Gael: The Callaghan Mafia Book 3 Read online

  I drew in deep breaths to try and relax. Like I knew I needed to, lest I create a disturbance unbefitting of the gorgeous woman curling up next to me.

  We pulled into the rounded driveway and I helped Colleen out. I drew in one last deep breath before we started into the brownstone, and it didn’t shock me that we were the last ones to show up. Everyone turned around and started clapping. Glasses of wine were shoved into our hands as we got pulled in all sorts of directions. Mom tried to hug me, and I did the best I could. Colleen was much better at it, though. She acted as if nothing had ever happened.

  I didn’t possess that talent.

  Still, I figured we could all put our differences aside for one last night in Chicago. Because come five in the morning, Colleen and I would be headed to the airport. Packed, and ready to start our new lives in a new place while our new identities were still being manufactured.

  I kept my eye on Colleen the entire night.

  “So, how are you feeling about everything?” Brody asked.

  I nodded. “I’m excited. This has been a long time coming.”

  Declan sipped his wine. “Any chance I can offer you literally any other job in order to make you stay?”

  I sighed. “Come on, guys. You know how out of place I feel in all of this. I’ve always felt that way.”

  Brody shrugged. “You’ve never looked that way.”

  Declan jumped. “That must be Flynn calling in. Hold on.”

  I watched my brother fish out his phone before he held up the screen. Showcasing Flynn’s face.

  “Hey there! What’s this shit I hear about Mexico?” he asked.

  I chuckled. “Don’t tell me no one’s filled you in on anything.”

  “What I want to know is why you haven’t filled me in on anything.”

  I stepped off to the side and the camera pointed directly at Colleen. Her long leg slipped out from beneath the slit of her black dress, and Flynn’s lips puckered. I stepped back to the forefront as Flynn gave me a slow clap. Shaking his head with a grin on his face.

  “You are officially excused,” he said.

  I chuckled. “I appreciate that.”

  “So, you excited? Are we allowed to talk details right now?”

  “I’ll give you a call once we get to San Lucas. I don’t think it’s—”

  He held up his hand. “Say no more. But I’m holding you to that phone call. When do you two land tomorrow?”

  “Just after twelve their time. We’ll check in and want to get settled in a bit. Get a feel for the place. So, two days after?”

  Flynn barked with laughter. “You’re a mess, you know that? I’m happy for you, though. You look happy. Do you feel happy?”

  I peeked over my shoulder and saw Colleen looking at me. She waved softly, and I blew her a soft kiss. I was happy. For the first time in my life I was truly, unadulteratedly happy.

  “Yeah,” I said as I turned back to Flynn, “I’m happy.”

  He held up his drink. “Then, sláinte”

  I mocked his movements. “Sláinte to you, too, Flynn.”

  “I’ll talk to you tomorrow. Call me after you get settled in. But if you make me wait until dinnertime? I’m sending the cavalry. Got it?”

  “Got it.”

  “Good. You enjoy your evening. And try not to let anyone spoil it, yeah? I don’t know what’s crawled up Mom’s ass, but she’ll come around. She always does.”

  I sighed. “I really hope you’re right about that.”

  “Flynn! Flynn, is that you?”

  Martin’s voice boomed over the rest of the room and I clutched my glass tightly. He suddenly appeared at my side, practically shoving himself in front of the camera. Flynn waved, but he didn’t say anything. And when Martin smiled, I knew something was about to happen.

  “Good. I’m glad you called in. Because I have an announcement to make!”

  My back stiffened as my brothers looked around. I looked over at Colleen as she gathered tightly with the girls, and I saw the worry on her face. She looked at me. She shook her head quickly at me. As if to tell me to stand down, even though I hadn’t so much as drawn a weapon.

  Not that I needed a weapon to kick Martin’s ass or anything.

  “First, a toast. To Gael and Colleen. May you have as happy of a union as I hope to have,” Martin said

  “Oh, no,” Flynn murmured.

