THE CALLAHANS (A Mafia Romance): The Complete 5 Books Series (49 page)

Delaney

There was music and laughter and free flowing booze. It was a party like nothing I’d ever experienced before. I watched Sean move among his family members, watched the smiles and the little quips come from him, and I knew this was the first time in a long time that his family had seen this side of him. I knew from the surprise that widened a few eyes and from the glances thrown in my direction. They had the Sean they’d always known back from the darkness that swallowed him up in the aftermath of his mother’s death—and they knew it. And they thought it was because of me, unaware that the truth was far different.

Killian came up behind me as Sean cooed over his newborn baby across the room.

“He looks happy.”

“I hope so.”

“That’s all you, you know. He’s changed since you came into his life.”

“I hope that’s not a bad thing.”

“Of course not. If it was, we would have sent you packing a long time ago.”

He said it with a smile, but I knew he was dead serious. There was something in his eyes that spoke to the deep affection he felt for his brother and the sense of loyalty he felt for his family. I admired that. I’d always wanted siblings, especially siblings who cared enough to notice these subtle things about his brother.

“Momma’s death was hard on him,” Killian said softly. “I thought for a long time that we’d lost him. But you brought him back to us—and for that I owe you.”

“You don’t owe me anything. I’m just grateful to have him in my life.”

Killian touched my shoulder and nodded before he walked off to join Sean and his wife.

Brian was freshly showered and cuddling on the couch with his wife. I was convinced she was never going to let him out of her sight, and I could hardly blame her. His face was less shocking now that the dried blood was wiped away and butterfly bandages held the split on his lip closed, but it was still painful to see. I caught a wince on the faces of his children from time to time, especially Sean. I was afraid that Sean felt responsible for each of those marks—and I didn’t know how to convince him that none of this was his fault.

He was always so quick to take responsibility for things that went wrong. I suspected it was that Catholic mentality. But I also knew it had a lot to do with the promises he’d made to his mother the night she died.

As saintly as everyone seemed to think Abigail was, I hated her for what she’d done to Sean. It wasn’t fair to ask him what she did because she had to have known that he loved her enough that he wasn’t capable of saying no.

I was headed out to the back deck to get a little air when Jack strode into the room. I paused and watched him a moment, the way he seemed to take command of the room. He was a force to be reckoned with, my father. I could almost see what had attracted my mom to him. He was powerful in his movements, in his confidence. He seemed to exude manliness in a way that a woman like my mom craved. He wasn’t subtle with it like Sean was. They had the same sort of virility coming from their very pores, but Jack was clearly aware of his power and he used it to his benefit. Sean was aware of it, too, but he didn’t show it off, didn’t make it everything. He was alpha, but he was less in-your-face about it.

“I was thrilled to hear you’d been released, friend,” Jack said as he approached Brian.

Brian stood and smiled, accepting the friendly handshake Jack offered. The way Brian looked at Jack—I was a little surprised by the graciousness and the pride that shone from Brian. He was clearly touched that Jack had come to see him now. In my mind, Jack owed him this and much more, but that was clearly not how Brian saw it. As I watched, I suddenly understood what Sean had tried to explain to me about Jack’s role in the lives of the people who worked for him.

I stepped outside and stood against the railing around the deck, staring sightlessly out into the back garden. Cassidy must have been a real green thumb to get roses to grow like that here!

Sean moved up behind me, touching my back and sending shivers through my nervous system that only his touch could do.

“I saw you slip out here. Are you okay?”

I nodded. “Just needed some air.”

“It’s a little overwhelming, I know.”

“No, your family is great,” I said, twisting around so that I was facing him. I pressed my hand to his chest, my thoughts going to highly inappropriate places. “They love you. That’s a good thing.”

“Yeah. But it can be a little annoying sometimes.”

“Just…intrusive.”

He smiled even as he came in for a kiss. “Must be overwhelming to someone who grew up as an only child.”

“A little. But I do have five siblings.”

“You do. Have you ever met them?”

I shook my head. Jack’s kids were all nearly grown or gone by the time he came into my life. And meeting them had never really been an option because that meant that Caroline might find out about me and that was totally unacceptable to Jack.

“You’d like Jesse and Michael. The rest are…a little hard to take.”

“Yeah?”

“Trust me. I grew up with them.”

“Lucky you.”

His lips brushed my temple. “Sometimes family isn’t all it’s cut out to be.”

I thought of my mom and her succession of lovers. Then I thought of Brian and his children rallying around him in his time of need and I understood that family was what you made of it. My mom drove me crazy, but I loved her, and I’d never doubt that she loved me. And Jack? I was beginning to see that he loved me as much as his personality could allow.

