Gael: The Callaghan Mafia Book 3 Read online

  Damn it, I need my glasses!

  “Sold!”

  The auctioneer closed the bidding and my heart stilled in my chest. What happened now? I didn’t know what happened now, really. Gael had sealed my fate in more ways than one. I mean, twenty million dollars? My father just made ten million dollars within a span of minutes, tossing me up onto this stage. Something he’d never dream of doing to my brothers, Liam and Ronan. He’d let them get away with literal murder while locking me away in my library with my bed, my fireplace, and my books.

  This would be my life now. A life without my library. A life without my own bed. A life without autonomy or choices over my clothing. This would be my new home. He’d toss me to the dogs, time after time, until he was the richest man in Chicago. Because my father didn’t give a damn about his family.

  Maybe that was why he made me sick to my stomach.

  Someone grabbed me by the arm and I wanted to wring whoever’s neck it was. I was tugged to the edge of the stage and I halted until I looked down. My arm was tossed in front of me before someone else caught it. A harder grip. One more commanding than before. And when I planted my feet onto the first stair of the staircase going down, I looked up.

  Watching as Gael’s royal navy eyes came into view.

  “Who’s that?”

  I watched the strange-looking boy with a head much too big for his body as he nodded at me.

  “Her? Oh, that’s my sister,” Liam said.

  “I didn’t know you had a sister.”

  “Well, he does,” I said.

  I stepped out from around the corner and pressed my glasses up the bridge of my nose.

  “I’m Colleen,” I said.

  “Go away, Colleen. Gael and I are playing,” Liam said.

  I stuck my tongue out. “You’re not the boss of me.”

  “Dad!” Liam yelled.

  But the big-headed boy nodded. “Hi. I’m Gael.”

  I smiled. “I’m Colleen.”

  “Colleen! What the hell are you getting into now? You’re supposed to be helping your mother with the dishes. Get in here. Now.”

  My father’s commanding voice scared me to my core. But I took one last look at Gael’s pretty eyes before I rushed off. My father always meant business whenever he talked to me like that. Whenever he found me outside when I wasn’t supposed to be.

  “Gael,” I whispered to myself.

  “Colleen.”

  His smooth voice interrupted my memory and my eyes focused back on him. Well, as much as they could without my glasses. The first time I ever met Gael, I’d only been eleven. But the second I laid eyes on him, I knew I had a crush. I felt that flutter that threatened to pick me up off my feet. My hands went clammy and my mind tripped over its own thoughts.

  However, as I gazed into Gael’s fuzzy face, I wondered if he was the same kind-hearted boy I remembered him to be.

  Maybe he’s a monster like the rest of them.

  His hand released my arm a bit as he guided me down the rest of the stairs. I couldn't hold back my shaking any longer, though. As he pulled me over to the corner, he walked us behind a solid partition. He dropped my arm and I closed my eyes, ready to get this over with. Was this what happened? We just came back here and he did whatever he wanted with me?

  For some reason, I was under the impression I’d have to go somewhere with someone.

  “You have fifteen minutes to check out your purchase. Not a minute more.”

  Gael stood closely behind me. “Thank you. I’ll take note of the time as it passes.”

  I shivered in my heels as he slowly stalked around me. His eyes raked up and down my body and I tightened my eyes even more. I had no power over my own life. And this proved it to me. Being the youngest and the only daughter of my father’s family made me a prisoner for the rest of my life. I should’ve been happy that Gael bought me, right? He’d treat me well, right?

  Wrong.

  Because I wasn’t stupid when it came to my family.

  I knew what my father did. I knew who he pissed off. And I knew he wasn’t in well with the Callaghan Family right now. Especially with the head of their family having been murdered. I heard things, you know. Working in the kitchen. Helping the maid-staff. Baking at all hours of the night so fresh pastries sat underneath glass domes for the men of the family in the morning. My only escape during my entire childhood had been that library. It was the only good thing my father had ever given me. An air mattress stuffed into the corner of the library with a fireplace all my own to stoke.

  I spent my years there being homeschooled. Eating meals by myself whenever the family wasn’t required to get together. Losing myself within the pages of books that ripped me from my hellish life and tossed me into another one. A better one. An imaginative life that made me smile.

  No, I wasn’t ignorant when it came to the people my father pissed off.

  And I was terrified to do anything with him right now.

  Something cold raced down my arm and I twitched. My eyes ripped open and my head whipped to the side, trying to figure out what had happened. Gael’s finger fell away from my skin. And when I tilted my head back, our eyes met once more. I didn’t know whether to smile. Or spit in his face. Or cry. Or beg for mercy. Or jump for joy.

  The wolfish grin that crossed his face left much to be desired.

  “My purchase is fine. Thank you,” he said.

  My eyes slowly gravitated in front of me as the curtain behind me ripped open.

  “Perfect. I’ll get her prepared for you in back. Bring your car around.”

  Gael drew in a long breath. “I’ll wait for her. I want to escort her down.”

  I’m sure you do, asshole.

