Honored: An Alpha Mob Romance (City Series Book 4) (21 page)

“Drive, mother fucker!” I called out as Leary barreled forward once again.

The goons shoved themselves back to avoid getting hit by the car as Leary flew out toward the other end of the alley, car practically scraping the dumpsters, the whole body shaking on its suspension. I could hear bullets panging against the doors. The two goons followed us, firing wildly, breaking the back window but missing Leary as the car flew out into the field, kicking dirt and dust up in the air. Leary accelerated through the dying brown grass, hit the curb, and swung the car back out into the street. The goons were chasing us, running as fast as they could, but they were too far away to hit the car with any accuracy as Leary flung us forward again. I could smell burning rubber as he floored it, as seconds later we were cruising away from the scene and out into traffic.

“Took you long enough,” I said, sitting up.

“That was fucking amazing!” Leary was laughing and his eyes were wild.

I couldn’t help but grin, despite the pain in my arm. “Yeah, it was actually pretty intense. Except for, you know, me almost fucking dying.”

“Holy shit, did you see me back there?”

“Yeah, I saw you. Hey, you need to take me to your doctor.”

His face got serious as he looked at me in the rearview mirror. “How bad?”

“Flesh wound, not bad. But I’m bleeding.”

“Don’t get blood on my upholstery, dick.”

I sighed. “Just drive.”

Leary laughed wildly again, and I couldn’t help but grin at him as I applied pressure to my wound. It wasn’t that bad, and I’d definitely survive it, but I was going to need stitches at least.

I couldn’t believe that stupid plan had worked. Leary had been hiding nearby, the engine of his car running, ready to come get me if there was any trouble. And he had showed up at just the right time with just the right amount of crazy.

I sat back, adrenaline coursing through my body as Leary drove us to his back-alley doctor, some dude who would stitch me up quietly for some cash. I couldn’t believe that I was alive.

But I also had to face the fact that I was out of options.

––––––––

T
he first thing I saw when Liam came in through the front door was the blood streaked down his left shoulder.

The second thing I saw was the grinning weirdo that followed him in.

“Shit, Liam—” I started.

He held up his hand. “I’m fine, seriously.”

“You don’t look fine.” I walked over to him, concern all over my face.

The other guy stood back near the door as I began to inspect the arm. It was a deep wound, but it had already been sewed up and covered with a sterile bandage.

“What happened?” I demanded.

“Didn’t go well.”

I rolled my eyes. “Come on, sit down.”

He tried to protest, but I got him moving and pushed him gently down onto the couch. He let out a long breath, obviously still exhausted. The weirdo moved in from the door, shutting and locking it. I kept poking and prodding at Liam’s arm until he winced, obviously in pain.

“Tell me what happened.”

“De Barra thought killing me would be more profitable than overthrowing Colm. And so he tried.”

“Fuck, Liam,” I said.

“Obviously it didn’t work.”

“Who’s this?” I nodded at the other guy.

“That’s Leary. He’s a friend.”

I looked at Liam. “I thought you said nobody can know where we are?”

“He’s been helping me this whole time. Shit, aside from you, he’s the only person in this city that I trust.”

I looked back at the guy, and he smiled bashfully at me. He was thinner than Liam and shorter by an inch or two, with red stubble all over his face and a shock of orange hair. He had thick bags under his eyes, and he kept moving from side to side, almost rocking in place.

“I notice he doesn’t have any blood on him.”

“Leary saved my life.”

I stared at the guy for another second. “I’m Ellie. Nice to meet you.”

He grinned and walked over to shake my outstretched hand. “Heard a lot about you, Ellie.”

I gave Liam a look, and he shrugged.

“What happens now?” I asked as Leary sat down in the armchair.

“How long you had this place, man?” Leary asked before Liam could answer me.

“Since I started in the business.”

“Shit, it’s a little creepy, but brilliant.”

“Thanks, man.”

Liam looked back at me and I could see the pain in his expression, though I knew he was trying to hide it from me. I reached out and touched his cheek gently, not giving a shit if the gesture seemed strange to Leary. I was breaking on the inside. I hated the idea that Liam was almost killed because of me, because of some stupid shit I had seen. It should have been me out there. I never should have let him go alone.

