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I rounded the corner of the garden and found the interior chapel lights on. A smile settled on my face.
Raphael would soon return from the governor’s mansion, but Willa had received my text, and I’d take whatever time I could get with her.
The nostalgic glow streamed through the stained-glass windows, creating a wistful rainbow pattern on the freshly fallen snow. Memories surfaced of Raphael and me clad in our dense snowsuits, traipsing alongside Athair as we blazed a path through the wintery night to find our mother. She always insisted on an Oíche Nollag prayer. Eventually, Raphael would sprint ahead, challenging me to a race. The winner got to open the first gift from Father Christmas the following morning. I was faster, but I always let Raphael win.
The path of least resistance.
A position I could no longer uphold.
The old guard had delivered a unanimous vote of no confidence. Such an unprecedented move had never been made in the history of the Flynn Syndicate. Not even when my father signed Jack’s death warrant.
The old guard had been instituted in 1909 by my great-grandfather, Murchadh Flynn. It had taken four generations spread over more than a century—and two continents—to produce an unfit boss.
Raphael always did have a flair for dramatics. A liability we couldn’t underestimate as we navigated this unfamiliar territory.
I couldn’t predict Raphael’s reaction to being unseated, but he would retaliate. I was certain of that.
Safeguards needed to be put into place.
If I led an ill-prepared charge to usurp Raphael’s position, I’d be no better a boss than he was. I needed to protect the integrity of the syndicate, the welfare of my brothers, and Willa’s safety.
The above required time and insisted on patience.
I was hemorrhaging both.
The longer Raphael believed he had access to Willa, the greater the risk to her. My oath prevented me from telling her about today’s meeting, but that didn’t mean she had to be left in the dark.
I eased open the chapel door and stomped the snow off my boots.
Willa was a near blur. She lunged at me, peppering my face in kisses as she climbed me like the wild ivy that scaled the chapel walls.
She was smiling again. Considering she’d broken down in my arms last night, I was grateful for the enthusiastic greeting.
I’d never intended to make her cry. The reasons behind my curiosity had been professional and personal. I’d known the old guard would ask, and since I’d decided that Willa belonged to me, it felt relevant to find out what she thought.
“I can’t believe we’re alone.” Irish inflection infused her emotional outburst.
To know I had that effect on her was enough to make me want to beat my chest with my fists. I’d had a similar reaction last night when she told me that she didn’t want to marry Raphael. There were so many questions I wanted to ask her, and I would in time, but she’d answered the most important one. She’d given me what I needed for now.
“We’ve got less than an hour,” I said.
She wrapped her legs around my waist and initiated a hungry kiss. My heart thundered. The bold strokes of her tongue and the erratic vibrations of her throaty moans continued as I carried her deeper into the chapel.
She tasted like candy apples. Like Willa. Like mine.
I dropped into the front-row pew, keeping her on my lap. She sat back on my thighs, pausing our kiss, but kept her arms twined around my neck. I was just about to get lost in her again when the jab of my Glock made me shift. I pulled it from its holster and placed it on the pew beside me.
Willa tracked my movements with an emptiness in her eyes that even the dim chapel lighting didn’t hide.
A pit formed in my stomach. “Willa,” I said gently. When that failed to get her attention, I touched my fingertips to her cheek.
She blinked. “Sorry. I was just thinking about my knives.”
She was lying.
Something twisted in my chest.
“Yeah?” I asked with forced casualness. Maybe if I played off her obvious discomfort, she’d let down the skyscraper she’d just erected out of fucking nowhere. She’d never had this reaction to my weapon. I thought back to all the times Willa had been around—