  I sighed. “What was that you said about Mom and coming around?”

  I looked at Flynn’s face and watched it drop into a stone-cold frown.

  “Fiona, would you come here for a second?” Martin asked.

  Mom stepped away from the girls as my hand trembled with how hard I gripped that fucking wine glass.

  “Be careful, you’re going to bust it,” Brody murmured.

  “Then I’d have something sharp to slit his throat with,” I whispered.

  “Shh,” Declan said hotly.

  “Fiona, I love you. And I don’t think a single person in this room would ever deny that,” Martin said.

  “Says who?” Flynn murmured.

  I snickered at his words and used my wine to try and cover it up.

  “Martin, what are you doing?” Mom asked.

  I watched him pull a box out of his pocket and my heart stopped in my chest.

  “He wouldn't dare,” Declan growled.

  “Martin!” Mom exclaimed.

  My eyes widened as the man got down onto one knee before opening the box.

  “Fiona, you saved me. You’ve given me a purpose again. A reason to live after losing my brother. I know we’ve moved fast. I know this entire thing has been such a whirlwind for us. But I’ve loved you from afar for a very long time now.”

  “Excuse me?” I asked.

  Mom shot me a look as Martin kept going.

  “I have. It’s disrespectful to Richard’s memory, I know. But I can’t deny how I feel. How I’ve always felt. You’re the perfect woman. And I want you at my side for the rest of our lives. Fiona Callaghan, will you marry me?”

  The foyer fell silent. I heard a glass drop and shatter on the floor. My eyes locked with Mom as tears rushed her eyes. As her hands cupped her mouth. She was really playing this up. There was no way in hell this was real.

  “Yes, Martin. Oh, my God. Yes! Of course, I’ll marry you!”

  My vision tunneled. All I saw was my fury as I looked down at my hand. And when I saw the glass at my feet and the blood dripping from my palm, I realized that someone hadn’t dropped a glass.

  I had busted the glass I held in my hand.

  “Here, Gael. Here. Let me help,” Colleen said.

  My entire body vibrated with madness.

  I watched Colleen slip slivers of glass from my palm. Someone was already cleaning up the glass and the spilled wine at my feet. She wrapped the white towel around my palm and tied it off tightly, pressing a soft kiss to the material. She looked up at me with worried eyes. She cupped my cheek, and the cool comfort of her hand shocked me back into the present.

  “Colleen, can you give us all a second?” Declan asked.

  She furrowed her brow but nodded. However, her eyes begged me for something. For what, I wasn’t sure. But they were begging. Pleading. Asking me for something. She did as Declan asked, though, and migrated back toward the girls.

  Her eyes didn’t leave me, though. I felt her gaze on my back as I turned and faced my brothers. As I turned my back on the sickening sight of Martin slipping that ring on Mom’s finger. Kissing her, as if no one else in the room existed. I closed my eyes. I drew in a few deep breaths. And when my vision returned, Declan sighed.

  “As much as I hate to say this, I’m going to say it anyway. Is there any way you can postpone this until we can do something about Martin?”

  Brody nodded. “I’m with him. We need to get Martin out. This has gotten out of control.”

  Flynn interjected. “Yeah. And we haven’t even figured out what happened to our father yet.”

  I looked back ove
r my shoulder and found Colleen’s stare. Her eyes continued to plead with me. And I knew what she was pleading about.

  She still wants us to leave.

  “I made a promise to my wife,” I said.

  Declan nodded. “We know. And we know how precious that is.”

  Brody interjected. “But can’t you see what’s happening here? This family is falling apart. Declan’s doing all he can to save face with the other families, but it’s not working.”

  Flynn cleared his throat. “Are you sure you guys don’t need me to fly out there? Help you out with things?”

  I finally turned back around and looked at my brothers.

  “Flynn, get on the first flight here. Because if we’re going to do this, we all need to be together. That’s the only way we’re going to get this done the quickest we can,” I said.

  20

  Colleen

  “What in the world is going on?”

