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“Finn doesn’t think so. Apparently, Duffy has the O’Rourkes so pissed they can’t agree how to kill him. It didn’t thrill them to hear a woman with such close ties to their family was representing you. However, they know her grandparents and parents purposely kept her removed. A few summer and holiday visits don’t count to them as her being a part of the mob. Just a family friend. They like her and respect her. They don’t like or respect you, so they don’t love the idea of you being with her. But they won’t stop it as long as she’s happy.”
I nod. I wait for more, but everyone’s looking at me.
“What made them investigate?”
Uncle Massimo answers instead of Uncle Salvatore. I shift my focus to him.
“Duffy came to them, claiming he could get an officer to tamper with evidence if they wanted. They trust him not at all. They want him nowhere near their operations since they’re certain he’ll flip on them just as fast.”
This matches up with everything Cormac told me. Interesting how they felt it wasn’t enough to just tell me. They decided Uncle Salvatore needs to know, too. I can guess who made the call.
“Why’d Finn tell you?”
“Dillan’s asserting himself more and trying to crawl out of the cesspool Donovan and Declan left him. He followed through on what they started because he had to. They had too much wrapped up in what those two ass hats started. But he’s proving he’s his own man now. He’s always been the brains of the operation, but he’s been strategic in asserting himself. He doesn’t agree with targeting women, and he doesn’t agree with anyone going after Sinead.”
“Is it personal to him?”
It sounds like it. What the fuck does Dillan want with her? Does he want to be with her?
Uncle Domenico speaks up. He’s technically still a capo and will always be. But he handles a lot of our international business arrangements. It surprises me when he joins the conversation. How much did they discuss before I got here?
“Apparently, her dad had a really serious bout of pneumonia last winter. It’s significantly weakened him. He knows her dad’s dying. When the time comes, he wants her to be able to be with him. He wants you to be with her because she’ll need you.”
I feel like shit. I knew about her dad’s health and that he’s in memory care, but I never asked her how he was doing. I never asked if this was keeping her from visiting him. I never asked a lot of things I should have. Fucking selfish. It makes me wonder if she feels like she can’t share this with me.
“Don’t beat yourself up over it. Dillan only knows because his grandmother is in the same place. He saw Sinead there last winter when her dad was sick. I guess they talked a little. They’re friendly, but they aren’t friends. He’s probably seen her dad or even asked about him when he visits his grandmother. He goes every Sunday instead of going to Mass with his mom.”
That doesn’t help at all. Have I kept her from visiting him? That’s what keeps playing in my head. Have I been too busy fucking her to think about anything else? No. She’d tell me if she wanted or needed to see him. She wouldn’t prioritize sex. As important as it is to us, she knows I’d never keep her from her dad. Doesn’t she? I don’t even know.
Luca’s sitting next to me since I took a seat while Uncle Salvatore was talking. He nudges me with his knee.
“What do you want to do about Duffy? It’s your call. Let the O’Rourkes deal with him or grab him before they do?”
“Grab him.”
I don’t have to think twice. The Irish might do Sinead a favor by getting Duffy out of the way, but I want to hear and see him when he lies, then when I drag a confession out of him.
ChapterTwenty-Five
Sinead
I wonder if and when Gabriele and I will ever have a mellow, uneventful day. We talk about such intense shit that it should be exhausting. But it isn’t. At least, not always. Some of it actually invigorates me. Sorta. Understanding more keeps my mind from going into a tailspin. I feel confident about us and that I matter to him when he shares stuff. It gives me hope.
And it’s fucking sexy as fuck. I’ve only done breath play a few times because it’s scared me too much. When he asked me, I didn’t hesitate. It intensified everything. Every move either of us made. It was like I was floating above us and watching while still feeling every bit of it. The way he said things wouldn’t have been every woman’s cup of tea. And that’s fine. I’m the only one drinking it. It was perfect. I have imperfections I don’t like about myself, but I’m okay with them. I have been for years, but I will admit that some insecurities flared the first couple times he saw me naked.
It startled me when he took what I said as belittling myself. It really bothered him. It was like someone else had insulted me, and he wouldn’t stand for it. He said I was perfect for him, and I appreciated that. If he’d tried to convince me I was perfect in general, I wouldn’t have believed him. I would have taken the hyperbole and disagreed with all of it in my head. But he phrased it just right. He knew that, too. He knew what I needed.
Right now, however, what I need is to get this shit moving along. But I can’t help myself as I search the web.
clinical psychology how long does it take to fall in love
I read the previews on several search results. I know there’s no definitive answer, but I want to know if what I feel truly is love or just infatuation. The top result says it can take between two weeks and four months to fall in love. Clearly, I’m on the shorter end of the spectrum.
It fascinates me that these articles say men, on average, profess love sooner than women. The first article I open all the way notes men are ready to say it in eighty-eight days or about three months. But women take one-hundred-thirty-seven days or four and a half months. Apparently, I am not most women. Another says ninety-seven days for a man and one-hundred-forty-nine for women. Only the first preview I saw makes me feel better about this.
The rest makes me think I’m just infatuated. But I’ve been infatuated before. I’ve been in lust before. I started that way with Gabriele, but it feels so different now. It’s where I’d expect to be after dating for several months, but we’re here already. These articles may be based on scientific evidence, and I don’t doubt the validity of at least some of it, but we don’t fit. We’re just outliers. I know what I feel.
Moving on, I’m checking my email, and there’s nothing there that makes me think the judge has reviewed anything. I’m reading an email about another case when the notification of new mail pops up. I don’t recognize the email address, so I ignore it. It’s probably spam that slipped through. A moment later, my phone vibrates. I check and see there’s a new text.
