"It must have been hard for you, knowing who was meant to be in charge and not having the ability to fix it," Logan said.
"Yes. Yes." Wiping at her cheeks, Anna said angrily, "It was all Kinsley's fault. That's what Daddy said. She trapped Burke into marriage and put all these thoughts into his head. She made him weak!"
I noted the tic in Logan's jaw, which surely matched the one I felt as I ground my teeth together. Kinsley gripped my hand, the only movement she'd made in over an hour.
"So you two teamed up with the Navarros," Logan prompted.
"We tried the Carmichaels, but they wouldn't hear of it." Anna scoffed. "Pussies, all of them, saying they couldn't betray the head of another Family like that."
Well, at least I knew I'd made the right choice in accepting their offer of an alliance.
"I figured everyone at the wedding would get a little sick, but I didn't want you to die, honey."
Logan smiled tightly, no doubt thinking of how she'd managed the poisoning. "I'm fine."
"Good." Twisting her shoe on the floor, Anna stared at the bag. "So, can I have the money now?"
"Sure." Logan moved too fast for Anna to notice what he was doing. He had his Glock in his hand before she reached for the bag, and a hole in her forehead before I took my next breath. Kinsley gasped beside me, and we both watched Logan breathe heavily for several moments, his back rising and falling rapidly as a pool of blood spread beneath his dead wife.
"I'd rather be a widower than stay your husband for another second," Logan snarled, spitting on Anna's body.
Kinsley's hand tightened on mine, and I turned my head to see how she fared.
"One down."
"Several more to go," I responded.
47
Kinsley
Mr. Greene called the following day to say the invitations for dinner he'd extended through back channels to the Navarros and the senior Mr. Gallagher had each been accepted. After hearing the information, I attempted to prepare myself mentally for the confrontation, but I couldn't be certain it worked. What I wanted and needed would not be easy for me, not when it meant looking into the eyes of those unrepentant, sadistic bastards.
To prepare for the dinner op, I video called Maddie to help me pick out something to wear. Keeping to the inner portion of the main house, I managed to reach my closet without being noticed from the outside in case anyone watched our house for movement. Either that, or Oliver was too polite to say he'd seen me through a second-floor window. After rifling through everything I owned, I picked a dress I'd yet to wear made of teal lace with a low square neckline. Though I wanted to look sophisticated, it also wouldn't hurt to look pretty when I confronted a bunch of men who saw me as nothing more than a pawn in their game. Despite it never being in my plans or my dreams for the future, I stood proud as queen of the Boston mafia's current chess game.
Burke and I spent the rest of the day wrapped around each other in bed. I knew the desperate way he clutched me to him was a product of his rampant anxiety. He was about to send me into the lion's den unaccompanied, and I knew he loathed the very idea.
Burke opened his mouth against the side of my neck, swirling his tongue over my skin. "Tá mo chroí istigh ionat, is tú mo rogha. Tá tú go h-álainn, a chuisle."
I didn't even care what he said or what language it was in when he cupped my pussy, slipping a finger inside my wetness and slowly stroking me to oblivion. I gripped his shoulders so tightly my knuckles turned white, arching against his chest as he breathed into my ear.
"An bpósfaidh tú mé arís?"
Our open mouths met, hovering centimeters away from each other. His breath fanned over me, and I opened my eyes to see the waters of the Emerald Isle reflected in his irises. Something about the Irish he spoke to me just then had my heart faltering and my hips circling in rhythm with his fingers. Burke speaking his native language while knuckle deep in my body was incredibly sexy.
"Is tú mo gach rud."
"Christ." I groaned when he brought me to the peak before backing off.
Burke moved closer, sucking my upper lip into his mouth. He brushed his thumb over my clit, and I shivered. When I gasped, he slipped his tongue in my mouth. A fine sheen of sweat covered my brow, my thighs ached with the need for release, and my galloping heart wanted to burst. One of Burke's hands crept to my breast, tweaking my nipple between his thumb and forefinger.
"Teacht, mo grá."
Burke's cock pulsed hard and strong between us, and he added another finger inside me. Finally, I broke, feeling my toes curl and my fingertips tingle as the heat of an intense orgasm crashed in waves throughout my body.
When I thought I just might be able to focus again, I opened my eyes. "I have no idea what you said to me."
In response, he kissed me languidly, molding his lips to mine and sucking my tongue into his mouth. Skin flushed, I ran one hand over his shoulder and down his back.
