Total pages in book: 101
Estimated words: 93482 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 467(@200wpm)___ 374(@250wpm)___ 312(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 93482 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 467(@200wpm)___ 374(@250wpm)___ 312(@300wpm)
“I did,” I confirmed. “There was a lot of juicy information in those files, and a lot I wish I had never seen.”
“I also heard that the Manwarring file seems to have gone missing,” he added.
“You know, I heard the same thing,” I said, taking a seat, wanting to know if he was actually going to have the balls to ask what he wanted to know.
“What did you do with the file?” Luc asked, still standing with his arms crossed over his chest and scowling down at me. There was a faint bruise at the corner of his jaw, and I had to admit I was pretty fucking proud of that.
“What’s wrong, big brother? Don’t trust me?”
“Can you be trusted?”
I was pretending to think about it for a moment, tilting my head side to side like I was weighing my options. Then I looked at him and said, “No, probably not.”
“Where’s the file?” my father asked. “Do you know what’s in it?”
“The file is in a pile of ash in my fireplace. There aren’t even any fragments left for people to hold over your head. No one has that blackmail,” I said, before downing the rest of my drink.
“Why?” Luc said, still not trusting me. I couldn’t blame him. It was hard to trust people you didn’t know. Although I was still mad Luc didn’t come to my defense like he should have seven years ago, me being sent away was hardly his fault.
“I didn’t do it for you, and that is all you need to know.”
Luc went to open his mouth and say something else, but Father raised his hand, stopping him.
“It’s over. The Irish have nothing to hold over our heads. Let’s just be grateful for that. But you wanted our connection to the mafia to be over. It’s done and thanks to your brother, it will not come back to bite us in the ass later.”
“Well,” I said with a laugh. “I wouldn’t go banking on that, but nothing that Mary Quinn had on you can be used against you. As long as she’s the only one that had it. I didn’t make any copies. Nothing is leaking from this end, but I don’t know how smart Declan’s predecessor was at keeping shit quiet.”
“It’s handled,” Luc said in a creepy and not at all ominous way.
“Why did you do it?” my father asked, his eyes narrowing.
I did it for Rose. I did it because I didn’t want anyone to ever come after her for what her mother had on people. I did it because some part of me wanted to believe that maybe the weight of my name would be protection for her as well.
“It’s my last name too,” I said, finally figuring an answer that, although it wasn’t a lie, it also didn’t give him any information that I didn’t want him to have.
Luc looked at me for a moment, his eyes narrowed, and then he nodded, finally trusting that I may have the family’s best interest at heart.
I meant, I couldn’t care less, but whatever. If it made him happy, he could cling to it.
“Dinner is ready in five,” a pretty girl with soft brown hair said, sticking her face into the room.
“Stella, dear,” Father said, and his entire demeanor changed. He seemed to shrink, but not in a bad way. In a way that he suddenly wasn’t overbearing or intimidating. His face lit up with a gentle smile that looked foreign. “Come meet my other son, Thomas.”
I looked over at Luc, utterly confused.
Luc shot me a look back that said, “yeah, that happened.”
“Oh, it’s so nice to meet you. Your father speaks highly of you,” she said with a bright smile, and I couldn’t bring myself to doubt her. Though my father didn’t speak highly of anyone. Ever.
“It’s very nice to meet you, too. I’ve been meaning to come by for a while,” I said. I had planned to be a complete ass to this poor girl, but I just didn’t want to anymore.
We all went to follow Stella into the dining room, but Father put his hand on my shoulder and held me back for a moment.
“I wanted to let you know that arrangements have been made, and no one is talking about excommunication anymore. The entire deal has been handled and swept under the rug. If you would like, you can go back to your life in Rome. Or you can stay here in New York. The choice is yours.”
He said nothing else, just pushed me toward the dining room.
It was a big decision. Going back to Rome, to my life of hedonism and parties, should have been a no-brainer. After all, it was what I had intended to do as soon as I got my revenge. Technically, I should have been on a plane before Mary Quinn’s body was even cold.