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Fuming on her behalf, we continued staring at each other, the links between us strengthening and deepening as we stood in this safe space where lives were threatened and the promise of death were machinations in a wider game that no one knew they were playing.
I was a powerful man.
Surrounded by powerful men.
And yet, in this place, Star held her own.
Shoulders back, spine straight, no fear in her gaze, expression calm.
This, did she but know it, was a culmination of years of work on her part.
In this very house, we were affecting change.
Wewouldchange the world.
She was a part of the future now.
Not just entangled with the past, trying to free herself from the bonds that had caged her, but breathing life into a world riddled with poison.
We were the Irish Mob, but together, we’d be so much more.
The United States of America had no idea what was going to hit it.
51
VICTORIA
LIKE IT OR NOT - MADONNA
The kitchen was packed,as always, with women and kids.
It was like something from the fifties, enough that it would have irritated meifthey weren’t always talking about something interesting that mocked the traditional gender roles they ‘appeared’ to portray.
Since Papa’s death and moving in with Inessa and Eoghan, I was starting to realize that I didn’t have to fit into the same mold as I always had.
Papa had scared me.
He’d forced us to adhere to strict rules, punishing us if we veered outside of those lines.
But now, there were choices. I had options. I didn’t have to hide my books. I could explore the world, and my sisters-in-law aided and abetted me in that endeavor.
Since Christmas, after Shay and I had gotten into an argument about glass ceilings, Savannah had started showing up on Saturdays with books for me. Various topics that were seemingly unrelated except that she somehow knew I’d be interested.
Aela discussed art with me, modern and traditional, and explained the importance of analyzing artwork because it enabled a person to see beneath the surface and to understand the ‘human dilemma’ better.
Aoife, for all her homey traits, was a shrewd businesswoman. Last month, I’d asked her how to balance my checking account because my allowance never lasted longer than a week and I wanted to start saving becauseSavannah said that a woman should never depend on a man for a source of income.
As for my sisters, Inessa and Camille, they were like me—caterpillars still stuck in their chrysalises. Not that anyone would look at either of them and think they were ugly caterpillars, but their development was slow. Camille was content with her crafts but Inessa wanted to study, wanted to grow, and neither of those were traits Papa wanted to develop.
So it was with curiosity that I stepped into the kitchen, wondering what I’d learn today.
Last time, I’d sneaked in without anyone realizing and got to hear about how Aidan Jr. would tie Savannah to the bed and how Declan did this thing with his tongue that made me wonder if that was something you had to learn or if the knowledge was passed down via DNA.
It haddefinitelymade me look at Shay differently.
There was, however, a new addition to the kitchen today.
She was thin, very angular, had scars on her throat and arms, and… she was the most beautiful woman I’d ever come across in my life. Her strength was compact and she vibrated with it. Her confidence brimmed over as she picked up a brownie even though Aoife didn’t let anyone touch them until dessert. But what fascinated me was how Savannah was discussing the current political situation in Afghanistan with her and she spoke of the country as if she knew it.
