Deadly Seduction (16 page)

Dizzy’s crystal blue eyes turned arctic. “Don’t ya dare tell me you fucked Kaz’s old lady?”

“Yeah, I did.”

“Jesus, Mary and Joseph—do I have to put a fookin’ muzzle on your cock before I send youse anywhere? How could you do it, Cillian? She’s pregnant with their child.”

“It didn’t stop him from goin’ where his dick shouldn’t have been when Brianna was pregnant with Caitlin.”

“That was
different
, son. No one knew Brianna was pregnant…hell, we didn’t even know whose baby she was carryin’ till the wee one was born and we could get DNA tests. That’s neither here nor there, and that isn’t what I called ya in about.”

Cillian continued to smoke his cigarette in utter calm. “Then what do ya want, Da?”

“We got a shipment of meth to pick up from the White Knights. Kink and Ronan are doin’ all the heavy liftin’ but I need ya there. They don’t give a shit about Ronan being Sergeant-at-Arms. They want the VP there to ‘represent.’”

“Fuck, Da. Do you know how much trouble I could get into if I’m caught?”

“Then don’t get caught.” Dizzy folded his hands together. “Sean, Brendan and I have already discussed it. Jake’s gonna be there and he’s the VP of the WKs so that means you gotta be there. Ya know how it works, son, and I know you’re takin’ a risk but we need that meth to cut the coke. Especially since we know now that the VP and Prez of the Glendale chapter are gettin’ high on
my
motherfookin’ dime. Fookin’ eejits—the pair of ‘em.”

“Well, since you have decided what I have to do then looks like I’ll get ready. How is Jake? I would hate to get on his bad side after what has transpired with his brother and all.”

“He’s pissed as hell,” Sean interrupted. “but he is also a businessman, and from what I understand, he and Brooklyn don’t have the best relationship. By the way, your father is in the middle of negotiating a transition for Trey to be brought over from the Demon’s Bastards. However, we won’t be tellin’ the White Knights…not yet at least.”

Cillian massaged his temples but it was no use. He could feel a headache coming on regardless. “Why now? You know the first thing Jonesy is gonna think is that Trey is a rat—

“Fuck that nonsense. He’s me son and he should be a Lucifer’s Saint.”

“He’s Sergeant-at-Arms. What do you plan to do about Ronan? We don’t need two SAs.”

“Yeah, I know. I’m in talks now with Hardy at the moment and there is a good chance he and your brother will take over the Glendale charter. Ronan likes it down south and I need men in my organization I can trust. He would be promoted to VP if he and Hardy took over Glendale.” Dizzy sighed before he drank from his whiskey.

“Well, since you have everything worked out…you’re the boss. Where is Trey by the way? I heard he high-tailed it after the whole event went down between him and Brooklyn.”

“Northern Ireland. Belfast to be precise. Too much heat is on the clubs in the UK. I need to bring everyone from the Belfast and London charters here so there will be some restructuring. You just worry about tonight and I’ll deal with
my
Club.”

Cillian scowled and decided it was as good of a time as any to let the old man in on some hard truths. “Yes, it is your Club but I’m the VP of the charter club as long as Gisela keeps me out of jail. I know you trust Sean and Brendan with your life but when are you goin’ to start trustin’ me? How can I ever take over if I always feel like you have issues with me and don’t think I would make a competent leader?”

Dizzy swigged from his expensive whiskey. “Don’t go gettin’ too big for your britches, son. I do trust you. Let’s get all this trial shit out of the way first and when you are free and not under the watchful eyes of the Feds then we will talk about what the future of this club looks like. You got it?”

“Yeah, I got it.”

Cillian ground out his cigarette in the nearest ashtray and stood before he walked out of Chapel and joined Kink and Cricket at the bar.

His father was making this so much more difficult than it had to be so why was he going along with it?

Questions saved best for another time and place,
he mused as he ordered a shot of Jack Daniels and the prospect poured it immediately.

Kink stopped playing around with the Saint Slapper and pushed her onto a barstool of her own before he faced his best friend.

“What was that all about?”

“Trouble with a capital ‘T.’” Cillian grabbed his shot and downed it before he asked for the whole bottle from the prospect.

“Hey, you tell your old lady about what happened in L.A.?”

“Nope,” he replied, making the ‘P’ pop as he poured himself another shot. “Not that it means fuck all. Somehow, she knows, man. Call it a woman’s intuition but Gisela isn’t stupid and she certainly isn’t Brianna. I think I have fucked myself in the worst way and I don’t know how to get out from under all the hideous shit I have done.”

“Fuck.” Kink shook his head sadly. “That
is
a problem.”

