Honored (City Series Book 4)(37)

Relief flooded through me. "Thank you, sir."

He frowned. "This really disappoints me. You would make a great second. Maybe even a great boss, when I'm gone."

"Thank you," I said. "But you should raise Colin up to second, sir."

He nodded. "He's on the list."

I stood. "Thanks for the drink."

"So that's it, you're done?"

"That's it."

He stood up, eyeing me. He reached out his hand and I took it, shaking. His grip was firm and strong as he met my eyes.

"I wish you good luck, son. You're a good man. You'll need it out there in this fucked up shit hole of a world."

"Thanks, sir."

I turned to go, but before I got to the door, I remembered something. I turned back and looked at O'Brian.

"Actually, there's one more thing I want to ask of you, before I go."

He sighed. "What is it?"

"My friend, Leary. Make him a Right Person."

"I know that boy. He's a junkie."

"He's getting clean. And he saved my life more than once. I owe him."

O'Brian sighed. "I'll think about it. Now get out of here and never come back."

I nodded. "I can do that."

I pushed out of his office and walked out into the main bar area. The place was filling up with more men, everyone drinking to excess, singing songs and making jokes. They had just put their lives on the line and maybe even killed for their boss, and they needed to unwind. Some came down with drink, others with laughter, but each man needed a way to work himself away from what had just happened.

I felt like I was a million miles away from it all. I was practically floating, the memory of her body and her taste flooding through me. I could barely wait to get back, to tell her what had happened. I made a direct line for the front door, but someone grabbed my arm.

"Liam," Colin said.

I looked at him. "Good job tonight."

He let me go.

"Yeah, you too. Stay and have a drink, man."

"I can't."

He frowned. "Where are you going?"

"You know where I'm going."

He sighed. There was a short pause as he studied me. When he was my second, he was a good worker, and smart. Though I didn't trust him, I had to admit that he had the skills and the talent to make a great boss one day. He was perceptive beyond his years. And a damn good liar.

"Is she worth it?" he asked.

I didn't hesitate. "Yeah, she really is."   





 

He grinned. "Good luck."

"Thanks, Colin."

He nodded and I turned away, pushing out into the night.

I didn't even think about looking back. There was only ahead and home to her. Ahead and beyond, out past the breakers of the violence I'd been reared in, through into something new, something better.

Something clear.

Something with honor.





Chapter Twenty-Eight: Ellie


Petey barked, and I nearly cried as he jumped up on me.

"I missed you too," I said, laughing through his slobbery dog kisses.

I could feel Chelsea watching us with a frown on her face. I knew I'd have a lot of explaining to do, or at least I had a lot of lying to do. I couldn't tell her what had actually happened, after all. As far as she knew, Liam took me on a really long trip.

"Glad to see you back," she said after a second.

"Good to see you too, Chelsea. Thank you so, so much for taking Petey."

She grinned. "He's a darling. Isn't that right, you big goof?"

Petey ran around us in circles, his tail wagging.

"So he was okay? No problems?"

She shrugged. "Other than having a dog dropped on me for a couple weeks, everything was fine."

Yeah, she was pissed.

"I'm so sorry for that again. It all happened so fast."

"Where were you, Ellie?"

"He took me to Italy."

Her eyes narrowed. "Italy, for real? How long have you known each other?"

I laughed, trying to play it cool. "Not long at all. But he's amazing, seriously."

She nodded. "I want to meet him."

"You will. Honestly Chelsea, he's-he's something I never imagined."

That softened her up. She smiled slightly. "Okay, let's relax here. You sound like a lovesick teenager."

I paused. "Minus the teenager part . . . that's pretty true."

She raised her eyebrows. "Seriously? Eleanor, are you in love with this guy?"

I blushed, but before I could answer. Petey began to bark. I looked down at him and rubbed his chest and shoulders.

"Okay buddy, you can have some attention."

"So you're back for good now?" Chelsea asked.

"Yeah, I'm back for good."

"We'll get lunch soon."

