become lately.
The song “Pretty Little Psycho” by Porcelain Black comes on and I smile. This is definitely my vibe. After applying a face full of makeup, I pull my hair out of the bun on top of my head and brush it out. I then add some serum through the strands, tip my head upside down, and then flip it back up.
“Perfect.” The loose waves hang down over my shoulders. My lips are painted a bright red and my eyes are done in golden hues. When I look at my reflection, I finally feel a little bit like my old self.
I’m wearing a black leather miniskirt and a shimmery halter top that’s backless besides a piece of string that secures the fabric to my body, paired with a pair of knee-high Louboutin boots.
I do a little spin, stopping to admire the outfit.
I might have gone a little overboard with some online shopping.
But, as soon as Connor agreed to go out, I knew I wanted to look good for him.
My phone rings, interrupting the music I was swaying my hips to, and I look down and see Dante’s name flash across the screen. “Hey,” I answer, hearing a cheeriness to my own voice that hasn’t been there for a while.
“Hey… Oh god, please tell me you did not just have sex,” Dante groans.
“What? No,” I scoff.
“Why do you sound so… happy?”
“Because I am. Did you call for a reason or just to bring my good mood down?” I ask him.
“Both,” he says. “I went through Patty’s phone, hacked it from here and dug into every message, every call log. There’s nothing on there that indicates he ratted you guys out.”
“Oh, thank god.” I sigh.
Connor’s words repeat in my head: Please don’t make me kill my best friend.
“But there was a program installed in the background. I doubt he knows about it,” Dante says.
“What kind of program?”
“A cloner. Someone is monitoring his phone’s activity. I can’t tell who it is, though,” Dante explains.
“Okay. Thank you.”
“When are you coming home?” my cousin asks me.
“I don’t know yet. Miss me?” I grin into the phone.
“Always. Did you hear about Enzo?”
“What about him?”
“He’s shacking up with a fed.” Dante laughs.
“No, he’s not.” My brother is not dumb enough to shack up with a cop.
“Call him and ask him who Kayleigh is then,” Dante tells me. “I gotta go, but you should come home soon.”
“Okay, thanks. Love you.” I cut the call and slip my cell into the little black clutch I also bought today. I need to find Patty and destroy his phone…
I look myself over one more time in the mirror and walk out of the bedroom. I notice the bulging eyes of the soldiers I pass, and I smile. They recover quickly, though.
I find Connor and Patty in the living room. “What the…?” Connor’s eyes widen when he sees me.
I don’t go straight to him. I make a beeline for Patty instead and hold out a hand as soon as I’m within reach. “I need your phone.”
“Um…” Patty looks from me to Connor before he digs the device out of his back pocket and places it on my palm.
I’m starting to wish I wore a little more clothing, because I couldn’t conceal my gun anywhere on me. “Connor, I need a gun.” I hold my other hand out to him.
Without question, Connor passes me a pistol.
“Really?” Patty asks him.
“What? She’s not going to shoot me.” Connor smirks.
“Thanks.” I immediately turn around and head towards the back door. Connor curses as I walk away. And both he and Patty follow me outside.
I throw Patty’s phone out onto the grass, aim the gun at it, and pull the trigger. Three times just to be sure it’s really dead.
“Um, princess, what are you doing?” Connor asks me.
“Good news! Patty isn’t a rat,” I announce.
Patty looks between us. “You thought I was a rat?”
I lift a single shoulder. “Can never really know these things,” I tell him. “Your phone was cloned, though, so someone was monitoring all of your communications.”
“How do you know that?” Patty asks. “I would know if my phone were cloned.”
“I had my cousin hack into it. And you didn’t know that, so….” I quirk an eyebrow at him. “Can we go to the pub now?”
“Yeah, give me a minute. I’m going to need more ammo if you’re going out looking like that,” Connor grumbles.
“Like what?” I look down at my outfit.
“Aurora, you look fucking hot. I mean, you always do, but this…” Connor waves a hand up and down my body, and I do a little spin for him. “Yeah, every fucker is going to be eyeing you like you’re their next meal.”
“Thanks.” I smile at him.
“Can we go back to the fact that you two thought I was a fucking rat? What the fuck, C?” Patty grunts.
“Wasn’t me.” Connor shrugs. “I’ll get you a new phone.” Then he holds out a hand to me. “Let’s go.”
“Stick close to me,” Connor whispers into my ear as we walk into a pub.
“Good thing that’s my favorite place to be,” I whisper back.
His hand grips my hip tight as he moves us through the crowded space. “You look too fucking good.”
“Thanks?”
“My cock is hard, Aurora. I want to find a dark corner, hike this little skirt up, and fuck you against the wall. Actually, I don’t even care if it’s dark. Let them all watch. I want them to know that you’re mine.”
“Pretty sure the ring on my finger tells the world I’m yours, Connor. Besides, it doesn’t matter. My body only works for you,” I say, because it’s the truth. I’ve never been turned on by anyone but him.
Connor leads me to a table in the back corner.
“I’ll get drinks,” Patty says. He’s still a little upset I had him looked into. I’m not sorry, though. When it comes to Connor, there is nothing I wouldn’t do.
Aisling and Levi are supposed to be meeting us here. I scan the place but don’t see them anywhere. The music is very… boppy. It makes me want to get up and dance. Everyone seems so happy and friendly.
“Stop smiling at people,” Connor says.
“They’re smiling at me, Connor. I’m just returning the gesture,” I tell him. “I don’t want people to think you married a crabby bitch.”
“I would prefer they thought that. They’d be less inclined to approach you.” His fingers slide up and down the exposed skin on my back.
I laugh. “No one is going to approach me.”
People tend to keep a good distance from our table. It probably has something to do with the soldiers who followed us in and are currently standing like statues in front of us.
Patty comes back with three glasses of some dark liquid.
“What is that?” I ask, taking one from his hand.
He looks at me with confusion and then turns his attention to Connor. “Seriously, you’ve never given her a Guinness? Are you even Irish at all?”
“She prefers champagne.” Connor smirks, and my cheeks blush with the memory of him, me, a hotel room, and a bottle of champagne.