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“The one and only. Heir to the famous Irish mafia family right here in Boston.”
“Hewasthe heir, you mean. Word on the street is that the boss, Shane’s father I reckon, was gunned down by one of those bratva families that are trying to move in on our turf,” Angus explained, and I gazed back at him, vaguely recalling Kieran mentioning something along those lines a few weeks ago. It hadn’t come up again, so I assumed the leadership had just moved along to someone else that didn’t threaten our position, so it wasn’t much of a concern to me.
My brothers did their best to ensure I wasn’t involved in the day-to-day turf wars around the city. If I needed to take part, I did, but no more than necessary. Sometimes it was helpful to have a woman pull the trigger. It spoke volumes against whoever we were taking down.
It still brought shame to the men in the criminal underworld to be taken down by a woman that was just as capable as them.
I sat back with a sigh, reaching for the envelope. Slowly, I turned it around and flipped it open to pull out a small note, written in the same neat script. I wondered if it was his or just someone that worked for his family.
I’m going to enjoy having you as my bride.
Fucker. His audacity knew no bounds.
I couldn’t decide if I was annoyed, aroused, angry, or quite possibly all the above. With a scowl, I tossed the note aside, far out of Angus’ reach, and slid the box in front of me. I slowly untied the pretty bow and lifted the lid off the box to see what was inside.
There was another note on top of a sheet of folded green tissue paper.
To replace what I tore off your beautiful body last night. It’s one of a kind, just like you.
No one could read the words, but I still blushed like a naughty little girl caught with her hand in the cookie jar. I tried to save face and push the note to the side, but I knew without a doubt that Angus has witnessed every moment of my extremely rare embarrassment…
He was smart enough not to say anything about it, though.
I unfolded the tissue paper and slowly unwrapped the contents. Inside was an incredibly richly designed pant suit made by Christian Dior. The colors were similar, but a richer forest green and much deeper silky black. I could tell already that the seams would hug my body like a glove. I traced my fingers along the fabric, appreciating the luxuriousness of such elegant material.
I didn’t want to like it. I kind of did, though. I’d always had a soft spot for that particular designer. His French inspired style was truly decadent.
Angus must have noticed my uneasiness because he slid a rather full glass of whiskey in front of me. He said nothing as I wrapped my fingers around it. I sat back and stared at the flowers and his gift, trying to figure out what Shane’s next move would be. Would he come here tonight? Would he get in contact with me some other way?
If he expected me to come back to his penthouse all by myself, he would be sorely mistaken. I wasn’t the kind of woman that would chase a man.
I deserved tobechased.
The sooner Shane realized this, the better. My eyes drew to the flowers, counting the nearly two dozen of them. The thorns had been shorn off the stems, showing care in their presentation. The crystal vase was studded with gemstones that cast a cacophony of rainbows every which way when the light hit it just right. It was an expensive bouquet, but I deserved that too, especially if he wanted to earn the right to ask for my hand in marriage.
I tipped back my drink as I fully contemplated the meaning in that word for the first time since he’d uttered it last night.
On one hand, I appreciated that he wasn’t trying to force the marriage based on an arrangement both our fathers had made when we were children. I respected that he wasn’t going to try to get my brothers to make me, either. That part didn’t much matter anyway, because I knew none of my brothers, especially Kieran, would make me enter into a marriage I didn’t want any part of. They wanted me to be happy more than anything, and they wouldn’t accept a marriage to anyone that didn’t deserve me.
One the other hand, he did seem to expect that I would say yes, that I would allow my pussy to dictate how I went about my life, and that was just something I wasn’t willing to do. Marriage was a serious deal, and I wasn’t going to let my lust, or whatever this was, make that decision for me.
Why was is so compelling, though?
“Angus?”
“What’s up, boss?”
“What’s the current word on the Kozlovs and the Morozovs?”
“They’ve been quiet for the most part, but I’ve heard a few whispers that they’ve been cooking up something that we should be keeping our ears to the ground for,” he answered. I lifted my gaze to meet his, noting the seriousness in his voice.
“Have any of my brothers mentioned either bratva family?”
“Kieran has. He would know the details better than me,” he replied.
“I’ll give him a call tomorrow,” I ventured. I swirled my glass and took another sip.
If what Shane had said was true and both bratva families were preparing to make a big move as a united front, then it was definitely something to be concerned about. The Irish had been established in Boston for over a century and the Russians were the newbies in town. We might have to call on our oldest alliances if it came down to it.