  A hand grabbed me and yanked me away from his presence. I didn’t know whether to be relieved or frightened. What did it mean when they said they would “prepare” me? It made me sound like a damn rump roast going into the oven. I stumbled over myself as the man in front of me yanked harder. Trying to keep me on my feet. But without my glasses, I saw nothing. I didn’t know where I was stepping.

  And I wasn’t confident in my movements.

  “Come on, you bitch. Get up.”

  The growling voice sent tears rushing to my eyes, my fear taking hold. I needed a distraction. I needed something else to think about. I needed another memory. A story. Something. Anything.

  “Fancy seeing you here.”

  I walked into the coffee shop and saw Gael sitting there, his hand wrapped around a hot cup of coffee. The newspaper hung in front of his face. His glorious eyes trailed along the words like my eyes trailed over my books. But when he heard my voice, he looked up at me.

  “Colleen. Hello.”

  I smiled. “Hi.”

  “Would you care to take a seat? It’s pretty busy in here right now anyway.”

  I snickered. “Do you always talk like that?”

  He furrowed his brow. “Like what?”

  “Like a proper old man.”

  “What’s wrong with proper?”

  I paused. “Nothing, I guess.”

  He nodded. “Well, feel free to take a seat, if you’d like.”

  I couldn't place my coffee order quick enough.

  “So, what’s going on in the world today?” I asked.

  I sat down in front of him as he folded up his newspaper.

  “Ah, the usual. Killing. Robbing. Assaulting. And a nice blind dog story.”

  I sipped my cold brew. “Can’t be terrible with a blind dog story.”

  “How are you, Colleen?”

  I giggled. “I’m wondering why you traveled twenty-five minutes just to sit and have a cup of coffee and read the newspaper.”

  He grinned. “Well, I suppose that means you traveled thirty-five minutes, yes?”

  I paused. “Yeah. I suppose I did, then.”

  “Care to answer your own question first?”

  “Even though I asked first?”

  “Beauty before brains.”


  I blinked. “I’m not sure whether to be flattered or insulted.”

  “Well, clearly I’m smarter.”

  I scoffed. “And why would you think that?”

  “Because all you do is fill your head with silly little stories from your books. At least I read the newspaper.”

  “And you think these silly little stories make me stupid?”

  “I think they make you naive.”

  “I think they make me hopeful.”

  “Hope has no place in our world.”

  I set my coffee down. “Maybe you're right. But just because it doesn’t have a place in our world doesn’t mean it doesn’t have a place within our hearts.”

  He snickered. “You get that from one of your books?”

  “No. I got that from my dumb little brain.”

  That was the thing about Gael. Even back then, he had a way of crawling underneath one’s skin. For better and for worse. He never held back what he thought, and I liked that about him. He was smart, sure. Training for the operations side of his own “family business.” But the other thing about him was that he hid nothing. Withheld nothing. There were no secrets with Gael. People always knew where they stood with him.

  I always knew.

  And not once did he ever not accept me at his side. Or at his table. Or in his life.

  But as I felt something tighten around my forearm again, I braced myself for different. I braced myself for torture, death, or madness. I knew this place had rules, but I also knew that people who frequented these places didn’t always follow the rules. My father never did. My brothers never did. Who was to say Gael would?

  For all I knew, he was a monster now, too.

  Just like my father had always been.

  3

  Gael

  I fingered the tassels on the bag that was handed to me as I walked out. I wasn’t allowed backstage with my purchase, which made me upset. But I was much too liquored up to do anything about it. I stood in the alleyway, waiting for someone to escort her to me. Waiting for her to be relinquished, so I could snatch her back up.

  I opened the bag and peered in at what was there. Things that made me grin. Things that struck up memories I had buried long ago. Well before I went to college in Ireland and made a name for myself with my brothers. There was a small book. No bigger than five or six inches tall. Perfect for those fumbling hands of hers.

  God, the girl had always been clumsy.

  “Gael! You forgot your wallet!”

  I turned around and saw Colleen tripping over herself as she rushed onto the sidewalk. I stood at my car, watching her ankles roll and her knees give way. I closed my car door and strode for her. The damn girl would hurt herself if she kept walking like that.

  “Colleen. Slow down. Coll—just—”

  “Your wallet. It fell on the, on the floor.”

  I held my arms out for her and she tripped again, falling directly into them. I caught her with a soft grunt and lifted her up. Helping to steady her onto her feet. And the second my hands connected with her bare skin, a fire ignited in my chest.

  One that matched the yellow speckles of her beautiful brown eyes.

  “Thanks. I didn’t even notice,” I murmured.

  She snickered. “I figured you hadn’t.”

  “Here.”

  The gruff voice pulled me from my trance as the alleyway door slammed open. I lifted my head, drawing in a deep breath so as to not get nasty with the man delivering my product. I held the tasseled bag in front of me as Colleen was tossed out into the alleyway. And just as she stumbled into me, I held out my arms.

  Catching her, like I had that afternoon outside of a coffee shop.

  Our coffee shop, really.

  “Maybe don’t be so harsh with it next time. If you worked for the postal service, you’d be fired for damaging someone else’s property,” I said flatly.

  I glared at the gruff-looking man as he slipped back into the building. With a crash, the door closed. Leaving nothing but darkness to cloak us. Colleen stumbled onto her feet. Righting herself before she looked up into my eyes.