  “The boys aren’t going to be happy about this.”

  “Did he just say he’s loved her for years now? Even when Fiona was married to his brother?”

  “That’s fucked up. You know it is. I need another drink.”

  “Colleen, you want anything?”

  I saw the look Gael gave me over his shoulder and I knew what was about to happen. I couldn’t believe it. Fiona and Martin were sucking face. The girls were begging for more drinks. And the boys were walking off down the hallway to plan God-only-knew what. I knew what this meant, and my heart sank to my toes.

  No Mexico for us.

  I looked over at Fiona and she peered at me from over Martin’s shoulder. She smiled at me, but something didn’t seem quite right with it. Martin kissed down her neck and her eyes rolled back. The man scooped her up and started walking up the stairs. I watched them until they disappeared, gone to do things I didn’t even want to think about.

  “Here. Take this.”

  Ciara slipped a glass of amber liquid in my hand. “What is this?”

  She snickered. “Daly whiskey. Only the best.”

  I watched Ciara tip the glass back. Abby had tonic water in hers with some limes, but she tipped her back as well. I raised mine to my lips as I looked back down the hallway, watching the boys’ shadows disappear.

  “Still think you’re going to Mexico?”

  I wanted to rip Ciara’s throat out from her asshole.

  I sipped the drink and sighed. All I could do was wait. With Martin and Fiona gone, it was me and the girls to stand around and wait. Abby started walking into the kitchen, following the wonderful smells of food that wouldn't be eaten. She started plucking at finger foods off silver trays that wouldn't be soaring through a small crowd. I continued sipping the whiskey. It flooded my veins. I reached for a piece of bread and nibbled on it, trying to get my swirling thoughts to come to a close.

  “Can you just talk to us for a second?” Abby asked.

  Ciara sighed. “She doesn’t want to. She doesn’t want to be part of this family.”

  I snickered. “I want, more than anything, to be part of any family.”

  The girls fell silent as everyone in the kitchen worked to put everything away.

  “I want more than anything to be part of something good. Something nice. Something wholesome. Ciara, you—more than anyone else in this room—knows what I went through growing up. Being yanked around. Doing everyone else’s bidding. Answering whenever your father beckoned upon you. I was a maid in my own home. I didn’t even have a room. My clothes were cast in a corner and I was lucky enough that my father tucked me away in a library, of all places.”

  The girls watched me as I set my drink down.

  “I don't just want a family, though. I don’t want to be part of something that’s going to bind me to something sinister. Something dark. I lived in darkness. I grew up in darkness. And the only ray of sunshine I ever had was Gael’s face.”

  Abby sighed. “That’s so sweet.”

  Ciara shook her head. “You don’t act like you want to be part of this family, though.”

  I nodded. “You’re right. I don’t. But I didn’t want to be part of my own family. And I wouldn't want to be part of the Daly’s. Or the Fitzpatrick’s. Because I don’t want darkness in my life anymore, Ciara. Why can’t you understand that? It has nothing to do with you. It isn’t personal in any way. I just don’t want Satan knocking at my damn door anymore!”

  “Colleen?”

  I straightened my back as I heard Gael’s voice.

  “It’s time to go. Come on.”

  I nodded. “As always, it was a pleasure.”

  Ciara swallowed hard. “I’m sorry.”

  I sighed. “I know you are.”

  Abby patted my shoulder. “We’ll see you soon? Maybe we could all go get lunch.”

  I nodded slowly. “Yeah. Sure. Whatever you two want.”

  Gael held his arm out for me, and I followed in stride. He guided me through the foyer. Past the boys, as they stood at the door. They had sorrow in their eyes. And I knew what that meant. Gael’s hand was cold to the touch. And I knew what that meant. We walked down toward our car as the chilly night air slid against my skin. I shivered, and Gael quickly tossed his suit coat around my shoulders.

  “I’m sorry. I left my coat inside, I believe.”

  He rubbed my back. “I’ll send for it tomorrow. We should get home.”