“Where do we go from here?” I asked him softly.

He stared back, his face hard. “That’s why I brought Leary here. We need to talk about my next move.”

I frowned and sat up straighter. “You have something in mind?”

“Yeah, but it’s a last resort.”

“Can’t be any worse than what happened today,” I said, nodding at his arm.

He sighed. “It really, really is.”

I shook my head. “You’re not turning yourself in.”

“No, I’m not.” He paused, and then he said more softly, “Not yet at least.”

“Liam—”

“Just listen.”

I stopped, jaw clenched, and nodded. He could be so self-sacrificing sometimes, such an asshole. He didn’t realize how it made me feel to hear him say that he would be willing to die for all of this to be over. I would never have forgiven myself or been able to live if I knew that he had willingly given himself over for my sake. That simply wasn’t an option.

“The way I see it, we don’t have another choice. De Barra was the only boss that has the strength to go up against Colm on his own, and I don’t think we’ll be lucky or able enough to convince the others to team up. They’ll end up squabbling over who gets to lead the Mob in the end and will probably just kill me out of frustration.”

Leary snorted at that last bit and I gave him a look. He frowned at me and shrugged.

“But, there’s one more play,” Liam said, continuing. “Colm probably knows what we have on him by now, thanks to de Barra. Which means he might be open to a trade. Colm isn’t stupid, although he’s ruthless. He might be willing to accept that it’s better to trade our lives for the proof.”

Leary nodded thoughtfully. “Seems like a fair trade. Let you two go into exile, burn the documents.”

“No fucking way, Liam,” I said.

“Ellie, look, I know it seems crazy to deal with him. But Colm is practical. He might actually listen if he realizes the extent of the shit we have on him.”

I shook my head. “What if he just murders you anyway?”

“Then you’ll send copies of the documents to every boss in the city.”

“He won’t buy that.”

“We’re out of time here.”

“We can run. Why don’t we just run?”

“I can’t leave. Richie will be in danger.”

I blinked. “You’re right, I’m sorry.”

He reached out and took my hand. “We can make this work.”

“No, it’s too dangerous. There has to be another way.”

He looked sad. “This is my last resort.”

“It could work,” Leary said.

I gave him a look. “Stay out of it.”

“Actually,” Liam interrupted, “we need him. Leary is going to send a message to Colm tonight, and he’ll hopefully set up a meeting for tomorrow.”

I gaped at him. “Tomorrow? Are you kidding me? You’re practically still bleeding.”

“We can’t afford to wait. Colm will find us eventually, one way or another. We need to make this happen while everything is still fresh.”

“And what if it goes bad?”

“It won’t come to that.” Liam looked at Leary. “Can you make it happen?”

He paused. “Yeah, all right.”

“Thanks. I owe you my life.”

Leary stood up and grinned. “Yeah, well, you’ll pay me back in the end.”

He nodded. “I will.”

“See you soon, brother.” They shook hands. Leary gave me a little grin and then disappeared out the front door. I got up and locked it after him. When I turned back, Liam was frowning at me.

“What are you thinking?” he asked.

I sighed. “I’m thinking you’re trying to commit suicide for me.”

He laughed. “Believe me, I’m not.”

I sat back down next to him. “Don’t disappear on me, asshole.”

He grinned. “Disappear, and not get to see that perfect fucking ass of yours anymore?”

I laughed and kissed him, hard, letting him know how much I meant it. He relaxed into me, though I was careful with his injured shoulder. I pulled away after a minute, letting my forehead press against his.

“You don’t have to save everyone else.”

“I do, or else I’m lost.”

I sighed. “Why are you like this? I thought you Mob guys were all selfish pricks.”

“We are, except I’m not a Mob guy anymore.”

I pulled away and looked at him. “What do you mean?”

He shrugged. “Before you, I was a selfish dick. I only thought about pussy and money. Now, though, I have other people to worry about.”

“You had Richie before.”

He looked away. “Yeah, I guess.”

“This is all so fucked and wrong,” I said softly.

He looked back at me. “It’s both. It’s right and wrong. We’re fucked and not fucked. We’ll keep going.”

