"It's a good thing he exterminated the Whites so we didn't have to do it. I'd hoped Burke would listen to me when he took over so I could run things behind the scenes, but he always had a mind of his own. I envisioned running Boston through my son, somewhat like the queen mother."
"But he didn't heed the advice you pushed on him."
"No." Elena shook her head. "Carson made it worse, of course, by making idiotic demands."
"You were there the whole time, whispering in Carson's ear." They were all her puppets, all along. Carson, Anna, hell, maybe even Burke without knowing it.
"Yes. It was rather easy to manipulate my husband. You, on the other hand." She scoffed. "I've felt your husband's balls, so I understand why you need your own. You put a kink in my plans."
Swallowing, I said, "I was a wild card."
"Couldn't have planned on you, that's for certain. I had to come to the hospital to see for myself if Finn was a Gallagher or a bastard you'd fobbed off on my son. Luckily for you both, the child is the spitting image of Burke."
Elena paused her tale while the server delivered their appetizers.
"You're not eating?" Blaine asked.
"Already ate," I mumbled through stiff lips. My newborn and I had been targets for a crazy woman, and I'd never known it.
"So, Kinsley," Asher said. "Did you come to make a deal with the devil?"
"Oh, I made my deal long ago." I lifted my hands and let them drop. "Looks like it's time to pay up."
Asher grinned at me, sending revulsion skittering up my spine to nestle like spiders at my nape. "I'm happy to make a deal with you."
"You rejected my last offer," I reminded him.
"Because it came from your husband. I'm talking about you and me."
"No, thanks."
Asher glanced at his brother and once again at me, stroking the back of one finger up and down my arm. "You think you'll leave here alive if you don't agree to whatever I offer?"
"One, don't ever touch me again." Jerking out of his reach, I said, "Two, don't ever fucking touch me again."
He guffawed, slapping one hand on the table in his mirth. "You're right, Elena, this one has platinum balls."
"Why did you blow up the church the day you met me?" It was something that had weighed on my mind for months, and I was about to lose my only chance to ask.
"Genius over there couldn't get your bug to work. The bomb was a safeguard, really, just to be certain no evidence was left behind. If you and your men had still been there, that was fine too. We decided to test ourselves since you seem so fond of explosives." He shrugged. "Didn't we kill anyone?"
"Yes, a lieutenant."
"Pity it wasn't your husband."
Elena scowled. "Enough of this. Are we moving forward with the last phase of our plan?"
Blaine didn't look pleased. "I don't like this puttàna."
Asher picked up his steak knife, twirling it so the blade glinted in the candlelight. "Doesn't much matter what you think, now does it?"
"As your consigliere, I'm advising against your plan."
Their plates were cleared by the waiter, and their dinner was served by Mr. Greene, who smiled politely at me. "Nothing for the signóra?"
"I ate before I joined this party, but thank you." In truth, I couldn't have eaten a morsel, even if the food wasn't poisoned.
Asher took a bite. "Oh, they really are every bit as good as they claimed." He leaned close to me. "I like the exclusivity."