“Tell me something I don’t know, smart ass.”

They both stared at one another before they burst into laughter.

Cillian could say a lot about his brothers but they were perceptive. He hoped the day would go by quickly so he could get back home to Gisela at a proper hour. After the way he behaved, he owed her that much.

Chapter Ten

Gisela

I worked hard on Cillian’s case for most of the day until it was time to pick up Caitlin from school.
After she ran to my Porsche Cayenne and jumped in the backseat, I decided to treat her with a grilled cheese sandwich, French fries and a Coke from Jack in the Box. She was a vivacious child who talked non-stop but I enjoyed that about her while we listened to the radio playing on low volume.

I pulled into the driveway and was a bit shocked to see Ronan standing next to his Harley.

Like Cillian, he had a late model, black Harley Street Glide that he’d custom made for his comfort. He stood next to it, smoking a cigarette leisurely while I pulled into the main garage and left it open. Caitlin jumped out and ran towards her uncle.

“Uncle Ronan, I missed you,” she greeted happily before she embraced him and he hugged her back.

“I missed you too, Little Kitty. How are you doing?”

“Okay. Mom and Dad split up but you probably already know that. I don’t get to see Mom much but Gisela has been great.”

“Look what I managed to find you,” he said as he dug into a side compartment and displayed a Hello Kitty with a picture frame embedded in the doll’s hands.

“Oh my God! Where did you find it? I love it. Thanks, Uncle Ronan.”

“My pleasure—”

“Caitlin,” I interrupted tentatively, “why don’t you go inside before your food gets cold? Nothing worse than luke warm fast food.”

“Okay.” She kissed Ronan’s cheek and dashed inside the house, leaving the two of us alone.

“Where’s Declan?”

I placed a hand on my hip and gazed at him. “He’s at soccer practice. I have to pick him up at five so if I’m lucky, I will manage to get maybe an hour’s worth work done before I’m back on the road again. What are you doing here?”

He finished his cigarette and flicked it toward the curb. “Can I talk to you about Cillian’s case?”

I walked closer until we were only a few feet apart. “You know I can’t tell you anything about his case. That would be a break of attorney-client privilege—”

“Cut the shit, Gisela. Listen to me like you’ve never listened in your whole life. Cillian didn’t murder Riley and you have to build your case around that. Not circumstantial evidence but what will hold up in court.”

“How are you so sure about anything when it comes to this case?” I wondered before I bit my lip. “Wait a minute…you were there that night, weren’t you? I specifically remember you coming in after Cillian.”

“Yeah, I was…and I know my brother didn’t kill
anyone
that night.”

I needed a joint so badly but since I’d inherited two kids along with the love of my life, I usually smoked in my office at night once the kids were asleep.

“Well if he didn’t kill them then who did?” I breathed out loud, and realized I’d answered my own question as Ronan lit another cigarette and blew the smoke away from my direction. “It was you. Wasn’t it? You murdered Riley.”

“Yeah, I did.” He walked closer, his violet-blue eyes bright and expressive. “What can you do about it? Nothing that’s what. Hell, I wasn’t even implicated as an accomplice and that is what’s so cool about the whole situation. They never found a weapon, they never found gun powder residue on his hands—”

“It was a week after the crime when they arrested him so that is what they’re using as their excuse. I can’t work with the theory that Cillian was there at all and witnessed an execution because they’ll come back with accomplice charges if the case is thrown out or if the jury finds him not guilty.”

I began to pace because I thought better on my feet in a tight spot. “If Cillian knew you were going to kill him—”

“No, he didn’t think I had any plans on murdering anyone but it happened all the same. I was sick of my brother walking around like a ghost of his former self and he couldn’t do it—his heart wasn’t in it. Not even when we found out Riley was a Fed.”

I breathed softly before I stopped pacing and turned to face him. “That was very considerate of you and it makes my job of proving his innocence a whole lot easier. However, why didn’t you tell your father this? Why didn’t Cillian tell me any of this? I feel like a complete and utter idiot fumbling around in the dark with only half the clues.”

Ronan’s violet-blue eyes reluctantly met mine. “Listen, Cillian didn’t want you to know because the hit was voted on and the whole club agreed
he
should do it. We were out there and Riley gave us shit before he finally confessed to being who he was and that is when shit got real ugly. I don’t have the best control over my temper and I shot him but I wasn’t supposed to. If my father finds out, I am in deep shit—you understand where I’m comin’ from?”

I nodded my head. “Yeah, I forgot about how the whole criminal underworld works. I’m just here to pick up the pieces after the fact. I won’t tell anyone what you just told me. I do know that Cillian went to the club earlier today on your father’s orders. Do you have a clue what all that’s about?”