I nodded. "We will. Seriously, I can't thank you enough. I owe you big time."

She laughed. "Yeah you do. I expect repayment in the form of many bottles of wine."

"I can do that."

Her expression softened. "It's good to see you. I was worried for a second. I thought maybe he had kidnapped and murdered you or something."

If only she knew.

"No kidnapping or murder, just a crazy last-minute trip."

I helped her gather up Petey's things and connected the leash to his collar. His tail was going to fall off if he kept wagging it so hard.

"I'll be back for the big stuff later," I said.

"Sounds good."

"Thanks again. I'll see you soon."

"Call me later. Tell me all about this mysterious trip."

"Okay, I will."

She nodded and waved as I walked down her stoop, Petey in tow. It felt incredible to have him back again; I had worried my ass off about leaving him with Chelsea. But I knew she wouldn't leave him out in the rain or something like that. I'd have a lot of apologizing to do in the future, and probably a lot more lying to do, but it looked like things were going to be just fine.

I walked down the block, back in my old neighborhood. It actually felt a little strange to be out in the world on my own. I had spent so many horrible, stress-filled days in that safe house that it had almost started to feel like home. But I was out, forever out, and never going back there for as long as I lived. It was a relief that I no longer had a violent gang after me.

Then there was Liam. Something had changed about him that night, the night of the coup, and I could see it in his eyes. There was something heavy there, like he had seen and done things he never wanted to talk about. But he was also lighter, freer, quicker to smile. I understood why: the pressure from living life as a member of the Mob was lifted from him. I don't know how or why, but he left them, they weren't trying to stop it, and I definitely wasn't trying to make him stay.

I smiled to myself. He was something special, something I still didn't understand.

Petey raced ahead of me, up our stoop, and began to whine in front of the door. He must have recognized my apartment building and wanted to go up and see the place again.

"Okay, Petey, it's okay. We're home now."

I pushed the key into the lock and opened the door. We raced up the stairs, and I flung open the door to my apartment.   





 

It hit me all over again. The memories. The man in the mask holding the gun to my head. Petey looked at me and whined, which snapped me out of it. I dropped down on one knee and took his leash off, and he went running into the apartment.

"Whoa, Petey," came a voice as Petey barked twice.

I walked in and laughed at Liam petting Petey and grinning up at me.

"He seems healthy."

"Yeah. Chelsea took good care of him."

We had spent countless hours and in out of bed together in that safe house, but it still felt a little strange to have him in my own apartment. I walked over and collapsed down onto the couch, snuggling up next to him.

"I'm going to have to lie to her a lot," I said.

"I know. I'm sorry about that."

"I told her you took me to Italy."

He laughed. "Why Italy?"

"I don't know, it was the first place I thought of."

"We'll have to make up some imaginary vacation now, you know."

"Yeah, it'll be fun though. I'll tell her how annoying you are to travel with."

"Sure, okay. I'm a delight and you know it."

I laughed and kissed him. We lapsed into silence as Petey ran between rooms, sniffing everything and reclaiming his territory.

"By the way, how's Richie doing?"

"Having the time of his fucking life at Disneyland, apparently. I told his mom that they can come home whenever, but I'm willing to bet they'll spend whatever cash they have left first."

I laughed. "I don't blame them. How much did they take?"

He frowned. "Way too much."

I laughed again and shook my head, looking around the apartment. Everything was pretty much the same, though there was a thin sheen of dust. Still, it seemed off somehow, and I was consciously struggling to keep the memory of Max holding a gun to my face out of my mind.

"It feels a little weird in here," I said.

"What do you mean?"

"It's just, that day keeps playing in my head, over and over."

He frowned. "I understand."

"I don't know. After everything that happened, it just doesn't feel like mine anymore."

He paused. "You still haven't seen my place."

"Oh yeah. I guess you do have a real apartment somewhere."

"I do in fact have a real apartment."

"Is it furnished and maybe decorated a little bit?"

He laughed. "A little bit. Not much more than the safe house."