  Home.

  I blinked back tears as I slipped into the car. I pressed myself against the door, putting as much distance between me and my newly-wedded husband as I could. The first of many promises broken in the name of family business, I suppose. I needed to get used to it. That was how our lives worked. We could dream until we couldn't anymore. We could travel until work beckoned. We could convince ourselves to leave until someone asked us not to. Then, we were bound by our duty to the darkness to stay put. To give more of ourselves.

  To sacrifice everything in the name of family.

  “The brothers and I have a plan,” he said.

  I nodded. “Good luck with it.”

  “Will you hear me out?”

  My heart settled into my toes. “I already know we aren’t leaving. You don’t have to break it to me or any such nonsense.”

  His hand fell against my knee. “Declan’s bumping up the date of his wedding.”

  I furrowed my brow. “What?”

  “Brody and Abby are also bumping up the date of their baby shower.”

  I turned to face him. “Why?”

  He squeezed my knee. “Because they support our ventures. Once we can wrap things up here.”

  “There will always be something to wrap up, Gael. There will always be a project, a deadline, or something that won’t quite be tied up the way they want. That’s just how life works.”

  He scooted closer to me. “I’m not defaulting on my promise. I’m just asking for your grace. For your patience, while we finish what we started when we got here.”

  “I’m not following.”

  He took my hand. “When we flew over from Ireland, it was to do one thing only. Find out who killed our father. When we got here, we became entrenched in bullshit. Tangled up in webs of deceit and insanity and brazen decisions. Women came into our lives that meant something to us. Ciara, on the waves of a business transaction Declan had to take over. Abby, in the wake of Richard’s funeral. And you, Colleen.”

  He cupped my cheek and my heart skipped a beat.

  “You came into my life on the curtails of my anger. The angriest I’ve ever been. No closer to finding out who killed Richard. No closer to figuring out what the absolute hell our mother’s doing. We can’t look weak to the other families.”

  “Life isn’t about looking weak or strong, Gael.”

  “It is if weakness means death.”

  I sighed. “I just don't know if—”

  “If I leave my brothers to tend to this mess, they’ll die. They’ll be at their weakest, and the next news we hear from them will be their deaths. All of the
m. The Callaghan Family has been at the top of the food chain since before my mother married us into this lifestyle. And someone is looking to topple that, Colleen. Do you hear me? Richard was murdered. According to the medical examiners we’ve consulted, Richard was dead for at least a month before he washed up onto shore.”

  I blinked. “Who else knows this?”

  “Just the family. And you’re part of that family now. That’s what we’re up against. And if someone is tracking us down like wild animals, they’ll find us in Mexico. They’ll find us in Cabo. Our running will be for nothing.”

  I hated to admit it, but he had a point.

  “If we’re going to do this, we have to do it right. If we’re going to do this, we have to make sure we can completely drop off. Which means that the Callaghan Family has to be strong before we can leave. Otherwise, the wave of destruction follows us until it takes us under, too. And I’m not letting that happen to you. Do you hear me?”

  I nodded. “I do, yes. I hear you.”

  He sighed. “I know you’re disappointed. I know you’re upset. But when we solve this? When the family is stable again? The plan still remains. We have to cancel the honeymoon arrangements for now, so we can use that as a cover when all of this is buried and done. We take the honeymoon we didn’t originally have, and we go.”

  “Don’t make me a promise you can’t keep.”

  He pulled me into his lap. “I didn’t just make you a promise. I made you vows. And I vow to you, Colleen, that our lives won’t be lived this way. We will not live out the rest of our days in the underground layers of Chicago.”

  Tears rushed my eyes. “I’m holding you to that.”

  “If I don’t hold to it, you’re free to leave.”

  I paused. “What?”

  His forehead pressed against mine. “If I go back on my word, you’re free to leave. Free to live your life as you see fit. And I’ll even give you the money to do it. Okay?”

  “I don’t want to live without you, Gael.”

  “Just say ‘okay,’” he whispered.