Chapter 26
Chapter Twenty-Six
I’m fucking drained. I was up all night with Aurora, fucking her into a coma, which I would do any day of the week. Add on the killer headache I’ve got, and I don’t have the energy to deal with the assholes I have to meet with this morning.
I don’t have much choice. I need to find the last two fuckers that are hiding out. Especially after the attack on Aisling and Aurora last night. If Aurora hadn’t killed those assholes, I sure as shit would have. No one touches her and lives to tell the tale.
Which is why Boyle and O’Finn are hiding out. They know what’s in store for them. They don’t have the option of declaring loyalty to me, not after what they played a part in. I’ve seen my father’s torture rooms far too often, and I know the key players who got off on doing his dirty work for him.
“I want their fucking hearts on a stake,” I growl. “How the fuck are these fuckers still in hiding? This island ain’t that fucking big.” I take a breath, trying to rein in my temper. I am not my father. I do not lose my shit. I’m always cool, calm, and collected. This… is not me.
“Boss, we will find ?em,” Cillian says. He was recently promoted. In fact, all of these guys have just had a huge fucking pay raise and a more prominent position within the organization because of me.
“Yeah? When exactly do you think that’s gonna be?” I lean back in my chair, regaining the composure I was on the verge of losing moments ago.
“They can’t hide forever,” another guy chimes in.
“Or they get the jump on me or my wife before we can find them,” I grit out. “What happened last night can’t happen again. My wife should be able to go to the fucking bathroom without having to fight for her fucking life.”
I will never forget the look on Aurora’s face when she told me she was a monster. She believes it. I don’t know how to make her see herself how I see her. Which is fucking perfect.
“I’ll be flying back to New York next week to hand over the vial to the Albanians,” I say, changing the subject.
“You’re still going ahead with that?” Cillian asks.
“It’s a twenty-five million dollar deal. Why wouldn’t I go ahead with it?” I counter.
“No reason, boss.” He shakes his head.
“Right. There will be a bonus. Five hundred thousand euros for whomever delivers me these two assholes first.” I stand and Patty stands after me. “Hopefully that will encourage you all to do your fucking jobs.”
There are wide eyes and murmurs of “yes boss” before I walk out.
A few minutes later, we are climbing into the car. I grab some Tylenol and down three tabs. The tips of my fingers rub at my temples. My fucking head is killing me.
“You good, bro?” Patty asks.
“Fine. Let’s go home.” I need to go back to bed, not that I will get to do that.
A knock on my window has me reaching for my gun. When I see my mother’s face, I don’t stop reaching for it. But I do open the door and step out of the car.
“You’re brave showing your face around here,” I tell her.
“Connor, I’m your mother.”
“You lost that title when you decided to kidnap and torture my fucking wife. What do you want?” I’ve never wanted to hurt my mother, but fuck could I wring her neck right now, and it would be justified after what she did.
Why am I sparing her?
“I want to have a funeral. For your father. He deserves a farewell, Connor,” she says.
That’s why she’s here. For him. “He doesn’t deserve shit,” I hiss.
“Yes, he does. He was your father. He was the leader. We need to host a funeral,” she insists.
“Yeah? You gonna invite his oldest son to this funeral?” I ask her.
Her brows draw down in confusion, confirming what my uncle told me. She has no fucking idea. “What are you talking about?”
“He had an affair, Ma. Da has another kid out there. He was adopted out, but that’s not all. Your name is listed on the birth certificate.”
“Connor, that’s not right. That didn’t happen.” She shakes her head.
“Go ask your brother. He knows all about it.” I shrug.
“You are my only son, Connor. You are the rightful heir,” she tells me.
“Don’t worry, Ma. The organization will stay in the family. I’m not that fucking lucky.” I jump back in the car and slam the door shut. “Drive,” I tell Patty.
The first thing I do when I walk through the door is find Aurora.
She’s in the gym with Levi. I don’t let her know I’m home yet.
As much as I want to go and wrap my arms around her, I have shit to do.
So I head into my father’s office, lock the door, and sit down at the desk.
I suppose this really is my office now. I don’t want it though, which means it will always be my father’s.
I pick up my phone. I’ve been putting off this call, but it has to happen. I need to give them a heads up. Scrolling through my contacts, I find the name I’m looking for and press the green call button.
“Valentino,” the voice of Theo Valentino snaps down the line. Arrogant asshole.
“It’s Connor… O’Malley,” I tell him.
“I know who you are. What do you want? Other than to steal my niece away from her family?”
Guess we’re not over that yet.
“We’re coming back to New York next week,” I say.
“Yeah? Word on the street is there are still plenty of bullets with your name engraved in ?em.” There’s amusement in his tone. I’m sure they’d love for one of those bullets to find its way to my fucking head.
“My father made a deal with the Albanians. The deal has to go through. Or they at least have to think it’s going through,” I explain.
“Seems like a you problem,” Theo grunts.
“It will be a you problem if they get their hands on what they think they’re buying.” I shouldn’t enjoy knocking the smugness off him as much as I do. But, fuck it, my wife’s uncle is being an ass.
“What is it?”
“A virus,” I tell him. “Designed to attack a certain genetic makeup, eradicating an entire bloodline from existence within days.”
“Whose?” Theo asks.
“Yours.”
There’s silence, followed by, “That why some lab geek was found hanging on Trinity Campus?”
“You think I’m letting anyone with the knowledge of how to kill my… Aurora live?” I stop myself from saying the word “wife” because she doesn’t want her family to think she got married without them. Legally, we didn’t, but she is my wife. I don’t need a piece of paper to tell me that.
“Where is the vial?” Theo says.
“I destroyed it.” I’ve got a replica, a vial of serum that won’t do shit to anyone. As soon as the Albanians know I’ve sold them nothing more than saline water, they’re going to want my head. By then, I’m hoping the Valentinos have dealt with them.
“Why are you telling me this?”
“Because word will probably get back to you about this deal. I need you to play along. No one can know they’re getting a fake vial,” I tell him.
“Does Aurora know?”
“No.” I snort. “This country has seen enough war to last it a lifetime.”
“Smart.”
“Nice chat,” I say and cut the call.
I told him what he needed to know. If he’s smart, he’ll listen. And as long as he knows it’s not real, I shouldn’t have an angry mob of Valentinos out to fucking kill me.
My phone rings with an unknown number popping up on the screen. “Hello?”
“Hello, Justin, this is Dr. Morgan.” The doctor from the Maldives. Great, just what I fucking don’t need right now.
“What can I do for you, doctor?”
“I have your test results. They’re positive for the gene that carries haemochromatosis. We should set up a treatment plan.”
I blink. A fucking treatment plan, my ass. “What’s the plan entail?” I ask her.
“Venesection, meaning you will have to have blood drawn regularly to lower your iron levels. The good news is that we have caught it early. We can begin weekly treatment and then monitor how it’s working.”
“Weekly? You want me to give a pint of blood every week?” I attempt to clarify.
“It’s the only treatment,” Dr. Morgan says.
“Send me the paperwork. I’m back in Ireland and heading to New York next week. I’ll have my wife set up the appointments for me.”
Fucking hell, this is only going to stress Aurora out more.
“How long until symptoms improve?” I ask the doctor.
“That isn’t something we can predict. It’s different for every patient,” she says.
“Thanks, doc.” I hang up, stand from the desk, and head to the gym to find my wife.