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three
Alfie
"What the hell happenedto you?" Tommy squinted at me as I walked up to the bar, trying to disguise my limp. It looked like he was several drinks in. Good. That meant he wouldn't ask too many questions.
"Nothing." I forced a grin and slid onto a stool. Lady D's was as dead as the cemetery across the street, not too surprising for a Wednesday night.
Sloane poured me a shot of whiskey and pushed it over. I tossed it back and let my fingers drum against the bar, torn between ordering a few more of those to chase the memory of Emilia away and getting the hell out of here. I wasn't even sure why I came out tonight.
No, that wasn't true. I knew damn well why.
"Bullshit," Tommy said. "You look like you and I went a few rounds in the ring. I'd have remembered kicking your ass, and I don't, so who did?"
"Been on the hunt, brother." I signaled for another whiskey and avoided the question.
He scowled. "That hunt involve a rottweiler?"
"It's not that bad."
"It's not that good, either."
I sighed and stared into my whiskey glass. "I got made trying to track down one of Johnny's contacts, and things got a little rough. I'm all right. Don't mention it to Connor."
"He's got enough on his hands right now with his bride-to-be," Sloane said, shooting Tommy a wary glance.
I made a face. Tommy's little sister, Cassidy, was a doctor at the hospital we'd brought Johnny to after he'd been shot. She had saved his life that night, only to witness his murder hours later during her rounds. As I understood it, Cassidy had been banged up herself and narrowly escaped with her life. Tommy's father was marrying her off to Connor in order to protect her. "Shit. Yeah, how's that going?"
Despite his explosive potential, Tommy was uncharacteristically calm. Dangerously so. "Cassidy has yet to pull her head out of her ass, and Connor has been duly warned not to fuck this up."
"You seem to be taking this well,” I said dryly.
"I don't really have a choice, do I?" Tommy drained the rest of his beer and signaled for another. "Connor needs a wife, Cass needs a bodyguard, and I'm stuck in the middle of it. The wedding is happening whether I like it or not."
What a mess; sometimes, I was glad I didn't have any family. Tommy hadn't seen his sister in five years. He didn’t even know she was back in Boston until a couple days ago, when she'd gotten tangled up in this whole mess with Johnny. Complicated was an understatement. The Quinn family made the Doyles look well-adjusted and normal. "Well, shit."
"Yeah. What about you?" Tommy narrowed his eyes. "Who made you look like a chew toy? And why didn't you take backup?"
I shrugged. "Dominic and Angel Moretti. And I didn’t realize I needed backup until it was too late."
"So, you decided to take them on by yourself?"
"Didn't have too many options."
"They just let you go?" Tommy frowned. "How'd you get away?"
"I had a little help." I took a sip and tried to keep my face impassive. Tommy knew me too well.
"Oh?"
"Yeah. I hid out in the back of a bookshop and the owner kept their mouth shut until they'd passed."
"Thought you were going to tell me you'd charmed your way into another girl's skirts. Bookshop owner, huh?" Tommy laughed. "Probably about eighty and senile to boot. Missing a few teeth."
"Something like that," I laughed weakly.
Tommy snorted and took another swig. I knew he thought I was full of shit, but it was better this way. He wouldn't look too closely at the truth. I couldn't exactly tell him the bookshop owner was the daughter of Lorenzo Moretti. It would get back to Connor, and I couldn't have that. My best friend had enough on his plate.
My phone vibrated with an incoming text. I was supposed to be meeting Teagan within the hour to bring him up to speed. Callum was going to have him fill in for Connor while he was away on his fake honeymoon with his fake wife.