“Yeah, I do…Club business. Do you really wanna know, Gisela? Shit…don’t answer that. Don’t worry. I’ve taken care of everything before and I swear to you nothing will happen to Cillian. You have my
word
, sweetie, you got that?”

Between all the various revelations and what Ronan had carefully said to me at that moment, the damn burst and I began to sob but the tears flowed and my throat constricted. I didn’t cry out loud but I wished I could scream and shout if only to relieve the constant stress I felt every time he left the house.

Ronan closed the space between us and embraced me. My head rested against his chest as he kissed the top of my head. “Listen, I know I may be a shitty younger brother to Cillian and I know I have some anger management issues to work out but…I promise you nothing is going to happen to him. I want you to stop crying and put on your big girl panties. You knew what you were doing when you decided to be his old lady. He needs you to be strong because if you’re weak, you’ll drag him right down with you.

“Don’t discuss his case in front of him and never let him think anything is out of control. All he needs is for you to be the perfect old lady right now; fuck him, love him and assure him everything’s gonna be fine in the end. I don’t give a shit if you are losing this case and he’s gonna end up spendin’ life in High Desert—don’t you dare let on to him because he gets enough shit at the Club. The home life should be easy sailin’, you get what I’m sayin’?”

“Yeah, I do.” I wiped my tears on the back on my hands and pulled myself together.

“Can I ask you a question?”

“Course. What is it?”

“What’s kept Raymond goin’ all these years? He’d gone through some pretty tough shit but who was his rock? The one person he could always depend upon?”

“Well, that’s easy to answer. My mother. She’s got that steely German resolve and she doesn’t show her emotions very easily. Drake and I were taught not to wear our hearts on our sleeves. It’s just the way of the culture. We come off so hard because inside, we’re truly fragile…but if we don’t allow anyone to get close to us in the first place then our hearts cannot be broken.” I explained in a quiet voice.

Ronan ended our embrace before he grabbed me with both hands by the shoulders. “That is what I need from you then, Gisela. You’ve got to be strong enough for the both of you because Cillian’s hangin’ on by a very thin string.”

“What about L.A.? Am I just supposed to forget he fucked another woman? Is that supposed to be part of my steely resolve?” I bit out to stop my teeth from grounding together.

“If he did cheat on you then she meant nothing. She was a physical relief and that’s it.” He dropped his hands by his sides and dragged from what was left of his cigarette before he flicked it down the driveway. “I am telling you that it meant nothing. Don’t act so goddamn naïve, Gisela. You two
aren’t
married yet and you knew he wasn’t a saint. He hasn’t been monogamous with a woman since he was fifteen. Cut him some slack.”

“For now but I won’t forget and I can’t live this way forever, Ronan.”

“No one is asking you to.” He embraced me quickly before he let go. “I have to get goin’. That little errand that can’t wait is fast approaching. Just as far as you know, I didn’t come here—I never spoke or saw you today. Got it?”

“How do you think that’s gonna work when you gave your niece a gift. She’ll be bragging about her newest addition to her Hello Kitty collection.”

“I suppose you’ll find a way to work that out. She admires and respects you.” Ronan walked over and climbed on his bike. “See ya around.”

“Yeah, see ya,” I murmured before I turned away and walked into the garage. As soon as he’d taken off, I pressed the wall-mounted garage door fixture and the door slid down before I walked into the house.

Caitlin was at the dining room table with her new doll and she smiled brightly as she rifled through a shoe box of photos.

“By the way, your uncle doesn’t want anyone to know he came here today. So, what we’ll do is say I bought you the Hello Kitty doll, all right? Otherwise, Uncle Ronan can get into trouble,” I explained before I sat down next to her in a chair.

Her food was half-eaten; she’d lost interest. That had as much to do with Brianna never having any set schedule for the kids to eat as it did with they simply didn’t enjoy food very much because half the time, they had to fend for themselves in that department with their mother.

“Would Mommy yell at Uncle Ronan? She says he spoils me too much.”

“No, not your mother but your grandfather. He doesn’t want Ronan coming by when he is supposed to be working—does that make sense to you? He will be upset because during the time he was here, he had work to do elsewhere but he wanted to see you.”

Caitlin nodded her head. “Grandpa has a temper…I wouldn’t want to make him upset. Okay…we can tell him you bought the doll for me and it will be our little secret.”

I leaned over and kissed Caitlin’s forehead before I stared into a face that would rival the beauty of her mother’s. Her hazel-green eyes were bright and she smiled in a face that could have been made from porcelain. She was a gorgeous child and I could understand why Cillian and the rest of her uncles were so protective over her.