  Then, squinted.

  “I have your glasses,” I said.

  I tried not to slur my words as I slipped my hand into the bag. I fiddled around for those frames, trying to put my hands on them. And after a few seconds of rummaging around, I growled to myself.

  “Come on,” I murmured.

  Without a sound, Colleen held out her hand. Her eyes fell to my chest as her hand sat there, an empty offering for me. I placed the bag against her palm and she brought it close to her body. Almost hugging it. As if it were the only precious thing in her life.

  It didn’t take her any time at all to find her glasses and slip them on. Those massive, purple-framed glasses that hid her beautiful brown eyes away from the world.

  “Still with the pink fingernails, I see.”

  Her eyes fell to them as she started picking at the fake nails. But she still didn’t say anything. It didn't matter though. None of it mattered. Tonight, she wouldn’t have a need for her glasses. Tonight, those chipped nails would leave marks against my skin I’d grin at in the morning.

  None of this shit mattered.

  It never did when it came down to business.

  “Ready?” I asked.

  I offered my arm to her and her eyes widened. They snapped back up to mine, but all I did was wait. Just because she was mine tonight didn’t mean I had to treat her like shit. It was very obvious plenty of other people had tonight. No need to add my name to the books.

  Until I felt it appropriate, of course.

  I escorted her back to my car and opened the door for her. She dipped down, sliding silently across the seat. Something her family taught her, no doubt. To shrink down. To be invisible. To not make noise unless necessary.

  She’ll make plenty of noise tonight.

  “Where to, sir?”

  I nodded. “My place. Don’t make any stops.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  The car pulled away from the curb in silence. We sat there in silence. We rode back to my place, in fucking silence. And as I stared out the window, I was painfully aware of her looking at me. Gazing at me. Both with her eyes and at my reflection in her own window. She wasn’t very good at staying in the background. Every time she moved, every living thing in the car knew she was there.

  And for some reason, I enjoyed that.

  “We’re here, sir.”

  I didn’t even realize the car had stopped moving.

  “Ah, yes. Thank you, Robert.”

  “Shall I stick around?” he asked.

  I waved my hand in the air. “No need. Report at your normal time tomorrow.”

  “What happened to you?”

  Her voice was so soft I almost didn’t catch her question. But when it fluttered against my ear, something inside me snapped. I whipped my gaze in her direction and saw her jump. I scooted closer to her, wondering what kind of a monster she had already determined me to be.

  “Is that what you think happened?” I asked.

  She swallowed hard. “I don’t know. That’s—you just look—”

  I narrowed my eyes. “I look what, Colleen?”

  “I’m sorry. I shouldn't have—”

  “You want to know what happened? Your father happened. Him, your pathetic family, and their pathetic ways. Your father is a coward. He doesn’t understand loyalty or allegiance. He’s shamed my family. Kidnapped my stepsister. Jammed you up onto that stage because he doesn’t understand how money actually works.”

  I watched spittle from my mouth fly to her cheek. But she didn’t dare move. She just sat there, with her eyes wide. Watching me morph into the monster I always feared I might become.

  “What happened to me rests in the claws of your father. Of my stepfather. Of everyone’s impish ways and everyone’s inability to own up to their actions. Your father will pay for what he’s done. Everything he’s done. That’s what’s happening to me, Miss Colleen.
”

  By the time my anger finally came back down to a reasonable level, I found her wide-eyed. Pressed against her door. Shaking. Scared. With tears lining her eyes. I quickly sat back and scooted away. I drew in a sobering breath before letting it out through my nose. I was much too drunk for this. Too angry to do anything productive tonight.

  I didn’t want to scare the poor girl.

  “Inside. Now,” I said.

  I threw the door open and slammed it behind me. I stalked up to the front door of my new place, fiddling around with my keys. After that bullshit reveal at dinner, I couldn't stand to be in the family brownstone any longer. So, until things were settled with Richard and everyone else, I was staying in another brownstone. One at the corner edge of the lot the family owned. It had a nice view of the water from the backyard, a dock leading out into it just in case I wanted to drown myself and get it all over with.

  “Come on,” I murmured.

  I finally managed to pluck the right key and jam it into the hole. Colleen scurried up behind me as I forced the door open. With a flick of my wrist over my head, Robert drove off, leaving us trapped here for the night as I walked into the house.

  My temporary abode until I finally made it back to Ireland.

  I whipped around and closed the door as Colleen stepped inside. I threw the lock and walked into the living room, pulling the curtains as I saw fit. I didn’t want anyone peeking in on us. I didn’t want anyone catching glimpses of something they shouldn't see. Because tonight was mine to do with as I saw fit.

  And I had plans for the Maguire girl.

  “Are you going to kill me?”

  I slowly turned to face her as the hair on the nape of my neck prickled.

  “Is that what you think I’m going to do?”

  She shrugged. “I don’t really know. That’s why I asked, not that I could blame you. Taking action against me would be the first step in retribution toward my father.”

  I took a step toward her. “And you think I play those kinds of games?”

  She backed up. “I don’t—I just—”