I sighed and kissed him again, more softly. He wasn’t exactly a poet, but he had a way with words. He wrapped his arms around me and hugged me close to him, despite the pain I guessed was lancing up his shoulder.

“Earlier, when the gun was against my head, I kept thinking that I’d let you down. That I had failed you somehow.”

“You can’t fail me, Liam.”

He sighed. “I know you think that, but it’s not who I am. I won’t be able to forgive myself if I fuck all this up and we end up at the bottom of some gutter.”

I kissed his neck softly. “You’re not going to. I believe in you.”

“I wish I had that much faith.”

I pulled away and looked him in the eyes. “Listen to me, idiot. No matter what happens, this, this right here, is the realest I’ve ever felt in my entire life.”

“Everything else was like a dream,” he said.

“Exactly, and ever since that bastard put a gun to my head, I’ve been awake. You’ve already saved me.”

He shook his head and opened his mouth to speak, but I didn’t let him. I pressed my lips against his and swallowed his words whole, not caring what kind of self-deprecating shit he wanted to say. He had to know how much I needed him and how grateful I was to have him in my life. Even if it was for such a short and horrible time. I was grateful that I’d had the courage to kiss him, to stroke his body and to feel him.

No matter what happened next, that wouldn’t change.

I
looked down at the ringing phone on the nightstand, Ellie stirring next to me, and flipped it open.

“What’s up?” I grumbled, annoyed that I was awake.

“Colm took the bait. Meeting is at three this afternoon.”

That got me up. “What’s the deal?”

“You go alone, in that little empty lot on the edge of your territory, the one kids use as a baseball field.”

“Yeah, I know it.”

“Bring the documents. He said if it’s all there, and it is what you say it is, then he’ll exchange that info for your life. You’ll have to leave Philly, but you’ll be allowed to live.”

“Ellie too?”

“Yeah, her too.”

I paused. “Thanks, Leary.”

“Yeah, well, I won’t be there to save you this time if something goes wrong. Colm is more careful than de Barra.”

“I know that, man. You’ve done enough.”

“Good look, Liam. I’m rooting for you.”

“Thanks.”

We hung up, and I looked over at Ellie. She was sitting up in bed, staring at me. Her face was passive, almost serene, and I marveled again at how strong she was, and how fucking sexy. I never thought I was the type to obsess about a pretty face, but there I was, staring into her gorgeous eyes and wishing I never had to look away.

“What’s going on?” she asked.

“Leary set the meeting up. Looks like Colm is going to make the trade.”

She didn’t react. “When?”

“Today, at three.”

“That’s soon,” she said softly.

I looked at the clock on the phone. It was ten in the morning.

“Let’s get something to eat.”

She nodded softly as I climbed out of bed. My arm was aching like a fucking wasp’s nest, but it was stitched up. I’d live, at least for the next few hours. I walked downstairs, not bothering to get dressed, and entered the kitchen. I put on a pot of coffee and began to make eggs, the way Ellie seemed to like them. After a few minutes, she walked into the room wearing one of my big white dress shirts. It was a cliché out of a movie, but she looked so fucking sexy that I didn’t care. She smiled at me in that way she had, both inviting and innocent, and it almost made me hard. I had to look away before the eggs burned.

Finally, I put a plate in front of her and sat down. She grinned at me.

“Eat up. You’ve got a big day.”

I grunted. “Yeah. Guess I do.”

We ate in silence, lost in our separate thoughts.

––––––––

T
ime passed too quickly. We didn’t do much; I talked to her about the plan a few times, but mostly we sat around on the couch killing the hours until it was time for me to go. Around one in the afternoon, I hobbled upstairs and took a quick shower.

As I finished and began to dry off, Ellie appeared in the bathroom doorway.

“Let me do your bandage.”

I glanced at my arm. “Yeah, thanks.”

She got some gauze and some medical tape out of the cabinet. I finished toweling off, wrapped it around my hips, and sat down on the toilet’s closed lid. She crouched down next to me.

“It looks a little better.”

“I’ll live.”

She laughed softly. “You keep saying that.”

I shrugged, and I immediately regretted it as pain lanced through my arm.

“Careful,” she chided.

“Sorry,” I muttered.