That was good enough.

Sean nuzzled against my neck, and I leaned back, sighing as the warmest, most satisfying sensations ran through my body. I’d be perfectly okay if I could just stand here like this for the rest of my life.

But, of course, that wasn’t possible.

“Could I speak to the two of you for a moment?”

Sean turned, revealing Jack as he approached us from across the deck. Sean slid his arm around me and tugged me close to his side in a sort of protective gesture that I deeply appreciated.

Jack’s eyes moved slowly over the two of us, taking in every point of contact.

“I could see that this was serious for Delaney,” Jack said, his gaze focused on Sean, “but I was a little concerned about you, Sean. But now I can see that you, too, are taking this seriously.”

“I am.”

“You love my daughter?”

“Yes,” Sean said, his voice strong, allowing no confusion.

I smiled.

Jack inclined his head slightly. “You hurt her, you know I’ll kill you, right?”

“I do, sir.”

“Jack…”

Sean tugged me closer to him. “You don’t have anything to worry about. I love her, and I believe she feels the same way about me.”

Jack’s eyes narrowed slightly, but he nodded.

“And sir?” Sean said as Jack started to turn. “I won’t be doing any more jobs for you. It makes Delaney uncomfortable, and I really have no reason to be involved in your organization anymore.”

Jack regarded him with an unreadable mask on his face. Then his expression softened as he looked at me.

“Do you really think I’d let you work for me now? I won’t put her at that sort of risk.”

I felt some of the tension leave Sean’s body. “Of course.”

Jack came back to us, reaching out to touch my jaw lightly. “I never wanted my chosen lifestyle to blow back on you, Delaney. That’s why I chose to step back, to put distance between you and me and your mother. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to be a part of your life. It was that the people I care about the most are at the most risk of getting caught up in things I can’t always control. Do you understand?”

Tears made my vision a little blurred. And my throat was suddenly very raw.

“I love you. I’ve always loved you. And I will do anything to keep you safe, even if that means robbing myself of the joys of watching you grow up. But you should know that I was always aware of what was going on in your life, and I was always so very proud of you.”

I pulled away from Sean and threw my arms around Jack’s neck.

“I love you, too, Daddy,” I said against his ear.

He held me tight for a long moment, a sob vibrating through the length of his body. Then he pulled back and wiped my tears away with the back of his hand.

“He stops making you happy, you let me know. I’ll have him taken care of.”

He was joking—I think.

I watched him walk away, suddenly aware of how alone he was in this home so filled with love and respect. Then I turned to Sean and let him fold me into his arms.

“Thank you,” I whispered.

“I didn’t do anything.”

“You created the situation that allowed my father to finally be honest with me. Thank you for that.”

He kissed the top of my head. “Any time.”

“Move in with me.”

He pulled back just enough to look me in the eye. “Yeah?”

“You spend every night at my place anyway. Move in with me. Let’s make it official.”

A slow smile lit up his eyes. “Okay.”

I kissed him, feeling as though nothing could possibly make my life any better.

Sean

Moving in with Delaney was simple. The most complicated thing was putting my condo up for sale. I didn’t have anything, therefore packing consisted of putting my clothes in a few suitcases and boxing up the few kitchen utensils I owned. The mattress I slept on went to Pops and Cassidy’s to be stored in a spare bedroom, the television to a spare room in Delaney’s place. That was about it.

There were some benefits to living a Spartan lifestyle.

Brianna’s law firm had made an offer. They wanted me to become a third-year associate in their criminal law department. I was seriously considering it. Before Momma died, before my world was turned up on its ear, I considered going into criminal law. Tara and I were going to work in the district attorney’s office for a few years, then open our own little firm. It was an ambitious dream, but one we both took to heart. I still thought about it sometimes, a little sad I hadn’t explored that option.

Suddenly, life seemed to be an open road that was filled with more possibilities than I’d been able to see before Delaney. There were so many choices to be made, and I was excited to get down to it.

In the meantime, I still worked for MCorp. I arrived at my office the Wednesday after Pops was freed from jail, pleased that the press was gone and the whole thing had been swept under the rug thanks to the dismissal of the charges. But when I turned on my computer and began combing through the emails that had built up over the last few days, I was brought back to the tension of the weekend by a series of emails from Sara.

The evidence I’d asked for.

I opened the first to find a quick note from Sara.

Heard the charges were dropped, but I thought you’d still find these interesting. I sure did. Your father is a very interesting man.

S.

That made my blood flow a little faster.

I studied the attachments, trying to decide where to start. One was marked officer notes. Another was marked surveillance notes. The third was marked witness statement.

I opened the third.

In almost all statements, there’s a little paragraph at the beginning that explains who is testifying and what they are testifying to. This one didn’t have that, and the witness was marked simply as witness.

Q. Can you tell us whom your remarks today are regarding?

A. Brian Callahan, CEO of MCorp.

Q. How do you know Mr. Callahan?

A.
Witness refused to comment.

Q. What do you allege to have seen him do?

A. Lots of things. He’s been working with Jack McGuire since they were both very young. Although Brian has left the main part of the organization, he still does work for Mr. McGuire in the form of providing security for his men.

Q. How does he go about this?

A. He usually has his sons do security and he will sometimes go with them on the jobs, watching over Jack’s people and making sure nothing goes wrong.

Q. Making sure nothing goes wrong. In what capacity?

A. He’ll sit in a car within sight of the exchange or the delivery of illegal goods, and he’ll watch the thing play out. If the other side becomes aggressive, he’ll get out with his gun and make sure nothing happens to Jack’s people.

Q. Is he alone when he provides this protection?

A. No. He’s usually with Ian or Killian.

Q. And those would be Ian Callahan, Callahan Industries Managing Director, or Killian Callahan, head of PR at MCorp?

A. His oldest son and his eldest adopted son.

Q. Have you seen Brian Callahan participate in these activities?

A. No. But I’ve heard him arrange them, and I’ve overheard him talking about it with Killian and Ian. Sometimes Kyle.

Q. Kyle?

A. Kyle Callahan, another of his adopted sons.

I stopped reading then, sitting back in my chair, trying to figure out who the witness was. Who did Pops talk about operations in front of? Who could possibly know this much detail about the operations?

My father was careful about such conversations. He wouldn’t have them in front of me until I started joining in, helping him protect Jack’s people. Momma had made him sort of paranoid about being overheard and caught because of his own stupidity. She was always hounding him, reminding him that what he was doing was illegal and that he could get caught. I’d heard her lectures on more than one occasion. And he was careful.

Who could have heard this?

The only names that came to mind were names of people who would never turn on Pops.

Cassidy.

Brianna.

Kevin.

Jack.

Delaney…not Delaney. She had yet to be that close to the family.

It didn’t make sense.

I turned back to the file, reading through it some more.

Q. How many children does Mr. Callahan have?

A. Seven that we know of. His biological children, Killian, Sean, and Brianna—whom no one knew anything about until a few months ago. And then his adopted children, Ian, Kyle, Kevin, and Stacy.

Q. Do they all participate in their father’s business?

A. No. But they’re all aware of it.

Q. How are they aware of it?

A. It’s just something that’s been there all their lives.

Q. Mr. Callahan never tried to hide it from his family?

A. No.

Q. Is Jack McGuire aware that Mr. Callahan’s family knows about his actions?

A. Yes. He doesn’t care. His family is aware of his participation, too.

Q. So it’s not secret in their families?

A. No. Never has been. But no one’s willing to speak out because they’re all afraid of Jack.

Q. Why?

A.
Witness rolls his eyes, but doesn’t answer.

Q. Can you give us specifics on an upcoming event in which Mr. Callahan will be providing security?

A. There’s a warehouse on the outskirts of town, across from the Bank of the East on Jackson Boulevard? The mob just bought it under a dummy corporation name. They’re going to have a meeting with a street gang there on the 25
th
.

Q. What kind of meeting?

A. A discussion about the Italians. The Italians have been causing the Irish a lot of grief lately and they’re trying to work it out, but it’s not happening at the moment. So they’re trying to get the Harbor Point Bloods to help them out.

Q. For what purpose?

A. To protect their territory, obviously.

Q. And they’re meeting on the 25
th
?

A. There was supposed to be a meeting earlier in the month, but it was interrupted. So they’re trying again.

My heart sank with every word. I tried to think of who could have known all this, anyone outside of the family. But I knew it was impossible. Only Pops, Killian, Ian, Jack, and I knew about that meeting.

Jack wouldn’t have let that information slip. It was too important. And Ian or Killian wouldn’t have because they were there when Anthony Scarsorsi drove up and effectively ended the whole thing—though I did wonder why Anthony would do that when allowing the meeting to go on would have given the feds the evidence they needed to put my father—and me—in jail. I was there that night. What Scorsorsi did actually saved our asses.

Was it possible that Scorsorsi was working more on our side than he let on?

My head was spinning. Who could have known all that?

Again, the only answer was Cassidy and Brianna. And Kevin.

I clicked the link that would close the witness testimony and grabbed my cell phone before heading upstairs to my father’s office. I had a few questions for him.